Perth and Kinross Council Implements NAL LIFTlock® Covers
Improving Access and Maintenance
Access covers are a small but essential component of highways and street furniture infrastructure.
Get the specification wrong, and the consequences extend far beyond the cover itself: increased maintenance costs, safety risks, operational disruption, and premature failure.
The right access cover installation depends on your specific application. Traffic signal access has different demands to urban city centre access, for example. Elsewhere, highways require different considerations to motorway communications equipment. Load ratings, security requirements, aesthetic integration, and maintenance access all play a role.
This overview explains our various options and helps you specify the most appropriate NAL access cover for your project.
Background
The local authority, Perth and Kinross Council, received reports of issues accessing underground chambers, specifically related to street lighting infrastructure, creating pain points for maintenance teams.
Challenge
The main challenge stemmed from the previous access system, where cover locking bolts would rust, causing the bolt threads to fail and making chamber access extremely difficult.
It’s also well known that all access covers will become wedged in their frames. This occurs over time as dirt and debris accumulate in the tiny gap between the frame and the cover's edge, gradually becoming more compacted. When the time comes to lift that cover, operatives can struggle, describing it as wedged, seized, and stuck in place. This can lead to drastic measures to release the cover from the frame, resulting in delays and potential damage.
Solution
To address these issues, the local authority specified the NAL LIFTlock® composite cover and frame, paired with the STAKKAbox™ Modula access chamber, for new installations such as the residential area of Cleeve Drive in Perth. The LIFTlock® system features a unique worm-lock mechanism that is lightweight, easy to operate, and eliminates long-term degradation issues associated with traditional threaded bolts.
The LIFTlock® utilises a unique worm-lock mechanism fitted to the NAL composite cover. This sits into the extra-deep composite frame, offering a lightweight, lockable cover that can be easily lifted and accessed when required. When the cover is lowered, the worm-lock ensures it is securely locked; when fully raised, the worm-lock hits a stop, providing a safe opening for operatives to lift the cover from the frame.
Results
Unlike the previous threaded bolts, the worm-lock will not degrade over time and is unaffected by compaction of dirt and debris, as it provides the leverage needed to drive the cover upwards. This significantly reduces operational delays and maintenance costs, making it a reliable system for granting access to underground infrastructure.
Conclusion
By specifying NAL LIFTlock® covers, Perth and Kinross Council successfully resolved persistent access and maintenance challenges. The new system improved operational efficiency, reduced the risk of damage, and enhanced the safety and ease of maintaining essential street lighting and other underground infrastructure.
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