Heathrow Terminal 4: Case Study Transcript

When we’ve spoken to people about washout, because it’s such a challenge to manage, it’s probably easier to not talk about it too much.
And I think that’s been one of the big challenges for the whole industry, to be honest, is that there’s not been a kind of a one-stop solution or fix for washing out the concrete skips, the concrete lorries, and concrete placing booms, and a vast range of other pipelines on site. If it’s not managed correctly, it can be harmful to the environment, but it can also be a costly expense to clear up as well.

We’ve got a very good relationship with our clients, and it was actually one of the project managers, Pat Heston from Rine Contractors, who approached us and said that they’d had this challenge. He’d actually come up with a tray system. It worked for them, and he came to us and said that with your brand, your expertise, and everything else you do in your range, he thought it would be something that we could take to market better than he could.

I suppose it was a meeting of two minds, and we found that there was a solution to be had. He came up with the very basic tray system, and then we’ve added everything else to it. So we’ve adapted the tray quite a lot. We’ve added a bag system to it, we’ve added submersible pumps, we’ve added the water tank, and then come up with the option to pump it into the back of the lorries. And of course, we’ve made it work with our washout stand as well.

It’s reuse, it’s recycle, and it’s safe and effective. Pat said to me, we need this on T4 Hotel in three or four weeks’ time, so that was where the first system ever went.

When we were coming out of the ground here, out of the basement, we were pouring on average between 1,200 to 1,400 cubic metres a week. The washout unit really helped us deal with management of wastewater and our washout system, and it’s something that they threw themselves into really, as Grove Developments. So yeah, it was an all-round winner.

I think the biggest challenge for them was the complexity of the project, the fact it was a very tight site and there were a lot of restrictions, and it was in a very busy location. It’s efficient. We’re tight for space, we’re obviously tight for ground, and we don’t have anywhere to put excess concrete. When we’re finished pours or we’re washing out skips, there’s excess water and we don’t have anywhere to put it.

So when we wash the skips out plus the wagons, we’re recycling the water. It’s going into jet wash, it’s going back into the wagons, as we can’t have running water going out onto the road or down main drains or anything. So for the environment, it’s going straight back to use.

I think it’s an important project for us because it’s helped us to understand the challenges that the site teams have faced up until today. We’ve been able to collaborate with them, understand the challenges, and then go away, work with our design team and with our innovators in the company, and come up with a solution.

It’s good to have that relationship because it brings out the best in the projects. We’re becoming more than just an equipment supplier. We’re now supplying solutions on site, and it’s providing a benefit to the whole industry.