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The University of Sheffield were looking to relocate engineering machinery and laboratory equipment from a number of buildings on campus, to the Grade II listed Sir Frederick Mappin Building, as part of the Engineering Heartspace Project.
The machinery relocation aspect of the project was carried out over an 8-week period, and involved the complete relocation of numerous laboratories from multi floored buildings on the university campus.
Fail To Prepare, Prepare To Fail
In order to safely move machinery, Merritts carried out a comprehensive preliminary site visit in order to fully understand the scope of works and the most efficient method of relocating the items.
To accommodate for any unforeseen circumstances during the project that may have caused delays, Merritts were able to offer out of hours and weekend working to ensure the project remained on track.
Effective planning was essential on this project as there were over 100 items of equipment that had to be removed, from heavy machinery, through to more sensitive testing equipment that had to be custom packaged before transit.
Overcoming Access Restrictions
The machinery and equipment were situated over multiple floors within the university buildings. In order to facilitate the safe machinery removal of some of the heavier and larger items, it was necessary to provide a number of access solutions.
These solutions included:
- Increasing the size of doorways.
- The erection of scaffolding to receive machinery, which could then be lifted down to the ground floor via a mobile crane.
- The use of specialist gantries to lift heavy items in confined areas
Ensuring The Right Lifting and Transport Equipment
As specialist machinery movers, Merritts continually invests in market leading lifting equipment to help us ensure we are prepared to undertake any lifting scenario.
Like many university buildings, having adequate access to remove larger items can often be an issue. We therefore had to employ a wide range of specialist lifting equipment and methods to carry out the safe removal of the engineering machinery and equipment.
This equipment included:
- Lorry mounted cranes
- Mobile crane hire
- Power stacker trucks
- Skoots
- Low mast fork trucks
- Jacks and skates
- Pallet trucks
- Gantry cranes
- Specialist trailers
Project Management
A senior foreman was assigned throughout the whole project duration, ensuring a consistent project delivery through to completion.
Merritts liaised with different department heads throughout the project to keep them updated with the works schedule and to ensure no major inconvenience was caused. We were therefore able to work around the university’s students in order to avoid any impact on their lesson schedule.
Safe Movement
The Merritts health and safety team ensured the correct documentation and systems were in place.
- Risk assessments, method statements and detailed lift plans were created and approved before commencement of works
- Regular visits from our Head of Health and Safety were carried out to ensure the correct safety measures were being met
- All plant, lifting equipment and machine moving tackle is regularly tested and fully certificated
- Our operatives undertake an on-going training and development program to promote multi-skilling and safe working practices
Complete Protection
The appropriate measures were taken to ensure items were protected from any damage.
Machinery was professionally packaged, giving the client confidence that their items would arrive at their new destination in the same condition as prior to the move.
For more sensitive pieces of equipment, Merritts arranged the manufacture of bespoke packing cases to ensure their safe transit between sites.
The project was planned meticulously, ensuring the works remained on track throughout. All equipment was relocated safely, and the site team were extremely helpful from start to finish. I would certainly approach Merritts again in the future.
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