The British Geotechnical Association (BGA) is the principal
association for geotechnical engineers in the United Kingdom.

Fleming Award

The Fleming Award is awarded annually by the BGA to project teams to recognise excellence in the practical application of geotechnics in a project or a part of a project.

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The Fleming Award is awarded annually by the BGA to commemorate the life and work of Dr Ken Fleming, who was chief engineer at Cementation Skanska Foundation.

Dr Ken Fleming of Cementation Skanska

Dr Ken Fleming

The Fleming Award Competition is held annually to commemorate the life and work of Dr Ken Fleming and to recognise excellence in the practical application of geotechnics in a project or a part of a project

The competition is held at an evening meeting of the BGA each December, with entries being invited during the autumn of each year. The award recognises excellence in the practical application of geotechnics in a project or a part of a project, and is awarded to project teams who have worked on geotechnical projects that have been substantially completed within the two years prior to the award date of December. Each Team is expected to comprise between 3 and 6 people, at least one of whom must be a member of the BGA.

The Call for 2023 Submissions is now closed

Information for Fleming Prize submissions (2023)

Entries for the 2023 Fleming Award can be made until midnight on Monday 16th October 2023. Applications should be made by email to bga@ice.org.uk.

Entries are invited from Project Teams who have worked on geotechnical projects that have been substantially completed within the two years prior to the award date of December 2023.

Each Team is expected to comprise between three and six people, at least one of whom must be a member of the BGA.

Submitting teams typically include representatives from Clients, Main Contractors, Consulting Engineers, Specialist Contractors and so on. The award is presented to the Project Team which most demonstrates excellence in geotechnical design & construction. There is an emphasis on teamwork across the different disciplines involved in the project, innovation is also a strong consideration.

There is a prize of £1,000, donated by Cementation Skanska.

The final of the competition will be held on 5 December 2023 at the ICE, London. Each team will give a short presentation (20 minutes with 5 minutes questions afterwards). After the presentations have been completed, the judges will retire to consider their verdict. There will be a short keynote lecture while the judges reach their decision. The judges will be selected from members of the BGA Executive Committee, previous winner(s) and industry leaders.

Submissions should include:

  • A completed Project Team Application Form - which can be downloaded HERE ; and
  • A brief description of the project (or section of a larger project) should be provided, with illustrations/diagrams as appropriate. The text and illustrations should occupy no more than two A4 pages, i.e. four sides.

The organisations and BGA individual or corporate members in the team should be identified, with contact details for one person to deal with correspondence from the BGA and listed on the accompanying completed Project Team Application Form.

The submitting teams should have obtained permission from project clients and other parties for the project to be considered for the Fleming Award prior to submission.

Entries for the 2023 Fleming Award can be made until midnight on Monday 16th October 2023. Applications should be made by email to bga@ice.org.uk.


List of winners of Fleming Award

Year Winners Finalists Keynote Speakers
2022 Ground Improvement for a Seismically Qualified Structure


  • BAE Systems
  • Atkins
  • Bachy Soletanche
  • Morgan Sindall
HS2 Phase 1, Contract C1



  • HS2
  • Bouygues Travaux Publics
  • Jacobs
  • Rendel-Ingerop
  • Keller
A Heat-Exchange Piled Foundation Solution at the Euston Station Welfare Facility for HS2
  • Keltbray Limited
  • City University
  • G-Core Limited
  • Wentworth House Partnership
  • Mace-Dragados
  • HS2
Sergio Solera, Mott MacDonald



"Design and construction of the Boston Barrier"

2021 Hinkley Point C Geotechnical Works


  • BAM Ritchies
  • NNB (EDF)
  • AECOM
  • Kier Bam JV

1 Triton Square, London


  • Arup
  • Lendlease
  • British Land

A63 Castle Street Improvements, Hull - Geotechnical Site Trials


  • Arup
  • Züblin
  • National Highways
  • Balfour Beatty
  • Geotechnical Experts
  • Coffey Geotechnics
  • AECOM

David Wright, Jacobs

"Fibre optic sensing – A distributed monitoring technology for earthworks?"

2020 21 Moorfields - Piling through Moorgate Station, London


  • Cementation Skanska
  • Robert Bird Group
  • Mace
  • Geotechnical Consulting Group
  • Land Securities
  • London Concrete
Analysis, Design and Construction of the Boston Barrier


  • Mott MacDonald
  • BAM Nuttall
Robroyston Link Road, Glasgow


  • Tensar International Limited
  • Glasgow City Council
  • Park Lane (Scotland) Ltd
  • Luddon Construction Ltd
  • Foster Contracting (North) Ltd
  • GeoFEM
Christopher Power, Mott MacDonald



"Meeting the climate change challenge to transportation infrastructure geotechnical assets"

2019 Tunnelling through under ream piles for Bank Underground Station upgrade
  • Transport for London
  • Arup
  • The Worshipful Company of Grocers
  • Dragados UK
  • Dr Sauer & Partners
Woodsmith Mine shaft, North Yorkshire
  • Bauer Technologies
  • Sirius Minerals plc
  • Arup
  • Datum
  • Geotechnical Experts Ltd
Tideway East – Deptford Church Street chalk fissure investigation
  • Costain Vinci Bachy Soletanche JV
  • Tideway
  • Golder
  • Mott MacDonald
  • WJ Groundwater
  • SOCOTEC
  • European Geophysical Services
  • ChalkRock Ltd
  • Preene Groundwater Consulting
  • Imperial College London
Rachel Monteith, BuroHappold

"Viable sustainability"

2018

Claridges Hotel Basement, London

  • McGee Group Ltd
  • Arup
  • RKD Consultant Ltd
Gardenstown Landslide Stabilisation - Gardenstown, near Banff, Aberdeenshire
  • Aberdeenshire Council
  • Atkins
  • BAM Ritchies


A77 Cairnryan Slip Remediation -

south-west Scotland

  • WSP UK Limited
  • Scotland Transerv
  • Raynesway
  • Transport Scotland
Yvonne Ainsworth, JRL Civil Engineering

"Pay Peanuts, Get Monkeys"
2017 The PISA Project
  • Oxford University
  • Imperial College London
  • DONG Energy
  • Carbon Trust
  • SOCOTEC UK (formerly ESG)
  • representing the many companies involved in the Project
Garrion Gill Slope Remediation
  • Network Rail Infrastructure Projects Scotland
  • QTS Group Limited
  • COWI UK Limited
  • Cementation Skanska
  • Datum Group
Pines Hotel Cliff Stabilisation Scheme
  • CH2M
  • Raymond Brown Construction
  • The Pines Hotel
Toby Roberts, WJ Groundwater

"Groundwater control for excavations in Cork, Ireland"
2016

Crag End Landslip Remediation

  • Volker Stevin
  • Atkins
  • Northumberland County Council
  • Keller

Crossrail C300 & C410 Compensation Grouting

  • Crossrail
  • BAM Ferrovial Kier JV
  • Keller BAM Ritchies JV

Farnley Haugh Emergency Works

Renewals Collaborative Delivery Partnership (RCDP) – Network Rail, CML, AECOM

Tony O'Brien, Mott MacDonald

"Geotechnical Characterisation:

Recent Developments and Applications"

2015

Chantry Lane Chalk Mines Remediation, Hatfield, Hertfordshire

  • BAM Ritchies
  • Welwyn and Hatfield BC
  • MACE
  • Arcadis Consulting (UK) Ltd

Deep Basement for Exhibition Road Building, Victoria and Albert Museum, London

  • Arup
  • AL_A
  • Wates Construction

Deep Basement for British Museum World Conservation & Exhibition Centre, London

  • Ramboll
  • Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners
  • Mace
  • Arup
  • Bachy Soletanche
  • Keller
  • P J Carey
  • Rowecord
  • GIG Fassaden

Duncan Nicholson, Arup

“Developments in the Observational Method for Retaining Walls”

2014

Victoria Station Upgrade - Northern Tunnels

  • Taylor Woodrow BAM Nuttall (TWBN)
  • Mott MacDonald (MM)
  • Keller
  • London Underground Ltd

Queensferry Crossing –A Collaborative Approach To Marine Foundation Construction

  • Transport Scotland
  • Arup
  • JV Ramboll

Barcelona High Speed Railway Tunnel: Protecting World Heritage Buildings

  • UPC‐BarcelonaTech
  • Intecsa‐Inarsa
  • Sacyr
  • Sener
  • SPICC

Tim Chapman, Arup

“Explaining geotechnical risks to clients”

2013

Lee Tunnel, Abbey Mills, Stratford –Shaft F

  • MVB JV
  • AECOM
  • CH2M HIL
  • Bachy Soletanche
  • UNPS
  • Cambridge University

Danube Bridge 2, “Vidin- Calafat” between Bulgaria and Romania

  • High Point Rendel and Ingerop JV
  • URS
  • Flint & Neil
  • Iberinsa JV
  • FCC Construccion S.A.

Collaborative Value Engineering: Propping the Crossrail Tottenham Court Road Western Ticket Hall

  • Crossrail
  • Arup-Atkins JV
  • URS
  • BFK JV
  • Kier Engineering & Dam Structures

Eur Ing David Norbury BSc MSc CEng MICE

“EC7 – progress and myths”

2012

Construction on West Quay Collapse, Bridgewater

  • Somerset CC
  • Crestmoor Construction

Kirklees

  • Coffey Geotechnics

Field Road Coley District

  • Peter Brett Associates

Dr Chris Menkiti, GCG

“The Impact of Ground Movements due to Tunnelling – Two Uncommon Examples of Important Effects in a Hard Soil and a Soft Rock”

2011

Design And Construction Of The Toombul Jacked Box

  • Arup Geotechnics
  • Benaim – URS Scott Wilson
  • RD Geotech

M74 Completion

  • Interlink M74JV
  • Jacobs/Atkins Design JV

Tottenham Court Road Station Upgrade – The D-Shaped Pile

  • London Underground
  • Buro Happold
  • Bauer Keller JV
  • Taylor Woodrow Bam Nuttall JV

Neil Smith, Applied Geotechnical

“Progress on the UK Register of Ground Engineering Professionals (RoGEP) and related future developments”
2010

Use of Tyre Bales in A421 Foundations

  • Highways Agency
  • Balfour Beatty Major Civil Engineering
  • URS Scott Wilson

St German’s Pumping Station Cofferdam

  • Costain
  • University of Southampton
  • Mott MacDonald

Cannon Street Station Redevelopment –Micropiles & Associated Geotechnical Works

  • Hines
  • Laing O’Rourke
  • Expanded Piling
  • Foggo Associates
  • GCG
  • Byland Engineering

Martin Pedley, Cementation Skanska

“10 Decades of Geotechnical Engineering and Innovation: A History of Cementation”

2009

One New Change

  • Land Securities
  • Bovis Lend Lease
  • Hoare Lea
  • Arup
  • Cementation Skanska
  • Geothermal International

Isle of Grain Pump House Cofferdam

  • Garassino Srl
  • Laing O’Rourke
  • Bachy Soletanche Limited

First Street, Manchester

  • Ask Developments Ltd
  • Ove Arup & Partners
  • Celtic Remediation Ltd
  • Fraser Blair Associates
  • David Langdon LLP

Tony O’Brien, Mott MacDonald

“Pile group design for major structures – pitfalls and opportunities”

2008

Limerick Submerged Tube Tunnel Temporary Works

  • John Sisk & Son Ltd
  • Webber Associates
  • MLM Consulting Engineers

Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham

  • BNHJV
  • White Young Green
  • Stent Foundations

Brigg Line Freight Enhancement

  • Network Rail
  • Ove Arup & Partners
  • Carillion Civil Engineering

Dinesh Patel, Arup

“Deep basement scheme at Ropemaker Place, Moorgate”

2007

Amsterdam Central Station

  • ARCADIS
  • Combination Strukton Betonbouw van Oord ACZ
  • Movares Nederland B.V.
  • Royal Haskoning
  • Smet-Keller
  • RD Geotech

Bow Bells House

  • Buro Happold
  • Stanhope
  • Stent

Kings Cross Ticket Hall

  • ABBT
  • Morgan Bemo JV
  • Arup

Jim Williams, English Heritage

“From research guidelines – piling and archaeology”

2006

Govan Dewatering Scheme

  • Keller Ground Engineering
  • Strathclyde Partnership for Transport
  • Gifford and Partners
  • WJ Groundwater
  • Gallaghers
  • Arup Scotland

Lyme Regis Coastal Defences

  • High Point Rendel
  • Carillion
  • West Dorset District Council

Prof. Malcolm Bolton, Cambridge University

“Foundation piles: advances in understanding and technology”

2005

Castlehaven Coast Protection and Slope Stabilisation Scheme, An Innovative Geotechnical Solution, Niton, Isle of Wight

  • High Point Rendel
  • Van Oord UK Ltd
  • TPGEO/Group Ress

Ground Improvement Solutions for the M60 Orbital Motorway Widening Scheme around South Manchester

  • Highways Agency
  • AMEC
  • Alfred McAlpine JV
  • Halcrow
  • Pennine Vibropiling

The UK’s largest soil mixed reactive barrier

  • Northampton Borough Council/ English Partnerships Joint Initiative
  • Halcrow Group
  • Mowlem Remediation
  • Mowlem Piling and Foundations
  • Envirotreat Technologies

Tim Chapman, Arup Geotechnics

2004

Moorhouse Draught Relief Shaft for Crossrail, London

  • Arup Geotechnics
  • Geotechnical Consulting Group
  • Skanska UK Building
  • WJ Groundwater Ltd
  • Crossrail London Links Ltd
  • Arup Tunnelling
  • Skanska UK Tunnelling

Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin

  • Bachy Soletanche
  • Mouchel Parkman
  • Environmental Protection
  • Agency
  • Dublin Docklands
  • Development Authority
  • Pierse Contracting


The River Witham Phase 2/3 Contract, Lincoln

  • Bullen Consultants
  • Environment Agency
  • May Gurney


Prof. John Burland, Imperial College

2003

Dublin Port Tunnel

  • Geotechnical Consulting Group
  • Dublin County Council
  • Nishimatsu/Mowlem/Irshenco JV
  • Haswell Consulting Engineers & University College Dublin

World Trade Centre Recovery Effort

  • Mueser Rutledge
  • Consulting Engineers
  • Port Authority of New
  • York & New Jersey
  • Bovis Lend Lease
  • Nicholson Construction/Hayward Baker JV

CTRL 250 Ripple Road Bridge Settlement Mitigation

  • Bachy Soletanche, Nuttall/Ways
  • Freytag/Keir JV
  • Donaldson Associates Ltd
  • Rail Link Engineering

CTRL C320 Thames Tunnel

  • Rail Link Engineering,
  • Hochtief-Murphy JV
  • Amec-Spie
  • Keller Ground Engineering
  • Land & Water Services
  • WJ Groundwater
Prof. Michael C R Davies, University of Dundee
2002

Heathrow Airside Road Tunnel

  • Mott MacDonald
  • BAA plc
  • Laing O’Rourke

A542 Pentredwr Landslide

  • Wardell Armstrong
  • Denbighshire County Council
  • Wrexham County Borough Council
  • KM Construction (NW) Ltd
  • Rock Engineering Ltd.

Aznalcóllar Slurry Trench Wall

  • Golder Associates (UK) Ltd
  • Soletanche Bachy (Rodio)

Dr Hugh St. John, GCG

“Ken’s Life and Work”

2001

Rail track Northwest Structure Alliance

  • Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick
  • Railtrack
  • Edmund Nuttall

Large Diameter Piles at New Medway Crossing

  • Maunsell Limited
  • Highways Agency
  • WS Atkins
  • Mowlem Piling

The South Steps Project

  • Building design partnership
  • Taylor Woodrow Construction
  • GCG
  • Tony Gee and Partners
  • John Doyle Construction
  • Royal Albert Hall

Mike Putnam, Skanska UK

“The Future of Geotechnics is Teamworking”

2000

The Copenhagen Metro –The observational method at Norreport station

  • Bachy Soletanche
  • Carillion
  • Maunsell
  • Comet

Home Extension Project, Central London

  • Applied Geotechnical Engineering
  • CMCS
  • Berry Withers
  • R Durtnell & Sons
  • Symonds Travers Morgan

Rainham Landfill –The KGRID Foundation Support System

  • Cleanaway
  • Keller
  • Halcrow
Ken Fleming, Cementation Foundations

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