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Concrete Skip innovation – new attachments

24th, October 2024

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Addressing the last lifting operation where personnel are positioned below a suspended load

Pouring concrete using skips is a popular methodology in the industry due to its efficiency, cost savings and productivity. However, it’s the last remaining process where personnel are stood directly beneath a suspended load during this process. We just knew that there must be a safer way to lift skips and pour wet concrete that avoided putting operatives at risk.

Between Summer 2023 and into Autumn 2024, we have worked with large Tier 1 and plant contractors, Balfour Beatty and Select Plant Hire, part of Laing O’Rourke, to design, manufacture, test and trial a new set of accessories to improve the safety standards of column/tremie skips, in order to:

01/ Remove the last lifting operation in the industry where a person needs to stand below a suspended load to operate the equipment.

02/ To aid the more accurate directional pour of concrete, removing all personnel from underneath the skip.

Our New Innovations

This month we have released a range of skip attachments that improve safety and productivity. They can be used individually or in conjunction with each other, accommodating any site-specific application.

So, what led up to these industry-leading innovations?

Extended Flow Gate Handle

Working with the onsite Balfour Beatty engineering team, our engineers worked with our customers’ site teams to develop a longer handle for the flow gate, providing the same functionality as the standard flow gate handle but moving operatives away from under the skip during the pour.

Hose Guide & Insert

The next challenge was finding a solution to control hoses up to double the length of a standard 3-metre discharge hose.

Conquip used feedback at a further trial to develop the Hose Guide, a 2-person attachment with hooked ends that can guide the hose without personnel stood underneath the skip. Extendable handles allow the Hose Guide Attachment to be adjusted for differing site conditions. For applications where access around the hose is restricted, tag lines can be attached to the hose insert to position the hose, rather than using the Hose Guide.

Bauer Connection

One of the safety issues with tremie skips is when the tremie hose has been refitted badly. If the hose clips are not torqued to the correct setting, the hose can come unattached during a pour. This is particularly prevalent when using longer hoses (over 3 metres) as the flow pressure increases with the additional height. This attachment provides a secure quick-release solution for attaching longer hose lengths (up to 6 metres) to the skip without having to remove the hose clip. Its slide-on, slide-off functionality makes it simple to attach and detach varying lengths of hose with minimal downtime and improved safety.

You can find out more about these upgrades and how to buy them with our Concrete Skips or to retro-fit them to your existing Conquip Concrete Skips here.

Building on previous safety innovation

Conquip first released a Concrete Skip Without Bale Arm in 2017, following some safety-related incidents on-site. This version featured lifting chains providing an alternative, two-point lifting option.

In the last 18 months to 2 years, many Tier 1 contractors have specified against the skips with bale arms; although both are is use in the industry.

We know the market is moving increasingly in the direction of skips without bale arms as the best practice method. Our Concrete Skip Without Bale Arm is available in 500 litres to 4000 litres capacity and features two inverted lifting points to ensure a balanced lift every time.

What’s next?

We work closely with main contractors to continually improve our best-in-class equipment and provide resources and technical support to ensure they’re used for the right purpose, by competent, trained operatives.

We’re excited to do all we can to ensure the safe use of concrete pouring equipment and welcome any comments from our customers as they start to use these new attachments.