Actavo supplied and installed a range of barrier products to aid ingress and egress for West Ham home games at London Stadium, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London.
Scope of works
Install ingress and egress barriers for West Ham home games at London Stadium. More than 500 barriers are installed for every game for supporters to enter and leave the stadium. Derig of crowd control and met barriers after games.
Services delivered
Installed a range of fence panels sets, crowd control barriers, met barriers, variable-message signs (VMS) and ramps for home game events.
Solutions to challenges
Tight timeframe: Due to the busy nature of where the stadium is situated, barriers can only be installed within hours of the event, as well as a speedy turnaround between install of ingress and egress infrastructure.
Innovation: The night before an event, 3 crew put the equipment in place ready for it to be installed upon road closure. The install previously required a forklift and transit van to bring the barriers into position. Actavo modified met barrier stillages to be on wheels, eliminating the requirement for plant and vehicles in one of the busiest routes in the park. This made the install safer and quicker.
Technology: During the 2015 home games, there was an issue during egress and a VMS message needed to be changed. This wasn’t possible in real time. When Actavo took over the contract in 2016, the team made sure the technology was in place to change signs on site using a smartphone.
Benefits to client
Flexibility: The Events team can be at the stadium within hours of a client request.
Planning & coordination: Three hours before kick-off, an 11-man crew install the ingress barriers. After kick-off, the team changes the layout of equipment for the egress within the 105-minute time scale. One hour after the event, the team derigs all the equipment so roads can be reopened quickly.
Key successes
Due to the project’s success in 2016, Actavo continues to deliver the contract annually for West Ham home games.
Green solution: Actavo was allocated a storage compound in the park to facilitate this project, saving on transport making the project more environmentally friendly.