Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/957171
22 | APRIL 2018 | WWT | www.wwtonline.co.uk life due to the accumulative effects of weather conditions and vehicle impact. Working for Integrated Operational Solutions Alliance, an alliance of four key partners – Anglian Water, Morrison Utility Services, Barhale and Kier Utility Services – installation by JP Concrete's sister company Modular Cubed took just two and a half days at the largest of the six sites (Whitlingham, Norfolk), compared with what would have taken six to eight weeks by traditional in-situ work. Supply- ing the walls in 2-6m lengths meant fewer crane liŠs for a faster install, while simple foundations also resulted in significant cost savings across all six sites. Accelerated installation JP Concrete's design input, manufacture and installation also saw it complete new cake pads at Thetford in Norfolk, Harwich in Essex and Canwick in Lincolnshire – each of which were installed in a day – while Newton Marsh in Lincolnshire, with 87m of panels, was completed in a day and a half. Even at Rayleigh in Essex, working in two separate zones and in restricted spaces, with a requirement for very tight tolerances at a challenging site, the work was still completed in just two days. Determined to keep on schedule Kirk Denim, Colchester project engineer, says: "JP Concrete proved that they were up to the challenge, especially at Rayleigh, which wasn't straightforward at all, but they were determined to keep on schedule without any compromise to their work." Modular Cubed used its specialist in-house 73-tonne truck-mounted crane, which is equipped with a 5-tonne block grab. The crane's 12-tonne pincer picks up large loads quickly and efficiently, greatly reducing loading time. Averaging 60m of 5m length panels per day, JP Concrete also designed, manufac- tured and installed freestanding dividing walls and king post walls for the new cake pad structures, sealing all joints with high-quality products from Sika. Phil Sayers, director at JP Concrete, says: "Standard precast concrete panels are readily available, but the market has moved on significantly, with all sorts of profiles now on offer to the end-user. For example, some larger L-shaped panels (such as CL Agri 214/500, which are 2,140mm high by 5,000mm long) appear a bigger investment at first, but then they require less sealing, fewer actual panels in number, and at twice the life span, are ultimately a much better investment. Again, to maximise space requirements, special panel sizes can be cast to fit dif- ferent length walls, create 900 returns, or varying angles, so there is much more flexibility than perhaps people realise." He adds: "'Lego' blocks and freestand- ing retaining walls give customers the flexibility to pick them up and change the layout of storage as and when required. We can also provide more sophistication, for example in reversing the toes of new precast panels, so that the loading is on the back. This prevents machines from damaging the toes when loading and un- loading. This design layout also protects the fixing in the units from corrosion." Sayers concludes: "The success of the cake pad installation with Anglian Water was in no small part thanks to excellent communication – working together so that we could time our delivery and instal- lation to fit in with its needs and leave a highly robust and long-lasting storage solution for sludge cake. Water companies now have more options than ever before to cost-effectively secure their sludge stor- age for the long term." The Works: Sludge tanks • PERSPECTIVES "JP Concrete has brought much more to the table than just supply. Its design knowledge, keenness to get on with the job and overall capability has certainly helped accelerate the installation." Becky Finch, programme delivery manager for Integrated Operational Solutions Alliance (IOS) "All six of the new cake pads from JP Concrete are of excellent quality. As well as the high standard of workmanship, it has also been an impressively quick installation by Modular Cubed." Kevin Owens, delivery manager for IOS's Lincoln office One of the new cake pads for Anglian Water being installed by Modular Cubed