Local Authority concern has been increasing over the risk of pedestrian injury when composite access box covers became wet or greasy. Ever mindful of changing industry requirements, Polypipe Civils Ltd. in May this year upgraded its range of Composite Covers to provide a Skid Resistance Value far in excess of the minimum limits set by the County Surveyors Society Working Party. The new covers, in fibre-reinforced polyester resin (GRP), now incorporate a multi-directional anti-slip tread pattern that has proven extremely effective. They retail at the same price as the range they have replaced.

Tested against the TRRL Pendulum value, Polypipe Civils' covers achieved the top rating in both 'Potential to Slip' and 'Degree of Hazard' categories. With a Wet Test mean value of 76 compared with the minimum value of 40 already set by some Authorities, they also significantly out-perform most competition covers.

During the redesign the opportunity was taken also to carry out changes in the load bearing characteristics of the Composite Access Covers. Subsequent testing has shown that the new covers still exceed the load testing requirements of EN124 B125. They are available in five sizes ranging from 290 x 274mm up to 600 x 600mm.

25th September 2003