Coventry Scaffolding Co (London) Ltd were the proud winners of the 2018 NASC Scaffolding Project of the Year (Turnover up to £5million) Award. They won the coveted award for their work on the unique art installation, The London Mastaba, on the Serpentine Lake in London’s Hyde Park.
A Work of Art – the London Mastaba was created by the world-renowned late Bulgarian artist, Christo and his late wife, Jeanne Claude. A mastaba – meaning “eternal house” in Ancient Egyptian – is a type of ancient Egyptian tomb in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure with inward sloping sides, constructed out of mud. The iconic structure stood at 20m high, was formed of 7,506 barrels that were stacked horizontally, and floated on the Serpentine Lake between 12th June and 23rd September 2018.
Due to the uniqueness of this structure, the project was presented with a number of challenges, which TRAD UK helped Coventry Scaffolding to overcome. Coventry Scaffolding decided early on in the design phase that system scaffolding would be the best option, and TRAD UK’s exclusive PLETTAC METRIX System was the obvious solution due to its speed of erection, safety, adaptability and availability. The innovative system, with horizontal dimensions that are completely metric, allows both the tubular transoms and ledgers to be substituted by components of a smaller size, permitting the use of extra verticals within a bay length or width. This feature advances efficiency and vastly increases the ease by which adaptions can be made.
A trial version was erected in Bulgaria at a third of the size of the eventual structure in London, so that the obstacle of erecting scaffolding on a floating platform could be tackled. The weight of the scaffolding meant the platform sagged, but this was overcome by implementing a steel grid from which the scaffolding could be erected.
Work then began in London on 23rd April 2018 with a team of over 100. Scaling up to the full 40m x 30m x 20m of the structure required additional rigidity by bracing every line of scaffolding along the length and breadth of the steel frame. Cross-bracing was installed in the first four metres of the scaffolding with connections to the steel baseplate. The strength of the resulting truss system ensured the stability of the structure.
Owing to fixed sizes of the barrels, as well as the 4x3x2 proportions of the structure, tolerances were down to the very last millimetre; this was doubly difficult because the barrels had to be installed after the scaffolding was erected. In addition, the first line of barrels had to be supported below the base line of the scaffold in order to achieve the perfect aesthetic for the artist; it was critical the barrels looked like they were floating on the lake, so the scaffolding could not be visible. An additional constraint was that the diagonal walls across the sides of the Mastaba had to be precisely 60 degrees to accommodate the natural pitch of horizontally stacked cylindrical objects.
PLETTAC METRIX was the perfect partner to this complex project. The system’s simplicity, which is enhanced by its unique divisibility, allowed the demanding two month timeframe to be easily achieved. TRAD UK were very proud to supply the scaffold on such a unique and impressive structure.
The NASC is recognised as the national trade body for access and scaffolding in the UK, producing a wide range of industry guidance for scaffolding contractors, their operatives and their clients. Members of the NASC are strictly regulated to ensure a continuous high standard of scaffolding practice.
The Scaffolding Association is the largest trade organisation in the UK scaffolding and access sector, campaigning to raise standards of safety, quality and workforce skills.
Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents – actively involved in the promotion of safety and the prevention of accidents in all areas, demonstrating our commitment to safety and providing us with operational guidelines.
ISO 9001 is the internationally recognized Quality Management System (QMS) standard that can benefit any size of organization and is designed to be a powerful business improvement tool.
TRAD UK have been audited by BSi and are accredited to ISO 9001:2015.
POLICY STATEMENT
TRAD UK are established market leaders in the scaffolding hire and sales / fall prevention solutions market sector. The company has developed plans for continued organic growth for increasing market share and a commitment to continually improve the service we provide to our loyal customers. This will be achieved by our fully trained and professional teams supplying the highest quality products and delivering the highest quality service.
TRAD UK recognises the importance of the quality of our products, operations and service to achieving our company quality objectives. Our quality objectives have been planned and established with quantified, measurable goals that drive improvement and focus on maintaining and improving customer satisfaction. TRAD UK’s Senior Management have provided the resources and funds necessary to implement this policy and to achieve its quality objectives. It is, therefore, our policy to operate a Quality Management System that fully complies with the requirements of ISO9001:2015. This policy will be reviewed regularly to ensure its relevance to the strategic direction of the organisation.
The TRAD UK Top Management Team have shown commitment to satisfying all applicable requirements and compliance with customer, regulatory and statutory requirements, with industry codes of practice and relevant product standards (BS and EN). We also commit to continually improve our Quality Management System for sustained customer satisfaction and to continually meet the requirements of all interested parties.
This policy will be communicated to all employees and organisations working for and on behalf of TRAD UK and will be made available to all interested parties upon request.
The Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) is a voluntary accreditation scheme for fleet operators which aims to raise the level of quality within fleet operations, and to demonstrate which operators are achieving exemplary levels of best practice in safety, efficiency, and environmental protection.
CHAS is established as the market leader for health and safety pre-qualification in the UK. It is available to suppliers (those who provide goods and services) and to organisations (buyers) looking for suitably competent suppliers.
Constructionline is the UK’s largest Government-owned register of contractors and consultants for the construction industry. Constructionline standards are high, all suppliers are pre-qualified to the official Government pre-qualified standard.
BuildingConfidence is recognised as the standard for supplier excellence within the industry. Major contractors are using the service to evaluate their supply chains, drive up performance and forge longer lasting relationships with key suppliers.
BM TRADA membership and subsequent annual Scaffold Board grading accreditation allows TRAD to inspect the quality of their scaffold boards both new and in service. This ensures that the quality of their scaffold boards are always measured and comply with the current BS2482 – 2009 standard.
Alcumus is trusted by the world’s most respected organisations to help them create better, more sustainable workplaces.
The Alcumus SafeContractor scheme is a market-leading health & safety accreditation system, helping contractors and organisations become healthier and safer, and gaining SafeContractor status demonstrates an organisation’s compliance with increasingly stringent legislation.
This SafeContractor certificate has been awarded for the following services…
Work Categories:
Fall Protection Safety Systems: Fall Protection Safety Systems
Supplier & Service Provider: Access Equipment Hire Provider
Industry Roles:
Construction Contractor, Supplier
Category Related Activities:
Ladders / Step Ladders, Selection & Control of Subcontractors, Working at Height
