Suspended Walkways – Concept to Reality

Back in April 2021 Step on Safety was asked to look at a potential suspended walkway for one of the busiest Ports in the country – Dover.

The question was “We need six bespoke suspended walkways to be built beneath our piers to be used for inspections and maintenance. Is it possible?” Yes was the answer…..

All the fabrication took place on site, as access limitations prevented pre-fabrication at our factory. Working in conjunction with Volker Laser, the primary contractor on site we provided six cantilevered walkways complete with access ladders, handrail and safety gates. The inspection gangways will mean the port crews can now make regular checks without the need for specialist abseiling teams. We also replaced some of the existing concrete deck at the end of the pier with 42mm Solid Top Grating adding hatches to allow access to the new inspection walkways.

The team spent approximately six weeks working in some pretty horrible conditions to complete something we have not seen done in the UK before. Six bespoke walkways (4 suspended and two stood on a platform).

Even our CAD Design team spent time on site whilst the project was in build, overcoming unforeseen obstacle’s and redesigning certain elements to suit the clients needs.

After 8 months of hard work from CAD Design to Fabrication, we are excited to show the end results.

The walkways have been completely built from our high quality GRP Profiles and Anti-Slip Gratings which are impervious to salt water. They are designed to work in some of the harshest environments in the world, and it doesn’t get much worse than the end of a docking pier in a busy port.

A stainless steel version of what we supplied would have cost the port millions and would have taken much longer to install.

To find out more, or if you have a similarly challenging project, please contact Gareth McAuley for help.