Canary Wharf Crossrail Station

Cable Management Goes Underground

Metsec Cable Management’s Jon Hillier explains why the fast and accurate availability of high quality, compliant products is important in the supply of cable management to Canary Wharf Crossrail station.

When it comes to very large scale projects and supplier frameworks, the availability of high quality products is crucial to ensuring orders can be fulfilled fast, with no delays as a result of missed or inaccurate deliveries. Work was completed at Canary Wharf, as part of the Crossrail construction at West India Quay. Canary Wharf Contractors, part of Canary Wharf Group, designed and built the station box on behalf of Crossrail.

A specialist building services contractor installed the mechanical, electrical and public health services for the Canary Wharf Crossrail Station. These works include electrical systems, cooling, lighting, drainage, power and pump systems.

As a relatively fast track project, the contractors onsite were required to work in close liaison with each other, so M&E collaborates closely with structural and fit-out, alongside the project management team to drive the project forward.

Crucially, because of the nature of the project, large sections of cabling and the cable management systems were installed to very high safety standards. LU1-085 Fire Safety Performance of Materials states the requirements of the project. When it comes to cable management there are only three approved suppliers who comply with this standard. Metsec Cable Management was selected for this project, based on its ability to deliver the specification within time and on budget.

The standard relates to fire safety, one of the key issues facing any specification and installation at a station. London Underground, which established LU1-085, complies with the law by controlling the use of materials in its stations by ensuring they meet its own fire safety performance standard.

This in turn means there is a responsibility by Canary Wharf Group to ensure Canary Wharf Contractors and the entire supply chain comply with the law. The standard provides a route to compliance. Responsible procurement and the sustainability of products are high on the agenda for all parties. Metsec’s products comply with the standard and also fulfil the legal demands for the installation of cable management systems.

Metsec has also worked hard to achieve its BES 6001 Responsible Sourcing of Construction Products accreditation. This serves as a reliable point of differentiation for end clients and specifiers when it comes to selecting cable management products for a job.

The cable management products were supplied to site accurately and on time, with no wrong orders that would have resulted in delays on the project. This accuracy is supported by Metsec’s customer-focused approach as a supplier. It has a very fast turn around time on quotations: 98.5% for 48-hour quotations and 96.5% for quotation returns within 24 hours. Order scheduling using the free DesignSPEC software enables the specification of the most economical profiles for the project. It also provides structural design for channel solutions, as well as span and loading capacities for cable ladder and cable tray specifications.

Because of the nature of the Canary Wharf project, every component used is subject to the most stringent auditing and selection process. For other contractors working within such tight specification standards, a supplier like Metsec that has the right compliance in place, combined with quality and technical support, can really add value to the supply chain.

Take a look at Metsec’s Cable Management Product Range