When thousands of UK buildings were found to contain a dangerous material, demolition was widely seen as the only answer, we believed there had to be a better solution.

This year, Michael Aubrey Structural Engineers was named Berkshire’s Construction & Engineering Company of the Year 2025 at the UK Business Awards for Berkshire and also received the Award of Excellence for Structural Engineering Services.

The recognition reflects not only our technical expertise but also our commitment to solving the UK’s toughest structural challenges in ways that protect people, places, and budgets.

One of the key reasons for our recognition is our Structural Detective™ methodology a proactive, approach to uncovering hidden structural issues before they become critical.

This means spotting:

  • Movement or subsidence
  • Historical alterations that weaken a structure
  • Environmental damage
  • Material degradation

By combining site investigation, diagnostics, and decades of engineering judgment, we give asset managers, developers, and public bodies the clarity they need to protect buildings and lives long before disaster strikes.

Award for RAAC Engineering John Staves


“We don’t just respond to failure we help clients understand the warning signs and avoid future risk,” says 

John Staves CEng FIStructE, Managing Director


The Problem That Needed a New Solution

Our approach to problem-solving was put to the test with Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) a material now known to pose serious safety risks in thousands of UK schools, hospitals, housing blocks, and public buildings.

While the usual fix has been demolition and costly rebuilds, we believed there had to be a better way.

RAAC Fix

John led the engineering design of the UK’s first in-situ structural repair solution for RAAC.

Instead of tearing down essential buildings, we engineered a solution to strengthen RAAC planks

This repair is:

  • Non-intrusive – no need to close or demolish the building
  • Cost-effective – saving millions in public money
  • Proven – independently verified, structurally certified, and already in use

As John explains:

“At a time when the UK is facing major infrastructure challenges, we’re proud to be delivering practical, innovative, and permanent solutions that protect both people and places.”

A Visit from Clive Jones MP

Our RAAC work has also caught the attention of local leaders.

clive jones MP

Image credit: Wokingham Today

Recently, we welcomed Clive Jones MP to our offices, where we shared our award-winning repair solution.

Clive was particularly interested in how our in-situ CFRP method avoids demolition, keeps essential buildings in use, and saves millions in public funds, all while ensuring safety.

He asked thoughtful questions about the technical process, the scale of the RAAC issue across the UK, and how innovation like this can support government priorities on infrastructure and sustainability.

John staves and Clive jones MP


We were encouraged by his offer to help raise awareness of our approach within government, showing that practical, cost-effective solutions to RAAC are not only possible but already here.


Why This Matters for the UK’s Built Environment

With over 30 years in the industry, we’ve learned three guiding principles:

  1. Preserve wherever possible
  2. Engineer with clarity
  3. Deliver with integrity

Whether it’s RAAC remediation, structural assessments, or advanced investigations, our approach is always about innovation without disruption.

As the UK’s infrastructure continues to age, we’re proving that engineering can be both technically brilliant and people-focused solving problems in ways that create safety, sustainability, and value for the long term.

About Michael Aubrey Structural Engineers
Founded over 30 years ago, Michael Aubrey Structural Engineers is a UK-based consultancy specialising in complex structural challenges. We work with commercial clients, developers, education trusts, public bodies, and asset managers across the UK, delivering solutions with integrity, clarity, and innovation.

Need structural advice? Call us on 0118 962 9666


For clients, selecting the right Structural Engineer can make or break a project. But with the market flooded by individuals with varying levels of qualifications and experience, how can you tell the difference between an expert and someone unqualified to make critical structural decisions?

  • The hidden costs of errors

The truth is, a lack of expertise may not be evident—until it’s too late. Poorly designed structures can lead to increased construction costs, delays, or even safety risks.

  • Lower fees seem appealing

On paper, less experienced engineers may seem appealing due to lower fees, but the hidden costs of errors, redesigns, or failed inspections can far outweigh any initial savings.

  • Anticipate challenges before they arise

Chartered Structural Engineers bring invaluable benefits to your project; 

  • Years of training
  • accreditation
  • hands-on experience and
  • ensure designs that are not only compliant with building regulations but also optimised for cost-efficiency and long-term durability.

Qualified structural engineers anticipate challenges before they arise, offering innovative solutions that will save you time and money.

What qualifications should you look for?

When appointing a structural engineer, you should look for the following qualifications and attributes to ensure you hire a competent and trustworthy professional:

Formal Education and Accreditation

Professional Certifications

  • Look for Chartered status, such as CEng MIStructE (member of the Institution of Structural Engineers or CEng FIStructE (fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers)  which demonstrates advanced qualifications and experience way beyond Masters Graduate.

Relevant Experience

  • Experience with similar projects, whether it’s residential, commercial, or industrial structures.
  • Expertise in addressing the specific challenges of your project (e.g., structural assessments, or defect diagnosis.

Knowledge of Building Regulations / Building Safety Act

  • Familiarity with building regulations and compliance requirements to ensure safety and legal adherence.
  • The Building Safety Act requires Clients to appoint competent designers

Communication and Collaboration Skills

  • A good structural engineer should be able to clearly explain technical concepts and work effectively with property owners, architects and contractors

Reputation and References

  • Positive reviews, recommendations, or case studies from previous clients.
  • Examples of completed projects that align with your needs.

Professional Insurance

  • Ensure the engineer carries Professional Indemnity Insurance, which protects you in case of errors or omissions in their work. What level of indemnity is provided? Is the cover adequate for your project?

Working with experienced professionals ensures confidence in your project’s success. Clients can rely on solutions that are both structurally sound and financially sustainable.

Don’t gamble on one of the biggest investments you’ll make; choose a structural engineer who can deliver expertise, precision, and reliability.

Feedback

Have you hired a structural engineer before? What was your experience like? Did you feel you received good value, or did the service leave you disappointed?

We’d love to hear about your experience …

As a commercial property owner or manager, your building is one of your most valuable assets. However, maintaining and maximising the lifespan of your property can be a costly challenge—especially when structural issues emerge unexpectedly. That’s where structural engineers come in. They don’t just solve problems when they arise; they play a vital role in preventing costly repairs and even extending the useful life of your building, ultimately saving you money in the long run.

In this post, we’ll explore how a proactive approach to structural engineering can keep your commercial property in top condition while protecting your bottom line.

Structural Engineers for Commercial Property – Early Detection of Issues

Many structural issues are invisible to the untrained eye, silently eroding the integrity of your building over time. Cracks in walls, uneven flooring, or even subtle shifts in the building’s foundation can be early signs of structural stress. Left unchecked, these issues can snowball into expensive repairs or, worse, require extensive rebuilding.

Structural engineers conduct regular assessments and detailed inspections to detect these problems early.

structural engineers for commercial property


By identifying potential weak points and implementing targeted repairs or reinforcements, they can stop damage before it escalates. The result? You avoid major disruptions, and the cost of minor repairs is a fraction of what you’d pay to fix a larger problem.


Optimising Maintenance Plans

One of the biggest mistakes commercial property owners make is adopting a reactive maintenance strategy—fixing issues as they occur. This “band-aid” approach can result in unforeseen expenses and may shorten your building’s lifespan.

RAAC inspection

Structural engineers help you shift from a reactive to a proactive maintenance plan. By understanding the materials and design of your building, they can recommend tailored maintenance schedules that address the specific vulnerabilities of your property. These strategies not only help extend the lifespan of your building but also allow for more predictable maintenance budgets, reducing unexpected costs.

Strengthening Aging Structures

Even the most well-built structures degrade over time due to natural wear and tear, environmental stressors, and changing usage patterns. However, structural engineers specialise in assessing aging buildings and devising solutions that restore and enhance their structural integrity. Through reinforcement techniques like retrofitting or upgrading building materials, engineers can breathe new life into older properties.

These upgrades can also improve the building’s safety, energy efficiency, and overall market value, making it a smart investment for property owners looking to maximise returns on aging assets.

Extending Usable Life with Sustainable Solutions

Sustainability has become a crucial consideration in the commercial property sector. Green buildings are in high demand, and there’s growing pressure to make existing structures more sustainable. Structural engineers can identify opportunities for incorporating environmentally friendly solutions, such as energy-efficient reinforcements or sustainable materials that extend the life of your building while reducing its carbon footprint.

This dual benefit—extending the building’s lifespan and making it more attractive to eco-conscious tenants or investors—can lead to significant long-term savings and increased property value.

Reducing Insurance Premiums

Another overlooked benefit of working with structural engineers is the potential reduction in insurance premiums. By maintaining the structural integrity of your building and taking preventative measures, you can demonstrate to insurers that your property is less of a risk. This often results in lower premiums, adding yet another layer of financial savings.

Conclusion: A Smart Investment in Longevity

Investing in a structural engineer is more than just a safeguard for your commercial property—it’s a strategic decision that can yield significant financial returns. By catching issues early, optimising maintenance plans, and strengthening aging structures, engineers can extend the life of your building and help you avoid expensive, unexpected repairs.

In the long run, this proactive approach doesn’t just save you money; it ensures the longevity and value of your property for years to come. So, if you want to maximise the lifespan of your building and protect your investment, working with a structural engineer is one of the smartest decisions you can make.

You’ve probably had more than enough COVID-19 updates from random companies, but I thought it important to keep you informed of Michael Aubrey’s plans to support you through this difficult period.

We have team members working remotely. All of our systems are cloud based, so we are continuing as normal, although with reduced team numbers.

Safety of our team and our customers takes priority, so at the moment survey work is limited to sites where the work assists essential services and the Government / Public Health England social distancing guidance can be followed.

Desk based Structural assessments and design work are continuing as normal, taking full advantage of existing survey data and video call technology – getting to grips with Zoom and “MS Teams” has been a challenge!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers. We will continue to serve you as effectively as possible through what are very uncertain times for everyone.

Although our physical doors are temporarily closed, please do get in touch with me directly in the first instance if you have an issue as we are only on the other end of the phone / email.

We wish you the best of health and keep safe.

John

john.staves@mapl.co.uk

UPDATE: 6 April 2020, we are continuing to work, however our physical office is now closed. 

Best way to get in touch with us is via email:  covid-19@mapl.co.uk or leave a message on 0118 962 9666 and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Take care.

Today I’m talking to John Staves, our Managing Director about the issues of maintaining drill towers and external fire escapes and the need for regular structural checks.

Why Are Regular Maintenance Inspections So Important?

You have a safety obligation as an owner of that structure to maintain it in a reasonable way so that it doesn’t cause injury to anybody using it.

Regular maintenance inspections allows you to;

  • head off serious problems, which if left unchecked, can be far more costly
  • to identify problems before they become major issues and helps you avoid any unplanned maintenance activity
  • Increase the life expectancy of your drill towers and / or external staircases

How Often Should You Carry Out Maintenance Inspections?

I think maintenance inspections to check the structure every three years is sensible.

But this might be increased if you are in a more aggressive environment eg coastal where you have got marine effects on corrosion.

What Are The Main Cause of Deterioration?

External Staircases

Typically it’s weather exposure because they are external structures – they are bound to deteriorate over time.

Even a galvanised structure has a life to it. Just because it’s galvanised doesn’t mean it will last forever – you still have to schedule regular inspections!

Sometimes it’s poor initial design details, for example where a design has allowed water to pond in a particular location.

Sometimes it’s just a matter of age.

Drill Towers – Masonry Structures

Not only do they have the normal weathering environment (masonry does need re-pointing over a period of time anyway) but it’s accelerated on a drill tower because of the drill practice.

Most drill towers are subject to high pressure hosing (usually around first floor level) often there is damage to the surface of the brickwork, which would need identifying and treating.

Typically What Involvement Have You Had With Structural Assessments Of Drill Towers And External Staircases?

We have carried out 50 + of inspections of external staircases and drill towers across the UK for Fire Authorities and commercial customers.

Mainly as part of an on-going maintenance program, but recently we were called into a commercial property where they’d had a fire.

The fire brigade had attended the site and criticised the external fire escape. The owners of the building appointed us carry out a full structural assessment the condition of the fire escape and report on our findings.

What Do You Report On?

We visit sites and carry out a visual structural survey of the building fabric. We inspect staircases, platforms, walkways, ladders and drill towers.

We provide a Structural Inspection Report which includes a Schedule of Defects.

The Structural Report would;

  • identify any structural defects on, or around the staircase/drill tower
  • identify the causes of the defect
  • suggest remedial works, the urgency of repair and maintenance options

Planned Maintenance

We operate on a Red, Amber and Green system, helping you identify issues that are most urgent so you can plan your maintenance more efficiently.

red amber green

For example, for one of our customers we had identified a number of staircases within their portfolio that required external painting.

They were able to package together the work so that the contractors could move efficiently from site to site and carry out the work for the lower cost.

Why Use A Structural Engineer To Carry Out An Assessments And Not A Surveyor?

Fundamentally drill towers and external staircases are structures.

If you are looking for a relevant competent person it makes sense that a structural engineer inspects the structure.

A good structural engineer will have knowledge of the actual structure and general building fabric. Drill towers are loadbearing structures, so it’s all structure and a structural engineer would be the most appropriate person to make the assessment.

Generally we are not looking at general building defects, we are talking about defects that affect the structural components – which is usually the basis of safety.

If your structure is failing – that’s a safety issue.

Are you responsible for the maintenance of any external staircases or drill towers?

When was the last time you carried out a Health Check on your External Staircases / Drill Towers?

Why not book a no obligation telephone consultation to find out how we could help you fulfill your Health & Safety obligations. Call us today on 0118 962 9666.

Testimonials

“Having worked well with Michael Aubrey Partnership before, they were an obvious choice to undertake structural assessments of external staircases/drill towers.

They surveyed a number of sites across a large geographical area. Their reports were clear and concise and the “Red, Amber, Green” assessment helped us easily identify sites where remedial work was urgent.

Using this information we were able to plan our maintenance programme in the most efficient way”.

Graeme Major, Estate and Facilities Manager, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service

“Michael Aubrey Partnership helped me massively with the assessment of our external fire escapes.

You identified a major risk with the structures of our fire escapes which led to us condemning one of them. 

This has ensured that swift action could be taken to mitigate the risk to persons using the structure. Everyone I spoke with was very polite and helpful. 

The reports were clear and issued within a short timescale. 

I would like to thank you as I know that I added some pressure to complete the report as quickly as possible in view of the seriousness of the findings – thank you. I would recommend Michael Aubrey Partnership to friends and colleagues”.

Boundless by CSMA

Do you have an external stair case that requires a Structural Assessment?

contact us