Substation Flooring, Hertfordshire, UK

Project Overview

We helped this vital electricity substation project lower its carbon footprint by providing the ideal raised bund flooring solution made from our low carbon but high strength green GRP d² Dura Grating. Adopting new innovations within the transmission network such as Dura’s lower embodied carbon grating, is crucial to enabling a futureproof energy system that’s fit for anticipated demand and for ensuring continuity of power during these challenging and unpredictable times.

Raised bund flooring with the lowest embodied carbon available

In this project, one of the existing bunds had reached the end of its service life and a full-scale refurbishment (including the associated transformer plant equipment) was needed.

Requiring a raised platform and a surface that allowed for the flow of liquids to the sump, contractor Adler & Allan, approached us to provide a full turnkey solution of survey, design and supply to meet their needs.

Leaning on our in-house design specialists, they choose our d² Dura Grating Standard Mesh, which was installed on our raised pedestals, to meet their free-flow specifications. With 33% less embodied carbon than other standard mesh grating panels that are 38mm thick, our grating helped this client towards their net zero objectives.

Unique design aids visibility below the grating

The unique d² Dura Grating design also allows for improved visibility of the substructure below, offering a clear view of any leakages such as transmission oil from a much wider range of angles than were previously achievable.

With flexibility in design, the grating can easily be taken up, moved and adapted, if there was any future maintenance or changes needed. The anti-slip, non-conductive, fire-resistant grating panels, enabled the client top enhance safety on site for all personal, and by selecting our pre-cut panel option, the 3 metre by 1 metre sheets of d² 38mm Standard Mesh provided the most efficient pedestal spacing, with no need for panel-to-panel joining, reducing deflection and further enhancing safety.

With our d² Dura Grating, already significantly lighter than the industry standard, the pre-cut panels allowed for an even larger overall carbon saving, with easier manoeuvrability, significant savings on installation time, transport costs and labour, and little to no waste on site. With a 25 year warranty and long design life, we were able to futureproof this substation for generations to come.

We noticed a big difference with using d² Dura Grating on site. It was so much lighter to handle than other grating – a single person could carry one sheet quite easily on their own, which sped up the whole install process. Cutting the sheets to size was also so much quicker, thanks to the innovative design. Overall, our team enjoyed working with d²Grating as it wasn’t so heavy to handle and it saved a lot of time on site. The recent investments made at this Electrical Substation will reinforce the network and help keep supplies secure for years to come.

Jonathan Charles

Operations Supervisor at Adler & Allan

Our Specialists

Our innovative recyclable products can help accelerate the construction of critical infrastructure. Talk to our experienced team about how you can tap into our specialist knowledge and engineering capability for your project.