Case Study: Drone Landing Strip for Hospital Blood Transportation

Creating a Drone Landing Strip for Crucial Blood Sample Transportation

The brief

As part of its ongoing work with Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, CK Group Services was tasked with creating a drone landing strip and storage area on the roof of the Cancer Centre at Guy’s. It is designed to facilitate urgent blood samples to be transported for analysis between the two hospitals to avoid traffic across London.

Having worked together for a number of years, CK Group Services enrolled us to help with this ground-breaking project, which will see transfer travel times cut considerably. By road, transferring samples between Guy’s Hospital and the lab at St Thomas’ Hospital can take more than half an hour, but by drone samples can be delivered in under two minutes.

We discussed the best approach with the team, taking into account logistical challenges, ensuring we gave the most effective recommendation.

The solution

The nature of this project being in a working hospital meant our recommendation needed to be spot on, and the team needed to work quickly to ensure all agreed timelines were met. Working on the roof was often logistically challenging and the team faced testing weather conditions, so a reliable recommendation was needed to make the process as smooth as possible.

A portion of the green roof was cleared initially to ensure the existing roof covering was not compromised in any way, and Elevate EPDM 1.52mm was then laid on recovery boards. We recommended this product as not only is it fast and easy to apply, but is also ideal for a heavier duty installation and has a 50-year service life expectancy, guaranteeing high-performance waterproofing for years to come.

The project was then finished with an interlocking rubberised matting walkway pad to protect the waterproof membrane below. The waterproof membrane is an ideal alternative to felt and other traditional waterproofing materials that offers 100% waterproofing over a lifespan of more than 50 years.

The testimonial

Steve Price, managing director at CK Group Services, said: “We have a long-standing relationship with the team at PermaRoof Commercial and have worked with them on a number of projects, so we knew we were in safe hands with their recommendations and advice.

“It was crucial that this project ran smoothly given the drone transportation will potentially save lives, so we needed to use products we knew we could trust, would be easy to install, and will stand the test of time. Despite some on-site and weather challenges, the team completed all works as per the agreed programme, which is a fantastic result for everyone involved.

“Knowing we can count on the recommendations provided by PermaRoof Commercial is a huge help and we’re looking forward to continuing to work with the team.”

Steve Greaves, group head of sales at PermaGroup, said: “It was a pleasure to play a role in this groundbreaking project and to work with the team at CK Group Services once again. We’re thrilled that Steve and the team continue to trust our service and products, and we’re looking forward to working on more exciting projects in the future.”

Read more about our Elevate EPDM products here.

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