Cornell Engineers was proud to be engaged to provide the structural engineering for Mackay Regional Council’s new $27 Million depot at Crichtons Road, Paget in 2009. We worked hand-in-hand with the successful design and construct builders FKG.
This is what we learned:
- Council depots need to be master-planned for future growth. Leave plenty of space for extensions to buildings and workshops.
- Where possible separate pedestrians from heavy and medium vehicles. Provide covered walkways between carparks and work areas that are away from council vehicle travel paths.
- Allow plenty of on-site parking for council fleet including small and large vehicles.
- Make design allowance for travelling gantry cranes in all large council workshops even if the cranes aren’t installed right away. Retrofitting a gantry crane can be a costly exercise.
- Provide exceptional facilities for council workers because they deserve it. Allow areas for recreation, training, breaks and personal storage. Ensure showers and change rooms are large, well ventilated and well laid out.
- Provide washdown facilities early in the project so that construction vehicles can use the facilities during construction.
- Council depot buildings and sheds should all be engineered as post-disaster buildings because the council needs to provide emergency services after a natural disaster.
- Provide plenty of natural light in workshops and artificial light for essential operations areas because councils provide services to communities 24 hours a day.
- Council depots are not a safe place for unaccompanied visitors. Council depots should be secured with security fences and gates. Sheds and amenities should be all lockable. Electronic security including swipe card/electronic reader access is recommended. Automatic gates should be designed to maintain security even in busy periods where council vehicles are coming and going frequently.
- Standardise depot building designs where possible. It saves on engineering design and makes the depot easier and cheaper to build and renovate.
Choose Cornell Engineers for Your Depot Design
Why not benefit directly from Cornell Engineer’s experience in depot design? Contact us today to discuss the structural engineering requirements for your depot.
Whether you are building a heavy vehicle maintenance workshop, a council depot or Fastway depot, our experienced team can offer insights that might save your council depot project time and money.