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Max weight on a containment system.

Shaun Scholes

I'm part of a project where a containment system containing cables and pipework has been installed by one contractor. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with how they have arranged this, and I see no issue. However, another contractor has now installed refrigeration pipework to this by adding additional tray to the underside(double stack) and laying their pipes on this. I have raised the issue that they could be overloading the containment system and that both contractors should confirm that weight will not be an issue. Basically I want someone to take some responsibility(I understand that it is very unlikely that anyone actually will). 

I have tried to find good sources of information regarding maximum loads for containment and various types of fixtures and fittings. However, the best I can find is to read the manufacturers information. Which is okay, and gives a clue as to what kind of weight each component can support, but I don't feel that this give a full picture. When speaking to various people it almost seems as though its a non issue, and that what has been installed is accepted. 

Does anyone have experience on this or comments? 

Thanks 

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    Collapse of supports for anything that may fall and hurt someone,  either in normal service, or in stress conditions, such as during a fire evacuation, should be very much in focus !!

    Who is responsible for the building, and who signed off on the extra loading on the tray ? Or if you prefer a question to focus the minds, if something fell and put someone in hospital (or worse) tomorrow, who would the HSE be interviewing on thursday and who would be "holding the bar" on the stand in court  in a month or two ?


    At the top, company directors, but in all but the smallest operation they will have delegated building maintenance to someone else, an employee or subcontractor - what makes them feel safe  against that class of  question ?
    At worst, some sort of retrospective controlled load test might be considered and documented.

    To give the  ' we took all reasonable precautions' level of cover, pull-out tests of representative samples of screw-in anchors and so on are common in  big projects, and in a brand new building putting the holes or the hooks in advance is preferred - your installers are then clamping to existing steels or bolting to existing hooks - which both  is much safer for them, and more certain  in terms of strength than using a power drill overhead to make a fixing point into some part of the building that may or may not be strong enough.

    Mike

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  • 0

    Collapse of supports for anything that may fall and hurt someone,  either in normal service, or in stress conditions, such as during a fire evacuation, should be very much in focus !!

    Who is responsible for the building, and who signed off on the extra loading on the tray ? Or if you prefer a question to focus the minds, if something fell and put someone in hospital (or worse) tomorrow, who would the HSE be interviewing on thursday and who would be "holding the bar" on the stand in court  in a month or two ?


    At the top, company directors, but in all but the smallest operation they will have delegated building maintenance to someone else, an employee or subcontractor - what makes them feel safe  against that class of  question ?
    At worst, some sort of retrospective controlled load test might be considered and documented.

    To give the  ' we took all reasonable precautions' level of cover, pull-out tests of representative samples of screw-in anchors and so on are common in  big projects, and in a brand new building putting the holes or the hooks in advance is preferred - your installers are then clamping to existing steels or bolting to existing hooks - which both  is much safer for them, and more certain  in terms of strength than using a power drill overhead to make a fixing point into some part of the building that may or may not be strong enough.

    Mike

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