UKSSH HELPS EQUIP SCAFFOLDING LTD CONTROL THE TIDE
While King Canute famously failed to hold back the tide in the 12th Century, Equip Scaffolding Ltd – with a little help from UKSSH – came up with a solution to manage the tide at Dover Docks nine centuries later!
Equip Scaffolding Ltd were tasked with providing a safe workspace to enable bridge bearing replacement works to take place on the elevated roadway and ramps at the Port of Dover in Kent.
The project, carried out by Volker Laser Ltd for the Dover Harbour Board, included the design and operation of a synchronised jacking system, removal and replacement of 32 bridge bearings and the blasting and repainting of the existing ramp structures.
The challenge was to design and build a scaffold which would be partly submerged by the tide twice a day and which could also cope with the tidal wave movement.
The solution, designed by Creator Scaffold Designs, combined Haki System Scaffold supplied by UKSSH and tube and fittings and involved a central supporting scaffold horse with a trussed perimeter access scaffold linked to the quayside with a bridged walkway accessed by a Haki Staircase.
Working near water meant there were additional health and safety measures required. The scaffolders all had to wear life jackets, tethered tools and twin tailed lanyards; inertia reels were also used in some areas of the install. There was also a standby rescue craft present throughout the scaffold installation aided by a point of works lookout.
Troy Galt, Director at Equip Scaffolding Ltd, commented: “Working over and near water is always challenging, even more so when you have to deal with tide timetables! We overcame this challenge by organising site meetings to watch tide actions and planning a window of low tide times to start and install the main horse scaffolding - this was a key part of getting it right. We had a very accurate programme jointly created by ourselves and the Volker Laser site team for the installation of the scaffold, along with a carefully selected team of scaffolders and a very competent scaffolding supervisor.
Troy concluded: “The project was completed safely and incident free, on time and in budget. We also had great feedback from the DHB port site team complementing our workforce’s professionalism and attitude to safety”.
Download the case study here.