Construction of New Dunedin Hospital’s Outpatient Building has hit an exciting milestone, going above-ground with the first structural steel column in place.  1600 units of fabricated steel will create the main structural support system of the building, which will be delivered in 16 consignments as steelwork is completed over the next year (along with the concrete flooring system that will done in conjunction with it).  Towards the end of that timeframe, other trades will start their work, such as fire-protective painting and installing the facade windows.

There are two beam types – ‘Primary’ beams which are typically 700mm deep and form the structural frame, and ‘Secondary’ beams which support general floor loads in between the primary beams, which are commonly 400mm deep.  The width of the beams is approximately 8.5m and their weight varies from 4 tonnes for the deeper beams to 1.5 tonnes for the shallower ones, which make them light work for “Stretch” the bright yellow Liebherr tracked crawler crane already onsite which can lift up to 300 tonnes. Stretch has the ability to lift full height assembled column frames which may be as high as 26m, which is desired from a safety point of view, and is likely to be joined by a second crane for some of the heavier lifts.

Eagle-eyed locals may have also noticed that Stretch is lowered to 30m each night to ensure the hospital helicopter movements are not compromised in any way!

The steel columns beams have been fabricated and primer painted by John Jones Steel (JJS). JJS have three factories, all in the South Island, and utilise all three for components which are best suited to that particular workshop facility. The steel is sourced internationally, to New Zealand specifications. The steel undergoes extensive material quality compliance validation before being accepted as suitable for fabrication.