Sheet Piling Contractors Must Stay NRMM Compliant
Air quality is a matter of huge concern in the UK and construction industry plant operators, including sheet piling contractors like Sheet Piling UK, have a legal responsibility to stay compliant and help lower the environmental impacts of construction sites.
It is not just construction dust that contributes to emissions from sites which are reportedly generating 7.5% of the country’s Nitrogen Oxide emissions, 8% of large particle emissions, and 14.5% of highly dangerous fine particle emissions. Plant machinery and construction transport are also big contributors to the pollutants in our atmosphere that cause 40,000 deaths per year in the UK and create serious health issues such as bronchitis, asthma, respiratory illnesses and cancer.
Non-Road Mobile Machinery (NRMM), defined as any mobile piece of machinery or transport equipment that does not carry either passengers or goods on the road, is a large contributor to air pollution. For this reason, there are strict regulations governing equipment of this kind, which stipulate emissions limits for carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter.
NRMM Requirements for Sheet Piling Contractors
As a sheet pile specialist and high-quality construction partner for Tier 1 contractors, Sheet Piling UK takes its legal obligations extremely seriously and ensures that the plant which it operates when handling a sheet pile installation is compliant in every regard.
Sheet Piling UK’s sheet pile installation rigs are just one type of equipment that needs to meet the required emission standards, according to the ‘stage’ of the engine fitted, regardless of whether that is a spark ignition (SI) or compression ignition (CI) engine. Fork-lifts, dumper trucks, bulldozers, mobile cranes, telehandlers and pumps are just some of the other types of equipment covered by NRMM law.
Despite the legislative restrictions on NRMM vehicles, there are still companies in the supply chain which are neither vigilant when it comes to new requirements, nor compliance-focused. This leaves some construction sites and contractors exposed, because of the failure of suppliers to operate within legal boundaries.
London Sheet Pile Contractors
The world’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone was established in London in September 2015, to control emissions on any major London development and there have been instances in which inspectors have arrived on-site without warning, reviewed plant, and then instructed that machinery should either be stood down or removed from site.
With the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, having air quality high on his agenda, it is imperative that London construction projects have a compliant sheet piling contractor, like Sheet Piling UK, on board, if they wish to avoid delays to their project because of equipment shutdown or removal.
The clean-air agenda, and the focus on construction as a major culprit when it comes to particulate pollution will continue to affect day-to-day practice on sites, as Britain seeks to achieve its target of reducing its carbon emissions to 57% by 2030 and as the EU cracks down on gaseous outputs.
EU regulations, enforceable in all member states, are the toughest in the world, covering the entire range of nodes from 0kw to infinity and being backed by the threat of penalty payments for non-compliance. Misjudging the mood of environmental protectors can be a costly mistake.
Tighter Regulation for Sheet Pile Contractors
Now, even tighter NRMM regulation is on the horizon. From January, new engines coming into the market will be governed by the NRMM Regulation (Emissions) 2018 and upgrades to equipment will be required, to meet new standards.
Sheet Piling UK already has these new emissions restrictions on its radar and will be buying only compliant equipment, or retro-fitting devices, to ensure continued compliance. It will pay, however, for all contractors to carry out checks on the equipment being used by their supply chain partners, who may not be as aware of the further requirements of laws governing air quality. This topic is not going to go away, so the message has to be for contractors to breathe easy and work only with those committed to continued compliance.
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Sheet Piling (UK) Limited is one of the UK's leading piling contractors. Owning and operating a comprehensive range of specialist piling equipment Sheet Piling (UK) Ltd also carry extensive stocks of new and used piles enabling rapid reaction to any urgent requirements or emergency situations.