British Steel VMI Bay
British Steel VMI Bay Commercial Project
WOODSmith Construction Group’s Commercial Team were tasked with concreting the VMI loading area, at the British Steel site, to provide an area for the steel slabs to be stored and to create a solid base for the site industrial vehicles.
Preparations & Planning
Initial meetings took place with the client to discuss what was required; project drawings were drawn up, site inductions were arranged and Health & Safety issues were discussed between both parties. Based on this information the WOODSmith team also developed RAMS for the project which are included in the work pack for the job.
The ground was CAT scanned before work began in the area to make sure there were no hazards such as electric cables underneath.
The WOODSmith team sectioned off areas as per the drawings so that activities on site could continue. At times the ground was extremely muddy due to heavy rain so we had to remove excessive spoil from the area. The ground was then cleared section by section, once cleared the area was prepared for concreting.
The Build
The area to be developed was used for laying down steel slabs and their was constant heavy industrial site traffic moving the steel around; to keep the site safe we had to liaise with British Steel to have access to the areas and to secure them so that traffic didn’t enter the area.
Once the area was prepared, and the heights levelled we installed visqueen, and mesh and the concrete was poured into the area and the slabs were dressed. Once it was cured the area was able to be released back to the British Steel team.
We had to install additional surface water and land drains to the outer perimiters following a land survey by one of our engineers. Once the trench was excavated, and the correct falls were dug, the operatives lined out the roll of perforated 150mm land drain wrap and tied with semi permeable membrane. Followed by lining the trench with clean stone, laying the drain in and then back filling with a clean stone followed up by compact with the 120 smooth drum roller operated by a competent person.
Final Product
The impact can easily be measured; it has made it much easier for the British Steel logistics team as they are now driving over a solid concrete base rather than the rough terrain that they had previously. In addition, the steel beams are now stored in a cleaner environment.
WOODSmith continues to work on the site and are proud to be working for such a prestigious company, British Steel.
