Stannah – building for Olympic excellence and beyond

An 8-person Stannah Maxilift M passenger lift with an FX structure is providing essential people-moving power in the bespoke, £7.24 million Construction Skills Training Centre in Leyton, East London. In action since the centre opened in January 2011, the Maxilift M is hydraulically driven over a distance of 3600mm. The FX structure in which it operates is unique to Stannah and comprises a ‘shaft within a shaft’. This obviates the need for a high-cost load bearing wall, lifting beam, scaffolding (on most models), inserts (unistruts) for fixing, lintels or separate pit access ladder. FX models can also be installed into existing lift wells with minimal builder’s work. Ideal for modular and timber-framed buildings, they simplify the whole building programme and make substantial savings on time and cost. The Maxilift M delivers access over two floors to world-class training facilities in this key Olympic Legacy project, designed to train the next generation of construction workers in vital skills such as flooring, scaffolding and working at heights. Complementing other centres in the region, training is delivered by Europe’s largest construction training provider, the National Construction College. The project was spearheaded by Waltham Forest Council, which owns the building, acquired the funding and project managed the scheme in partnership with other organisations such as the National Skills Academy for Construction and CITB-ConstructionSkills. The centre was granted National Skills Academy for Construction status by CITB-ConstructionSkills – the Sector Skills Council and Industry Training Board for the construction industry. It is funded by the Skills Funding Agency, Waltham Forest London Borough Council, CITB-ConstructionSkills and the London Development Agency (LDA). The FX structure-supported Maxilift M was specified by Mike Sharpe, Senior Quantity Surveyor at Britspace Modular Buildings Limited, a leading UK supplier of pre-engineered buildings and off-site construction: “Britspace has used Stannah in a number of projects and this recent installation reflects our satisfaction in Stannah’s products, performance and service. The FX structure is particularly suited to this project as it is supplied within a structure-supported enclosure ideally suited to modular buildings. Over the next four years the Construction Skills Training Centre will provide training for thousands of local people and we are confident that the Maxilift M lift will provide the service demanded of it.” The Maxilift M is also an ‘MRLi’ model – a motor room-less option that saves space by storing the hydraulic oil container in the lift pit with the controller in the lift architrave and part of the lift fascia. The lift is finished light-grey vinyl skin plate with a vinyl stud floor, flush ceiling with white powder-coated downlighter effect, and half-height, silvered mirror and grab rail to the rear wall. The ‘M’ is the base model in the Maxilift range and offers a simple and elegant finish that is stylish, affordable and hard wearing. It is available in a choice of light or dark grey colour schemes, with a number of optional extras for design flexibility. Supplied with a comprehensive 1-year maintenance contract, the Maxilift M is serviced by the Dartford branch of Stannah Lift Services. Dartford is just one of eleven branches that comprise Stannah Lift Services nationwide network for the repair, modernisation and refurbishment and maintenance of all types of lifts, stairlifts, escalators and moving walkways from the Stannah product range, and also other lift manufacturers’ equipment.