Overview

The Navy Sea Training Base required a shelter over their sea survival training centre, which is designed to deal with training for fighting fires on ships. This was an exposed site, and they wanted a functional canopy to provide shelter on the roof level for trainees so they can train comfortably in all weather conditions.

The Navy Sea Training Base required a shelter over their sea survival training centre, which is designed to deal with training for fighting fires on ships. This was an exposed site, and they wanted a functional canopy to provide shelter on the roof level for trainees so they can train comfortably in all weather conditions.

This was not an aesthetically pleasing project, rather it needed to be robust and fit for purpose
The site is the Naval Sea Survival Training base where the structure to be covered is a mock up of part of a ship in 3 levels. The inside of the cabins are set alight with diesel and the crew are trained to rescue others and extinguish the flames. To do this safely, they wear full firefighting gear which can get very hot in summer and uncomfortable in the rain while they are training, therefore they required a shelter above the ship to protect them from the elements. The main requirement was to provide a shelter with a smoke escape cut out at the top of the cover that was strong enough to withstand the wind, as the building is an exposed site right next to the sea.

There were several complexities involved such as height of the structure being attached to was 3 stories high, so getting equipment and materials on site was tricky. The structure was completely made of steel (just like a ship) which required a magnetic drill for bolts. The interior, which had to be accessed to bolt the posts, had a sacrificial lining that was covered in black soot which we had to remove and re-instate.

The post positions had to be carefully measured to within 5mm due to obstructions such as balustrade posts coinciding with our post location. Individual base plates with special cut-outs had to be made to fit. As requested, the cover was made smaller than the full frame, while the frame spanned the complete structure thus not having any posts in the way.
The frame was heavy and had to be lifted into place very carefully.

We had a time constraint of 5 days while staff had a training break, so there was real pressure to get this completed on time – and safely. The Navy have been a client for some time, so we were conscious of not letting them down on this technically challenging project. So many things could have gone wrong on this job, fortunately thanks to meticulous planning, the project ran smoothly, and the resulting structure was beyond the clients’ expectations. They are now able to train the crew comfortably in all weather conditions, without having to rush through and are able to fit in more trainees. And we have cemented an already good relationship.

Install Year

2019

Canopy Size

Approx 56sqm