Kensington Green

The Project

Kensington Green is a private residential estate which requires extensive maintenance every five years. The estate was originally a hospital, built in the 90s. Now it consists of a series of high-end flats across 13 buildings. Maintenance work is therefore a lengthy process, taking about six months to complete and involving a variety of tasks, from clearing gutters to painting windows.

Rather than using obtrusive scaffolding, Pavehall PLC, who specialise in planned cyclical maintenance, contacted Nationwide Platforms for assistance with powered access platforms.

 

The Challenge

Maintaining an active residential area like Kensington Green poses challenges such as limited operating hours, respecting residents’ privacy, and minimising machinery obstruction.

The site itself offered its own challenges to be addressed. NWP needed to source machines that could extend up to heights of six storeys and that could navigate narrow passageways and obstructions like greenery. At the same time, the machines had to be capable of securely holding operators at height alongside a range of equipment, including paint and heavy electrical machinery.

The Solution

In total over the length of the project, NWP provided over 20 machines with a range of features suitable for any task on the estate, including Z60, Z80, Z125 and 10 HR28s, several of which previous suppliers were not able to provide.

Several machines had power access in the basket itself, convenient for roof repairs requiring electric tools. Hybrid machines were prioritised, for their environmental benefits and for being far quieter than diesel machines to minimise the sound impact on the residents. The cage height of machines was also adjusted to avoid windows.

Nationwide Platforms’ Harness ON™ technology was fitted on the machines to mitigate against the risk of falling from height. Harness ON™ connects a worker’s lanyard carabiner directly into a machine’s control panel, preventing machine operation unless the operator is safely secured with their harness.

NWP’s technological innovations played a large role in the smooth running of the project, including its fleet management system SkySentry, which tracks machine usage. The system offers unrivalled access and visibility of not only who is operating a machine at any one time, but also if they are correctly trained and authorised to do so.

With that many machines in action for an extended period of time, occasional issues are to be expected, which is where NWP’s VRA – or Visual Remote Assistance - system proved useful. This allowed site to video call engineers who were frequently able to resolve issues without attending site, saving time on the project.

The Benefits

Nationwide Platforms served as a comprehensive on-site provider, offering MEWP provision, support, and health and safety guidance. The dedicated project management team ensured quick responses to productivity barriers, with efficient delivery of repairs or replacements to minimise downtime and transportation costs.

With the UK’s largest depot network and MEWP fleet, NWP adapted swiftly to changes in plans, including the extended timeframe of the project, ensuring minimal disruption to scheduled work.

Ken Lancashire, Project Manager for Pavehall PLC said, “We’d used other suppliers before, but found recurring issues with the machines. Having previously worked with Loxam, Nationwide Platforms’ parent company, I knew what to expect and how easy they are to work with. Machines were delivered punctually and any repairs sorted without issues. I’d highly recommend them and would definitely use them again. Harness ON was a bonus for us – as the machines won’t move without the operator being connected properly, I could rest assured that my team were working safely, which alleviated some of the time and pressure of continuously checking on them.”