Cambba, the contractor responsible for the design and construction of the Birmingham Northern Relief Road currently being built to alleviate congestion on the M6 around Birmingham and the West Midlands is making extensive use of powered access equipment supplied by the UK's leading powered access rental company, Nationwide Access.

While, in the early days of the contract, units from the company's Skylift range of truck-mounted booms was the preferred solution, today this has switched towards self-propelled booms. Cambba - a consortium of four of the country's leading contractors; Carillion, Alfred McAlpine, Balfour Beatty and AMEC - is currently using the equipment on numerous bridges along the 27-mile three-lane highway, particularly for inspection and the removal of shuttering.

A selection of Nationwide's articulated booms are being used as they offer both vertical elevation and horizontal outreach. This enables members of the construction team to gain easy access to any part of a bridge and move quickly from one location to the next. It is a more cost effective, faster, more versatile and less disruptive option than using scaffolding or other fixed access systems.

Among the units being used is the diesel-powered Genie Z45 articulated boom, which has a maximum working height of 15.72 metres and an outreach of seven metres, and the 20.3-metre working height and 10.4-metre outreach Genie Z60. Other Nationwide machines include the telescopic Genie S65 with its 21.8 metre working height and 17.2-metre outreach, and the JLG 660SJ telescopic boom that provides a 22.12-metre working height and a 17.3-metre outreach. All are operator controlled via a panel located on the work platform.

All of the units at work on the project - which will eventually be know as the M6 Toll Road - are being supplied from two of Nationwide's 50 depots, Birmingham South and Worcester.

Nationwide is headquartered in Lutterworth, Leicestershire and is the country's market leader in powered access rental with a hire fleet that is twice the size of its nearest competitor. It is part of the publicly-quoted Lavendon Group Plc, the European market leader in powered access, trading under the name Zooom in Germany, France, Spain and Austria. Full details on the Nationwide offering of booms, scissor lifts and truck-mounted units can be found at www.nationwideaccess.com

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October 2002 Nat2.067a