At its Cleator Moor base in Cumbria, Forth designed and manufactured the Tipperbot, an adapted power barrow which can be operated by remote control from a safe distance of 20 metres and sieve out solids from wet ‘sludge’ when undertaking nuclear decommissioning work.
The Tipperbot is placed in dry sumps and controlled remotely by engineers from a safe distance. The machine has cameras installed and feeds back live images to alert engineers of its path.
Once in the sump, the Tipperbot picks up the remaining nuclear waste in the former ponds and sieves out solids from the liquid. The solids are retrieved and the sludge safely washed away.
Typically, this type of work is carried out by engineers using long arm tools and can often be dangerous due to the close proximity of the people to the waste. It is also very time-consuming.
Graham Cartwright, projects director at Forth, said: “By operating the vehicle from a 20-metre umbilical, you are improving the level of safety to the engineers. The Tipperbot can cover large areas in a short space of time, which should also save a lot of time and expense on these types of jobs.”