Levo Factory Access Platforms

At a Glance

Levo, an established brand of condiments and margarine products in The Netherlands required bespoke pedestrian access platforms and staircases within their production factory for staff to gain access to the new 15 no. 6m high margarine production tanks.Relinea was approached by Levo to deliver the inclusive design and manufacture of the Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) access platforms and staircases with integrated handrail and safety ladder access for the Levo factory.

Client

Levo

Location

Franeker
, Netherlands

Services

Fabrication, Installation

Products

GRP Access, GRP Handrail System, GRP Safety Cage Ladders, GRP Staircases

Explain your needs

Problem/Challenge

Owing to the considerable access issues within the factory, heavy weight steel could not be used to manufacture the platforms due to the inaccessibility of heavy lifting machinery within the building. The client thus required a lightweight yet structurally robust platform system that could be easily installed by manual handling.

Space restrictions surrounding the margarine tanks along with the limited head height availability from the top of the proposed platforms were a major issue from a design perspective of the project.

Solution

Considering the exceptional strength-to-weight ratio of GRP, the lightweight material was chosen by the client for the manufacture of the access platforms and staircases, since the GRP profiles could be easily manually handled during installation without compromising the health and safety of personnel.

Relinea completed an onsite measure and provided the client with a comprehensive structural design of the platforms including working drawings. On account of the problematic space restrictions surrounding the margarine tanks, Relinea developed a bespoke design solution to allow for adequate clearance at the base of the platform staircase by altering the structural profile sections from the standard platform design.

The bespoke GRP platforms were manufactured in 6m sections and spliced together. 6.5m high GRP ladders with integrated safety cage and side access walkway were incorporated into the design for additional operative access.

The site installation was carried out by the project’s principal contractor and managed by Relinea’s Site Supervisor. The installation time and labour costs of the project were significantly reduced since heavy lifting machinery was not required to install the lightweight GRP platforms.

Further to this, the client was very satisfied with the overall quality and performance of Relinea’s GRP access platforms, not to mention the added non-corrosive and low lifecycle cost benefits of the structures.