Tag: high level access

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This is about as tight as it gets

Our reputation just grows daily for being specialists with spiders.
This is about as tight as it gets with walkway railings jutting out.
Then having to find the space for legs in the jungle.

Perfect fit.

I got it in and then let Liam bring it out for more great experience.
Should you have any difficult access issues give HAP a call to see if we can save you money as manager thought they were going to scaffold it at substantial cost just to clean the gutters out.
Now going round the back of building which is nice and easy to access as still half of the side gutter to clear.

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Honesty is the best policy

Everything I touch at the moment turns to gold.
I’m so lucky.

Do you know why I think it is.

I’m brutally honest and that costs us as a business, a lot of money.
But I wouldn’t have it any other way.(honesty & integrity)

First time we have worked for this client this morning and I told her a number of things in our report that most other companies wouldn’t which will reduce our earnings with them.

“I’m really grateful for these images, thank you so much. I also appreciate your honesty, it seems its not very common at the moment!”

That statement right there!!!

I appreciate your honesty.

She knows I’m putting her company first!

Our clients come first, above us and our business as it is they that create our business.

Even got offered another job and again I gave her information to save her money which did me out of money.

“You don’t need a spider for that as you can use a boom” (which I don’t have).

Poof, more money given away , but I’m honest and I’ve created another great client!

Now having that mindset in our greedy industry is unheard of and will take us far.

Have a fab weekend everybody.

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I said it was tight

I said it was tight.

Just finishing off a huge job and getting 18.90 back out of a property.

There’s also a walled garden area behind the machine so no room for error.

Another 5* review on its way.

Client over the moon with outcome of the roof clean.
Going back in April for roof repairs as they are going to configure their back areas so we can get the platform in.

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Plan ahead

Little video of some of the types of installs we do for clients.

Should always plan ahead.

A 1600s building so everything needed to be spot on from our side.

2 visits to this one to get the numbers right as a lot going on.

PB18.90 collapsed down to get through 1.97 arched door.
Numerous steps to get down.
Tracked down a slope to get turned then up and in through a 1m gate.

Once through needed to slide machine to the left sufficiently to enable to set up the legs.

My son was working a night shift last night so I did the install on my own.
All sorted and we are ready for action.

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Roof scrape in progress

Worst one I’ve done.
Roof scrape in progress.
Rammed full of moss.

18.90 collapsed down to get down the side of the building to access back areas.

Will post a picture when the machine is ready to leave as it’s the tightest install I’ve done to get round the back.
Let’s just say the turn was tight with very limited space.
This was the nice easy part below.

Client currently having many renovations completed and once they get the Monocouche render on (15mm)there will be no access to get round the turn.

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We had mm to play with on this one

When it’s tough access they only ring one team.
We had mm to play with on this one.
This huge property also has a hidden well on one set up we need to carry out so it will be another difficult set up in a another tight area.
You have to be asking lots of questions when carrying out your survey.
If your not asking those searching questions or pricing blind you may well get wet or worse your machine is going over if you accidentally set up in the wrong areas.
On very tricky jobs with multiple set ups we use two IPAF trained personnel who have good experience of spiders in order to look after our clients in the best possible way.
That’s why our reputation in the spider world just grows and grows.

Life or death situations when you’re using spiders so always choose the best.
Using agency staff with limited experience ain’t gonna cut it.
I’m probably one of the most experienced in the industry on spiders with well over 3,100 lifts but believe me everyday is a learning day and we take nothing for granted.
Stay safe .

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We reacted to an emergency callout by the Fire Brigade

Harrogate Access Platforms reacted to an emergency call out that came in at 3pm on the 17th November.

Fire teams had attended to put out a house fire on Sandmoor Drive, Leeds.
They couldn’t access onto the land with fire trucks in order to make the building safe so the property could be searched by their dog team.

We actually organised this job through a face time call in which I was shown the relevant information I needed to see.

They originally wanted to access from next door’s drive but I soon established the outreach required was too great for the 33m tracked spider
I asked if they could show me the front of said building and we organised between both companies that we would be able to get the tracked machine in to a relevant area to be able to access areas of concern.

My arse was on the line from a video call so I needed to get the call right.
Luckily we are probably the most experienced in the industry when it comes to spiders due to working off our machines daily for the last 7 years.

I turned out to be correct on my call and we did reach everything required but we needed every ounce of the PB33.15/300s outreach once we got the tricky set up sorted.

Happy fire brigade and happy teams that worked on this specialist project in difficult circumstances.

We were onsite for 6pm after sending all relevant documentation required.

The works went very well and the building was made safe for a dog team to enter.

I can happily report nothing was found during the search which was fantastic news for all concerned.

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Sometimes you have to say No

Sometimes you have to say No to a client.

As a specialist small company we get to price many difficult tasks using our spiders which does create huge savings for clients if they can be completed in that way.

To this day I have a 100% strike rate of completing safely over 3000 lifts.

There was a number of issues I picked up once I got to site to carry out a survey.

Our number one priority is safety.

We have to make informed decisions with all information that we can see or glean from clients.
I did lots of investigations to find out information including contacting the River Trust about a canal path.
Our set up area was very tight and very close to a canal edge.
After discussions it came to light that the section in question was not maintained by the canal & river trust but was owned by the building owners.
No maintenance had been carried out on this section for many years and TBH I felt it was in poor condition to take a 6.8t platform after carrying out detailed investigations.
I even managed to take some underwater photos of the stonework/sets in place.
Yep we lose money/time/effort but I have to make an informed decision based on my H&S experience.
In my eyes it’s another win as I think we have averted a potentially huge hazard.
Our business is not about making money it’s about keeping people safe with our knowledge of where and where not to site spiders to complete tasks safely.
I had already put a plan B together for client as I don’t like having to say No.
We will use a completely different machine (bigger) , from a different area that will complete the work safely ensuring everybody gets home safe.
The contractor who I met onsite to discuss with was very happy with how/why we arrived at our decision once I had showed him our detailed investigations and very happy to pay the additional cost for a bigger machine.
We will make nothing but I take away so much more – Experience!

You can get your IPAF 1b licence in one day BUT it takes years to gain the experience required to be deemed a good operator.

How companies quote jobs from Google is beyond me as I’m sure it creates huge issues with things missed

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Perfect measure!

Just got to where she needed to be.

Nice Friday off for York Races and golf Sat but unfortunately having to work Sunday with the 33.

Have a great weekend all.

The Whellans boys are flying!