Helping our clients
to achieve their goals

The first HS2 bridge installation over the M43 was completed in just two days.

The ambitious speed of the project required rapid site enablement to help manage the build. Aside from a local mobile signal, there was no internet with an SLA in place, making it extremely challenging to achieve the construction targets. The investigation carried out by our specialised team measured current user speeds of just 2MB throughout their devices.

Understanding the work was time critical, our team opted to provide the client with our internet anywhere ‘Beacon Box’, which can be configured, connected and running within 24 hours. A survey of all local cell towers was carried out by our team, to identify the best and most available signals that could be used at all times, supplying the site with fully managed 100% internet access for the duration of the project. This solution was continually monitored and amended during the build to ensure teams had the right access at the right time.

Having our team of engineers available was pivotal; their expertise and tangible skillsets proved invaluable to the client, and contributed significantly to the impressive timescale the bridge was completed. With construction projects comprising over 7% of the UK economy, and timescales becoming tighter and less forgiving, rapid site enablement should be a key component of telecommunication services. Having our own product ready for deployment allowed our team – and ultimately the client – to bypass arbitrary obstacles that would have slowed down the project.

Plans for Google’s new office building – dubbed the ‘landscraper’ – were hugely ambitious and tasked our team with developing a creative solution to a complex greenfield site.

The client was immediately faced with challenges such as various restrictions on provision, strict ‘over the air’ policies as outlined by King’s Cross Estates managed service, and the complete absence of BT Openreach service in this area of London. The development was capable of housing some 4,000 of Google’s UK-based employees, so it was immediately apparent that our approach must also consider the health and safety of a large and constantly active workforce.

We wanted to achieve this while strictly adhering to Google’s own methodologies, to maximise the effectiveness of their outcome. Talks with the client resulted in what we decided was the best route to take. Our engineers got to work on an active diverse route 1GB internet connection, which was installed in the main office and paired with a LAN extension service. Additional site-wide wi-fi was installed to create a secure internet backbone that could commit to covering over 860,000ft of office space, and accommodate other services including a trades internet network, CCTV, and an early warning health and safety digital barrier system. This system was then adapted to count operatives in and out of the site, adhering to new measures introduced due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The resulting installation promised 100% uptime, allowing the employees to always remain engaged with task-driven management and user productivity tools. The end-to-end solution is actively monitored, with a four-hour fix service level agreement to the site, across all components. It was important for the client to know that mitigating the risk of downtime was paramount, as a tech-based company with its own cloud-based storage, much of their workforce require constant and uninterrupted access to the internet and their files.

Despite many of Google’s employees being highly suited to remote working, plans for the site went forward and groundwork for their return to office-based working was laid. Adapting to outside influences was key to achieving the final goal, so creativity was crucial, and innovation was integral to meet the demands of such a unique challenge.

Hinckley Point C is the first nuclear power station to be built in the UK in over 20 years.

Construction and subsequent operation of the site will create 25,000 employment opportunities, and up to 1,000 apprenticeships. The key challenge for the client in this job was managing the large volume of operatives that required daily access to the site. The restricted access to the area was to not impede the workforce, so to ensure a smooth and consistent operation.

Taking into account the principal objective of maintaining site security, creating secure connectivity and zonal access controls for the control booth was critical. Traffic moving in and out of the site was to be monitored constantly, and accessible by the client at all times. Our solution was adapted to meet the needs of an agile security team, so a bespoke package was created whereby traffic is funnelled back to the client’s secure network, utilising the best available mobile signal in the area. Each device in use is closely monitored by the BlueMineral support team, who receive instant updates to alert them to any changes in signal strength or status. This allows for a rapid response to be deployed immediately to boost the signal if it falls below an acceptable level.

This solution is ever adapting to provide the end user with a dependable, fast and safe connection to sensitive security needs. Operatives that move in and out of site can be actively monitored and their visits recorded with air-tight accuracy. With the ongoing value-added service and fail-safes provided by our support team, the client can retain their piece of mind for the duration of the project and beyond.

In October 2020, the privately owned Brentwood Centre saw its doors close as a result of financial difficulties brought on by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

What was once a hugely important part of the community, offering a variety of recreational activities to over 300 members, now faced further challenges after Brentwood Council stepped in to take on the project, to ensure it could continue to provide vital benefits to the residents’ physical and mental wellbeing.

The sudden closure largely disrupted the Centre’s current infrastructure, as previous management had closed the existing IT networks and phone lines, including the primary number that the centre had been associated with for years. Recognising the importance of the number, it was key to have it reinstated, largely for the convenience of the local community that would contact it daily, but also so to not waste abundance of marketing materials it was printed on. Talks began between Brentwood Council and BT with hopes to reinstate the number, to prevent the less desirable outcome of having it completely replaced. Eventually, however, they were told that it was simply not possible.

Dissatisfied with this response, Brentwood Council contacted the specialist team at BlueMineral to discuss any possible resolutions. Our experience in dealing with Openreach in the past, and becoming familiar with their processes, allowed us to explore options that were not immediately apparent to BT. Drawing on the close relationships with key contacts in Openreach, our team were able to secure a solution that saw an order placed for the service to become live again. This allowed the main number to be used by the new Brentwood Centre phone system, which was rebuilt and made fit for purpose by us.

Cases like these highlight the crucial role that trusted partnerships play. Despite Openreach being a division of BT, BT were still unwilling to get creative and go the extra mile. Through us, our clients greatly benefit from being able to bypass stringent and often trivial obstacles, that can severely affect the overall outcome of a job. BlueMineral make a point of curating and maintaining these relationships, to retain a network of fast, reliable and effective solutions to choose from.