RSS Infrastructure (RSSI), a subsidiary of Auctus Management Group, is proud to announce that they will be supporting Amey – Civils Examination Framework Agreement (CEFA) in examining the structure of the Royal Albert Bridge based in the town of Saltash, Plymouth.
The bridge was designed and engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who devised a series of pioneering methods during the construction of this iconic structure which led to him becoming one of the most well-known design engineers that this country has ever produced.
The bridge was refurbished in 2010 however, as with any long-standing structure, it is important to ensure that it remains safe to use. Amey CEFA, who have been named as Network Rail’s sole supplier on the Civil Examinations Framework Agreement, have been commissioned as part of a multi-million-pound project to carry out a full rope access inspection of the structural supports.
As part of this examination RSSI were tasked with providing a solution that would ultimately allow the Amey CEFA workforce to operate without the need for a Line Block or Lookouts, which would have brought about a large amount of disruption as well as potentially increasing project lead times resulting in significant rises in the levels of resources required to complete the inspection.
Senior Planners at RSSI were tasked with surveying the site on the 24th February 2017 where it was highlighted that the most appropriate method of protection for the Amey CEFA workforce would be the Automatic Track Warning System (ATWS). The train movements across the bridge required a system that would be able to provide a bi-directional warning from a static location on-site as well as reduce levels of worker fatigue. The ATWS is well suited to meet the requirements of this sort of scenario due to the systems innovative design which provides both an audible and visual warning whenever the train passes over the ‘Strike-in’ Treadle. The warning remains on until automatically deactivated by the same train passing over the ‘Strike-out’ Treadle and cancels the warning.
The project was surveyed, planned and deployed by the 10th March meaning that the Amey CEFA’s workforce were able to work under the advanced protection methods offered by the ATWS within 2 weeks.
