Bell's Sports Centre - Rope Access Lighting Replacement

Project Background

The Bell's Sports Centre in Perth is owned by the local council and is operated on their behalf. 

Architecturally, it is best known for its laminated timber dome roof which at the time of construction was the largest in the UK.

The lighting systems were due for upgrading and the council appointed JGM Electrical as the Principal Contractor with all specialist work at height sub-contracted to HAKI Access Solutions Ltd. 

Client Initial Specified Work Scope

This project consisted of the removal of 180 existing high bay luminaires in 4 concentric circles and replacing them with upgraded LED luminaires helping to reduce the sports centres energy usage. The two outer circles involved a like for like replacement, whilst the upper two circles had a reduced quantity of 50%, further reducing the electrical consumption for the sports hall.

The project involved working at height from 5 metres up to 14 metres which required a mobile alloy tower for the lower levels and rope access for the higher levels. 

Our Solution

HAKI Access recommended the use of two industrial rope access teams for the installation of the luminaries at height. 

Due to the relatively small scale of works required, providing access with scaffolding would not be cost effective given the large volume of equipment required to gain access to those heights relative to the small scale of works required.

MEWPS were also unsuitable as the sprung timber flooring would be highly likely to be damaged by the loadings involved so therefore we defaulted to rope access as the safest, quickest and most cost effective means of working at height. 

Safety & Commercial Benefits

All works were safely completed ahead of schedule with just five personnel onsite working across two work faces. 

Method statements and risk assessments were submitted for approval at the point of quotation to minimise delays in the event of contract award. 

In addition, prior to works commencing a trial rescue from height was completed to validate the rescue plan and provide additional reassurance to the owners of the building that industrial rope access is a safe means of working at height.