The Project
Nationwide Platforms was recently commissioned to lend powered access support for pre- and post-production installation work at the International Casino Exhibition (ICE) hosted at ExCeL London in February 2024.
One of the world’s largest trade shows, the ICE is focused on the gaming industry, attracting huge visitors and exhibitors from across the globe.
ExCeL is London’s largest event venue and renowned as the home of world-leading events, offering 100,000sqm of space – the majority of which was used during the three-day ICE event.
Nationwide Platforms provided 22 machines, including GS53 scissor lifts, Z45BJ and Z45FE booms, and many others. 12 of these machines were hired by ExCeL directly, while the remaining machines were hired out to various subcontractors supporting the installation work.
The Challenge
The ICE event operated on a huge scale. In the early pre-production installation process, the venue had to be prepared with gantry systems so that later contractors could set up lighting, rigging, exhibition stages and stands and sound equipment.
At later stages of the pre-production process, the floor space in the venue was cluttered with staging equipment, machinery and personnel. Not only did this present obvious difficulties for groundwork, it also presented challenges for installations at roof-level, with busy floor areas preventing straight-extending scissor lifts from reaching the targeted roof-space.
Once installed, the complex network of gantries suspended from the roof presented challenges of their own, since they fragmented the roof area into complex narrow spaces difficult to manoeuvre into.
In short, Nationwide Platforms needed to provide a diverse range of machines for each stage of the installation process. To ensure the correct machines were provided, a detailed pre-event site assessment was completed. It was identified that speedy installations at early set-up required machines with extensive platform size and lifting capacity for increased operator productivity. When the event became more cluttered, machines were required that could reach up and over obstructed floor-spaces while also allowing operators to manoeuvre between complex gantry systems via flexible basket rotation systems and outreach systems.
In addition, as this was an indoor venue, Nationwide Platforms needed to provide machines which did not mark the floors. At later stages of the project, the venue had many personnel working indoors at once, meaning the machines needed to function without emitting diesel fumes and without producing loud engine noises.
Finally, and most importantly, because much of the work had to take place at heights of up to 20m, ensuring the operators were safely and securely fastened into their machines was paramount.