Page 8 - Waterlife Magazine Issue 1 2018
P. 8

Yorkshire Water Work



                    Closely With PMP Utilities






                               Todmorden Pipe Bridge - Specialist


                                     Engineering via Rope Access











                                                                                                                                               managing the rigging to safely lower the   of the public using and living on the
                                                                                                                                               engineer to the work site.                canal, as well as road users crossing the
                                                                                                                                                                                         bridge.
                                                                                                                                               The process involved the removal of
                                                                                                                                               the cowl, isolation and removal of the    The benefits of this ‘Outside the
                                                                                                                                               leaking air valve. The cowl was then      Bridge’ thinking included:
                                                                                                                                               raised safely back up to the bridge
                                                                                                                                               platform and the replacement valve        •  A quick response time and reduced
                                                                                                                                               fitted. Once the repair was completed,       lead time to access the site
                                                                                                                                               the cowl on the second air valve          •  Reduced time on site and impact on
                                                                                                                                               was removed and the isolation valve          local residents and businesses
                                                                                                                                               operated to enable assessment of its      •  Reduced impact on the ‘canal
                                                                                                                                               general condition. Both cowls were then
                                                                                                                                               replaced.                                    community’ – walkers, cyclists, barge
                                                                                                                                                                                            owners and anglers
                                                                                                                                               As the repair was completed without       •  A significant cost saving
                                                                                                                                               the need for undertaking a network        •  Significant leakage saving
                                                                                                                                               isolation, there was no impact to         •  A safer option in comparison to
                                                                                                                                               Yorkshire Water’s ‘Customer Minutes
                                SKILLED ENGINEERING & ROPE ACCESS                                                                              Lost’ measure. Disruption was kept           traditional methods.
                                                                                                                                               to an absolute minimum for members
                                CAPABILITY MINIMISES DISRUPTION AND

                                                REDUCES LEAKAGE                                                                                     AN EXCELLENT OUTCOME FOR EVERYONE!

                          PMP Utilities (PMP), a leading         traditional network isolation and access
                          provider of asset refurbishment,       methods. Traditional methods would
                          renewal and repair services            have required a scaffold platform to be
                          in hazardous, challenging              built up from an adjoining canal tow-
                          environments, has successfully         path and would have necessitated the
                          completed the rope access repair       bridge’s closure and required agreement
                          of a leaking air valve at Todmorden,   with the Canal and River Trust.
                          West Yorkshire on a 12” Pipe Bridge
                          over the Trans-Pennine canal           Specialist access equipment, including
                          linking Leeds and Manchester.          a high directional rigging system, was
                                                                 used to enable access over the bridge
                          PMP, a part of M Group Services,       without any stresses on the bridge
                          was appointed through the WSA          structure itself. The access equipment
                          contract to deliver a rope access      was secured in place by twin lines with
                          solution as an alternative to          an on-site PMP rope access supervisor





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