New Zealand Commercial Design Trends Series NZ Commercial Design Trends Vol. 30/12 | Page 51

Below:D&H Steel Construction
riggers work on the roof of the
new JPL Distribution Centre
project. The company, which was
involved from the design phase,
undertook the steelwork for the
project, fabricating and installing
the roof structure.

Fabricators and installers are taking an
increasingly proactive role in major construction
projects, and this was particularly evident in the
new JPL Distribution Centre project.
D&H Steel Construction, which undertook the
steelwork on the project, was involved right from
the design stage. General manager Wayne Carson
says the company worked alongside John Bolland
of BGT Structures, providing value engineering
input, and helping to develop an optimised design
for the roof structure and purlins.
“The sequence for the steel construction had
to fit around the extensive precast columns and
exterior walls, the five-level internal car park, and
the post tensioned concrete floors,” he says. “The
client provided cranage for the job – the cranes
were considerably larger than those normally
used for steel erection due to the large amount of
heavy, precast concrete in the project. Our erection
methodology was developed to suit the available
cranage and construction sequence.”

Carson says that due to the 26m roof height, it
became evident very early on that it would be safer
and quicker to assemble most of the steelwork,
purlins and sprinkler pipes at ground level.
“Working with boom lifts at a 26m height is
very slow, time consuming and expensive. The
enormous reach and lifting capacity of the cranes
enabled the pre-assembled steel to be erected in
1000m2 40-tonne lifts.”
Altogether 950 tonnes of steel fabricated at the
D&H Steel plant in Henderson was used in the
project. The roof includes a canopy that covers the
full width of the inward goods and despatch yard.
Carson says D&H Steel was able to complete the
project meeting both time and budget targets.
D&H Steel Construction is one of New Zealand’s
largest steel fabricators. The company has worked
on an extensive range of projects throughout this
country and in the Pacific Islands, including commercial buildings, industrial processing plants,
bridges and infrastructure projects.