Should you opt for:

• The cheapest?
• The quickest?
• The most experienced?

In this guide to selecting a UXO risk assessment service provider, we highlight the checks you need to make before placing your order. 

After all, you really do need to ensure your personnel and your project are safe from lethal explosive risk.

Is the risk assessment based on best industry standards? 

A compliant UXO risk assessment will be carried out following industry standards, as determined by the Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA).

For UXO risk, the relevant guideline is CIRIA C681. 

As this is a fairly impenetrable document, here’s a free, handy and accessible step-by-step guide to its 4 stages of risk management. And here’s an easy to follow flowchart you can download and print for free.

The CIRIA guidelines require UXO risk assessment ratings to be based on ‘objective criteria’ and ‘historical evidence’. 

Therefore, check whether a provider has access to the most comprehensive records upon which they will base their risk rating.  And check to ensure they have long-term experience of researching and writing UXO risk assessments.

Does the UXO risk assessment service provider have sufficient professional indemnity insurance?

Unexploded ordnance poses a lethal threat.  A risk assessment is the first step to determining the level of risk you and your colleagues will face from this threat.

An assessor with the required proven experience to provide you with a correct risk rating will be backed by £5,000,000 professional indemnity insurance and – critically – this level of insurance will be maintained following completion of your risk assessment.

Is your UXO risk assessor well-established - and why does that matter?

A UXO risk assessment will be referred to throughout the entire lifecycle of your project - from feasibility study, to enabling works, from construction to completion. 

This lifecycle can easily span several years.  

Therefore, choose a well-established consultant with proven long-term insurance to ensure they will still be around by the time you need to plan your mitigation strategy – otherwise, you’ll have to start all over again and contract another risk assessor.

If you’d like a free site safety poster highlighting UXO risks and what to do in the event of encountering a suspicious object, just drop us an email to commercial@igne.com with your details and we’ll send one out.

What other services does the risk assessment provider offer?

If your assessment returns anything other than a low-risk rating, you will need mitigation support. 

Some service providers just deliver you a report with a risk rating – you then need to find another company to assess the risk and create and implement a suitable mitigation plan that eliminates the risk.

To save yourself time and money, choose an all-inclusive company that can support you throughout the lifecycle of your project to assess the risk, mitigate and eliminate it. 

Should you choose Igne?

You don’t have to choose Igne for your UXO risk assessment – but here are the reasons why you probably should!

Igne  is the largest and longest established UK-based UXO threat mitigation company.  We tick every single one of the foregoing boxes.

In addition, your risk assessment is compiled by a team of uniquely qualified UXO researchers who have created and delivered more reports than any other unexploded ordnance risk assessment provider. 

Thanks to the sheer volume of work undertaken by the team over the last 30 years, the amount of research data and historic information we hold and will access for your assessment is second to none.

We can provide personalised training and safety advice for your entire team after you receive your report, if your risk rating is anything other than low.  This is delivered by one of our team of explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) experts.

We have two dedicated offices in the UK, our own workshop and a large fleet of survey rigs and rapid response vehicles – this means we’re able to mobilise quickly for any client when we identify a site that is high risk.

We have made many notable UXO finds in the past, which proves our research and our mitigation processes work.

We have a very happy global client base, and would be delighted to provide reliance letters, warranties and testimonials to your project’s stakeholders.

Want to know more?  Call us, we’d be delighted to talk through your project requirements and explain how we can assist.