Drainage survey supports major meat plant upgrade

Lanes Group plc has cleaned and surveyed the drainage system at one of the UK’s largest meat processing plants to support a major renovation programme at the facility.

The drainage specialist spent three months carrying out the work at the Tulip abattoir and meat factory at Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester.

A jet vac tanker and a CCTV drainage survey team from the Lanes Manchester depot were deployed at the 2.6-hectare site over 12 weekends over a four-month period.

The work was part of an £8m upgrade programme carried out at the plant by Tulip to improve productivity and enhance its position as the largest producer of higher welfare pork products in the UK.

The full site drainage survey was essential to support a change of layout to the butchering and packaging areas and install a new ventilation system and enhanced hygiene segregation.

Tulip Aston Site Director Catherine Gormley, pictured, said: “The rejuvenation of our facilities and infrastructure will help us to meet the needs of customers going forward and ensure our processes are as efficient as possible.”

Eddie Fraser, Principle Contractor from Hunter Safety Solutions, working on behalf of Tulip Ltd, said: “The site drainage clean and survey carried out by Lanes has been an important in the renovation programme.

“We needed to know the precise location of all drainage pipes before installing new ventilation equipment, which involves drilling into concrete floors.

“Thanks to Lanes, we now have a fully-updated site drainage map, which will help Tulip plan future site developments in a timely and efficient manner.

“The experience Lanes teams could bring to bear working on a large, complex and busy site has paid dividends, because they carried out this essential work flexibly without disrupting production.”

The cleaning and CCTV survey programme incorporated all wastewater pipework on site, including surface water drains and gullies, production effluent pipes, and foul drains.

All the pipes were clay, with diameters ranging from 100mm to 375mm.

At one point, a tracked remote water jetting reel was used to access a location in the factory that the jet vac tanker’s hose could not reach.

Ian Clapham, Area Development Manager for Lanes Manchester, said: “The remote reel extended the length of hose we could deploy.

“It was connected to the jet vac tanker and positioned outside a doorway close to the otherwise inaccessible internal manhole.

“In accordance with the construction phase plan issued by Tulip, we also observed best practice health and safety, and hygiene practices at all times.”

Waste material vacuumed from the pipes was taken to an authorised disposal site.

Lanes provided a complete set of CCTV survey reports, detailing the location and condition of all pipework, which allowed Tulip to update its site drainage plan.

The upgrade at the Ashton abattoir by Tulip, part of Danish Crown, has been central to the company’s commitment to sustainable meat production. A large majority of the pigs processed on the site are outdoor-bred on RSPCA-assured farms.