CASE STUDY
Overcoming challenges and achieving seamless gas installation for 1 Bank Street and Newfoundland.
Background
With over 15 years in the gas infrastructure industry, we’re proud to have a built a reputation for professionalism, exceptional service and expertise. With long-standing relationships with some of the country’s largest and most respected developments, we’ve had the opportunity to work on several extraordinary projects across the country, including a cluster of buildings in the Canary Wharf.
Calling London their home, the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf tower over the east side of the city, occupying what was once one of the busiest docks in the world. Now, in striking contrast to its working-class origins, sea-battered shipyards have been replaced by glittering skyscrapers to form the city’s most prolific financial hub, and the hub keeps on growing.
The brief
In 2015, Canary Wharf Contractors approached Stark Works for the installation of new gas pipes and low-pressure connection for two developments. The first, 1 Bank Street, is a commercial development, located on the western side of the Canary Wharf estate; 27-storeys high, it features 700,000 sq. ft. of office space, retail units and basement car parking. Newfoundland was the second, and is a 60-story residential development nicknamed ‘The Diamond Tower’, owing to its transparent diagrid structure.
6in
welding contractor employed to create a bespoke steel entry
Working
with CWC closely to ensure a seamless project
The project
As is customary with projects of this scale, the work was split into phases. For 1 Bank Street, the initial connection marked the completion of phase one in January 2016, with phase 2 of work beginning in April 2018. Work for Newfoundland completed at approximately the same time, with phase 1 started in September 2017 and phase 2 complete in April 2018.
At CWC’s request, all pipework for both projects was installed prior to any construction work to prevent unnecessary disruption, as the required route from the mains gas supply on Bank Street ran directly through the staging area of both sites.
The team followed mapped-out routes which lead to what was, at the time, essentially a drained dock with a temporary retaining wall.
The initial phase required Stark Works to connect to the 250mm parent main with a branch saddle connection, using 180mm PE pipe.
Similarly, the pipework for Newfoundland stopped two metres from the building entrance, although the pipe was a 250mm, 8-inch bespoke steel entry.
The challenges
With both sites located in the heart of London’s financial district, the route for the pipework had to be meticulously planned, to avoid expensive fibre optic cables snaking underneath some of the city’s most important financial institutions.
If the cables were inadvertently damaged during the excavation and pipe installation, there was a risk of receiving a bill charging millions of pounds a minute in lost business revenue.
In addition, despite the sites close proximity and working for the same client, the sites were under different management systems, resulting in two separate Risk Assessment and Method Statements (RAMs), two separate site contacts and two separate team inductions.
This required careful coordination, planning and teamwork to ensure 100% compliance with rules and regulations.
