Heyrod Construction Case Study

Contract:                    £350m PFI New Build - Whiston Hospital  

Main Contractor:       Taylor Woodrow Construction Ltd

Formwork:                 Heyrod Construction Ltd

Heyrod Construction Ltd was established in 1978 by Mr Frank Gillespie, specialising in formwork / steel fixing. In recent years Heyrod have diversified into New Build, Refurbishment, Civil Engineering and Design & Build Projects and they have been included in the top 30 fastest growing companies within the North West over the last 3 years.

Employing over 800 personnel on their current projects, Heyrod Construction were well placed to be awarded the enviable Formwork / Steel Fixing contract on the £350m PFI Taylor Woodrow project at Whiston Hospital.

‘The Whiston Hospital project had 8 Tower Cranes working at any one time, so we had to ensure that we had an effective radio communication system for the safe operation of the Tower Cranes, including a ‘Crash’ radio system.’ – Paul Hamlett – Plant Manager, Heyrod Construction

Heyrod Construction chose Radiocoms for their extensive experience to come up with a simple yet manageable radio solution for this prestigious project.

‘One of the key factors that had to be taken into consideration when providing a solution of this nature was Health & Safety. In this case, the safe operation of the tower cranes was critical, especially when they were lifting extremely heavy loads around the site. This is why they had to have their own designated channels; one for each tower crane / banksman and one for the ‘crash’ radio system. Radiocoms completed an Ofcom licence for Heyrod and were granted 9 unique channels for this site. This meant that each banksman and each tower crane driver could have their own ‘private’ conversation, free from any interference from other radio users in the area, thus providing safe lifting operations. In addition, each tower crane had its own ‘crash’ radio in the cabin, so if any of Heyrod’s personnel was aware of any impending danger, they could simple switch their radio to the crash channel and ensure that they would be heard by all of the tower crane drivers.

As well as providing the tower cranes and the crash radio system with unique channels, Radiocoms also provided each radio user with 6 general hire frequency channels. This allowed the foremen and managers on site, to contact each other for non lift related issues, without the fear of interrupting any critical lifts.

This radio setup was chosen as it is ensures that the radio operation is clear from interference and therefore safe and easy to use for all personnel on site.’ Richard Hemmings – Construction Specialist.

‘Radiocoms used their knowledge and experience to provide a simple yet very effective radio communication solution, which not only solved our radio communication needs, but also kept any radio training to a minimum and thus enabling all site personnel to focus on the job in hand.’ – Paul Hamlett – Plant Manager, Heyrod Construction