A custom-engineered work at height access solution providing safe and efficient access to multiple vehicle roof positions within a restricted workshop environment.
The Challenge
When Midlands Truck & Van were faced with the question ‘’How can we work safely on top of our petroleum tankers within our new ADR and Pet Reg service facility?’’, a conventional access platform was not a viable solution. The workshop’s restricted layout presented significant space constraints, making it difficult to provide safe working at height access while maintaining vehicle movement and operational efficiency.
The requirement was to create a system capable of providing access to multiple working positions across the tanker roof area while maximising the available floor space and ensuring operators remained protected when carrying out inspection, servicing and maintenance activities.
The Solution
To overcome these challenges, IFC designed, manufactured and installed a Flow Slide sliding folding stair system specifically engineered to suit the site’s operational requirements and physical constraints.
How does the Flow Slide System work?
The installation incorporates narrow access stairs leading to an elevated gantry walkway positioned alongside the servicing area. Integrated sliding folding stairs and a full height fall prevention safety cage travel along the gantry on heavy-duty castors, enabling operators to safely access multiple working locations from a single adaptable access point.
The mobile access assembly can be repositioned quickly and easily along the gantry, providing access to four separate working positions across the tanker roof area while maintaining collective fall protection and continuous operator protection.
This approach eliminates the need for additional personal protective equipment and significantly reduces the overall system footprint within the workshop.
Key Features
- Flow Slide sliding folding stair system.
- Elevated walkway providing access along the full working area.
- Full-height fall prevention safety access cage.
- Four separate tanker access positions from the walkway.
- Heavy-duty castor-mounted sliding access assembly.
- Narrow stair configuration designed for restricted workshop environments.
- Space-efficient design allowing continued vehicle movement within the facility.
- Robust galvanised steel construction
Why use a sliding tanker access system for ADR tanker servicing?
A sliding tanker access system provides a practical solution where personnel need to reach multiple points along a tanker top but workshop or loading-bay space makes several fixed access structures impractical.
The FlowStep Slide concept adds lateral movement to the folding stairs and provides multiple tanker-top access points from a single stair and cage system. It is also suitable for mixed tanker lengths and different manway positions as applications for this type of arrangement.
For Midlands Truck & Van, the bespoke installation delivers four working positions while reducing the need for additional access structures within the workshop.
Customer Benefits
- Safe access for tanker inspection, servicing and maintenance activities
- Improved fall prevention through a full-height safety access cage
- Multiple roof access points from a single adaptable system
- Reduced workshop obstruction compared with conventional platforms
- Fast repositioning between working locations
- Bespoke design tailored to the customer’s facility and maintenance requirements
What are the benefits of having a collective fall prevention system?
Collective fall prevention provides passive, continuous safety for multiple workers at once without requiring individual harnesses, training, or active user participation
- Passive operation that works automatically without the need for additional PPE
- Minimal operator training required to use system
- Meets higher regulatory priority under the work at height regs 2005, where collective measures must always be prioritised over personal protection.
Project Summary
This project demonstrates IFC’s ability to develop bespoke work at height solutions for challenging vehicle maintenance environments. Through careful consideration of site constraints, operational requirements and safety objectives, IFC delivered a gantry-mounted Flow Slide system that provides safe access to multiple tanker roof positions while maximising the available workspace.