COMBISAFE jets into Manchester Airport

Safety is not only paramount in aviation but also in the construction industry.  So when it came to the construction of a new 60m high air traffic control tower which will ensure the safety of more than 150,000 flight movements every year, leading safety at height specialist brand COMBISAFE provided its versatile Safety Net Fan to protect the workforce.

 With a 360 degree view over the entire airport, Manchester Airport’s new £16million air traffic control tower has been designed by architectural firm CPMG and built by Morgan Sindall using the ‘slip form’ process.  This efficient technique meant the tower was caste by pouring concrete into a continuously moving form for 222 hours, a feat which saw the structure rise up from the ground in just nine days.  

With the use of scaffolding essential to provide working platforms and in order to erect the steel structure that sits on top of the concrete tower, Cheshire Scaffolds Ltd specified the COMBISAFE Safety Net Fan Maxi to provide an effective fall-arrest system for the workforce, and also to protect workers from falling objects and debris. 

 ‘After we manually lifted the Safety Net Fans using hoists, we then secured them to the structure using Multi Clamps but were faced with the additional challenge of the top part of the structure being splayed outwards,’ commented Paul Brogan of Cheshire Scaffolds Ltd. ‘With its extended reach, the Safety Net Fan Maxi delivered on every front, provided valuable protection to the workforce and met the client’s strict safety requirements.’ 

 Manchester Airport’s new air traffic control will be complete and fully operational by the spring of 2013.   By choosing the COMBISAFE Safety Net Fan Maxi for the project, the working at height risk was removed and the scaffolders were protected from falling objects and debris during the tower’s construction.