Holiday parks enhance lifting safety with Britlift
Britlift visited us and took the time to understand exactly what we wanted and were versatile enough to come up with a bespoke solution – something that had never been done before in our sector and I have been in the industry for 30 years.
A south coast holiday parks operator says it has enhanced safety and productivity thanks to support from Britlift.
Waterside Holiday Group
Dave Bennett is the CEO of Waterside Holiday Group, which runs three parks in Dorset and one in Cornwall. The original Waterside site is expanding from 35 to 50 acres, to accommodate 600 pitches. The caravans on site can weigh up to 7 tonnes, while cedar lodges at the Group’s nearby Osmington park are up to 15 tonnes.
“We regularly use mobile cranes to locate or reposition caravans and lodges,” said Dave. “We went to Britlift to help us understand the safest way to carry out our caravan and lodge lifts. It is very important as a family business that we are safeguarding everyone on site when we carry out these operations, by ensuring we lift in a safe and proper way.”
Caravan and Lodge Lifting Equipment
I would have no hesitation in recommending Britlift to other holiday park operators
“We needed lifting frames for a wide range of weights from 1t up to 15t, as we didn’t want to be buying five different frames and have the team unsure about which one to use. We also did not want something that was massively overengineered and hard to move around site. It had to be a lighter weight system that would be quicker and easier for the team to move and assemble the rig, frame and spreader beams.
Tailor-made solution
“Britlift visited us and took the time to understand exactly what we wanted and were versatile enough to come up with a bespoke solution – something that had never been done before in our sector and I have been in the industry for 30 years. Caravans come in different weights and dimensions and have different lifting points. Britlift created a tailor-made solution that is easy for our team to use.”
Safety First
It is incredibly important for holiday park owners, operators, and siting teams, and managers to take responsibility for their lifting practices, and the suitability of the equipment they are using, said Liam Botting, MD Britlift. DO NOT assume that crane company equipment is fit for purpose, just because they “should know what they are doing”. Gone are the days where someone can claim they “assumed it was all ok, because the expert said it was”. Extra care and attention should be taken by holiday parks, specifically, given the fact the general public is in the vicinity!
All loose lifting equipment should be visually inspected by a competent person, every 6 months, in accordance with LOLER. Each item should have an individual serial number, and safe working load markings clearly visible, and they should come with an EC Declaration of Conformity (failing that, the previous Report of Thorough Examination).
If your crane/lifting contractor cannot supply these to you, you would be very wise to refuse to use the equipment! Better still, avoid all risk by purchasing your own equipment, which you know is fit for purpose.
They were extremely supportive and helpful throughout.
Waterside purchased a spreader frame from Britlift three years ago and recently purchased a second, updated version. “The new one is a more modular design which is even more cost-effective,” said Justin Smith, Waterside Group’s health and safety compliance manager. “It is very quick to change the sizes and set-ups, has a lower weight and is even more manoeuvrable.
“I would have no hesitation in recommending Britlift to other holiday park operators. Working with Britlift ensures we engage in best practice for all our lifting procedures, plus they have been extremely supportive and helpful throughout.”
Based in Dorset, UK, Britlift works with a global client base, providing an end-to-end lifting equipment engineering design service including calculations, design, manufacture, certification, and rig design. The qualified mechanical and structural engineers at Britlift will work with the client during the design phase, ensuring the most efficient, effective, safe and suitable solution is engineered, be that a lifting beam or frame, a bespoke handling or lifting tool, complex rig design, or FEA. Its Traditional Modular spreader beam is also available in a variety of standard sizes.
Get in touch with the team to discuss your lifting equipment needs, and challenges. Our engineers will be happy to help.
