At our client’s site in Harwich, Essex, a water jetty approximately 200 metres long is used for logistical purposes to deliver fuel into the refinery from ships to support production onsite. So, they can manufacture high-value hydrocarbon-based speciality products and solvents compromising heavy aromatics for their agrochemicals and fuel additives business, including various oil and gas products, special kerosenes, and drilling mud solvents. Also, at the site founded in 1964, they blend high-performance fuels used for specific applications, such as racing or historic cars, and engine development.

Enigma has a semi-permanent team on the refinery site to support general cyclic maintenance work, and the client contacted us with a bespoke project because they required access to three lines on the right-hand side of the jetty so that the old pipe could be cut and replaced. So, to permit safe access for tradespeople to work along the jetty, they requested a light-duty working platform below existing pipes that run along the permanent jetty.

We selected tube and fitting due to its flexibility in changing bay sizes where clashes may occur with the pipes and steel beams. Tube ledgers were fixed to existing steel beams using pairs of Gravlock couplers, and a board-bearing Transom then spanned between the ledgers and was boarded to create a working platform. Additionally, the client requested a tower every 15 metres to hang 1.5 metres below the existing pipes. So, to achieve this, we fixed dropper tubes to steel beams using Gravlock couplers and built a boarded platform from the droppers, with access to the towers provided by ladders.

The erected temporary scaffold structure is approximately 100 metres long, consisting of 24 laydown mats and six suspended hangers. We also needed clearance from the Harwich port authority to access the jetty.