42m Ommelift Assists With Nave Inspection on Canterbury Cathedral

Challenge: Canterbury Cathedral is the most famous religious building in Britain and a registered World Heritage Site. The cathedral team wanted to conduct an inspection ahead of conservation supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), as part of the Canterbury Journey project.

This included surveying the Nave roof and West Towers, together with stonemasonry to the upper Nave buttresses, and conservation of the Nave’s stained glass windows. The team required an access platform that could work inside and outside the cathedral, without causing any damage to this historic building and its surroundings. For interior work, the access platform needed to deliver at least 25m of working height, enabling the team to inspect the highest reaches of the Nave. Outdoors, it would have to deliver 42m of working height in order to take the inspectors up to the top of the West Tower.

Solution: Access rental company Paramount Platforms supplied Canterbury Cathedral with an Ommelift 4200 RBDJ. With a working height of 42m, the Ommelift 4200RJ is the tallest telescopic tracked boom in Omme’s range. Compact dimensions ensured access into tight spaces was no problem, with a stowed height of 2.01m and length of 8.90m. It is specifically designed for applications that require high and extensive reach, but low ground pressure is also a necessity.

Outcomes: The non-marking tracks distributed the machine’s 6,805kg weight over a large area, reducing ground pressure so there was no risk of damage to the floor of the Nave. The tracks also helped the machine to traverse slopes when working outdoors – even on rough terrain. The Ommelift enabled the cathedral’s team, including Jo Deeming, Surveyor to the Fabric, to successfully inspect the stonemasonry and the stained glass windows, as well as the Nave roof and upper reaches of the West Tower.

“This particular MEWP was invaluable in facilitating a survey of the nave vault and the exterior fabric of the western towers. It enabled Jo Deeming, the Cathedral’s Surveyor to the Fabric, and others to assess the condition of the stonework and more accurately scope the work for the ‘Canterbury Journey’ HLF projects”.

– Heather Newton, Head of Stone Conservation at Canterbury Cathedral