MAIN FEATURE
Kier was impressed with the rapid installation, achieving over 200mper day; the minimum resource requirement; virtually no follow up work; efficiency and the significant reduction in programme risk.
Richard French Project Director M6 13-15 said: “In the first weeks of laying, outputs are better than expected and we are very pleased with the product. Any reduction in trades and numbers in what is a very constrained environment has to be seen as a positive’’
Aqua-Slot™ Drain has also gone on to be installed on M1, M23, M25 and M27 schemes where contractors have benefited as it can be trafficked as soon as installed allowing construction work to carry on around it without causing delays.
The precast concrete Aqua-Slot™ Drain system is available in four sizes as a linear drainage solution for schemes such as highways upgrades, dockyards, distribution centres and aviation, satisfying load criteria through to F900.
PRODUCTS
Saint-Gobain PAMUK at its foundry near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire remains at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of high-performance ductile iron access cover and grating solutions for infrastructure, civil engineering and the water and utilities sectors. The Saint-Gobain PAMrange of over 300 products offers enhanced performance in key areas such as durability, safety and security with the aim of contributing to the reduction of whole life costs.
Through the company’s involvement in a Nottingham University-led research programme, it has gained a valuable insight into how ironwork interacts with the surrounding road construction. By combining critical elements in the design, engineering
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and manufacture of its products, it can ensure and enhance long-term performance. Growth in traffic speed and density coupled with ever-changing climatic conditions is placing greater emphasis of the need to install high-performance, problem-free drainage solutions. We combine in- depth market knowledge and customer insight when developing solutions with enhanced features that aid in the reduction of future maintenance and improved water clearing capacity.
The specification and installation of assets that offer predictable performance are vital if the costs and disruption caused by streetworks are to be avoided. It is important to be aware of the standards and industry guidance, but not to rely on them if clients want to achieve the best whole life costs for the installation.
There are multiple factors to consider for a specification. What is the installation’s environment and location, will it be heavily trafficked? Is it important to secure the cover against theft or prevent access and what about safe access for authorised users? For safety is it worth considering anti-skid surfaces?
Finally, it is worth noting that such installations are a complete system. The best results come from specifying suitable products which includes not just the ironwork, but also the materials used to install them. More often than not failures are due to poor installation practice and it is incumbent on the whole supply chain to both train personnel and to check that best practice is followed.
The harsh truth is that the entire industry needs to improve. Over the last decade there have
| March 2021 |
www.draintraderltd.com
been many
independent studies on how typical carriageway installations behave when subjected to traffic flow. One of the more recent studies, conducted by a major customer of ironwork, surveyed 1,000 installations to discover that the failure rate was over 10%. The failures were attributed to poor specification and a neglected consideration on what is actually the right solution for each individual application.
It is a common phrase across the industry, but ‘supply chain management’ and improved collaboration really is key in delivering a better solution across our road networks. The final customer needs to understand the specifications, the installers need to adopt best practice and product providers need to lend their expertise in developing solutions.
A refocus on longevity is required to ensure a ‘right-first-time’ approach and to ensure whole-life-costs are transparent.
Trying to reduce whole life cost across the
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