Steel Erection Middlesbrough

Overview

Steel erection in Middlesbrough and across Teesside

We erect structural steel in Middlesbrough and across Teesside, and we supply the cranes and lifting equipment to put it up. Our appointed person works out how each piece gets from the trailer to its position, and in what order, so the frame is left stable at the end of every day. The erection method usually sets the programme, so we like to see the drawings early, ideally before the steel is on its way.

Most of our Teesside work is portal frame buildings, light gauge steel framing and the smaller structural jobs: industrial units, extensions, mezzanines, canopies and infill framing. We have the lifting capability for bigger structures and we take that work too, including multi-bay and multi-storey frames.

What the work covers

We erect the frame, bolt up, line and level, and fit bracing and secondary steel, and we dismantle existing steel where a building is being altered. Your fabricator supplies the steel, and we plan the lifts and put it up. Where a project needs more, such as cladding and roofing alongside the frame, send us the details and we will put a package together at quoting stage.

What we do

What we erect on Teesside

Structure	Typical job	What decides the method
Portal frame buildings	Industrial units, workshops, storage and agricultural buildings	Crane standing positions and the order that keeps each bay braced
Light gauge steel framing	LFS and SFS infill and external walling to a main frame	Access and sequencing more than weight
Mezzanine floors	Added inside existing buildings for storage or offices	Getting steel into an occupied building and lifting it with no crane access
Extensions and infill bays	Adding to a building that is still in use	Tying new steel into an existing frame, and the survey that precedes it
Platforms, walkways and support steel	Access steel and plant support inside industrial buildings	Working around live plant and services
Larger structural frames	Multi-bay and multi-storey work	Lift planning, deliveries and the sequence across the whole frame
Dismantling existing steel	Frames coming down for reconfiguration or reuse	Residual stability as members are released

Mezzanines and internal platforms are often out of reach of a crane. We lift those with gantries and jacking equipment, and it is regular work for our gangs. See lift and shift in Middlesbrough.

Sectors

Where we work in and around Middlesbrough

Steel work on Teesside comes from a mix of new build and alterations to buildings already in use.

Industrial units and distribution

Skippers Lane, Riverside Park, Preston Farm and Teesside Industrial Estate. New portal frame units and extensions to existing ones, usually on a programme set by the groundworks ahead of us. See our industrial sector page.

Mezzanines and internal alterations

Floor space added inside existing buildings across the Tees Valley, where the steel has to come in through a door and go up without a crane. The building usually stays in use while it happens.

Process and energy plants

Access platforms, pipe supports and plant support steel go into process and energy plants on both banks of the Tees, with each job planned around the site’s own permit system and its hot work rules. See our chemicals sector page.

Offshore wind and the energy supply chain

Fabrication halls and workshops along the estuary being extended or fitted out, where the steel goes up around work already under way. See our power and renewables page.

Commercial and retail

Smaller frames, canopies and structural alterations in the town centre and around Middlehaven, where access, road space and working hours are the constraints rather than the steel.

Food, drink and packaging

Support steel and platforms inside production buildings, planned around hygiene areas and a line that does not stop for long. See our food and beverages page.

Planning

Access and planning for steel erection in Middlesbrough

Before the first trailer arrives on a Middlesbrough site, our appointed person works through these points:

• The lift plan, written before the steel is ordered. It fixes where the crane stands, what it can reach at each radius and which members it places from each position. With that settled early, the fabricator can load the trailers in erection order and the site team can plan lay-down around it.
• Temporary stability. A frame is only stable once the bracing is in, so the sequence has to leave a safe structure at every break. Where the sequence needs it, temporary bracing or guying is designed in as part of the method.
• Crane standing and ground. On Teesside that means made and reclaimed ground on a lot of sites, plus buried services on the older estates. Pads get designed to the bearing pressure they will actually see.
• Deliveries and lay-down. Steel is best lifted from the trailer where the site allows it, which needs the loads to arrive in erection order. On a tight site with no lay-down area, each load is timed to the crane.
• Wind. Large panels and light members stop being liftable well before the crane reaches its limit. Our supervisor checks the wind against the load and the rigging on the day, and the big surface areas wait for a calmer spell when a gusting easterly comes in off the North Sea.
• Road closures. Where a crane or a delivery needs road space we arrange the traffic management and road closure with Middlesbrough Council, or with Redcar and Cleveland or Stockton as the site requires.

Capabilities

What we take on

This is how the work usually splits between us and the other trades on a Teesside job. The exact split is agreed at quoting stage, with anything extra written into the quote.

Our part of the job

Erection of the frame, bolting up, lining and levelling, fitting bracing and secondary steel, and erecting light gauge framing. Dismantling of existing steel. The lift planning and the lifting equipment that goes with all of it, with an appointed person planning to BS 7121.

What sits with other trades

Groundworks and holding-down bolts come before us and cladding follows, usually as separate packages. Cladding and roofing can be added to ours where that suits the project. If a specification asks for more than erection, mention it when you enquire and we will set out in the quote how we cover it.

Who our operatives are

Our operatives are CPCS and CSCS carded and work to the lift plan and the method statement. The gang that slings and lifts each member is the gang that bolts it up, so everyone on site works to one sequence.

Coverage

Postcodes and areas we cover

We cover every TS postcode. Steel work comes from across the area:

• Middlesbrough: Riverside Park, Skippers Lane, Cargo Fleet, Mandale Park, Middlehaven, South Bank and Grangetown
• Redcar and Cleveland: Wilton, Lackenby, the South Tees site and the Redcar estates
• Stockton borough: Preston Farm, Teesside Industrial Estate, Thornaby and Eaglescliffe
• North of the river: Billingham, Seal Sands, Haverton Hill and Hartlepool
• Wider Tees Valley: Newton Aycliffe, Aycliffe Business Park, Darlington and the A1(M) corridor

Beyond Teesside, we erect steel across the UK. See all the areas we cover.

Why Synergy

Why Middlesbrough firms choose Synergy Lifting for steel erection

• Cranes and lift plans. We supply the cranes and lifting equipment for the erection. An appointed person plans each lift, and that plan sets the erection sequence from the first delivery.
• One gang for the lifting and the erecting. The people rigging the steel are the people bolting it up, so the sequence stays with one team on site.
• Scope agreed at quoting stage. The quote sets out what the erection package covers and anything added to it, so you know where our work starts and where the next trade picks up.
• Mezzanines, extensions and platforms. Mezzanines go in with gantries and jacking equipment where a crane has no access. Extensions are tied into frames that stay in use, and platforms are fitted around live plant.
• Qualified and accredited. CPCS and CSCS carded operatives, lifts planned to BS 7121 by an appointed person, equipment inspected under LOLER and PUWER, SSIP approved, Constructionline Gold Member, certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, and members of the Construction Plant-hire Association.

Services

Related services

Steel work usually arrives with one or two of these:

• Crane hire in Middlesbrough
• Lift and shift in Middlesbrough
• Industrial plant dismantling in Middlesbrough
• Cladding and roofing
• Labour supply and site services
• Electric pick and carry crane hire
• Traffic management and road closures

For mezzanines and internal steel we use the electric pick and carry machine. It runs indoors without fumes and fits into spaces a mobile crane cannot reach.

Process

How a steel erection job works

1. 01

   Send us the general arrangement drawings and the steel schedule, with the site address and the programme dates. An early enquiry helps, as the loads can then be packed to suit the erection order.

2. 02

   We look at the site: crane standing positions, ground, access for deliveries, lay-down, and anything overhead. On a straightforward portal frame we can quote from drawings and photographs the same working day.

3. 03

   We produce the lift plan, method statement and risk assessment, including temporary stability and any bracing or guying the sequence needs.

4. 04

   We agree the delivery order with your fabricator so the steel arrives in the order it goes up.

5. 05

   We erect, brace, line and level, and hand over a frame ready for the trades that follow.

FAQs

Common questions