The job
Quadric is a Brisbane builder working on commercial interiors and base build refurbishments. For a refurbishment inside an operating airport terminal at Brisbane Airport, they needed a crew to strip out a row of self service bag drop units and their conveyor belts, then break out the floor topping so the new work could go in.
The terminal stays open, so all of it was done on night shifts from 6.30pm, behind hoardings, with the floor protected and the work zone kept tidy for the morning.
What the commercial strip out involved
- Cladding boards, kiosk panels and glass removed from the bag drop units
- Six conveyor belts and their housings dismantled and taken out
- Steel frames and fixings stripped back to the wall framing
- The floor topping along the old belt line broken out with jackhammers and dust extraction
- Steel and general waste loaded out on the truck each night
What made it hard
It is a live terminal. Every shift started after the area was clear of the public and finished with the zone clean and secure, so the terminal could open as normal.
There was a noise restriction until 9pm. The crew did the quiet work first, stripping panels and unbolting housings, and held the breaking until after 9pm.
The terminal finishes around the work zone were new and had to stay that way. Floor protection boards went down across the area, and the crew worked on them the whole time.
How it was done
Each shift started with a pre-start and a sign off from the builder's representative. The units were taken apart in order: panels and glass off, housings opened, belts and frames unbolted, then the steel carted out to the truck.
Once the belts were out, the crew set up a breaker with dust extraction and took up the topping along the old belt line by hand, keeping the dust inside the hoardings.
Outcome
The bag drop units, belts and housings in the areas handed to us were stripped out and the topping broken out ready for the next trades. Nothing was left in the public areas at the end of any shift.
Lessons learned on this job
Every job teaches the crew something. These are the ones we took from the airport.
What worked
- Planning each night so the quiet work came before 9pm and the noisy work after
- Floor protection laid across the whole zone before anything came apart
- Loading out every night so nothing was left in the terminal
What was difficult
- Working inside an operating terminal on night shift only
- Dismantling machinery with a lot of steel and wiring in a tight space
- Keeping dust inside the hoardings while breaking out the topping
If you have something similar
Strip outs in airports, shopping centres and other buildings that stay open need a crew that works to the site's rules and hours. Have a look at our cutting in live environments and concrete cutting Brisbane pages, see a Brisbane shop strip out at Fortitude Valley, or get in touch.
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