The temporary jetty, which extends half a kilometre into the Bristol Channel is designed to shift freight movement of cement, sand and aggregates away from local roads to more sustainable sea transportation. Approximately 80% of the aggregates needed to build Hinkley Point C will be delivered to the site via the jetty.
SC Innovation were contracted to provide design optimisation and project management services to support the fabrication work for the temporary jetty.
Design Work
Concept designs for the jetty were provided by the end client. These were then taken by the SC Innovation engineering team and productionised ready for manufacture.
During the project SC Innovation made several recommendations for alterations to the design detail provided which would ultimately save time and cost. Most of these were agreed to and incorporated into the design of the jetty. One example of this was the alterations made to the shear rings for the steel caps. Originally, sub-arc weld shear rings had been proposed. However, on our recommendation, steel bar shear rings were used instead, saving time and cost and also eliminating weld distortion.
Fabrication
The fabrication of the jetty components was undertaken by our sister company, Blackhill Engineering. Blackhill Engineering has a unique 50 tonne lifting capability in the South West of England, which helped secure the contract. 30 steel caps were fabricated for the piles supporting the top of the jetty and 48 steel bridge beams to span the piles, some measuring up to 14 metres long. Each steel pile cap weighed 7.5 tonnes, with the total project involving over 650 tonnes of steel.
Project Management
SC Innovation provided the design and project management support to Blackhill Engineering. This was key to their success in delivering a project in such a highly regulated energy sector environment.
During the project, a full audit trail was maintained throughout to ensure the work met the rigorous requirements demanded of the nuclear supply chain. Forty five design changes also had to be managed that required considerable effort by the engineering design team. This increased work scope combined with the client delaying the start of fabrication by five weeks meant timescales were extremely tight, yet final delivery was completed to schedule.
Awards
Our client for this project, Blackhill Engineering, received two EDF Hinkley Point C Excellence Awards for their delivery of this contract: Best Local/Regional Business and Best Manufacturing Equipment Supplier. We are thrilled to have been able to contribute to their success on this project.
