WET News

14 WET NEWS JUly 2017 Electricity, gas, and water infrastructure projects are notorious for running beyond schedule and for being problematic for work crews to gain easy access to sites. Cubis Systems' Stephen Warke reveals all. Timing key for infrastructure schemes INSIGHT Construction management T ime is money — a phrase heard on worksites across the country. With so many unavoidable, lengthy processes in any construction or infrastructure projects, manufacturers are constantly looking for new ways to combat these stresses. One time consuming process is the setting and curing of concrete, a material which has dominated utility and water infrastructure projects for years. Concrete can set in as little as 24 to 48 hours, but this is for a basic project. For sites where utility kiosks and access chambers are being installed, site teams must wait anything up to two weeks before they can bring in heavy equipment and complete the job. Driven by proposed fines of up to £5,000 a day for leaving roadworks unmanned at evenings and weekends from the Department for Transport (DfT), utilities companies and councils are looking to other solutions to reduce time strains. As a result, many are opting for prefabricated, composite THE CONCEPT • The Stakkabox Ultima Connect and RapidSTACK are prefabricated, composite chambers • This style of chamber does not require a concrete surround • Flat-pack delivery also means easy and cheaper transportation NEED TO KNOW 1 For sites where utility kiosks and access chambers are being installed, teams must wait up to two weeks before bringing in heavy equipment 2 Two weeks of additional work would cost more than £1,100 per worker 3 leaving roadworks unmanned at evenings and weekends could lead to fines of up to £5,000 THE VERDICT "As time and financial pressures continue to put strain on construction sites across the country, site managers must look for alternatives to the traditional and expected products they are used to using " Stephen Warke chambers, such as our Stakkabox Ultima Connect and RapidSTACK range. This style of chamber does not require a concrete surround and has an innovative design which gives it strength to withstand both vertical and horizontal loads when backfilled with compacted MOT type 1. This design also means the chambers can be installed in a matter of minutes, rather than hours or days. Knock-on effect Delays resulting from the use of concrete have a serious knock-on effect. Increased staff expenditure because of overrunning projects, or the need for extra staff to get the project completed on time, can lead to budget overspends and revenue losses. The average construction worker's hourly rate, according to PayScale.com, is £10.21, and just two weeks of additional work would cost more than £1,100 per worker — a cost that is entirely avoidable. With traditional access chamber systems, it can o—en take numerous workers multiple days to get the job done. However, systems like Stakkabox and RapidSTACK are lightweight enough to be HSE compliant for a 'one man li—', meaning less people required to complete the build safely. It is a cliché, but time really is money, and even without watching concrete dry complex, onsite installations can cause projects to drag on. This is why Cubis Systems has invested in developing flat- pack products that can be assembled very quickly. Not only does this save time, it also means that construction firms do not have to worry about spending money on large areas of storage space. Flat-pack delivery also means easy and cheaper transportation — a suitable solution for getting materials to remote or hard to reach rural locations. Financial pressures Alternatively, Highways cham- bers can be supplied to the motorway compound fully assembled, resulting in a hassle free, super quick installation, providing savings on project costs. Just when you think you are done, there are still the housing kiosks to install. By selecting kiosks that work seamlessly with the installed chamber system, like the RapidSTACK chamber and the MCC Kiosk, there are even more time and money saving opportunities to capitalise on. The MCC Kiosk is built off- site to personalised speci- fications, and when combined with the RapidSTACK chamber offers a high quality, low maintenance, long-life kiosk and chamber system, with significantly reduced material and installation costs. As time and financial pressures continue to put strain on construction sites across the country, site managers must look for alternatives to the traditional and expected products they are used to using. There are plenty of other options available that have been designed to beat the 'time is money' challenge. n Stephen Warke is national sales manager (UK and Ireland) at Cubis Systems. • The need for extra staff to get projects completed on time can lead to budget overspends

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