Another First
from Fibrelite:
Highly Engineered F900 Composite Trench Covers for Areas
Imposing High Loads such as Aircraft Pavements, Taxiways of Civil
Airports, Shipping Ports and Dockyards
F
ibrelite can now provide
the perfect lightweight
alternative to traditionally
used heavy concrete and
metal access covers for areas imposing
particularly high wheel loads such as
aircraft pavements, taxiways of civil
airports, shipping ports and dockyards.
“Having re-configured the internal
fibreglass architecture we can meet
the permanent set and test load
requirements of BS EN 124, Class F900
(when tested in accordance with the
Air BP test footprint) explains David
Holmes, Fibrelite’s Technical Director
and Head of Product Development.
The request for Fibrelite to provide
F900 heavy duty trench covers
initially came from a large dockyard
in the South-East of England. Their
work inspectors were exploring
replacement options for extremely
heavy and corroding steel covers that
had been installed years earlier, these
extremely heavy covers required a
crane and dedicated lifting equipment,
which incurred a financial cost with
equipment and manpower to lift the
covers every time the ships come into
dock.
Bespoke, Retrofit Covers Designed
to Fit into Existing Frames
Deliver Cost and Time Savings
The benefit of using a retrofit system
is that costly and time consuming
installation is eliminated. There are no
break outs of existing structures and
no curing time resetting structures
into concrete. In critical high trafficked
areas this is a major advantage.
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PECM Issue 16
“These highly engineered composite
trench covers have eliminated costly
and time consuming procedures, as
well as allowing for a load rating of up
to 90 tonnes. The associated increase
in productivity and significant reduction
in costs were huge benefactors for the
consulting engineers and customers
alike” explains David Holmes.
Designed for Safe Lifting and
Replacement
With recent statistics attributing over
half of injuries (resulting in absence
from work) to manual handling it’s
already known that reducing hazards
in this area is a priority on a global
scale. Because of legislation restricting
acceptable manual handling weights,
we are seeing a global trend towards
lighter weight FRP composite manhole
and access cover materials, which also
have the benefits of ease of handling
and corrosion resistance.
Lightweight composite covers
that provide safe and easy access
eliminating unsafe manual handling
issues are replacing aging concrete and
heavy cast iron access covers all over
the world. By using lighter materials,
operational injuries are prevented,
work sites are made safer and ease
of installation and maintenance is
made available to utility workers and
contractors.
Ergonomic Design
The design of these lightweight covers
incorporates up to two lifting points
for specially designed lifting handles.
These allow the operator to remove
the cover without trapping fingers
or bending over thus maximising
the safety of the lifting technique.
The weight is kept close to the body
preventing back injury; one of the
main causes of absence from work and
personal injury claims.
The chart below shows that the safest
place to lift or pull a load is close to the
body at waist height.
The Ergonomic representation of the
Fibrelite lifting method.
More information can be found at
www.fibrelite.com