Unitary Engineering Services

30/09/2026

We've been waiting for this shot since the day we broke ground.

From groundworks and concrete in the early weeks, through steel fabrication, cable management, and electrical installation, to this. First Bus Norwich is all but complete, and we couldn't be prouder of what the team has delivered.

Supporting First Bus on another stage of their net zero journey is something we don't take lightly. Depot electrification at this scale requires every discipline to come together without gaps, and that's precisely what happened here.

More to follow on the full project shortly.

22/09/2026

A closer look at what's going into the gantry at First Bus Norwich.

The drop-down charging reels you can see being installed here are an overhead solution designed specifically for depot-scale operations. Rather than taking up space at ground level, they hang from the gantry and retract when not in use, keeping the floor clear for staff and moving vehicles, reducing collision risk, and allowing buses to park closer together without navigating around floor-mounted hardware.

The quality of the electrical work going into this gantry reflects the standard we expect from teams we work with on projects at this scale. Getting the cable management, the control panels, and the reel installation right in this environment requires precision. These images show what that looks like in practice.

UES is delivering the Norwich depot as principal contractor for First Bus, managing the full programme from groundworks to commissioning.

17/09/2026

Should you appoint one contractor across the full scope or split it across specialists?

It's a legitimate question and the honest answer is that it depends on the project. But a few things are worth considering before defaulting to the multi-contractor route.

Coordination risk sits somewhere. On a project spanning mechanical, electrical, civils, and fit-out, if those disciplines aren't under one programme, managing the interfaces between them becomes someone's full-time job. Usually the client's.

Credentials matter differently at scale. When a project requires MCS certification, ISO 9001, CHAS Elite, NICEIC approval, and a contractor with the financial governance to manage a programme of meaningful size, finding four separate contractors who each meet the bar is a different exercise to finding one who does.

Accountability concentrates when it should. The more contractors involved, the more versions of events exist when something needs resolving.

None of this means a single contractor is always right, but it's a conversation worth having at the start of a project, not after the procurement decision has already been made.

15/09/2026

Norwich is almost complete.

Another First Bus depot electrification delivered. Photography and a case study to follow, but this drone shot speaks for itself.

More to come!

02/09/2026

We are currently wrapping up a full refurbishment at a school in the New Forest, where we've been working across May half term and the summer holidays to avoid any disruption to term time.

The scope covered:

- Demolition and strip-out to form new layouts
- New stud walls, doors, and a sliding partition
- Two rebuilt toilet blocks
- A new breakout room
- M&E and ventilation
- Flooring throughout, and an external accessible walkway

Alongside this, we carried out the enabling works for the relocation of a cookery facility, coordinating access and service routes with the third-party contractor delivering the kitchen fit-out. Getting that sequencing right, so two separate teams could work the same space without getting in each other's way, was as much a part of the job as the trades themselves.

Final testing, snagging, and handover are now being completed ahead of the September return.

27/08/2026

Insider Media covered our story this week.

40 years in business, a record year of trading on the horizon, and a business that looks very different to the one Roger Griffiths founded in Bristol in 1986. All while keeping the same values that made it work in the first place.

Growing demand for electrification, decarbonisation, and renewable energy has driven our strongest period of growth yet. Solar PV, heat pumps, EV infrastructure, and large-scale building electrification now sit alongside our established mechanical and electrical services, and that breadth is what's driving the record year.

As our Managing Director Adam says in the piece: "Forty years is a milestone, but we're not looking backwards."

Full article in the comments.

A Bristol engineering business with 40 years of experience behind it is heading for its strongest year yet.

26/08/2026

We're incredibly pleased to share that UES is now officially ISO 9001 certified.

ISO 9001 is the internationally recognised standard for quality management systems. Achieving it means our processes, from initial survey through to project handover, are documented, audited, and consistently applied across every project we deliver.

For us, it formalises what we've always aimed for: a structured, repeatable approach to quality that doesn't depend on who's on site or which project is running.

For our clients, particularly those in defence, manufacturing, healthcare, and industrial sectors, it matters for a different reason. Procurement frameworks in these sectors increasingly require contractors to demonstrate that their quality standards are independently verified rather than self-certified. ISO 9001 gives procurement teams and Estates Managers that assurance before the conversation has even started.

Combined with our CHAS Elite accreditation, NICEIC approval, MCS certification, and B Corp status, it completes a credentials framework that positions UES to work at the level our clients expect.

Proud of the team for getting this over the line.

21/08/2026

Work is well underway at Fonthill Primary School in Bristol.

We're replacing the school's existing one-pipe heating system with a modern, more efficient solution. The installation covers 60 new heat emitters across the classrooms, new pipework feeding fan convector units and LST radiators throughout the building.

One of the more interesting challenges on this project has been routing the new pipework within an existing building. A significant portion is being installed across the roof, allowing the heating infrastructure to operate effectively throughout the school without compromising the finished spaces inside.

Replacing a one-pipe system with modern technology makes a meaningful difference to how efficiently a building heats. For Fonthill, it means a more reliable, better-performing system for staff and pupils from the moment the new term starts.

With a fixed six-week window before the children return, coordination is everything. That's what the summer holiday is for.

20/08/2026

The drop-down chargers are going in at Norwich.

What looked like groundworks and steel a few weeks ago is now starting to look like what it actually is: EV charging infrastructure for the next generation of electric buses.

The depot is taking shape!

18/08/2026

A closer look at what planned maintenance actually uncovers.

These are from a recent school visit this summer. Gas pressure checks, system water quality testing, boiler servicing across multiple buildings on a single site. The kind of work that doesn’t make headlines but keeps a building running reliably when it needs to.

What you are looking at tells its own story: contaminated system water, worn components, pipework that has been under pressure for years without attention. Left unchecked, these aren’t dramatic failures waiting to happen. They’re gradual deterioration that quietly costs more to fix than it ever would have to prevent.

This is why planned maintenance exists. Not to tick a box, but to find the things that would otherwise go unnoticed until they become urgent.

September is looming!