We were further instructed during the contract period to install a passenger lift valued at £130,000 in the core of the main school building. This required extensive secure hoardings and strict working boundaries. It was agreed during this phase of the works to use some internal areas for storage instead of external space to maintain ease of access to the client site. The lift works improved the whole school experience as now the higher floors were accessible to all, allowing the intake of students to increase.
Works commenced the first day of summer break, however it was soon discovered that the foundation design could not be implemented, the ground conditions were reassessed by the use of trial pits and the foundations were redesigned. The masonry shaft and diamond cutting through 3 upper floors as well as the new foundation design were all completed during the 6-week summer break ready for the lift car installation to commence out of hours when the school returned.
The school had an open evening on the 23rd of September which was a very important showcase for the client. The main entrance, where all the guests would enter, was the area that the lift was being installed at that time. The site team tidied the site and secured the lift so that the building works could be covered up and the lift looked like it was completed. Whilst this effort didn’t have to be done, we listened to the client and wanted to make sure we were supporting their vision.
The critical success factor of this project was that we minimised disruption to the day-to-day running of the school. This was a live school environment so the programme included a large percentage of out-of-hours and weekend working, particularly for work in the common areas and above classrooms, both of which could not happen when occupied.
