British Waterways Falkirk Wheel
The Falkirk Wheel is the spectacular centrepiece of the £84.5 million ‘Millennium Link', the UK’s largest canal restoration project, developed by British Waterways to reconnect the Union Canal with the Forth & Clyde Canal, re-establishing east to west coast access for boats. As the world’s first and only rotating boat lift, the Falkirk Wheel is quite simply unique.
HSEC were employed to undertake the design
verification of the Falkirk Boat Lift, prior to
its erection in Scotland.
The lift incorporates
a large wheel to transport canal boats between
the Forth & Clyde Canal and the Union Canal,
which involves raising and lowering the boats
through a vertical height of approximately 22 m.
Verification required full examination of
electrical, mechanical and safety systems;
requiring expertise in human factors, structural
analysis, control and stability. The design of
the Wheel was assessed using Fault Tree Analysis
to identify the critical areas and conformity to
the appropriate International Standards.
HSEC identified areas of design and
consequent operation with risk potential. Our
comprehensive report included recommendations
for design improvement, supported by
calculations from the technical assessment.
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