Hek helps out at T5

Specialist contractor Schmidlin has used an unusual combination of machinery to allow it to install glazing panels and brise soleil on the inclined facades at T5.

The east and west walls of the building are 400m long, 27m high and lean outwards at 6.5 - creating access problems for the crews installing thousands of glazed cladding panels.

As it was not possible to use anchors, Hek's engineers devised a free-standing arrangement using four standard masts configured into two rail-mounted A-frames 9m apart. These keep the 16m platform (with its mountings modified to correct for the angle of the masts) parallel with the facade and allow movement along the building.

The platform has a vertical speed of 11m/min and carries a 1.7t manipulator, four people and a 450kg glass panel. Two of these machines (one each on the east and west walls) position the glass panels while inside the building a second crew helps guide the securing bolts into position.

The interior gang works from a JLG1350 telescopic boom with a 2.4m jib, plus boom extension to gain access to the glass through the building's complex framework.

A second pair of Hek A-frame machines fitted with a MegaDeck extended to 19m are used to fit the brise soleil, which descends from the 8m overhanging roof.