HAKI MAKE THE GRADE AT DE MONFORT UNIVERSITY
As part of a £35 million investment to transform De Montfort University’s Leicester City campus, the creation of a new building for the Faculty of Business and Law was a project of immense scale and scaffolding contractors High Peak Scaffolding Limited knew only one product, HAKI Universal System Scaffold, was up to the grade.
The project presented main contractors Rok with two challenges – its sheer scale and a completion deadline coinciding with the start of the 2009/2010 academic year, leaving no room for error. With the ability to support Rok and guarantee that the speed of the scaffold erection, and so in turn the construction, would be maintained and never fall behind schedule, High Peak were awarded the contract. With the building standing six storeys high upon completion and with a gross internal floor area of 14,500sqm, coupled with a tight deadline High Peak knew, having long used HAKI Universal System Scaffold, that the advantages it offered in terms of speed, safety and versatility far outweighed those of traditional tube and fittings.
Taking the decision to utilise HAKI Universal System Scaffold resulted in an increased erection speed that was up to two times quicker than tube and fittings and in addition, High Peak utilised almost the entire HAKI product range inclusive of system scaffolding, Stair Towers, Loading Towers and 750 aluminium beams on the construction site.
However, it was HAKI’s unique three to two board telescopic bracket that provided real benefits on site. Designed to allow access to the building’s external envelope easily and quickly, by simply undoing one bolt the bracket can be slid back to support just two decking boards rather than three, enabling work to the face of the building to be carried out. “We are constantly impressed by the level of support, design knowledge and training we receive from HAKI through their Centre of Excellence,” says Paul Oldridge, Managing Director of High Peak Scaffolding, “but it is the research, development and design of innovative products that helps us to secure contracts.”
By utilising HAKI’s versatile three to two board bracket, High Peak were able to avoid time consuming and costly alterations that the use of traditional tube and fittings would have guaranteed. This project put HAKI’s claim to be safer, faster, more economical and more versatile to the test and as Paul Oldridge comments, “I believe HAKI is the best scaffold system currently available in the market and therefore it’s the only one we want to use.” As testament to this commitment, in the past year alone, High Peak has invested in excess of £1 million in equipment from HAKI, further proving HAKI is the only choice when it comes to system scaffolding.
