Dust Solutions Protect Workers and Tenants During Lift Cutting Project

Project Overview

Oxford House is a residential building currently undergoing a lift modernisation project. PRNS Building Services Ltd were appointed to undertake the primary building works for lift renovations, including using heavy duty industrial cutters to ‘chop’ through the reinforced concrete to create sixteen lift entrances serving all floors.

Challenge

The lift shaft was located in the middle of the building which remained live throughout the duration of works and had no direct outside access. As the renovations involved cutting activities that produced large amounts of airborne dust, a solution was required to protect both workers on site and tenants.

PRNS were looking for a dust control solution to be built into their secure temporary ventilation enclosures on site in order to provide a negative pressure system. They required health hazard control that would protect both tenants and workers from dust migration and the health risks associated with dust exposure. PRNS approached RVT for a solution and best practice advice regarding their challenge.

Solution

PRNS installed secure ventilation enclosures to contain the work area and RVT supplied the high airflow Dustex^® DustMaster^® filtration unit complete with capture hood and intake duct.

The DustMaster^® contains 3 stages of filter media, including a H13 HEPA filter, ensuring that both workers and tenants were protected from harmful dust particles such as Respirable Crystalline Silica Dust (RCS). By placing the capture hood as close to the cutting works as possible, PRNS were able to capture the dust at source, whilst keeping the work area under negative pressure. This ensured zero dust migration into live areas of the building throughout the duration of the project.

The strict dust control measures undertaken on this project allowed the team to quickly implement a full clean down and re-painting of the lift shaft, ready for the next stage of the project.

RVT Group have worked with PRNS on a number of projects, and more recently they have been using the Dustex^® DustMaster^® Pro. The design of the DustMaster^® Pro was based on the original DustMaster^® but features a number of upgrades, including; a higher performance mixed flow fan
achieving 30% more airflow, the option of a H14 HEPA filter and an audible alarm to alert you when filters need replacing. Plus, the unit is now made from a durable moulded plastic casing, which is 100% sealed to maintain air pressure.

"The DustMaster® performed well and minimised the health hazards created from cutting reinforced concrete. The kit meant the PRNS team were safe in the knowledge that we were compliant with HSE guidelines on dust. We would recommend RVT for dust control solutions." - Director, PRNS