A specialist decommissioning consultancy has strengthened its leadership team as the company prepares for further growth.

London-headquartered RVA Group has appointed Nick Clark as Operations Manager. With a wealth of experience working in high hazard environments, he joins this organisation following 15 years’ management in the offshore and onshore oil sector.

Proficiently skilled in the running, maintenance, and decommissioning of multifaceted plants, Nick will play a key role in the increasingly complex projects that RVA is consistently securing. He is a chartered member of IOSH, with a vast portfolio of EHS, CDM, asbestos management and quality assurance training, and has helped to form and develop a number of multi-skilled teams in his previous roles.

Nick’s appointment coincides with RVA’s 25th year in business. During this time, the company has completed over 700 complex, high-hazard and large-scale decommissioning, dismantling and demolition projects in the petrochemical, chemical, power generation, oil, gas and pharmaceutical sectors. In addition to providing support for the physical removal of process plants, RVA is also being increasingly called upon to develop detailed strategic medium and long-term redundant asset management plans.

But the company does not rest on its laurels, comments founder and Managing Director Richard Vann: “We have an enviable – yet justifiable – reputation in this niche field, and to mark 25 successful years in business is a testament to the hard work of everyone within our 15-strong team.

“However, we’re here to build an RVA fit for the future too. So, as we prepare for the next 25 years in business, we need to continuously bring in fresh, dynamic talent that will enable us to push new boundaries as industry challenges evolve. Nick is one of five members of a new leadership structure, which will take us confidently into the next decade and beyond.”

RVA is not just investing in new team members. The company is also continuing to sponsor targeted personnel development plans, and has recently implemented a £30,000 cloud infrastructure to improve the efficiency, flexibility and security of the team’s work.

Elaborating on ‘life at RVA’, Richard continues: “Due to the inherently hazardous nature of the sites we’re brought in to manage, it’s never a case of simply appointing a contractor to pull a plant down. There are an array of front-end engineering works to be carried out including structural surveys, feasibility studies, isolation design and decommissioning strategies, before anyone else even comes on to site.

“Then the appropriate decommissioning, dismantling and demolition works ensue, with – in some cases – a proportion of assets suitable for relocation or resale. For us, the more complex the site the better. We have some of the industry’s most skilled professionals in our team who can add significant value to such projects. But they need a robust environment in which to thrive hence the continued investment in the company.”

RVA now has a truly global presence having recently completed projects in Canada, the US, France and the Netherlands, to name just a few. Over the last four years the company’s Singapore branch has also been fully engaged in the management of the three largest decommissioning and dismantling projects ever carried out on Jurong Island, the country’s vast industrial heartland.