Temporary maintenance buildings for trains and static machinery
For anyone outside the rail industry, the question of how temporary buildings can enable undercover maintenance on trains is of little consequence. For those who do need an answer to this question, it can be a problem because the cover needs to go over the railway track. Similarly, any large static machinery that needs protection will need the cover to be built over and around the equipment as the usual method of moving the machinery once the building is in place, isn’t an option.
This is where temporary maintenance buildings really come into their own, providing the installation technique of a clear-span tent, but the strength and durability of an industrial permanent building.
How do temporary maintenance buildings provide the answer?
The installation process for a temporary building is the key factor that allows for the construction to take place over rail tracks or immovable equipment. It’s the industrial-grade aluminium frame that allows for this method of installation; it’s light enough to anchor to existing concrete surfaces – as opposed to always needing to lay a concrete pad or preparing more load-bearing footings.
Although lightweight, the aluminium frame for temporary buildings is engineered to meet the required snow and wind loadings for the area. Some manufacturers, including HTS, ensure each frame is engineered to meet the loadings for the actual site, to avoid any possible compromise on safety or durability.
How are temporary maintenance buildings installed?
Industrial base plates are used to fix the aluminium frame sections too. The base plates are anchored into the ground and the base of each frame section is then pinned down onto the base plate. Once all sections are in place, they are then lifted into place one by one and the walls, roof, doors and any other components are added.
All of this construction method takes place on existing ground and over fixed equipment such as train tracks or static machinery.
Examples of operational maintenance buildings
- The below images show an excellent example of a temporary building being used for train maintenance. When the lease of an existing workshop building came to an end, the rolling stock manufacturer needed to find urgent cover to continue vital maintenance work on the trains. The solution also needed to ensure the trains could be moved easily and quickly in and out of the building.
- The temporary building was installed over the track using the construction method above. Roller shutter doors were installed at either end of the building allowing the trains to be driven in one end and then out again at the other once the maintenance work was complete.
- This was probably not only the best solution but the only solution available to the manufacturer – and one that met their criteria for speed.
- When it comes to immovable large machinery, there is little that meets these criteria better than drilling apparatus found on rigs. And, given the location of on and off-shore rigs, this type of machinery can be subjected to some very harsh weather conditions that could cause stress and damage.
- These buildings below were mounted around the static machinery and equipment and also engineered to ensure they could withstand the potential extreme weather conditions experienced on some of the rigs.
- Customised sizes were required for these structures to ensure they provided just the right amount of cover and didn’t take up too much of the overall working space on the rig.
Other examples of using temporary maintenance and workshop buildings to cover equipment move us away industrial and more into the realms of leisure and sport. Covering outdoor racket courts, swimming pools, horse riding arenas or ice rinks are a very common and popular way to secure all-year-round use of outdoor facilities and generate 12 months’ worth of revenue from them instead of 6!
The perfect solution?
When it comes to temporary buildings the application of constructing over static equipment isn’t the most common requirement. However, it is undeniably one that they seem perfectly suited to – and one that comes with the added bonus of speed, low cost, durability and quality.
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