Unusually, this public sewer connection took place within an existing building – an old bank, which was being converted into a KFC. Working indoors creates specific challenges around access for plant machinery, the size of plant, ventilation, safety, moving plant, noise, and waste removal, so this was a complex job with many constraints.

Only a small plant was used due to the limiting size of the building’s entrance – a 1.5 tonne excavator, with retractable tracks for ease of movement – and a new ramp was installed at the back of the entrance for waste removal via track barrows (the waste was stored on the lower level of the car park, until it could be collected by grab lorry and taken to a registered tip). Other equipment specified included a water-assisted floor-saw to cut the shaft and trenches, a 110v sump pump to control the water egress into the shaft, 110v drills and breakers, and a 110v vibrating poker.

All plant powered by any kind of fuel had specialised exhaust fume control equipment and filters fitted, while forced air ventilation was introduced at all times during construction, plus water-assisted plant and small tools were used to control the dust. All drills, breakers and sumps were 110v or battery-powered.

Moving plant can be particularly dangerous in the confines of a building, so when our work was being carried out, only employees of Premier Drainage Solutions were onsite. All visits from the client were booked in via our office and details passed onto our site manager.

Noise is something to consider with any construction site, but especially when working within a building in a highly built-up area. Restricted working hours on noisy works were agreed with the neighbouring properties, to keep this inconvenience down to a minimum, while ear defenders were used at all times to protect our employees during any kind of noisy work.