Image: Development team from left to right: Associate Professor Amin Heidarpour, Sudhir Raina, Rafi Tchopourian, Rex Turner, Esmaeil Pournamazian Najafabadi and Hamed Ashrafi.
Coates, Australia’s leading equipment hire and solutions provider, has unveiled the world’s lightest heavy-duty structural support system for temporary works. With a capacity of up to 150 tonnes, the Quadshore 150 uses lightweight, high-strength structural elements and boltless connections, negating the need for consumables.
Developed in conjunction with Monash University as part of a $1 million multi-year research partnership, the Quadshore 150 structural support system promises to make temporary works more efficient, while also lowering costs for construction projects of all kinds.
Rafi Tchopourian, General Manager for Engineering Solutions at Coates, said, “This project has been more than a decade in the making, and it’s one the construction sector has been crying out for. It’s far lighter than anything else on the market, ensuring it can be shipped to site quicker and in greater volume and erected faster.”
Traditionally, structural support systems require significant installation time due to their heavy weight. The Quadshore 150’s revolutionary design means less labour, handling, storage, transport, installation and de-installation, saving the construction sector both time and money.
Using lightweight, high-strength structural steel technology also reduces shipping and transportation requirements, resulting in a lower carbon footprint, and reduces the likelihood of manual handling injuries.
Monash University’s Civil Engineering Department has been researching the concept of lightweight, high-strength structural systems for 12 years. The patented Quadshore 150 is part of the great innovative research conducted by Esmaeil Pournamazian Najafabadi during his PhD study at Monash University.
Coates engineers, Sudhir Raina and Rex Turner, worked directly with the Monash team to develop the Quadshore 150 system, providing vital industry knowledge and experience, and transferring research outcomes to the real world. It is the first of three projects to be completed as part of the R&D partnership.
Head of Structural Engineering at Monash University, Associate Professor Amin Heidarpour, said, “Australia has some of the best engineering minds in the world, and our department offers the facilities and autonomous environment that allow world-changing ideas to flourish. This project is a testament to that ingenuity; a propping system that saves money at a time when budgets are under strain, and one that reduces the impact on the environment, particularly when climate change is front-of-mind.”
The partnership with Monash has been so successful that Coates will broaden its investment into the higher education sector by partnering with the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). The focus of this R&D partnership will be investigating ways to support and improve construction water treatment processes.
In May 2021, Coates Engineering Solutions hosted an inaugural Temporary Works Forum at the UTS Tech Lab in Sydney to discuss best practice and innovation in temporary works. During an Innovation Panel discussion with engineers from Coates, Monash’s Heidarpour and Associate Professor Ray Kirby, Director of the UTS Tech Lab, spoke of the importance of industry-based training and R&D partnerships to address challenges such as climate change.
“The education sector is our biggest export market for a reason; it possesses some of the world’s best and brightest minds,” Mr Tchopourian, General Manager of Coates Engineering Solutions, said.
“We will continue our investment into the local sector as there is incredible potential for our construction industry to lead the world in innovation, with the Quadshore 150 solution demonstrating what our country is capable of.”
This Sponsored Editorial was brought to you by Coates. For more information, visit www.coates.com.au.
