Safety isn't brushed off at West Side Place

In line with our ‘Safer by Design’ strategy, the team at West Side Place have developed an innovative way to engineer out the risks of falling objects when undergoing façade works at height.

The traditional 'bottom flap' found on fully enclosed protection screens – used across many sites, simply couldn't secure all gaps in the towers' ever-changing stepped façade.

West Side Place Site Project Manager Tim Cottam explains, each of the towers' facades have varying depths from the edge of the slab with steps, fins and raking profile occurring in almost every direction.

“We know that falling objects are one of the greatest risks to safety on a construction site, and so we needed to find a way to mitigate and reduce that risk that worked with the irregular depths of the façade design," he said.

The team took to the yard and created a prototype bottom deck featuring a spring-loaded timber flap that was lined with heavy duty nylon brush strips, sandwiching a 6mm rubber sheet.

“The spring loaded hinges ensured that the flap was constantly resting against the façade, while the double layered brush reinforced with the rubber sheet served the dual purpose of sealing all gaps and catching falling objects" said Tim.

The team performed rigorous testing using a façade Visual Mock Up (VMU) that replicated all possible façade configurations.

“Anything and everything that was expected to be on the façade install levels from concrete rubble to façade brackets and bolts were drop-tested" the result – a resounding success.

This innovation is testament to our continuous journey to boost safety culture and standards across our business and the broader industry.