Gripple’s innovative Fast Trak pre-fabricated bracket solution has been specified for One Cambridge Square, a new office and retail space within the heart of Cambridge North.
Working alongside main contractor Wates and subcontractor PA Collacott & Co, Gripple supplied its innovative rapid fit trapeze system Fast Trak to suspend electrical containment throughout each floor of the 94,000 sq ft building.
Fast Trak was chosen as it offers speed, flexibility and efficient use of space and is renowned for being six times faster to install than traditional methods.
Gripple’s Fast Trak also enabled PA Collacott & Co to overcome challenges on the site, including the fact that the cable baskets and trays had to navigate through different heights and levels on each floor, whilst retaining an uncluttered appearance and not compromising safety.
Fast Trak was the ideal solution as it benefits from tool-free easy adjustment capability, where the bracket can be quickly moved up and down the track in 10mm increments, before being locked securely back into place. This meant that if the baskets needed to be raised slightly to run underneath or through a steel beam, then this could be done quickly and easily.
An electrical supervisor from PA Collacott & Co said: “Fast Trak has definitely helped us to deliver this project much more quickly. We had some tricky steel beams to get through which Fast Trak helped overcome, with its quick adjustment mechanism – which would have been difficult and time consuming with traditional methods. A whole floor took two installers four days to complete – the same space using traditional methods would have taken at least three weeks, saving a great deal of time and labour!”
As One Cambridge Square is BREEAM Excellent rated, it was an added bonus that Fast Trak offers carbon savings over traditional methods. Fast Trak helped to save 4,464 kg of embodied carbon on-site – this is equivalent to driving 15,338 miles.
An MEP Site Manager from Wates said: “The fact that Fast Trak is pre-formed and arrives on site ready to go means we’ve seen no wastage at all. In the past we have used wedge anchors, threaded rod and channel on a project like this. Fast Trak by comparison is a lot quicker and has eliminated the need for hot works and permits The tracks can be bent easily in the bracket. We have had some great feedback from the installers, who carried out the project really quickly. We’ve also seen no real waste on-site. It has been fantastic.”
With fire safety in buildings becoming more important following the recent update to Approved Document B of Building Regulations, Gripple has secured independent test data for Fast Trak, which confirms that the entire system meets the fire performance requirements associated with BS EN 1363-1:2020.
Gripple’s Area Sales Manager Josh Bloomfield, explains: “The fact that Fast Trak achieves F120 accreditation was essential on this project. It made a big difference to health and safety on-site and also reduced labour by 17 weeks.”
Fast Trak is a pre-fabricated, trapeze bracket, which enables efficient, flexible and safe installation of electrical containment, ductwork, pipework and other mechanical services.
Fast Trak comprises metal tracks, from 200mm to 1,500mm in length, accompanied by mounting brackets, from 170mm to 1,470mm wide and is designed to suit a wide range of installations from high-rise office blocks, hotels, hospitals, open retail spaces, residential buildings, or transportation hubs.
Fast Trak is extremely versatile as the four-sided bracket provides suspension points on each face. Thanks to its ‘channel style’ return, Fast Trak can be used with standard channel nut fixings along with Gripple’s range of fixings and accessories.
All Fast Trak pre-fabricated tracks and brackets are organised in user friendly packaging, with a handle, making it easy to carry on-site. The system can also be moved onto and around site easily and stacked tidily on-site to reduce storage requirements. Instructions for Fast Trak are included on the packaging, with a QR code link, which removes the need for further paper usage.
Gripple is committed to providing customers with greener solutions that reduce carbon and maximise use of recycled materials. For contractors and developers, use of Fast Trak offers minimal waste due to the fact that 95% of packaging is FSC cardboard, which is recyclable.
For more information about the Fast Trak™ system visit the website
https://www.gripple.com/fast-trak
Please see the below video on the YouTube channel…
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