HANEVO have successfully completed a major milestone on our project from Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, with the installation of the new Air Handling Unit on the roof adjacent to the Theatre 7 being upgraded.

The installation of the new AHU was a significant challenge requiring extensive co-ordination and planning with many stakeholders.  Owing to site constraints, with a landlocked site at the centre of the live hospital estate, and significant unit weights being installed, several lifting solutions were investigated, including serious consideration of a helicopter lift.  Working closely with our specialist crane providers, we developed a solution involving a 300t mobile crane with fly-jib attachment, lifting units weighing over 1.5t at a 77m radius over the live hospital estate.

Planning and co-ordination work by HANEVO and the Trust required clearance of the waste compound yard, planning of bin movements, traffic management around road closures on the estate, as well as co-ordination with the air ambulance helicopter service on the site.



In planning the works, we worked closely with the AHU suppliers to optimise the section sizes to suit available crane capacity, including removal of cooling coils and fans to be lifted separately to bring weights down to an acceptable limit.

To minimise disruption and impact, the crane lift was carried out over a full Saturday.  The 300t crane required a smaller mobile crane to install the fly jib and complete rigging, a 3 hour operation, with a strategically timed delivery of the sectional AHU in its enclosure to minimise road closure time and impact on traffic flow.  The AHU was lifted in 3 main component sections, with 7 additional lifts of smaller plant and ductwork undertaken.

Commenting on the project, Pre-Construction Director Jozef Mountain stated “this complex lifting operation was months in the planning, and it was incredible to see the scale of the operation in full flow on site.  We cannot understate the significant input of all parties, from our client at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust and their many stakeholders, through to out equipment and plant providers, in ensuring that this challenging and critical stage of the project was completed successfully and safely.  This is a true example of successful collaboration across a full project team”.