SafeSmart Brings Sturdier Edge Protection to Tunnel Project

A major road tunnel infrastructure project in Sydney, that links points such as Chatswood to Sydenham and Sydenham to Bankstown, is well underway, to help commuters get from the Lower North Shore to the city’s south west in far shorter time, as well as across the inner south west.

At a major excavation point in the project, contractors were required to walk around the excavation close to the edge of a deep drop on a narrow area. Due to the depth of the drop, standard edge protection could not be used and still be compliant with AS regulations.

And the edge protection system had to run 26m across a capping beam; a distance beyond that of a span on which a standard rail system could be used. At this length, the contractor required a more semi-permanent solution. To start with, posts needed to be higher than the conventional 1m, and sturdier vertical strength was required.

One of the only suppliers in Sydney who could source this was portable height access provider SafeSmart Access. Based on the client’s needs, SafeSmart devised a new system with a heavy-duty frame – this frame was the catalyst for the client’s decision to go with SafeSmart. The 1.5m-high post was also suitable to comply with the design load requirements of AS4994.1:2009 for Temporary Edge Protection, a standard that is usually applied to high-rise development scenarios. And the system also created a more than suitable Perimeter Exclusion Zone (PEZ).

Although semi-permanent (the system is secured via concrete fasteners), this edge protection system is still considered modular, due to its fast installation time and ability to be broken down into segments for easy transportation.

The tunnel project client is extremely happy with the system, but more so with SafeSmart’s turnaround time.

“Clients can usually get a hold of more temporary systems in a very short amount of time,” says SafeSmart’s Nathan Joyce, “but in this case, with our network, we had no problem with providing a more permanent solution in the same amount of time. The client is very happy.”

Since publication of this article, Safesmart have decided to offer the product as an ongoing part of their range – AdaptaPanel. See more here.

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