Tune Hotel Group Case Study

Tune Hotels, a hotel chain operated by Tune Hotels Regional Services Sdn Bhd, identified a need of two sheltered areas for their new hotel in central London. They required a cycle shelter and a free standing canopy to create a covered outdoor coffee area for their guests and staff.

Able Canopies was not originally specified for the contract however, the contractor; David James Contracts Ltd. decided to award this project to Able Canopies due to our company’s professionalism, knowledge and attention to detail.

The Ulverston Umbrella, a standard tensile free standing canopy from the Able Canopies range, was identified by Able Canopies as a structure that was suitable to use on the project. This product was in keeping with the original design ethos but offered a more substantial and better looking structure. The Ulverston Umbrella is constructed from the finest waterproof tensile material available on the market and supported by a large tubular steel post with a diameter of 150mm.

When reviewing this product in relation to the site location, Able Canopies voiced concerns over the specified foundation depth: although foundations of two metres are required for the structure to be installed safety, due to central London digging restrictions (which exist because of the proximity of the London Underground transport system) foundations of only one metre were allowed. As this would not be sufficient, Able Canopies suggested, and helped design, above ground foundations with a decking area to hide the concrete. This was agreed by all parties as the solution.

Further to this, Able Canopies also recognised there would be an issue when erecting the main steel post as the required digger was too big to access the site. As a solution Able Canopies designed a system to work with two Genie lifts in order to hoist the canopy components into position. This attention to detail impressed the contractor and the Ulverston was selected as the free standing canopy for the hotel’s outdoor area.

In addition to a free standing canopy, the customer also required a 6.3m x 2.05m cycle shelter with timber cladding. This was no problem for Able Canopies engineering design team who were eager to design this shelter and the drawings and technical specification were completed by the team and presented to the client within 12 hours of receiving the specifications. This bespoke shelter was based around the design of an existing Able Canopies product, the Grasmere Cycle Shelter, however it featured carefully selected timber cladding and a steel corrugated roof, giving the shelter a distinctive modern look. We later turned this into a standard product called the Grassmere Timber Clad Cycle Shelter.

The installation of the two structures took place just three weeks after the second meeting with the client, and both structures were installed within three days. The customer had taken the decision to outsource the installation of foundations to another supplier for the Ulverston Umbrella. This meant that in order for the umbrella to be orientated into the correct position Able Canopies needed to liaise regularly with the company carrying out the foundations to ensure these were calculated correctly. Through regular communication the umbrella was installed with no problems, proving that communication is key.

During the installation a temporary power failure occurred which could have slowed progress; however, Able Canopies were keen to keep to their scheduled installation time and so outsourced a generator to provide the power needed to complete the installation on schedule. The installation was successful and completed within the required time frame, leaving Able Canopies with another satisfied customer.

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