RSS wins five-year contract at Scotland Railway

Rope & Sling Specialists Ltd (RSS), with a facility in Grangemouth, Scotland, has won a five-year contract to deliver services related to Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER), crane maintenance, and personal protective equipment (PPE), to Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT).

The contract was awarded via a Public Contracts Scotland tender and centred on paperless tracking of lifting and rigging gear. RSS harnesses the numerous benefits of Motion Software’s technology, which allows it to give the client live daily updates on equipment that has been inspected and failed, for example.

RSS already supplied services related to The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) to the project, based on the inspection of emergency evacuation equipment at 13 underground stations. Gordon Orr, regional manager—Scotland at RSS, meanwhile, has a long association with SPT spanning two decades.

Orr said, “Many sites used to be dictated to only by the requirements of LOLER to inspect and document equipment periodically – six-monthly, for example. However, by utilising Motion’s latest software, clients can improve the speed and quality from the inspection site, through to analysis, and final report.”

There are numerous benefits to automating an inspection process. SPT will be able to shrink the time from inspection to final report by effortlessly capturing and sharing data, removing the need for repetitive inputting and complex paper trails. Automatic alerts and updates will mean SPT will never miss another inspection, while all equipment can be easily referenced against relevant legislation, and inspection renewals are tracked. The intuitive system reduces the need for in-depth training and lengthy roll-out programmes. RSS works with clients to make sure everything is ready for their teams to hit the ground running.

Orr added, “In addition to this technological inspection programme, our bid was looked upon favourably because of our ability to offer LOLER and PUWER services collectively, supported by state-of-the-art equipment and cutting-edge solutions. This combination is increasingly important to large-scale projects.”

The crane maintenance part of the agreement covers an electric overhead travelling crane and four jib-mounted electric chain hoists. The company’s Grangemouth facility employs six people, but the SPT contract will be overseen primarily by one site engineer, supported by office administration staff.

Orr said, “Business is steady—sustained growth is being driven by construction, utilities, oil and gas, and renewable energy projects.”