Smarter Cooling Tower Access — Built to Last, Not Just to Pass
When Hutchinson Builders took on the refurbishment of a 22-storey tower in Brisbane’s Ann Street, they hit a snag. The cooling tower manufacturer’s access design looked neat on paper but didn’t work in reality — too bulky, too costly, and far too awkward for a rooftop already short on space.
That’s when they called in our team.
Straightforward Answers: Less material, less crane time, and more room to move.
We looked at the job and saw a more straightforward way. Instead of wrapping platforms around the towers, we designed compact, two-tiered aluminium platforms that gave technicians clear access to just the four maintenance points that mattered. The result? Less material, less crane time, and more room to move.
Our engineers swapped out fibreglass-reinforced plastic for aluminium rated to 600 kg. The reason was simple — longevity. Fibreglass coatings can break down under Australia’s harsh UV conditions, and no one wants to replace a safety system that’s meant to last for decades.
Cutting Installation Time
Prefab work back at our workshop cut installation time on site by around 70–80 per cent. The crew had the 70 m² of platforms installed in just ten days, with waste so minimal it fit into two wheelie bins. For Hutchinson Builders, that meant the last crane lift on site finished ahead of schedule and under budget.
Scott Hutchinson summed it up best:
“We might only be on site for a few months, but the quality of our work will be judged over the lifetime of the building.”
At Workplace Defender, that’s how we think, too. Build it once, build it right, and make it safe for the long run.
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