Clyde Valley Drilling and Tyrolit take the escalator to success.

A tricky structural alteration contract within a large department store in Edinburgh has demonstrated the benefits of forward-looking specialist companies combining their skills and experience to provide their client with a very high level of technical professionalism.

Clyde Valley Drilling (CVD) won the contract for the controlled demolition, including all hoisting and

removal, of part of the existing escalator well structure at the John Lewis Partnership store in preparation for the installation of new escalators.

The project comprised the removal of the ground, first and second floor level central separating beams, each over 12 metres long and weighing over 11 tonnes, and the removal of the associated landing slabs, six in number and each weighing 6 tonnes.

The method statement was developed and refined over period of weeks in collaboration with the project management team and included lengthy consultation with lifting equipment and health and safety specialists. Some specialist training was identified at this stage and was provided for CVD operators.

The care and expertise employed in the preparation of the method paid dividends in the execution of the works with most of the problems identified and resolved in advance of the contact start date.

Cutting and removing the beams was achieved by first suspending the section to be cut from 10 tonne hoists, cutting them free from the structure, then lowering them down to basement level onto waiting hand trucks before finally wheeling them out to waiting crane lorries.

The size and weight of the long separating beams meant that tandem lifting and simultaneous cutting was required. Digital load indicators (DLIs) were used when loading the hoists to match the calculated mass of the section being cut in order to prevent 'sag' or 'bounce', which could lead to overloading of the lifting equipment.

Cutting and removing the lower levels of the structure was carried out by installing the hoists on the concrete separating beam on the floor above but for the removal of the two beams and landings at the final level.

CVD had to design and manufacture two special 10 tonne capacity lifting frames capable of carrying the loads required and sized to suit the limited headroom and working space available.

The frames were installed at level two and proved very successful - the final units being removed just three weeks after the site start. The work was carried out on a night shift basis with CVD fully responsible for water control - very important in a live store environment.

For the John Lewis Partnership project, CVD exclusively used equipment from diamond specialists, Tyrolit and its sister company Hydrostress, notably: 3 x Hydrostress SK-SD wire saws and a Hydrostress FZ-S2 track saw with the latest 102mm Tyrrex diamond blades, which Tyrolit claims not only cut faster but, with 60% more usable diamond, last up to 50% longer in use than any ordinary diamond product.

Tyrolit's latest electro-plated diamond wire was used for fast cutting through the heavy reinforcement, with the cut through each 750mm x 450mm beam taking just 30 minutes.

CVD and Tyrolit enjoy a close working partnership operated under a key account management scheme. CVD's Owen Barrett explains, "We depend on the quality and durability of our tools to get the job done so we need a reliable, 'blue chip' supplier, and Tyrolit, with its huge research and development resource, 'state-of-the-art' products and service back-up, fits the bill perfectly".

"We work to high standards and require the same commitment from our partners. Our arrangement with Tyrolit means that, having settled annually on equipment and consumables prices and service arrangements, we are free to work with them as part of the family - calling on them at any time as if they were our own in-house technical department".

The advantages are mutual with Tyrolit viewing the arrangement in much the same way. "It's about building better customer relationships and working with a spirit of greater co-operation, freely passing on the benefits of our R&D knowledge to make the job more efficient to the satisfaction of all parties," explains Ricky Driver, National Key Account Manager of the Tyrolit UK Construction Division.

Owen Barrett summed up, "This was a major contract requiring great expertise and careful handling. CVD's industry leading capacity ensured we could provide not only the best plant but also the highest levels of operator and management skills to cope with this highly technical and client sensitive project."

"Working in partnership with Tyrolit bring certainty to our dealings and makes our life so much easier because, together with Hydrostress, they react quickly and are able to offer the all round solution to every cutting job.