The lighting inside the Aquatics Centre is spectacular
The ODA’s intention was to promote best practice through every aspect of the Olympic Park project
The British Swimming Olympic qualifying trials were held at the Aquatics Centre in March 2012
Early preparation work for building on the site
Centre, says: ‘The modular systems were designed using the latest software, before being manufactured off-site in a quality-controlled facility using the latest high-performance components and sub-assembly techniques. A factory- controlled environment improves overall quality of products, and systems can be fully checked, tested and signed-off prior to being delivered on site.’
Close collaboration
Owing to the sheer scale of the task at hand, the Aquatics Centre project required excellent planning, coordination and collaboration from all parties working on the project. To make sure that the it ran smoothly, all the various trades would gather on a Friday morning to air any comments, grievances and frustrations, which would all be ironed out. Colin Tofts says: ‘This was an excellent way to make sure that any issues were immediately addressed in an open forum. It engendered a real sense of being “all in this together” and, just as importantly, avoided the creation of a blame culture.’ In addition to the weekly meetings, daily activity briefi ngs
About the author
Rob Shepherd Rob Shepherd is a freelance journalist and regular contributor to ECA Today. He has worked in the electrical contracting industry for more than 12 years.
were carried out to inform all those working on-site of any changes as they happened, and the risks associated with any new operational procedures were fully explained. The Olympic Park’s strictly-defi ned health and safety policy had to be adhered to at all times and, for Marcoe, one of the key issues in this regard was that much of its work had to be carried out at height – often in the roof void that, at its highest point, is 45m from the ground. This involved full use of harnesses, safety netting and elevated platforms. All of its operatives had to undergo specialist training for working at height and Tofts comments: ‘This was another area where a close working relationship with other
38 ECA Today July 2012
companies was essential, especially since our work often involved working alongside the mechanical engineers at the same time. Also, we had to complete a lot of this work on a tight timescale. Needless to say, high risk and high speed are not usually happy cousins but, in this case, meticulous planning ensured that everyone remained safe at all times.’
Green thinking Sustainability was at the very heart of the entire Olympic Park development project, and the Aquatics Centre was no exception. All the products installed at the Aquatics Centre had to have industry-leading environmental and energy effi ciency credentials. Therefore, low power LED-based lighting and containment products were chosen where the manufacturing process was a sustainable as possible. Tofts comments: ‘This process was rigorous, and where materials were sourced, the manufacturer had to provide detailed information about exactly how the products were manufactured and data about their carbon footprints.’ However, it wasn’t just the products that had to be sustainable. Each and every company involved with the project had to demonstrate a green approach to their activities. Marcoe initiated a strict policy of recycling and encouraged manufacturers and distributors to reduce the amount of packaging used to deliver items such as luminaires. Some 60 per cent of materials by weight were also delivered to site by rail or water transport, beating a target of 50 per cent, and dramatically reducing vehicle movements and the resulting carbon emissions. Tofts adds: ‘The objective was to get all operatives onto public transport. However, where this was not practical, we purchased our own 18-seat minibuses to get them on site.
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