Projects
70 Fulcrum Street
PROJECT REVIEWS
Project Name
Fulcrum Street Works
Date
July – September 2017
Introduction
Building Solutions Brisbane was commissioned by Jones Lang LaSalle to retrofit a truck loading centre consisting of three dock levellers, new access doors and the conversion of a car-park to a truck hardstand area to support the new use of the building. The works began at design stage and were completely inclusive of everything required to open the commercial space to new tenants.
Site Details
The industrial site located in an industrial hub at Richlands south-west of Brisbane with frontage to centenary highway, once housed the assembly and distribution centre for Hills clothes lines. The 15500 m2 warehouse with supporting office area was not previously suitable for the speed loading and unloading of large trucks, nor equipped with a large hardstand area to turn or store such vehicles. Given the size, location and potential uses for the site, this largely restricted tenants for the warehouse. With the addition of the new hardstand and dock unloading area the potential for the site has grown substantially.
Safety Consideration
People involved. Completing a job of this calibre requires the use of heavy machinery, and many workers onsite simultaneously completing different aspects of the job. The entire job was restricted for access, as well as the addition of barricades around certain high risk work activities. Through the duration of the job Building Solutions Brisbane had staff onsite all the times to ensure compliance with our strict OH&S Policies and Procedures. These included the use and implementation of work method statements for each aspect of the project, job hazard analysis for each task. All of the paperwork regarding safety, prestarts, plans and specs for the job were made readily available in the site office area of the job. Inductions into the job and daily toolbox meetings where conducted by BSB staff onsite. Overall the job was completed with zero incidents or near misses, which highlights our systems around safety work and is a true testament to those responsible onsite for the implementation along with the staff and subcontractors for abiding.
Establishment
Firstly, the site was completely fenced, signed and sediment barriers setup to ensure compliance with environmental plans. The site was surveyed and all services were located and isolated to ensure that there were no incidents once work had started. At this point we located a stormwater main not accurately located on plans that would have to be diverted for the dock levellers. The site office area, including amenities, were setup onsite.
Preparation
To prepare for the excavation, saw cutting over the area of the dock leveller install and hardstand area was done in order to improve the quality of slab removal. The cutting took 2 days to complete due to the large thickness and high strength concrete used in the slab. The resulting sludge had to be controlled as to prevent any environmental concerns with the waste
Demolition
A contractor was engaged to demolish and excavate the old carpark area for the hardstand and concrete for dock leveller area, including the redundant office block located near the dock leveller. Two 30t excavators were used to demolish the concrete and hardstand areas in preparation for the works. All concrete, and material was taken to relevant recycling plants to ensure disposal in accordance with environmental plans and sustainability in construction.
Dock Loader area Preparation
To prepare the area for the dock leveller areas a large section of concrete had to be removed and soil excavated, as the dock levellers require a lm ledge, yet the ideal gradients for trucks needed to be maintained. This is the point we had to re-divert the stormwater main to install the loaders. The excavation had to be done with precision to ensure appropriate heights where maintained. To do this an excavator equipped with GPS height positioning system was used. The area had to be cut to multiple different heights and grades and footings dug for retaining walls. Then retaining walls had to be installed in different stages to work with slab pours and stepped slabs. The area also required the installation of a sump and pump for drainage.
Dock Loader area Construction
As a part of the scope of works we needed to install a new roller shutter opening to the building. This involved the relocation of a personal access door, the cutting of the wall and concrete dado panel, installation of structural steel, and final installation of the new roller door. This was done in conjunction with the ground works associated with the dock leveller area. The concrete laid for the dock levellers had to be finished with perfect accuracy to ensure the smooth operation of the levellers after install. The concrete in this area had to be done in multiple pours with addition of small walls for the change in heights around the levellers. This was all completed impeccably and the dock levellers were installed and functional without any issues.
Hardstand area Preparation
Overall a complete reshape of the site was required. The hardstand area needed to be cut and filled in different areas and a retaining wall constructed down one side. This was done using a combination of the excavators, bobcats, drotts, and compaction rollers to ensure the area met compaction requirements and to avoid future settlement in the area. Over the 2800m2 the final cut was completed with machinery to accuracy of =/-10mm.
Hardstand Concrete Placement
The concrete in the hardstand area was broken up into 12 separate pours. The concrete was poured into place via an overhead boom 2 sections a day, assisting us in getting well ahead of schedule The boom reduced the movements of the concrete trucks whilst providing a fast and easy workflow for the pouring itself. The entire area was poured and completed in 7 working days.
Conclusive
Overall the job has run smoothly with very minimal issues and was completed well ahead of schedule. There was a slight complication with the relocation of a fire hydrant which fell in the path of trucks but in the end a solution was found that provided a functional use of the hardstand and dock levellers, whilst maintaining compliance with relevant standards and QFES. The job has been a great success with all works completed to the highest standard, exceeding the customer’s expectations and substantially growing the potential value and functionality of the site.
