Centrium Building, Woking
The Project
Volsen were approached by Pinnacle Property Management to solve an issue with the roofs on their iconic Centrium & The Exchange building in Woking.
From the start, this was going to prove a challenging project not just because of the logistics of working on a 17-storey building but also because of the location of the building, so close to pedestrian walkways, busy roads and the busy hub of Woking train station.
The building was just 8 years old and every roof was suffering from design and workmanship issues which were causing the residents to suffer water ingress. In addition, the building had been constructed with limited roof access and impractical working conditions for maintenance and repairs.
Of paramount concern when assessing the approach to the refurbishment was the safety of the residents, pedestrians and our team members. We liaised very closely with our appointed person for Health & Safety, the Surveyor, the Client and the Council/Highways Agency to formulate a plan for the best and most practical course of action.
The first stage of the project was protection and how to protect the pedestrians using the very busy Woking train station which services London Waterloo. We obtained local authority permission to close the pedestrian walkways adjacent to the building and re-routed the pedestrians onto an alternative route.
The next step was to ensure that our site team remained safe whilst working on the various roofs. This was achieved by installing a height safety system to the perimeter edge to allow us to complete the refurbishment with the use of restraint harnesses. We implemented a register for signing operatives and their tools, in and out from the roof area daily which was run by our Team Supervisor. The site teams completed the whole project whilst working off harnesses in restraint and their tools and materials were attached to their harnesses by way of lanyards to prevent their fall.
In addition, their hardhats were equipped with chin straps to prevent loss, safety footwear was properly secured and any personal items carried by each team member, such as mobile phones and wallets were removed from their clothing and stored safely. This practice was essential as we had no additional edge protection to capture anything that might plummet from the site.
We also had to take into consideration our deliveries on site and how to minimise our impact on the local roads and community. This was achieved in two parts, firstly by avoiding any rush hour time slots and secondly, by arranging to have operatives on the ground to accept the deliveries in a smooth and efficient manner. The aim was to reduce the inconvenience to the local community.
The refurbishment of approximately 1000 M2 of roofing was completed successfully in 2016 and we have been asked to return to work on various projects for Pinnacle Property Management at this site and their sister site, The Exchange in 2017.
Project Details
- Name : Centrium Building
- Location : Woking
- Expertise : Roof refurbishment to a failed roofing system on various roofs including the 15th floor uniquely shaped top roof requiring specialist height safety skills.