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Case Studies
Learn shrink wrap skills from the experts. If you can’t find the answer you need, feel free to get in touch.
Modular Buildings Transport Bags
Premier Manufacturing, established in 1990, are a leading UK ‘off site’ manufacturer of modular buildings and extensions for residential and commercial applications.
Huge shrink wrapped modules
About This Project The Evaporator D project at Sellafield is currently the largest nuclear project in the United Kingdom. The ‘Evap D’ facility, once completed in 2016, will treat liquid radioactive waste so that it can be vitrified ready for disposal. Essentially Evap D acts like a giant kettle, reducing the volume of liquid nuclear waste before it is turned into glass and stored. The £300 million contract for the construction of the Evap D facility was awarded to Costain who used innovative off site construction techniques to pre fabricate the facility as 11 huge ‘modules’ at a specially adapted 5 acre factory site near Ellesmere Port in the North West of England. This was the first use of modular construction for a process plant at the Sellafield site. The construction of the eleven Evap D modules represented a complex engineering challenge. The largest of the modules, ‘Module 920’ weighs 525 tonnes and is 27 metres long, 7 metres wide and 12 metres high. In Module 920 alone there is over 5000 metres of high integrity stainless steel pipework constructed to the most exacting nuclear industry standards. The project logistics provided an additional challenge. How could such huge modules be completely protected against weather damage during the 65 mile journey by road & sea from the manufacturing facility to the construction site? Any salt water entering the modules and into the many stainless steel pipes & welds that the modules contained could have serious implications for the future safe operation of the nuclear facility and delay this high profile construction project for many months. Therefore, a temporary sheeting solution was needed that guaranteed, whatever weather conditions were experienced, it would not fail. Shrink Wrap Covers After months of tests, including some on site demonstrations of the industrial shrink wrap process, Costain and construction partners Interserve chose a shrink wrap covering as their preferred transport protection solution. However, as the Evap D modules did not have any solid sides, there was concern that, even after heat shrinking tightly, high winds could push the shrink wrap into large ‘voids’ behind the sheeting and cause damage. The customer suggested something never tried before which was to cover the entire Evap D module in a HDPE plastic mesh to form a ‘support structure’ beneath the shrink wrap. A geotechnical mesh product that had been designed for installing underground to stabilise soil was hung around the module and secured to the module using a woven strapping. Next, working from the outside, using ‘cherry pickers’, 12 metre wide sheets of 300 micron thick shrink wrap sheeting were hung and heat welded together before being shrunk ‘drum tight’. The final step, to make the shrink wrap cover ‘bomb proof’, and to provide the 100% guaranteed weatherproof protection that this project required from the temporary sheeting was to make a small hole in the shrink wrap sheeting every 1 square metre and pass a velcro tie through the shrink wrap and around the mesh. (The hole was later taped to maintain a weatherproof seal). It was felt, that with the shrink wrap shrunk tight AND tied back to the supporting mesh every 1 square metre this was the most robust solution that could be designed. Project benefits from shrink wrap Heat shrunk ‘drum tight’ – very resistant to damage from high winds. Heat sealed joints between sheets created a completely weather tight, full encapsulation of each module. Smart & professional appearance for a high profile project. Easy to remove in sections at the construction site & 100% recyclable. Lessons Learnt The final module was delivered from Ellesmere Port to Sellafield by specialist barge ‘Terra Marique’ in September 2013. After shrink wrapping 11 modules, over a 2 year period, the weather proofing of the giant modules using shrink wrap sheeting was a 100% success, with no sheeting failures or water ingress.
Modular Building Transport Bags – Shropshire
Your browser does not support the video tag. Modular Building Transport Bags – The Brief Premier Manufacturing, established in 1990, are a leading UK ‘off site’ manufacturer of modular buildings and extensions for residential and commercial applications. They use modular building transport bags to ensure that their buildings reach the construction site and client in good condition. Previously, the team at Premier had used a type of heavy weight, re-usable cover to protect modules during road transport. Whilst these covers had worked OK, the challenge with this type of cover bag is that it is very difficult to get it to fit really tightly around the module or pod. As it travels down the road, the cover tends to flap and move and this can start to rub against finished surfaces of the module. For this contract, the modules had a rendered external finish which might be chafed and damaged by a loose fitting bag. In addition, a re-usable modular building transport bag needs to be returned after each use and over time and it will require occasional repairs and cleaning. For a large contract, where there could be dozens of covers ‘in the system’ keeping up with this maintenance can be a challenge. When Premier needed to ensure that hundreds of modular buildings for a major client in London reached their destination clean and dry after a 150 mile / 3 hour trip from the manufacturing facility in Shropshire they contacted us to enquire about our industrial shrink wrap covers. Shrink film is typically supply on large ‘industrial sized’ rolls. However, after speaking with Premier and finding out a little more about their objectives, we suggested that because of the number of modules that needed to be packaged and because the modules were relatively small and mostly consistently sized, a pre-made custom sized shrink to fit bag might be more cost effective and easier to install. This short ‘case study’ describes how we worked with Premier to specify and test which type of modular building or pod cover would work best for them. Modular Building Transport Covers – What are the options? For many manufacturers, a custom made re-usable type of transport cover is a good option. There are some great covers on the market, which are normally made from a heavy weight tarpaulin type material and come in a variety of designs. Some are made just to fit open sides of modules whilst others are designed to encapsulate the entire module, (including roof and sides.) At Rhino we specialise in a different kind of covering for modules. All our products are based around our industrial and construction grade shrink wrap sheeting and they are designed to be used once and then recycled. Shrink wrap sheeting provides a taught, shrink to fit covering and because it is significantly lighter than a tarpaulin type cover it is particularly suited to projects where complete encapsulation of the modular building or pod is required because it can easily be lifted over the module roof. When using shrink wrap you have two options / approaches. One option is to use sheeting which is supplied on a roll. The advantage of this is that rolls are typically available ‘off the shelf’ in a range of standard sizes. At Rhino we stock films from 7m to 16m wide and from 190 to 500 microns thickness. The sheeting is unfolded over the roof of the module and then is out and welded ‘in situ’. This is ideal if there is just the occasional module which needs covering or the modules which need covering vary in size and shape. Our own installation teams will always use shrink wrap supplied by the roll when carrying out shrink wrap projects on customer sites. When shrink wrapping a modular building, the process is very similar to wrapping a birthday present! You need to ensure that there is enough material to be folded around the each end of the module and overlap. However, in a manufacturing environment, where the covers will be fitted by operatives who are not ‘professional shrink wrappers’ then using shrink wrap straight from the roll can be a bit ‘hit and miss’. The process may take longer than expected, the results may be inconsistent from module to module and there may be a fair bit of wastage as it can be difficult to judge just how much extra shrink wrap to allow to cover the ends. So, if the modules being shipped have a consistent size then a shrink tight modular building transport bag can be a better option. Modular Building Transport Bags – Specification Process Specifying shrink to fit modular building transport bags is a fairly straightforward process. After an initial conversation with Premier we were able to get the finished dimensions of the modules they wished to protect. We then proceeded to make an sample bag which we took to the off site manufacturing facility to demonstrate the installation process. These first modules were shipped to the construction set and received positive feedback. For one of the modules we had covered, the bag had been a little too tight to fit easily so we manufactured a second round of samples and once again travelled to the customer site in order to ensure that the fit was right and that Premier’s operatives were familiar with the heat shrink process. Once all parties were happy, we were able to proceed with a production order of a sufficient quantity of bags to meet the contract. Because Premier needed to start and protect modules immediately we were able to provide them with a roll of our 12m (40′) x 50m (164′) shrink wrap film to shrink wrap modules which were shipping before the bags were ready. Modular Building Transport Bags – Installation Process Remember, for an overview of the installation process please watch the ‘modular building transport bags’ video at the top of this page. Padding Out This is not required for every type of module but if there are any very sharp edges these need to be padded out. Installation of Strapping Support For modules with solid sides this will not be required. However, for large modules that have large open areas, we recommend running a woven strapping or similar at 2-3m intervals. When this strapping is tensioned it provides a support structure for the shrink wrap cover. Installation of Shrink Wrap Bag The shrink wrap modular building transport bag is unwrapped and unfolded over the top and down the sides of the module. Secure Shrink Wrap Bag Around Bottom of Module To get the tightest possible finish to any shrink wrap covering it is recommended that the cover / bag is secured around the bottom of the module or pod. Without this, during the heat shrink process the cover will have a tendency to ride up the sides of the module and it will nit have the same tightness or professional looking finish to the cover – there will always be wrinkles and creases. A quick way to secure the cover around the bottom of the module is to use wooden batten, however, for some modules this will not be possible and so an alternative technique is to run a band of strapping around the module. The strapping is then tensioned and the bag is folded around the strapping and heat welded to itself. For some modules that require complete encapsulation, even underneath, we lay a shrink wrap footprint on the ground on to which the module is lifted. This footprint is designed to be larger than the module by approx. 500mm on all four sides. The footprint is folded up on to the side of the module and then joined to the top covering by heat welding the two parts of the cover together. This method of complete encapsulation is much easier than it sounds and is very robust – ideal for modules which will be transported long distances. Heat Seal Ends Modular Building Transport bags may be manufactured in a number of ways. Our favoured technique is to use a side weld technique as this keeps production costs low. The only difference in a side weld cover as compared to a more costly ‘block bottom’ cover is that after fitting the bag will have a triangular shaped ‘ear’ at each end of the module which needs to be heat sealed back to the cover. This is quick and easy to achieve using a propane gas hot air gun. Heat Shrink The final stage of the shrink wrap installation process is to use our propane gas hot air tools to heat shrink the sheeting ‘drum tight’ over the entire surface of module using propane to create a smooth and tight finish. Install Zipped Access Doors Sometimes it can be useful to gain access to the module after it has been shrink wrapped, perhaps to carry out last minute work or inspections. In this case, it is possible to tape on a zipped access door. Thank you for taking the time to read this case study. Please do contact us with your questions or comments. We look forward to hearing from you.
Shrink Wrapped Modules – Sellafield
CATEGORY Industrial Covers ABOUT THIS PROJECT Shrink Wrapped Modules – Sellafield The Evaporator D project at Sellafield is currently the largest nuclear project in the United Kingdom. The ‘Evap D’ facility, once completed in 2016, will treat liquid radioactive waste so that it can be vitrified ready for disposal. Essentially Evap D acts like a giant kettle, reducing the volume of liquid nuclear waste before it is turned into glass and stored. The £300 million contract for the construction of the Evap D facility was awarded to Costain who used innovative off site construction techniques to pre fabricate the facility as 11 huge ‘modules’ at a specially adapted 5 acre factory site near Ellesmere Port in the North West of England. This was the first use of modular construction for a process plant at the Sellafield site. The construction of the eleven Evap D modules represented a complex engineering challenge. The largest of the modules, ‘Module 920’ weighs 525 tonnes and is 27 metres long, 7 metres wide and 12 metres high. In Module 920 alone there is over 5000 metres of high integrity stainless steel pipework constructed to the most exacting nuclear industry standards. The project logistics provided an additional challenge. How could such huge modules be completely protected against weather damage during the 65 mile journey by road & sea from the manufacturing facility to the construction site? Any salt water entering the modules and into the many stainless steel pipes & welds that the modules contained could have serious implications for the future safe operation of the nuclear facility and delay this high profile construction project for many months. Therefore, a temporary sheeting solution was needed that guaranteed, whatever weather conditions were experienced, it would not fail. Shrink Wrap Covers After months of tests, including some on site demonstrations of the industrial shrink wrap process, Costain and construction partners Interserve chose a shrink wrap covering as their preferred transport protection solution. However, as the Evap D modules did not have any solid sides, there was concern that, even after heat shrinking tightly, high winds could push the shrink wrap into large ‘voids’ behind the sheeting and cause damage. The customer suggested something never tried before which was to cover the entire Evap D module in a HDPE plastic mesh to form a ‘support structure’ beneath the shrink wrap. A geotechnical mesh product that had been designed for installing underground to stabilise soil was hung around the module and secured to the module using a woven strapping. Next, working from the outside, using ‘cherry pickers’, 12 metre wide sheets of 300 micron thick shrink wrap sheeting were hung and heat welded together before being shrunk ‘drum tight’. The final step, to make the shrink wrap cover ‘bomb proof’, and to provide the 100% guaranteed weatherproof protection that this project required from the temporary sheeting was to make a small hole in the shrink wrap sheeting every 1 square metre and pass a velcro tie through the shrink wrap and around the mesh. (The hole was later taped to maintain a weatherproof seal). It was felt, that with the shrink wrap shrunk tight AND tied back to the supporting mesh every 1 square metre this was the most robust solution that could be designed. Project benefits from shrink wrap Heat shrunk ‘drum tight’ – very resistant to damage from high winds. Heat sealed joints between sheets created a completely weather tight, full encapsulation of each module. Smart & professional appearance for a high profile project. Easy to remove in sections at the construction site & 100% recyclable. Lessons Learnt The final module was delivered from Ellesmere Port to Sellafield by specialist barge ‘Terra Marique’ in September 2013. After shrink wrapping 11 modules, over a 2 year period, the weather proofing of the giant modules using shrink wrap sheeting was a 100% success, with no sheeting failures or water ingress. You can find further information on the Evaporator D Project here; http://www.sellafieldsites.com/toobigforroad/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-24345924
Modular building transport bags
Ready-made Bags for Large Scale Production Premier Manufacturing, established in 1990, are a leading UK ‘off site’ manufacturer of modular buildings and extensions for residential and commercial applications.
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
The Brief In January 2014 Balfour Beatty announced they had been awarded a £154m contract by London Legacy to transform the former Queen Elizabeth Olympic Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London into a ‘multi use venue’ which after hosting five matches for the Rugby World Cup in 2015 will become the full time home for West Ham United in 2016. Part of this project involved a £41m reconfiguration and expansion of the stadium roof. This work, once complete, will increase the roof weight from 1400 tonnes to 4000 tonnes and create the largest cantilevered roof in the world. The project to reconfigure the roof presented a number of challenges. Firstly, work needed to take place on the original stadium roof’s support structure which was up to 37 metres (121 feet) above the ground. Secondly, a time schedule of 25 weeks to complete the works meant that traditional scaffolding techniques would be impractical. As a solution, rather than build from the ‘bottom up’, the scaffolding & access contractor, PHD Modular Access Ltd., implemented techniques usually used in the oil and gas industry and suspended the scaffolding structure from chains hung around the existing roof structure to build the access ‘top down’. The top down approach proved highly successful and in phase 1&2 of the project PHD Modular Access erected 480 tons of Layher Allround® lightweight scaffolding to create 168 ’workshops in the sky’ where shot blasting, welding and painting work was required to take place. Shrink Wrap Encapsulation & Containment Rhino Shrink Wrap were approached by PHD Modular Access to provide weather proofing and environmental containment around each ‘pod’ or ‘workshop’. Traditional scaffold sheeting, applied around the scaffolding in 2m high strips and attached with bungee cords, has gaps between sheets that make it difficult to stop shot blast residues escaping and rainwater penetrating. Furthermore, traditional reinforced sheeting can be difficult to fit tightly which can lead to flapping and ultimately detachment. Rhino proposed using a 300 micron thick Verisafe® flame retardant shrink wrap sheeting which once installed would created a continuously bonded and ‘drum tight’ skin around each pod. The shrink wrap encapsulation of each pod or workshop had two key objectives. Firstly to provide ‘environmental containment’ of shot blast and paint residues as sections of the roof support structure were shot blasted back to bare metal. Secondly, the shrink wrapped ‘pods’ would provide a completely weather proof area where new roof fixings could be welded into place. Zipped access doors installed in the shrink wrap cover each pod allowed welding and painting to take place in a controlled, almost ‘factory like’ environment. Rhino Shrink Wrap supplied 6 installers to carry out the work, split into two teams, each team led by a supervisor. Working from the inside of the platform, the shrink wrap sheeting, (supplied as a 7m wide x 15m long roll), was pulled over the module and battened at ‘ground level’ to a plywood floor laid inside the pod. Excess shrink wrap was trimmed at the corners and any joins or overlaps were heat welded together to create a seal. Finally, the shrink wrap sheeting was heat shrunk ‘drum tight’. Each pod required 100 to 200 square metres of shrink wrap sheeting. The Challenges Welding contractors required new roof components to be welded to the existing roof structure. These needed to be craned into position, inside the sheeted area, after the area had been shot blasted. However, the Rhino team were able to cut an opening in the roof (or on the lower and smaller pods – the sides) to allow the components to be craned through and then seal back up by taping and welding. Working simultaneously on multiple locations within a large construction site was challenging. Our teams met each morning for a briefing so that every team member knew what they were doing and working time was maximised. There were changes in the schedule of work from the client which required us to be highly flexible in our approach. Where necessary our teams worked weekends to meet revised schedules. Lessons The scaffolding and encapsulation of the 168 ‘workshops in the sky’ was finished ahead of schedule. Although a very challenging 3 month project, with much time away from home, our teams learned the importance of effective communication for safety and efficiency on large sites and were proud to play a small part in making this exciting and innovative project a success.