Water and Effluent Treatment Magazine
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/879866
OCTOBER 2015 WET NEWS 9 Lean and efficient thinking • Cost, efficiency, and health and safety issues can be significantly reduced when buyers take the leap of faith and use offsite builds, says Weholite's Simon Thomas. the next evolution of the con- struction industry. What still has some catching up to do is the mind-set of the industry as a whole. When mod- ular products cost more upfront, buyers can be tempted to stick to traditional practices they have become accustomed to. It is once they have seen the quality of Weholite first-hand and wit- nessed the real, tangible busi- ness benefits of the product that they are likely to keep coming back for more. They also realise quickly that the overall cost of the product is significantly reduced when you consider time savings and a reduction in the need for heavy-li•ing and health and safety equipment. Take one of our recent projects with housebuilder Lovell as an example. A former brownfield site at Eversley Road in Norfolk was set to undergo an extensive redevelopment that would see the creation of 67 new high-quality homes in the area. Initially, the Firs Park devel- opment site was mapped out with a concrete attenuation sys- tem in mind – but this was to change. Having worked with us on a previous project and gained a thorough understanding of the speed of production and deliv- ery, as well as the versatility of our products, Allan Russell, director of Russell Civil Engi- neering, switched to a Weholite system instead. Russell says: "Having experi- enced first-hand the benefits of opting for a Weholite system, I felt strongly that using the prod- ucts was the right decision for this project. From experience, ONSITE COnSTRuCTiOn The manholes and chambers can be delivered quickly, ready to be installed and connected within minutes use Weholite in future projects." We provided 12 manholes for the project as well as 185m of 1,050mm and 900mm diameter pipework and an additional 6m of bespoke pipework cut to the exact lengths required to finish runs. Speaking about the role Asset played at the Lovell Firs Park development, our techni- cal sales engineer, Jonny John- son, says: "The fact that this project originally planned to install a concrete attenuation system, yet ultimately imple- mented a Weholite HDPE system on the advice of skilled and knowledgeable engineers who had previously worked with us on another project, speaks vol- umes about the Weholite product. "This was the first time that we had used Weholite on the Anglian Water framework, which meant that we encoun- tered a few issues which were quickly resolved and we are pleased that the client has cho- sen to use product on multiple projects. "Spreading awareness about the capabilities of Weholite and making believers out of those in charge of construction projects across the UK is something we are passionate about. And so it is hugely gratifying to see the people behind projects like this really assessing the options available to them and coming to the conclusion that Weholite really is the best product for the job." n Simon Thomas is managing direc- tor of Weholite. M odern manufacturing has turned lean philos- ophy into a fine art. Simply put, it is all about reduc- ing waste, cost and effort while at the same time increasing quality, efficiency, and profitability. Take Toyota as a case in point; largely recognised for trail-blazing lean manufactur- ing practices in John Krafcik's 1988 article, Triumph of the Lean Production System, the automotive manufacturer is now a global leader in its field. It is doing something right. How does the idea of repli- cating and perfecting this tech- nique for the construction industry sound to you? Just a cursory glance at the benefits of leanness and efficiency leaves you in no doubt that the con- struction industry would benefit immensely from being able to replicate the principles of fac- tory manufacturing, including the concept of factory fabrication. What is more, the risks that accompany traditional con- struction processes are well documented; cost, efficiency, and health and safety issues can be significantly reduced when buyers take the leap of faith of opting to use offsite builds. That is where Weholite comes in. Our manholes and chambers are truly revolution- ary products that can remove weeks from programme delivery times with ease. Delivered quickly, ready to be installed and connected within minutes, it is no far-fetched claim to sug- gest that these products mark I'd seen just how versatile and high quality the product is in comparison to others we have used previously. We were impressed by how effectively and efficiently the Weholite team worked, saving us time on our project schedule." We are renowned for our ability to create innovative, bespoke solutions for our clients when they come up against all kinds of challenges. But this particular project shines a light on Weholite for another reason entirely. The Firs Park project was straightforward. Weholite was not called upon to meet a particular issue or solve a spe- cific problem. Instead, our prod- uct was used because it was the best one for the job. In terms of production speed, efficiency, and long-term benefits, our product was favourable over and above anything competitors could offer. Trevor Haystead, regional operations director at Lovell, says: "We are committed to sourcing the best and most effi- cient products and procedures for all our projects. Taking the decision to use Weholite prod- ucts in place of concrete pipes has enabled work at the Firs Park development to take place more efficiently than was ini- tially anticipated. "As it was our first time using Weholite, we had to overcome some initial challenges pre- sented by stakeholders who were unfamiliar with the prod- uct, however, these were effec- tively resolved and we are pleased with the outcomes of the project and have resolved to ProjEcT SPEcS • Create and supply an attenuation system for a new housing development TEchKNoW • 12 manholes were supplied for the project • 185m of 1,050mm and 900mm diameter pipework was used • An additional 6m of bespoke pipework cut to the exact lengths were also required to finish runs ThE VErDIcT "As it was our first time using Weholite, we had to overcome some initial challenges presented by stakeholders who were unfamiliar with the product, however, these were effectively resolved and we are pleased with the outcomes" Trevor Haystead, Lovell NEED To KNoW 1 initially, the Firs Park development site was mapped out to feature a concrete attenuation system 2 The Firs Park redevelopment would see the creation of 67 new high-quality homes in the area. 3 The overall product cost is reduced when time savings are considered "What still has some catching up to do is the mind-set of the industry as a whole" Simon Thomas