IDEAS THAT SPEED-UP BUILDING
“WALKIE-TALKIE” pocket
telephone which keeps the workman in touch with the team even though the site may cover a wide area: light-as-a-feather pro tective screens which can be erected in hours and enable building opera tions to proceed in all weathers these are only two of the ingenious aids to quick and efficient building recently on show in London.
The exhibition of construction equipment was held on the site of the old Crystal Palace. which housed the Great Exhibition of 1851. It drew more than 40.000 visitors from nearly 65 countries, and was opened by the President of the Board of Trade. Mr. Frederick Erroll. and visited by the Duke of Edinburgh, who arrived by helicopter. More than 200 exhibitors displayed their
wares.
New Construction Record
The construction equipment in- dustry is constantly on the lookout for new and better methods of building and the equipment which can make this possible. Its success is reflected in the orders placed with British building contractors for construction work during the first quarter of 1963
no less than
£598.000.000. This is a new record and compares with a previous re- cord of £526.000.000 in the second quarter of 1962.
some
The “walkie-talkie" apparatus consists of small, transistorised V.H.F. radio receivers which tune in to a particular signal from the cen- tral control. Thus, on a large and scattered site it is possible to con- tact men who might be anywhere, perhaps perched high on scaffolding. At a number of points telephones are placed. The pocket apparatus goes bleep-bleep" as an indication that the man is wanted. He makes his way to the nearest telephone point and lifts the re- ceiver. In this way he can be con tacted within seconds. where other- wise it might take two or three men time and trouble locating him.
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But equipment can be as large as it can be small. One large crane on show can lift 110 tons and carries a jib of 310 feet (94.5 metres).
One piece of construction equip ment which is having a remarkable success is a revolutionary machine for road-surfacing. Its 61-years-old inventor. Mr. Thomas Potts of Blackburn. Lancashire.
equipment. And, of course, it is widely used on building sites in Britain.
The control-room building of a new power station at Greatham. Durham. was completely protected from the weather during construc tion; the cover was the largest of its kind ever elected in Britain. having a capacity of over 400.000 cubic feet (11.326 cubic metres). Because the contractors were able to work through the worst of a severe win- ter, the project was completed in ten weeks instead of 26 weeks.
Saving Animal Life
ог England,
made the prototype in six months. using a collection of odds and ends. The new machine is as manoeuvr- able as a car and travels under its own power at ten miles (16 kilome- tres) per hour,
By
DENNIS BARDENS
more
An unusual piece of equipment, which at first puzzled some conservative-minded builders but has since won their unstinted praise, is a scaffold which stays up by itself. Its supporting bracket fits into patent sockets which are part of the fabric of the building. Even if the sockets have not been incor- porated into the building during its construction, it is easy and inexpen sive to instal them afterwards,
an
Workmen everywhere will wel- come a mobile shower unit which has
entrance lobby. eight separate cubicles with hot and cold taps, showers and opaque curtains. It means that in the hottest weather or on the dirtiest jobs, a workman can clean up on site, change his clothes and go straight on to an ap pointment in any case he can arrive home clean. The water is heated by propane gas from cylin- ders standing outside the unit.
are
The protective screens of plastic and aluminium, which keep out rain and wind but admit light, proving a boon to the construction industry, and there is a big export demand for this type of British
Of the wide variety of rock drilling equipment displayed at the recent exhibition. one piece at least was put to unusual use. During a severe drought in South Africa last year, there was widespread suffering to the wild animal herds elephant, buffalo and impala as well as such rare creatures as eland. myala and roan antelope. The local authorities had done all they pos sibly could to provide water. but 5.000,000 the vast area involved acres (2,023.430 hectares) made a full supply impossible to achieve. The company
which makes the drilling equipment offered to drill for water. and a team of engineers toured the reserve, boring to depths of 180 and 208 feet (55 and 60 me- tres) at the remarkable rate of one borehole a day. Five out of six of these holes yielded water. and prov- ed enough to preserve animal life until the drought ended.
British manufacturers have achieved marvels in reducing the size and increasing portability of essential equipment. I saw a theodo- lite hardly larger than a pocket
camera,
which
Boring and sampling equipment includes a new portable refraction seismograph
records the thickness of strata, soil and rock at depths of 75 to 100 feet (23 to 30 metres). The form of the shock wave as shown on the cathode ray tube determines the nature of the materials.
Britain's construction industry is the largest in Europe, and exports a higher proportion of its output than any other major country. Thirteen years ago the output of Britain- based firms engaged in the manu
THE HONG KONG & FAR EAST BUILDER-VOLUME 18, NUMBER 4