Working at a height of 30m, with the barrier still in operation, construction and civil engineering contractor and RSK Group company CAN carried out tactile surveys and intrusive investigations of the steel and concrete of the tidal surge barrier as part of its work with BAM UK & Ireland and Arup on behalf of the Environment Agency.

CAN Project Manager Louis Thomas said: "Because the barrier is an active element of critical infrastructure and had to remain operational while work was carried out, non-traditional access methods were used. Industrial rope access and confined space access techniques using specialised rigging in conjunction with mobile elevated work platforms (MEWP) enabled our team to access the barrier without the need for scaffolding. This ensured the barrier could be cleared quickly to enable operation at any time throughout the inspection works – which it did, on three separate occasions."

Read the full article at Water Magazine.