ProLogis Distribution Warehouse, North Kettering Business Park

Client: ProLogis
Contractor: Winvic Construction
Type of works: installation of ACO Qmax^® drainage system.

Groundworks have commenced on the second unit of the North Kettering Business Park close to the A14 in Northampton. The 17 hectare distribution centre is the largest speculative development in the UK by global logistics solutions provider, Prologis, and should be ready for occupancy in May 2006. Critical for main contractor, Winvic, to meet the target completion date is the quick installation of ACO Technologies’ high capacity line drainage system ACO Qmax^®.

Following extensive ground stabilisation of the former iron ore quarry (which has subsequently been used as a landfill site) Winvic has taken delivery of one of the largest single orders of ACO Qmax^® placed in the UK to date. 660m of ACO Qmax 900 and 130m of the smaller Qmax 600 will be used to drain surface water from both trailer handling yards together with the refuelling and maintenance areas – a total catchment of 40,000m².

“Our approach is to have at least 60% of the finished pavement installed before we start erecting any steelwork. By operating in the cleanest possible environment, we minimise time lost to bad weather and increase the efficiency of all site movements - it is therefore absolutely critical to the success of the project that we complete all groundworks on schedule,” says a Winvic project manager. “The handling and installation advantages of ACO Qmax^® over other high capacity drainage systems allows us to quickly, accurately and safely complete long runs within the tightest time windows.”

Supplied to site in standard 2m lengths, ACO Qmax 900 weighs just 58kg complete, allowing it to be safely handled by two people. Winvic has installed over 2,000m of ACO Qmax^® on eight other distribution centre projects and has found that, on average, a three-man gang can excavate, install and backfill 70m per day of the 900 system and 100m per day of ACO Qmax 600. Groundworks also benefit from the system’s unique Pavement-Beam feature, which allows the surrounding slab reinforcement bars to run unbroken through arches directly underneath the channel inlet. With no additional reinforcement, ACO Qmax^® has a load-bearing classification of D400, allowing it to easily support a 20 tonne pneumatic wheel load – the typical value for distribution centre applications.

Specialising in warehousing, distribution centres and commercial developments, Winvic has pioneered a unique ‘Total Value Engineering’ approach that has succeeded in expanding its operations nationwide and seen turnover double year-on year since the company was launched in 2001. The TVE philosophy drives higher levels of productivity by focusing resources on three key areas: the working environment, innovation and the supply chain. By investing in providing the highest standard of accommodation, security and subcontractor support, by being open to new products and installation techniques and by taking a holistic view to all aspects of the supply chain and supplier relationships,

Winvic, on all its sites, succeeds in cutting management manpower by around 50% and in reducing wastage and days lost to an absolute minimum. Winvic’s enthusiasm to embrace innovation is at the centre of the relationship it now has with ACO. Looking for ways to compress project timescales ever further and rationalise groundwork design, the company was keen to trial the ACO Qmax® system to see if it could deliver the substantial design and installation benefits it promised. The initial trials delivered results beyond expectations and the system has now been used on eight of the company’s projects.