Trelleborg
Overview
After a competitive design & build tender, Eric Wright Civil Engineering were awarded the “below ground works” to construct Trelleborg’s new 6781ft2 testing facility that houses two state-of-the-art hyperbaric test chambers. Following the successful delivery of the first phase we were subsequently awarded the construction of the building that houses the testing facility.
The test chambers simulate extreme deep-water pressure conditions, enabling accurate testing of subsea and drilling equipment. Hyperbaric testing is the only way to effectively simulate deep-water conditions and to confirm the reliability of product in deep subsea environments.
Phase 1 works consisted of installation of two 6m diameter, 10.5m deep shafts for the installation of the client’s specialist equipment. The shaft and base were designed to be watertight and gas-proof.
The base was designed to accept the weight of the pressure vessel, estimated at 390 tonnes including contained water. The tolerance on the level of bearing surface below the vessel is plus or minus 3mm. The works included preparatory works to form foundations, slabs etc. in preparation for the erection of the new building structure.
A serviced portal frame building was then constructed over the test chambers
Key Challenges
The site was located within the current live business site of Trelleborg’s Skelmersdale factory, a fully operational manufacturing facility, the operation of which continued for the entire project.
All site personal were briefed and fully aware of the Trelleborg Contractor Safety Pack, Safe Systems of Work and the Environmental Manual.
