Enigma’s in-house Design & Engineering team has provided a solution to anchor the scaffolding into the building’s concrete slab structure beneath the surface to hold the outer skin of brickwork due to deterioration.

Bronglais General Hospital, located in Aberystwyth, is the only acute hospital within mid-Wales and provides a comprehensive range of in-patient, outpatient, and mental health services. The hospital managed by Hywel Dda University Health Board (The local health board of NHS Wales for the West of Wales), also provides Accident & Emergency, and Diagnostic facilities on-site.

Enigma was awarded the project by a valued client TRJ (T Richard Jones) Ltd, to provide a temporary access solution utilising tube and fitting scaffold at Bronglais Hospital, Aberystwyth. To shore up the walls and hold the outer skin of brickwork so TRJ engineers are able to conduct initial investigations of the building’s elevations to identify the cause of failure.

The scaffolding structure is fully boarded on every lift to permit safe access on every level. Debris netting has been installed to protect the general public walking in close proximity to the structure from the potential of any falling masonry. Also, due to the high volume of traffic and tight footprint, everything had to be carefully planned and coordinated to avoid disruption.

Due to the buildings outer skin showing signs of surface deterioration that could lead to failure, it was deemed unsuitable for tying the scaffold into the brickwork. The Enigma in-house Design & Engineering Team overcame the challenge by providing a solution to drill holes through the outer skin of bricks and anchor the scaffolding to the main concrete slab behind the brickwork that encapsulates the lift shaft.

The 14-lift scaffold structure is anchored securely with threaded bar tie tubes attached to ladder beams. Additionally, scaffolding boards are fixed and placed to shore up the brickwork’s outer skin so TRJ engineers can investigate why there was a failure.