Rope access specialists from CAN, an RSK company, have been viewing Lord’s Cricket Ground, home of Marylebone Cricket Club, from a rather unique perspective: suspended from a height of 20 from the roof of the Warner Stand at the ground in London.
The Warner Stand roof was built in 2017 by Taiyo, a specialist in membrane structures, and was installed by CAN. The membrane provides a thermally insulated and light translucent roof over the stand and VIP lounge area. Owing to the material used, a PTFE fabric, regular cleaning is needed to maintain the service life of the roof and identify any areas for further maintenance to ensure the iconic image of the venue remains visually appealing to the almost 3000 visitors seated below.
CAN Project Manager John Sharp said: “The roof of the Warner Stand is and several storeys above the pitch. To safely clean the top and underside of the canopy, the team needed to use specialist industrial rope access techniques and advanced rescue plans, which were made possible by the highly skilled team of level 2 and level 3 Industrial Rope Access Trade Association (IRATA) accredited personnel selected for the works.
“Owing to the construction of the roof canopy, anchorage was gained from the structural steel that supports the roof between the oak timber beams. This was a particular challenge because the roof itself does not incorporate anchorage points that we could use. A ground-level cordon was also in place to ensure the safety of our team.”
Over the course of a week, a four-man team was able to safely deliver maintenance work to the structure.
John said: “Our level of expertise meant we were able to develop a low impact access solution to enable the cleaning works. Given the nature of the work being over the stands, there were not any other suitable access methods that could be mobilised in such a short timescale with the same minimal impact and low cost to the client.”
Taiyo Project Manager Serban Hrusca said: “Taiyo and CAN have collaborated on multiple projects since 2015, building operational compatibility and trust. The Lord’s project is yet another job where CAN has delivered skilled, qualified rope-access work, allowing Taiyo to deliver a good quality service to the end client.”
The CAN team has recently delivered rope access works at other iconic sites, including the White Cliffs of Dover and Brighton’s chalk cliffs.
