Skanska’s steel decking company Richard Lees Steel Decking has devised an innovative solution to an unusual requirement on 120 bridges to be built in the Philippines.
Balfour Beatty Power Networks, responsible for the design of the bridges and supply of materials, needed Holorib steel decking that could be installed without any electrical supply or the use of power tools. This meant that normal methods, such as using shot-fired nails to fix decking to the steel structure, were out.
The Richard Lees team set about devising a system that was also robust enough to withstand the extreme wind conditions sometimes experienced in the region. After two months of development, the team came up with “Fastclip”, which uses clips to fasten the deck to pre-studded steel bridge beams.
Associate director Chris Hampton explained; “The development team has done a great job in designing an innovative and robust deck fixing system suitable for conditions found in remote parts of the world that is easy to install.
“The decking is clipped to the shear studs and, once in position, the Fastclips apply downward pressure to the Holorib sheets to resist wind uplift and prevent dislodgment.”
The components for the bridges, including the Holorib steel decking and the Fastclips, will be shipped to the Philippines and delivered to nine warehouses ready for distribution and assembly over the next three years.