A project requiring over 100 tonnes of steel to create a replacement Virtual Contingency Facility (VCF) at Heathrow Airport was completed by south Wales based Pro Steel Engineering.
The aim of the Tower Transformation VCF project was to provide a replacement VCF to allow Heathrow to consistently deliver up to 1,000 Air Traffic Movements (ATM) per day from delivery, safeguarding for the potential future increase to 1,350 ATMs per day, safely and efficiently.
Heathrow’s air traffic movements were controlled from a Visual Control Room (VCR) within the existing Control Tower. The aim was to provide a new, replica virtual control tower known as a Virtual Contingency Facility located within the airport campus should an emergency require teams to evacuate the Control Tower. The VCF allows Heathrow to continue to manage all air traffic movements safely at full capacity and this is the facility Pro Steel is building.
Pro Steel Engineering managed the:
- Connection design
- Coordination with architects, engineers, and follow-on trades
- 100t of steel which comprised the main frame and secondary steel
- Modular, off-site fabrication of composite floor cassettes to speed up site installation
- Internal and external escape stairs
- Sub Station support frame
- Installation within a live airport environment, which naturally required extensive security measures and approvals and crane restrictions in place so as not to interfere with aircraft movements
Richard Selby, director and co-founder, Pro Steel Engineering said: “This was a busy project for us and needed teams working very closely together to ensure a smooth rollout, given the extensive nature of a busy airport. Security and safety protocols were paramount, and we’re delighted with the results of our hard work.”
