Q: How many times on our projects do we ask the guys to take the wheelie-bins out and empty them into the skip?

A: Multiple times every day

What’s he talking about now you might ask yourself!

JEG are currently carrying out an office fit-out on the Vertium building on Burlington Road. Jason Perry and his team are looking after this project for us. On a recent visit to site we noticed a very simple yet very clever installation that helped the guys to get the wheelie-bins in and out of the building.

Again you may ask, why is that so difficult?

The construction access into the Vertium building is via a set of granite steps which means that every time one of the guys leaves the building with a full wheelie-bin he has to negotiate these steps in order to get to the skip.

The solution could have been one of the following:

• A goods hoist:- for the small height difference involved, too expensive, training required & slower than other methods
• A ramp:- could have a slippery surface with rain and leaves etc. at this time of year
• Bump the wheelie-bin down the steps:- manual handling issues, slips, trips, falls or damage to steps

None of these provided an efficient solution for the team on site, so they came up with the idea of a “hybrid ramp” that allows the bin to be wheeled down the steps using two sloped channels while the operator still has steps to walk on. Channels are fixed in place and have timber sides to keep wheels on-track. Works a treat!