FEATURE SPONSOR


MET MASTS


WORKING AT HEIGHT TRAINING SCHOOL 8point8 have their own specialist ‘Working at Height’ training school on site at the head office in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. This purpose built, state of the art facility caters for a wide range of courses relevant for any industry who work at height.


Being fully accredited to deliver GWO approved courses (with partners Safety Technology Ltd), they can deliver the following: Working at Height, Manual Handling, Fire Awareness and First Aid courses, all of which are GWO certified.


COMPANY PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT


8point8 was fundamentally a rigging company who specialised in the telecom installations. One of the biggest costs to the company was training, as certifications need to be renewed yearly (certainly in the Working at Height industry). As part of the diversification strategy a purpose-built Training school was built on site to cater for the needs of the 8point8 teams. Not designed to purely cater for internal staff, the training centre now has the capability to train people on a wide range of courses from a multitude of industries. GWO courses however still remain the main focus.


TACAMO NARROWS BRIDGE – FROM TRAGEDY CAME LESSONS This was brought to the fore when a bridge in Washington DC bore the effect of natural frequency (technical term being coincide and oscillating) resulting in the tragic demise of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge on July 1st 1940.


Explained as Physics of Resonance – agitating and break up – this is a potential issue with offshore installations if this does not coincide with wave frequency. Thankfully now with modern technology calculations can be made and data computed to provide analysis whereupon the systems designers are able to make imperative changes. To quote Trond: “Utilise experience and home-in to be very precise.”


He continues to cover a project in France where cameras/video were situated in all four corners of the mast platform monitoring the met station.


His client had received a call from marine port maintenance stating a navigation light was out. Video cameras were activated remotely and a video in real-time forwarded to the client confirming it was working, hence no need to go out; no risk assessment needed, no risk in bad weather to access the platform – on land and in the own comfort of the office.


FACTOID – 8POINT8


I was intrigued as to the origins of the company name and enquired... perhaps I’m being dim but an interesting factoid: 8.8 is a strength of steel on a bolt. The property class is normally stamped on the head of the bolt. The two figures indicate the tensile and yield strengths of the bolt or screw. These strengths are replicated throughout the company and are the reason why 8point8 was chosen for a company name. I feel educated now!!


During our conversations Martin goes on to say that within the last six to seven years masts have progressed from 60/70 metres to 100/120 metres, and has just recently quoted for one for 150 metres! Technology it would seem is unstoppable. To add to their skills set the company offers de-commissioning, telemetry, vertical fall arrest systems and the option to hire/supply torque.


THE UNUSUAL….


Their expertise has been called on to attend far flung destinations around the


8POINT8 WEBSITE


WIDER GROUP 8POINT8


RADIUS WEBSITE


www.windenergynetwork.co.uk 71


IN A NUTSHELL… Their company ethos: “Can do – Will do represent work done first time every time”


TO SUMMISE… Alas that adage of restricted column inches prevails yet again, however it would seem an appropriate conclusion to a ‘taster’ for these two companies. We shall look forward to catching up with both companies and reading of their continued successful forecasts in future issues.


Fliss Chaffer Interviewer extraordinaire


8point8 Group Limited & Radius Tech Limited


globe to supply, install and maintain masts in the remotest of places.


If conditions are challenging then they adapt, none more so than in Scotland and Scandinavia – in snow, boggy land they must deal with conditions which prove to be almost impossible as ground conditions are less than amenable, however adaptation is their middle name, equipment was delivered on military vehicles as a solution in some cases.


Martin goes on to say it’s not unusual to charter helicopters to inhospitable locations and fly the equipment in – where there’s a will there’s a way!!!


SCAN/CLICK


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