30 years of engineering excellence, evolution and innovation
From the design and construction of flood risk management schemes to the ownership and management of large stocks of assets, engineering excellence has been at the heart of our work for the past 30 years. Through continued growth, our services have evolved, our teams have grown, and new partnerships have been formed. But where did it all start? And how will we continue to adapt to meet the challenges of building resilience to climate change?
30 years of engineering excellence, evolution and innovation
From the design and construction of flood risk management schemes to the ownership and management of large stocks of assets, engineering excellence has been at the heart of our work for the past 30 years. Through continued growth our services have evolved, our teams have grown, and new partnerships have been formed. But where did it all start? And how will we continue to adapt to meet the challenges of building resilience to climate change?
30 years of engineering excellence, evolution and innovation
From the design and construction of flood risk management schemes to the ownership and management of large stocks of assets, engineering excellence has been at the heart of our work for the past 30 years. Through continued growth our services have evolved, our teams have grown, and new partnerships have been formed. But where did it all start? And how will we continue to adapt to meet the challenges of building resilience to climate change?
30 years of engineering excellence, evolution and innovation
From the design and construction of flood risk management schemes to the ownership and management of large stocks of assets, engineering excellence has been at the heart of our work for the past 30 years. Through continued growth our services have evolved, our teams have grown, and new partnerships have been formed. But where did it all start? And how will we continue to adapt to meet the challenges of building resilience to climate change?
Forging a reputation through rail engineering services and scour expertise
Whilst our continued expansion is undoubtedly a result of expertise in a range of different engineering services, it was rail services engineering where we first began to build momentum. A significant part of this has been through our long-term working relationship with Network Rail, which continues to this day. Our first project work with Network Rail dates back to the late 1990s, when we were appointed to deliver scour risk assessments and scour protection schemes alongside their contractors. Over the years, this relationship flourished, and we began to provide more services and support a greater number of projects. Significantly, this included the creation of a revised scour assessment standard, and with the support of JBA’s in-house Technology, Data and Software Development team, the development of a computerised version of Network Rail's scour assessment process, which was used to deliver thousands of scour risk assessments.
Leading the way on scour protection schemes, scour design guidance and the delivery of bespoke training
Through this work, our reputation for scour expertise continued to grow, and as a result, we were instrumental in the development of the CIRIA Design Guide on Scour. We also took on and completed further rail sector scour protection schemes across England, Scotland and Wales. During this time, we also began to place a greater focus on sharing the knowledge we had gained, which saw us provide training for both Network Rail's employees and contractors, so that they could fully appreciate the scour process and the results of scour assessment reports.
Working collaboratively to support the delivery of the Government's Enhanced Spend Programme
Further recognition of our reputation as 'The Scour Company' came when we were appointed to support Network Rail in delivering the Government's Enhanced Spend Programme - an initiative to give a rapid boost to the construction sector. With Network Rail's scour protection work chosen to be one of the means of delivering the programme, we supported the fulfilment of multiple scour protection schemes over an accelerated programme of just 18 months. By working collaboratively with Network Rail and their contractors to deliver the schemes both on time and to a high standard, the scheme was recognised as a resounding success and was even shortlisted for a New Civil Engineer Award.
Utilising innovative JBA-developed software to provide unparalleled support
To date we have completed over 10,000 scour assessments and created more than 1,000 scour protection designs. Scour expertise remains an integral part of our engineering services, and this will continue to be supported by the use and ongoing advancement of JBA-developed software. GISmo (now GISmapp®) is just one example of this, having first been introduced in 2002 to capture data for Network Rail London North Eastern, our innovative asset management software is now used nationally across Network Rail. Looking to the future, we believe the next stage in scour assessment lies in utilising the power of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The accuracy of this approach will enable us to better support clients to manage their asset scour programmes with greater efficiency, allowing resources to be focused on the structures at greatest risk and need of protection.
We have an established track record of researching, writing and training in hydraulic engineering, offering expertise in scour, culverts and screens. Alongside our work in these areas, we have contributed to reports to help steer industry practice, developed freely available online resources, worked with the Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA) to develop collaborative and authoritative good practice guidance and supported the Environment Agency to create best practice guidance notes.
Building on a history of asset management expertise
Like our rail engineering services, asset management has formed part of our engineering services since the formation of JBA. However, it was the 2004 takeover of long-established consulting engineering firm, Grantham Brundell & Farran (GB&F), that really accelerated our growth in this area. GB&F had started from just two small firms of consulting engineers, who were involved in the earliest days of railway construction. However, through their specialist land drainage and water level management services, they built a legacy of asset management expertise.
The acquisition of GB&F allowed us to build on this history and incorporate our own expertise. As a result, today we manage 10 Internal Drainage Districts covering an area of 100,000 hectares, 1,133 miles of watercourses, 56 pumping stations and circa 5,000 ratepayers. We have also delivered over 100 capital projects to replace or refurbish pumping station assets, install telemetry or produce hydraulic models across the Internal Drainage Boards' catchments.
Our role in managing these assets places us at the forefront of dealing with the impacts of climate change. Through careful management of their hydraulic catchments, efforts to create space for water and hold back upstream flows, we're proud to be playing a significant part in addressing the future challenges faced by the country.
Rapid expansion and significant framework success following the formation of JBA Bentley
Our 30-year history is made up of a number of significant milestones, but it's the formation of JBA Bentley that really stands out from an engineering perspective. Established in 2013, the JBA Bentley joint venture saw us combine our expertise with that of JN Bentley, a well-respected, national civil engineering contractor. By coming together, we were able to deliver different types of projects and embrace projects of a greater size, scale and risk profile. It wasn't just the types of projects that changed, though; it was how we delivered them, and as a result of this collaboration, we were able to adopt new ways of working that could be cascaded throughout the business.
Appointment to the Environment Agency's Water and Environment Management (WEM) framework
The formation of JBA Bentley also led to us being awarded a place on the Environment Agency’s WEM framework. This brought an increased workload and as a result our teams grew, and we opened new offices in Leeds and Peterborough. Under this framework we supported the development of a range of complex schemes, such as the delivery of large managed realignment schemes at Skeffling to Outstrays, the construction of complex flood protection pumping stations and the delivery of multisite asset management projects.
In total we have delivered in excess of 670 projects as part of the WEM framework, but this hasn't been limited to the delivery of capital projects. Our engineering teams have also been required to respond to significant flood events and provide temporary flood defences, most notably in response to floods in 2014, and also following a significant breach that occurred at Wainfleet.
Delivering some of the UK's largest flood resilience schemes through the Environment Agency's Collaborative Delivery Framework (CDF)
Due to the variety and scale of projects delivered, the WEM framework formed a springboard for us to make significant strides in digital delivery. It also allowed us to link services such as flood forecasting into our project delivery, setting us up for future framework success. Evidence of this came when we were awarded a place on the Environment Agency's 2019 Collaborative Delivery Framework (CDF), becoming the sole supplier in the South East Hub. This resulted in further expansion, with our teams in Haywards Heath and Portsmouth growing and a requirement for delivery across the country. As part of our role on the framework, we have been instrumental in fostering a collaborative environment to aid the delivery of some of the current largest flood schemes in the country, including the Pevensey to Eastbourne Strategy and the Leigh Flood Storage Area upgrade. The scale of this work has again seen our services and the solutions we deliver evolve, with an increased focus now being on utilising nature-based solutions, delivering long-term climate resilience and alternatives to traditional flood risk management solutions.
As part of the Outstrays to Skeffling Managed Realignment Scheme, we supported the creation of more than 175 hectares of intertidal habitat, whilst also providing increased resilience to flooding to more than 400,000 residents living in the Humber floodplain.
From coastal modelling expertise to supporting the delivery of the UK's most innovative and high-profile coastal schemes
Coastal Engineering at JBA started to develop in 2012 with two coastal engineers joining our Haywards Heath office. Building on our existing coastal modelling expertise, we slowly fostered a reputation for the design and development of all aspects of coastal engineering scheme delivery, from strategic planning through optioneering, concept design, detailed design and construction support services.
Fast forward to 2025, and our team now comprises over 20 specialist coastal engineers and as a result of the multi-disciplinary nature of these schemes, we've also seen our Civil, Structural and Geotechnical Engineering and Environmental teams grow. Over the past decade, we are proud to have helped our clients deliver some of the most innovative and high-profile coastal schemes in the UK, including East Rhyl and Prestatyn, Brighton, Ventnor, Aberavon, The Mumbles and Pevensey and Eastbourne, to name but a few. We are now actively involved in the design and development of nature-based solutions and coastal adaptation, and hope to see a number of these schemes come forward over the coming years.
For more information about the evolution of our engineering services and how we can support you in the future, contact Chris Fosbeary, Head of Engineering.
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