A new chapter for railway work at height access and support
6th November 2024
6th November 2024
Andrew Oliver and Luis McCarthy met through a mutual friend at a birthday party. Two ambitious individuals involved in similar industries, they connected instantly. Andrew was working offshore on NDT projects, while Luis was ascending the scaffolding ranks in what would become his future business. Over the years, life took them on separate journeys – Andrew founding Culant Offshore Services (now SEP Culant) and Luis expanding JMAC from a small family run scaffolding business into the bustling multi discipline operation it is today.
“Like all friendships when you’re busy, especially growing a business, you naturally drift apart,” Andrew said. “We kept in touch, but around 18 months ago, we sat down for a proper catch-up.” It was during this reunion that the foundations of their partnership were laid. SEP Culant has made a name for itself with IRATA-accredited rope access and reliable vegetation support across the UK rail industry. Meanwhile, JMAC has become a leading provider in Scaffolding, and multi discipline services across various sectors.
“We both provide work-at-height access and support,” Luis said. “By coming together, we realised that we could use our joint experience across multiple sectors to offer a one-stop-shop service.” And that’s exactly what they did.
The £140 million renovation of Darlington Train Station set the stage for their newfound partnership. SEP Culant and JMAC were contracted to construct a substantial shore scaffold for the Grade 2 Listed building’s Clock Tower North entrance, which was found to be structurally unsafe. This vital scaffold not only prevented further deterioration but also safeguarded a live gas main underneath. Since then, more collaborations have followed in sectors like pharmaceutical, petrochemical, oil and gas and industrial construction.
“These sectors have strict guidelines that take time and experience to understand, just like the rail industry,” Luis noted. “By using our shared knowledge, we were able to work in unison. We’re getting stronger as a team and bringing in more work. It’s exciting but we keep our feet firmly on the ground and remain focussed on the longer-term tasks at hand. ”
Their partnership was taken to new heights during works at the SeAH Wind development – a £500 million mega-project constructing what will be the world’s largest offshore monopile factory at Teesside’s Freeport. Standing at 40 metres tall, the giant building requires over 162,000 square metres of safety netting to protect workers from falls – a record in European construction history.
“Before our involvement, the project faced several contractor issues,” Andrew explained. “We were called in to devise and implement a reliable strategy.” Within one week, their teams had mobilised and turned the whole program around. “We brought our joint, experience and operational standards to the site,” Luis added. “Since we
arrived, there has been a regular rotation of between 8 to 15 of our team members on-site, fluctuating based on the client’s needs and program demands. We pride our selves on being agile and ability to be dynamic.”
With obstacles on the ground creating access challenges, the importance of using rope access methods became clear. Luis continued, “MEWPs are ideal in certain situations and used for the majority of works, but when building materials block safe access, rope access is the best option,” Andrew pointed out, “this is where we took the lead, providing solutions that work around the challenges and environment.”
Together, JMAC and SEP Culant employ over 250 full-time team members. Whilst this provides a strategic advantage, it’s not just the numbers that make a difference. “Most of our team members are trained across specialisms,” Andrew said. “That means we can deploy individuals as needed, rather than telling clients we don’t have enough staff that are trained to undertake the work.”
Luis emphasised, “We carry a large labour pool, which allows us to be reactive and align with the client’s needs swiftly. This coupled with our approach to providing careers to our team members then creates longevity and skills – but most of all through having a diverse order book across multiple sectors we can retain and grow our team’s skills, experience and loyalty. Smaller contractors might have a handful of workers – we can scale our teams from 8 to 15 or more on a single project at short notice.”
Their ability to mobilise quickly isn’t just talk. “There have been times when we’d get a call on a Saturday afternoon needing 15 skilled tradesmen the following morning to support the SABIC shutdown as the chosen provider didn’t have the labour in the area,” Luis recalled. “We made it happen, after some negotiation with the trades of
course. Our agility sets us apart.”
“We believe in creating jobs and investing in the future,” Luis explained. “At any given time, we have over 20 apprentices across various disciplines – from scaffolding to finance and Quantity surveying graduates pursuing degrees. We’re not just filling positions; we’re building careers and people.” Andrew echoed this sentiment: “Our teams are the backbone of our project success. By providing continuous training and opportunities for cross- skilling, we not only increase our service offering but also contribute to the future of our team member’s personal development.”
“There’s no other company that offers our combined expertise, assurance and manpower – of our size, in our region,” Andrew affirmed. “Larger corporations might offer similar services, but they often lack the agility and personal touch we provide. Smaller companies can’t match our breadth of services or resource availability.”
Luis added, “We’re in a blue ocean – a space where our size and capabilities allow us to offer comprehensive solutions without the bureaucracy of larger firms. We can provide the personal attention of a small company with the resources of a large one.”
Their comprehensive suite of services includes Fall Arrest Safety Netting, IRATA-certified rope access, NASC-certified scaffolding, FASET-certified platform decking and RISQS certification – all critical for construction projects on the railway. “Together, we provide a dependable height access solution with safety as the highest priority – and we have the necessary certifications and experience to back it up,” Andrew explained.
As CP7 (Control Period 7) work begins to be released, Andrew and Luis believe they are primely positioned to assist the rail industry in a way it has not yet experienced. Luis added, “Safety netting is an essential part of almost all construction projects. It protects workers from falls at height and protects against falling debris. To date, there’s not been a contractor who is specifically geared up to deal with the rail industry. We want to change that.”
Andrew followed by saying, “This is going to be a game-changer for the industry. No longer do clients need to work with contractors who potentially lack the necessary certifications and experience to work on the railways. Now there is a complete, dynamic solution that’s agile enough to react when the project demands it.”
