
Merritts carried out the dismantling, lifting, transport and storage of modular housing units, arranging a traffic regulation order (TRO) in order to facilitate this.
Company Profile: KLEG Offsite Build specialises in the manufacture and design of modular housing. Futures Housing Group provides homes to rent and buy in the East Midlands including Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Northants.
Project Outline: Futures Housing and KLEG Offsite Build worked together to arrange the movement and storage of modular Housing Units. Having assisted in a previous project, Merritts were assigned to carry out the moving and storage element of the works.
Project details
An initial site visit was carried out to identify any possible hazards and to ascertain the lifting requirements for the project.
Merritts prepared all documentation including method statement, risk assessments and bespoke lifting plans were produced for each lift
To ensure site safety, fencing was erected around the perimeter of the work area and the necessary signage displayed.
A Mobile Elevating Work Platform (MEWP) was used to gain access to the roof of the modular buildings and operative harnesses were attached to a fall arrest block which was secured to an anchor point on the roof.
This allowed the Merritts operatives to safely attach the crane hooks from the mobile crane to the lifting eyes of the modules.
Dismantling and loading
Each home consisted of 4 modules (approx. 6Te each) bolted together. Prior to the lift, Merritts ensured that all modules were correctly unbolted from one another.
An 80Te Mobile crane was then used to lift the modules and slew across to Merritts’ awaiting low loaders.
Each module was safely lowered on to the deck of the trailer and Merritts ensured the modules were suitably secured prior to transit.
Transport
Merritts provided multiple vehicles to ensure there was minimal downtime between each module collection.
A traffic regulation order (TRO) was arranged by the project team to ensure parking restrictions were in place in the vicinity of the works. This allowed suitable access for both the mobile crane and Merritts HGV’s.
Due to the width and height of the modules, the transport element was a notifiable load movement. Merritts arranged this with the relevant authorities 3 weeks in advance of the works. A nominated route had to be followed and the drivers had an allocated 2-hour window in which they could operate.
All of the 16 modules were safely transported along the M1/A38 to Merritts site in Kirkby-in-Ashfield.
Lifting equipment
Having worked with Merritts on a previous project they were an obvious choice to carry out this work. I was impressed with their professionalism from start to finish. Their health and safety team’s preliminary site visit ensured all hazards were identified and the necessary safety documents were produced. This gave peace of mind, especially as we were operating in a residential area. The storage service they provided was of an added benefit as we were allocated a dedicated area which we could have access to as and when required