Holdfast Training Services Trial Blog

Since arriving at the ‘New Perth Stadium’ I have spent the majority of my time on site – predominately to top up my ever improving glowing tan, but also coordinate an entire services install on a $1.4 Billion 60,000 all seater stadium. Last week, while stood in the middle of a disagreement (read massive punch up) between the blockwork and plumbing foremen, I noticed our mechanical air side contractor had started hanging fans and attenuators. See picture below.

This led me to ask a few questions – how heavy are these items? How are they hung? Were there any constraints? Weight limits? I also remember how poor concrete can perform in tension so thought I’d better act on my initial concerns and investigate further.

The current slab detail is simply made up of Bondek and poured concrete as detailed below:

SOP for hanging fans involves drilling a 50mm hole through the Bondek and poured slab, before driving in a M10 drop in anchor which simply splits open at the top to provide a means of attaching a hanging rod.

So simple, even the E&M arm wrestling champion understands….Safe working load in tension for each item are published as:

Drop in Anchor – 3.4kN

Hanging rod – 10kN

Therefore if a fan is hung as per the photo with four anchor points, one could assume a weight limit of 1360kg. [(3400/10)*4]. Luckily (or unluckily) the Icelandic Arup Structure  Consultant sits next to me, so I thought it prudent to confirm my findings before giving the green light to install 60 enormous fans.

His response didn’t fill me with confidence “go ahead and install the fans/attenuators which weigh between 200-300kg, heavier items may require secondary steel.” I AM YET TO GET THIS IN WRITING! This left me with further questions and additional concerns – not least how long is this steel going to take to design, how long before it is installed and who is going to pay for it? Services install is months behind schedule and I fear this issue is only going to compound our woes! What is more concerning is that I have no doubt that our mech air side contractor is ignoring all advice and hanging everything as fast as they can in order to knock off at 1430hrs. Welcome to WA. Best get back on site…..