1. 30
January
2015
In
January
2014
Balfour
Bea2y
announced
they
had
been
awarded
a
£154m
contract
by
London
Legacy
to
transform
the
former
Queen
Elizabeth
Olympic
Stadium
at
Queen
Elizabeth
Olympic
Park
in
London
into
a
‘mulI
use
venue’
which
aLer
hosIng
five
matches
for
the
Rugby
World
Cup
in
2015
will
become
the
full
Ime
home
for
West
Ham
United
in
2016.
Part
of
this
project
involved
a
£41m
reconfiguraIon
and
expansion
of
the
stadium
roof.
This
work,
once
complete,
will
increase
the
roof
weight
from
1400
tonnes
to
4000
tonnes
and
create
the
largest
canIlevered
roof
in
the
world.
The
project
to
reconfigure
the
roof
presented
a
number
of
challenges.
Firstly,
work
needed
to
take
place
on
the
original
stadium
roof’s
support
structure
which
was
up
to
37
metres
(121
feet)
above
the
ground.
Secondly,
a
Ime
schedule
of
25
weeks
to
complete
the
works
meant
that
tradiIonal
scaffolding
techniques
would
be
impracIcal.
As
a
soluIon,
rather
than
build
from
the
‘bo2om
up’,
the
scaffolding
&
access
contractor,
PHD
Modular
Access
Ltd.,
implemented
techniques
usually
used
in
the
oil
and
gas
industry
and
suspended
the
scaffolding
structure
from
chains
hung
1
In
the
summer
of
2014,
Rhino
Shrink
Wrap
undertook
a
challenging
&
exciCng
project
to
encapsulate
168
pods
high
around
the
roof
of
the
Queen
Elizabeth
Olympic
Stadium
in
London.
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
CreaIng
168
shrink
wrapped
‘workshops
in
the
sky’
to
allow
blasIng,
welding
&
painIng
in
a
controlled
environment
By
Steve
Irlam,
Managing
Director,
Rhino
Shrink
Wrap

2. 30
January
2015
around
the
exisIng
roof
structure
to
build
the
access
‘top
down’.
The
top
down
approach
proved
highly
successful
and
in
phase
1&2
of
the
project
PHD
Modular
Access
erected
480
tons
of
Layher
Allround®
lightweight
scaffolding
to
create
168
’workshops
in
the
sky’
where
shot
blasIng,
welding
and
painIng
work
was
required
to
take
place.
Encapsulation & Containment
Rhino
Shrink
Wrap
were
approached
by
PHD
Modular
Access
to
provide
weather
proofing
and
environmental
containment
around
each
‘pod’
or
‘workshop’.
TradiIonal
scaffold
sheeIng,
applied
around
the
scaffolding
in
2m
high
strips
and
a2ached
with
bungee
cords,
has
gaps
between
sheets
that
make
it
difficult
to
stop
shot
blast
residues
escaping
and
rainwater
penetraIng.
Furthermore,
tradiIonal
reinforced
sheeIng
can
be
difficult
to
fit
Ightly
which
can
lead
to
flapping
and
ulImately
detachment.
Rhino
proposed
using
a
300
micron
thick
Verisafe®
flame
retardant
shrink
wrap
sheeIng
which
once
installed
would
created
a
conInuously
bonded
and
‘drum
Ight’
skin
around
each
pod.
The
shrink
wrap
encapsulaIon
of
each
pod
or
workshop
had
two
key
objecIves.
Firstly
to
provide
‘environmental
containment’
of
shot
blast
and
paint
residues
as
secIons
of
the
roof
support
structure
were
shot
blasted
back
to
bare
metal.
Secondly,
the
shrink
wrapped
‘pods’
would
provide
a
completely
weather
proof
area
where
new
roof
fixings
could
be
welded
into
place.
Zipped
access
doors
installed
in
the
shrink
wrap
cover
each
pod
allowed
welding
and
painIng
to
take
place
in
a
controlled,
almost
‘factory
like’
environment.
Rhino
Shrink
Wrap
supplied
6
installers
to
carry
out
the
work,
split
into
two
teams,
each
team
led
by
a
supervisor.
Working
from
the
inside
of
the
plajorm,
the
shrink
wrap
sheeIng,
(supplied
as
a
7m
wide
x
15m
long
roll),
was
pulled
over
the
module
and
ba2ened
at
‘ground
level’
to
a
plywood
floor
laid
inside
the
pod.
Excess
shrink
wrap
was
trimmed
at
the
corners
and
any
joins
or
overlaps
were
heat
welded
together
to
create
a
seal.
Finally,
the
shrink
wrap
sheeIng
was
heat
shrunk
‘drum
Ight’.
Each
pod
required
100
to
200
square
metres
of
shrink
wrap
sheeIng.
2
Rhino
Shrink
Wrap
installaCon
team
‘Workshops
in
the
sky’

3. 30
January
2015
Project benefits from shrink wrap
• SheeIng
cut
and
sealed
around
protrusions
(like
roof
trusses)
whilst
maintaining
containment.
• Heat
shrunk
‘drum
Ight’
-­‐
very
resistant
to
damage
from
high
winds.
• VersaIle
-­‐
can
be
cut
and
resealed
for
crane
access
and
remain
weather
Ight.
Zipped
access
doors
maintain
factory
like
environment.
• Smart
&
professional
appearance
for
a
high
profile
project.
• Quick
to
remove
aLer
use
&
100%
recyclable.
Challenges
1. Welding
contractors
required
new
roof
components
to
be
welded
to
the
exisIng
roof
structure.
These
needed
to
be
craned
into
posiIon,
inside
the
sheeted
area,
aLer
the
area
had
been
shot
blasted.
However,
the
Rhino
team
were
able
to
cut
an
opening
in
the
roof
(or
on
the
lower
and
smaller
pods
-­‐
the
sides)
to
allow
the
components
to
be
craned
through
and
then
seal
back
up
by
taping
and
welding.
2. Working
simultaneously
on
mulIple
locaIons
within
a
large
construcIon
site
was
challenging.
Our
teams
met
each
morning
for
a
briefing
so
that
every
team
member
knew
what
they
were
doing
and
working
Ime
was
maximised.
3. There
were
changes
in
the
schedule
of
work
from
the
client
which
required
us
to
be
highly
flexible
in
our
approach.
Where
necessary
our
teams
worked
weekends
to
meet
revised
schedules.
Lessons
The
scaffolding
and
encapsulaIon
of
the
168
‘workshops
in
the
sky’
was
finished
ahead
of
schedule.
Although
a
very
challenging
3
month
project,
with
much
Ime
away
from
home,
our
teams
learned
the
importance
of
effecIve
communicaIon
for
safety
and
efficiency
on
large
sites
and
were
proud
to
play
a
small
part
in
making
this
exciIng
and
innovaIve
project
a
success.
3
Further
informaCon;
T.
+44
(0)1477
532222
E.
info@rhinoshrinkwrap.com
W.
www.rhinoshrinkwrap.com
Queen
Elizabeth
Olympic
Park,
London
Shrink
wrap
moulded
Cghtly
around
scaffolding
and
sealed
around
protrusions