Fibregrid have designed and supplied a project to Dee Tech Services Ltd for maintenance GRP Access platforms at Deeside Power Station.
The Access platforms were installed to reduce both down time and costs relating to annual shutdowns of the cooling towers. Previously, construction and removal of scaffolding resulted in 3-6 days per year, per cooling tower, to be lost. A permanent GRP structure allows for only a short downtime while maintenance is carried out, thereby reducing loss of revenue caused by reduced power output.
Safety considerations for the platform included using non-slip materials, as the area is open to the elements and also required no impact on airflow in the cooling tower. Using lightweight GRP made installation easier.
Materials used for this project were 200mm Channel, FGM38 Moulded Grating and handrail. 14 platforms were installed in total, each taking approximately 2-3 days per tower.
A spokesman from Dee Tech commented: “The support we received from Fibregrid was superb. Fibregrid supplied us with a design detail to work and all materials and fittings to do the job - which were delivered within a timely fashion. There was a rapid turnaround when we required extra materials to get the job finished on-time, which we were very grateful for. Our client is very happy with the GRP platform solution within their cooling towers, and hopefully we will gain the contract to install 8 more next year."
