Climbing The Ladder Of Success

Two would-be ‘steeplejacks’ were called on to put their new ‘working at height’ classroom skills to the test recently.

Engineers Ross Hardy and James Cable reached new heights of success when fellow professional, Paul Jacklin, roped them into a job at Humber Bulk Terminal in New Holland, North Lincolnshire.

The two Partners were part of a six-man team, including Nick Chia, Tom Flint, Mark Partridge and Dimitrios Tsiritaki, who were recently given special ‘risk at height’ training.

Paul takes up the story.

He said: “The facility on the site of the old Humber Passenger Ferry Terminal is operated by Peel Ports Logistics and is used for the import and export of bulk materials such as lime, animal feeds and grains to and from across the world.

“And like other such facilities – Singleton Birch’s nearby Melton Ross lime quarry at Kirmington, for example – the New Holland site features a raft of structures including high-level walkways, platforms, ladders and stairs, all of which fall victim to the rigours of time, general usage and inclement weather, certainly in a marine environment which the Humber Bulk Terminal has as its backdrop.

“Consequently, it is very normal for operators to periodically ask us to carry out an inspection of such structures to ensure that they remain fit for purpose or to highlight any remedial maintenance works that need to happen.”

The inspection request by Peel Ports also provided a perfect canvass on which HBPW’s two engineers could practice their newly learned skills.

“It is always great to learn new skills,” added Paul, “however, it is a very different matter putting them into practice in the ‘live’ working environment. All said, the HBPW team were brilliant and, I have to say, did their instructors proud with near-perfect implementation of their textbook knowledge!”

Paul said that many of the substances imported or exported at such facilities often held moisture and, over time, had a corrosive effect on steelwork.

“Periodic inspections are a vital part of operations,” he added. “However, they have to be done by the book to ensure 100% safety. The duo were brilliant and, even better, we were collectively able to give the Humber Bulk Terminal a clean bill of health.”