African Design Magazine ADM #34 October 2017 | Page 12

OVERALL STEEL
AWARDS WINNER - 2017
A closer look at the overall 2017 winner: the BMW H-EMS Roof Lift,
submitted by Teichmann Structures
uilding 50, known as the assembly building at BMW Rosslyn, is
approximately 60 years old, and consists of a low saw-toothed
profile roof supported by numerous columns. In 2018, BMW Rosslyn
will produce the X3 model instead of the 3-Series and the latest
assembly line technology necessitated that a 4100 m² portion of the
current B50 structure be modified. The proposed system, H-EMS
(Heavy Electric Monorail System), comprises overhead conveyors
fixed to the roof, with height-adjustable hangers that carry the vehicles being
assembled.
The roof and column structure of the existing assembly building was inadequate
for this purpose. The H-EMS system required a higher and stronger roof
structure with fewer columns.
The Rosslyn Plant consists of only one final assembly line, and since the Plant is
very compact and congested, the possibility of first erecting a new building
adjacent to the existing Building 50 and thereafter demolishing the existing was
not an option. The only option therefore was to erect a new roof structure over
the existing Building 50, whilst the assembly plant remained operational.
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