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Interbuild Review: Constructive ideas EHN reports on the latest product developments and innovations relevant to the hire industry that were on show at Interbuild. In addition to launching new products for the construction industry, several Interbuild exhibitors featured comprehensive services and advice they could offer to companies and tradesmen. Hewden exemplified this by not only promoting the equipment it can supply, but also highlighting backup services and advice that it can offer, particularly with regard to Health & Safety issues. The hirer distributed copies of its new guide on noise at work, which is designed to give straightforward advice on the Control of Noise at Work Regulations, which came into effect on 6 April. As we explained in last month’s issue, the legislation reduces permitted levels by 5dBA and obliges employers to provide training and to assess the risk to workers exposed to a noise level of 80dBA. Workers exposed to 85dBA and above must have hearing protection available and employers must implement risk assessment procedures. Noise campaign “The booklet is part of our new campaign, Shout About Noise Reductions, which aims to alert and educate customers and employees working in the construction industry,” states Martin Williams, Hewden’s Environmental Health & Safety Manager.” An eye-catching feature on the stand was a ‘noise thermometer’, resembling a try-your-strength sideshow, to illustrate the noise levels created by different equipment and activities. “We are also explaining how Hewden (www.hewden.co.uk) can offer equipment with lower noise levels, as well as a complete range of items from plant and tools to access machinery and cranes.” The Modular Space division of GE Equipment Services (www.modularspace.com), exhibiting with the support of GenSet (www.genset.co.uk), displayed a GenQuip Groundhog GP360 mobile welfare unit, designed to enable contractors to meet key Health & Safety criteria. The six-man cabin offers sanitary conveniences, washing facilities, drinking water, accommodation for clothing, changing facilities and an area for resting and eating. The Groundhog can be towed to site, manoeuvred into position and secured by one person in less than three minutes, and it can be finished in corporate colours. One of the access products on Interlink Alloy Systems’ stand was the StairDeck Combi, a modified version of the StairDeck stairway tower, featuring a folding base unit. “It simplifies erection of the tower base by combining all the components into one neat, folding structure that can be used by one person,” states Clive Patterson, the inventor of the product, which Interlink (www.interlinkalloys.co.uk) markets. He is also Managing Director of the Uxbridge-based hirer, Portatools. “We have eliminated the ladder section from the lower frame, made an integral lock brace between the upper and lower frames, and incorporated a wider, longer work platform that assists entrance to the upper frames. The new base unit fits standard StairDeck components, and the whole assembly fits into the back of a small van.” Turner Access displayed NoNocs, a safety product designed to reduce impact and scuffing damage to finished surfaces, and to help prevent personal injury. The system comprises interlocking components made from fire retardant closed cell foam and available in different shapes and sizes to fit round aluminium towers, low-level access products, scaffolding, doorways and mobile elevated work platforms. Marketing Manager John Griffiths states that HSS has added the product to offer with hired equipment, as has Generation Hire and Sale, the West Midlands based supplier of scaffolding and access products. A new web site (www.nonocs.com) is being developed to promote the system. Brandon and Speedy, along with many independents throughout the country, are among hirers who have Sumner materials lifts in their fleets. Pride of place on the manufacturer’s Interbuild stand went to the Roust-A-Bout, which is available in 4.6m and 7.6m versions for lifting loads of up to 680kg. Separate winches control load and mast elevation and loads can be positioned horizontally as well as vertically. The mast and base sections separate to simplify transportation and storage. Sumner’s (www.sumner.com) UK operation is based in Telford. Panelmate Handling of Knaresborough displayed a range of products for moving panels, sheets, doors and windows in factories and on building sites. These included the Panel Tilter, which attaches to a stacker truck or a forklift and can be used to shift panels from a horizontal or vertical rack towards a vertical panel saw. The DorM8 is designed for moving and lifting heavy security doors single-handedly, while the Panel Lift can be used by one person to support sheets of material on walls and ceilings. Panelmate (www.panelmatehandling.com) can also produce customised materials handling products. Freeze Master’s (www.freezemaster.co.uk) electric pipe freezing machines feature a patented active-capillary microprocessor control. This is designed to achieve lower head pressures, resulting in rapid decrease of temperature. The control unit enables the operator to freeze hot and cold pipes simultaneously, without the risk of forming a concentration of refrigerant in the freeze head attached to the cooler pipe. The company says the design also means that the system keeps water frozen for longer in the event of a power failure. Screedpumps.co.uk promoted equipment available for hire and sale for the floor screeding market. The Essex-based company claims to have one of the largest stocks of German-built Putzmeister diesel screed pumps in the UK, including models that have a 200m pumping capability. Other equipment offered includes Lomar speed screeding machines that are designed to lay more than 60m2 per hour, and Brinkmann self-level flowing screeds. Scruffs, the brand of Birchwood Products that offers workwear and related products, promoted the Action Pack, a boxed set of accessories that can be added to the latest designs of Trade Trousers and Trade Shorts. It comprises a belt, a clip-on mobile phone pouch and two detachable tool or nail pockets. Both pockets have compartments for fixings and elasticated slots for pens, pencils and small tools. In addition, one has a zipped rear pocket while the other has a secure power tool holder. Also on show were new Scruffs (www.scruffs.com) Quake shoes, featuring an X-shaped shank and a heel gel ball for comfort. Professional electric nailer New to the fastening tools range from Tacwise, the professional brand of Rapesco, is the 400EL Pro electric nailer, an angled tool that can fire seven lengths of nail up to 40mm, and at speeds of up to 30 nails/minute. The magazine incorporates a ‘rifle butt’ style system for rapid reloading, while parallel viewing windows are designed to facilitate assessment of load status and the length of fixing being deployed. Tacwise (www.tacwise.com) says that the nose of the tool is smaller and narrower in shape than that of the larger 500 model, for accurate firing positioning when engaged in precision and detail work, ‘secret’ nailing of tongue and grooved flooring and panelling, and for fixing tasks in awkward areas such as behind baths. The next Interbuild will take place in 2007, running from Sunday, 28 October to Thursday, 1 November, after which it will revert to being a biennial event. The organiser states that many companies have expressed a desire for autumn dates. The exhibition will occupy new halls built around the refurbished piazza at the NEC. • Executive Hire News › Archives › June 2006 › Interbuild Review › Constructive ideas
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