Where space is at a premium, utilities are typically moved above the factory floor and into the roof void, so freeing up valuable areas.
These cavities are often congested with pipes, cabling and other infrastructure all of which needs to be maintained and access to these vital areas becomes a tricky issue to solve.
One recent installation of a roof void walkway for Cargill Foods, Hereford, was typical of the challenges that Planet Platforms face.
Employing approximately 6,000 people at 14 different locations in the UK, Cargill’s Hereford facility is a newly established joint venture with Faccenda Foods.
Air conditioning ducting, electricity and data cables and water pipes all had to be navigated up, over and around to ensure maintenance engineers had a means of safe access to keep production-critical equipment running.
The solution was a lightweight aluminium walkway with fixed handrails throughout with small height-adjustable saddles to help lift the structure over existing utilities.
