Rooftop and street-level structures provide increasingly vital links in the UK’s mobile telecoms network. This is great news for mobile users who enjoy better and faster mobile data connections, but often brings more of a challenge for structural steelwork designers and installers.
The typical locations of these structures generate multiple design and logistical complications when equipment needs to be replaced or upgraded.
Designing for Greater Loads
Shared infrastructure and the growth of 5G networks often mean that structures (and whatever they’re standing on) need to support greater weights. Existing grillages, for example, might be insufficient to spread the increased load effectively across the roof supporting structure.
Added to this, much of the nation’s telecoms infrastructure is showing its age and many structures need strengthening and refurbishment.
How does all of that look for a rooftop telecoms lattice or pole in a densely populated urban location? Completing the work might call for complex lifting operations, temporary works and road closures. Just imagine the operational risks if the process from inspection, to design and installation is anything less than perfectly integrated.
Designing for the Location
Design engineers rarely have a free hand in any project, and particularly not with structures designed for streets and rooftops. They must always be hyper-aware of the environment where lifting and assembly will be carried out.
Buildability takes on a whole new context in tight urban spaces. And planning of every project phase has to be meticulous so that any road closures are as tight as possible and completely dependable.
Sometimes there’s a trade-off needed between maximising offsite assembly to minimise onsite operations, and designing sub-assemblies that are easier to manipulate in a confined location. Many of our projects within telecoms and other sectors such as rail and highways feature similar constraints; close integration between the survey, design and installation teams makes life simpler overall.
We’ve found that our intelligent integration approach is particularly valuable across the many rooftop frames, grillages, platforms and street-level structures that FTE has designed and installed over the years.
Find out more about how intelligent integration works by accessing our free information hub below.
