Case Studies

PalletXpress

TEAM

ORS Multidisciplinary Team

Sector

Distribution

Related Services

Civil and Structural, Fire, Disability Access, PSDP and Assigned Certifier Services

People To Contact

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Overview of service

PalletXpress is a large distribution company that operates across Europe. It operates from a central hub located in Dublin. As a client of ORS, PalletXpress appointed the firm to provide multidisciplinary services on the construction of a new 8,500 sq m warehouse and distribution centre on a 2.3-hectare site.

The building comprised of two floors of office space totalling approximately 1,170 sq m, with the remainder of the floor area in warehouse space. The structure was a steel portal frame with cladding, ground-bearing concrete slabs, and suspended composite floors. Office space was located on the first floor, and storage space on the second floor.

ORS provided complete civil and structural, fire safety, disability access, PSDP and assigned certifier services on the development. This included the building, the car park, perimeter retaining boundary walls and access roads. The warehouse floor was specially designed for vehicular loads to drive thru as per client requirements. HGV and rigid truck parking was provided in the yard area. Electric forklift charging and EV charging points in the staff and visitor car parks were all designed and developed for the project.

Working with PalletXpress on this project is an example of how ORS delivers complex multidisciplinary solutions. It involved appointing a project coordinator as the client’s single point of contact.

Project challenges

Future-proofing and sustainability

During the design development stage, the utilisation of solar arrays on the roof of the building was investigated and developed. Although solar panels were not installed, the roof structure was designed to be future-proof and support future solar panel arrays.
Electric forklifts were adopted as part of a sustainability strategy for the building. Charging points were designed and installed for these forklifts.
SuDS measures were adopted for the treatment and control of surface water runoff. Runoff from the site is limited to greenfield rates via flow control, and the surface water attenuation storage is designed to cater for a 100-year storm event of critical duration plus an allowance for climate change.
A study and design for a rainwater harvesting system were prepared for the development at the design stage, but ultimately the client decided not to adopt this.

Complex surroundings

The development was constructed in a live industrial park and involved the construction of 300 m of the main distributor road. The site was bound to the south and east by developed sites with vacant sites to the north and west. Some of the constraints included:

Tying into adjoining sites, including retaining walls where appropriate,
Civil service extensions to service the site, including water main, wastewater and surface water drainage,
A large diameter gas distribution main was located adjacent to the site – Gas Network Ireland liaison was required to ensure required separation distances were adhered to and appropriate construction techniques were adopted in the vicinity of the gas main.