West Sussex civil engineering contractor, LG Wood, experiences success with its new pipe bridge anti-climb solution, the AC01.

LG Wood Ltd (LGW), welcomes Southern Water as an early adopter of its new pipe bridge anti-climb solution for water utility companies, the AC01. 

Now installing on over 850m of Southern Water’s exposed pipe and pipe bridge infrastructure, the AC01 is a revolutionary new approach to pipe bridge access intervention.  

Manufactured in West Sussex, UK, by LGW, the AC01 is easy to install, maintain, store and transport thanks to its unique triangular design. 

Laurence Wood, Managing Director, LG Wood, said; “The AC01 is one of many innovations LGW have brought to market as we try and solve the increasingly complex situation our clients find themselves in whilst keeping Britain’s water and sewerage infrastructure maintained. We are always looking for easy and cost-effective ways to respond to increased regulatory pressure on an aging network.” 

Will Rickard, Engineer, ETS Networks, Southern Water, said “The AC01 has reduced our anti-climb solutions spend by 35%, as well as reducing our project programme from 24 to 16 months. The greatest advantage is not having to rely on survey data to spec the device. Due to its inherent flexibility, teams can adapt to requirements as they find them.” 

The AC01 was designed in response to legislation change in 2015 following the death of Robbie Williamson. In 2014, a group of boys were able to climb onto an exposed cast iron pipe, from which Robbie tragically fell, and later died.  

A HSE investigation later determined that the death could have been prevented if an appropriate access intervention device was fitted to the pipe.  Unfortunately the pipe was bare because of incorrect survey data, with the asset being recorded as buried. 

LGW offer a full service for the AC01 including land access, pipe surveys, intervention designs, and supply and installation of intervention solutions. 

The AC01 comes in a range of five pre-fabricated sizes and can cover pipe diameters from 100mm to 540mm, meaning crews can install the device as they go, with no, or limited need for pre-survey data. 

LGW are currently in talks with other utility providers following the successful adoption by Southern Water.