Dunedin's Farra Engineering's lift division has designed and is manufacturing a lift hoarding, or semi-permanent cover, for the dangerous gaping holes of lift shafts in buildings under construction.
There are few career construction workers who do not have a lift shaft horror story to tell, and Farra has made a simple solution.
Farra two years ago branched out into manufacturing, installing or decommissioning lifts, and realised its staff were being put at risk working around the lift shafts, works manager Mervyn Makill said yesterday.
At best, lift shafts in New Zealand are covered with a sheet of 12mm ply, or worst, by a couple of lengths of "four by two'' framing timber.
"We wanted something that provided safety for our guys, that's what drove it,'' Mr Makill said.
While the hoardings are common in the UK and Australia, they are only a recent introduction to New Zealand, prompting Farra to come up with its own design.
Farra's modest $10,000 prototype was shortlisted in the recent Safeguard NZ awards from 62 products to one of the top three, competing against Fonterra and Fulton Hogan with each spending $100,000 on their prototypes.
Once in mass production, the units should retail in the range of $700 to $750.
Farra Engineering manager Mark Stuart said the hoardings were already being used on Christchurch projects.
Farra had an immediate order for 10 more and would shortly shift to production runs of 50 units.
The 2.25m-high hoardings are built from 1.2mm steel, weigh about 50kg and utilise 10mm opaque impact plastic, as a lighter-weight barrier.
The unit is Dynabolted to the wall and floor.
The hoardings come as a flat pack, in case they have to be carried up high-rise building's stairwells, or can be easily lowered directly down lift shafts, he said.
Aside from the obvious intention of protecting workers, or being hit by falling material, the shaft hoarding is lockable and restricts access, but lets in light and ventilation and can be reused.
Mr Stuart said marketing was still under way.
Companies to could buy direct, or a third party could buy and rent out hoardings to construction companies.
