A prominent rail manufacturing facility in the North East approached Elemy to provide a practical and safe solution for their safety pit covers, an essential feature in vehicle inspection bays. The challenge lay in the limited bearing capacity available for supporting the covers. Traditional GRP alone wouldn’t be sufficient, and steel by itself would be too heavy for manual handling during maintenance.

Elemy’s team devised a hybrid solution that combined the best of both worlds: steel support beams were used to reinforce the base structure, while GRP panels were fabricated for the covers. These GRP panels provided ample strength to withstand foot traffic, while remaining lightweight enough to be lifted without specialist equipment, ensuring rapid, safe access to pits.

The use of high-visibility yellow GRP grating helped demarcate caution zones and reinforced safety culture within the depot.

The modular nature of GRP also meant that future modifications could be made easily, without any hot works on site, an added benefit in environments where flexibility and safety are paramount.