
Forming part of the production area where Bettys and Taylors produces its ‘Yorkshire Tea’, the company’s Crumbs Hall was ready for refurbishment, and we were thrilled to be tasked with the project.
Removing several walls to incorporate a large storage area into the production space, our team made room for new machinery and production lines.
To achieve this, we formed segregation between ourselves and the existing production lines, by way of a temporary wall and dustproof screen. The project involved alterations to the mechanical, electrical and sprinkler systems to bring the previous storage space in line with the standard of the production area. A new resin floor and hygienic cladding to walls and ceilings were also installed throughout, ready for the location’s new machinery.
The key challenge was dust migration, between the existing production space and our construction site; production is an around-the-clock operation, and the works had to run concurrently.
As the company produces food and drink, hygiene standards could not be compromised, and we worked hard to ensure dust did not leave our site and enter the production space. While working alongside the production line, we altered the services directly feeding the area to maintain continuity. In order to achieve the above, we installed a large, dustproof floor-to-ceiling wall and screen, which spanned the full width of the site and incorporated doors to maintain fire escape routes.
Services could only be isolated locally, and thorough checks/validations were carried out prior to the project to ensure services were not incorrectly isolated.
Logistics also proved a challenge; Crumbs Hall is located on the first floor, with half of the area being taken up by existing production space. As some of the wall panels were particularly large, we used a spider crane internally to ensure they reached the first floor. All deliveries and removal of construction waste were carefully planned as well, to avoid clashing with building users and their frequent deliveries.
The project was delivered in 10 weeks snag-free, while production remained live throughout.