Bespoke lifting equipment for UK nuclear programmes.

Nuclear lifting equipment differs from general industrial equipment in the same way nuclear pressure vessels differ from general industrial pressure vessels: the base engineering is similar, but everything wrapped around it — material traceability, weld procedure qualification, NDT coverage, approval gates, documentation packs — expands to reflect the risk profile and regulatory framework the customer operates within.

Where Somers equipment is specified

Somers Handling has supplied bespoke handling equipment for UK civil nuclear decommissioning programmes — including shielded handling tongs for waste-package work with remote actuation via umbilical, built against customer engineering standards that exceed baseline BS EN 13155. Project shapes include:

• Shielded handling tongs for waste-package handling inside radiation-shielded cells, with radiation-appropriate materials, remote actuation and 100% NDT coverage on Class 1 welds.
• Bespoke lifting frames for loads where geometric constraints, load-sharing or environmental considerations rule out catalogue equipment.
• Cast-in sockets and davits for lifting at specific plant positions — including man-riding variants where confined-space access is required.

Engineering priorities

• Traceability as a design driver. Every structural member, every bolt, every weld has to trace to a material certificate, a pour, a procedure, a qualified welder. The documentation pack is often thicker than the engineering report.
• Customer-standard compliance. Large primary-industry nuclear clients operate internal engineering standards that go well beyond the harmonised BS EN family. We work to those standards as specified, and deliver documentation in the client’s format.
• NDT and weld inspection coverage. 100% inspection coverage on safety-critical welds is typical, not exceptional, in this sector. Weld procedures are qualified in advance; weld records reference procedures; weld inspection reports are part of the handover pack.
• First-attempt pass rate. Nuclear FAT failures cascade into programme delays that matter. Our design and manufacturing discipline for this sector is optimised around first-attempt pass on witnessed testing.

Complementary services

Nuclear-sector work almost always starts with design consultancy — feasibility, concept and detail design with FEA where required — before moving to manufacture and commissioning. We can also work as independent design reviewers for third-party nuclear lifting equipment where a second-pair-of-eyes engineering opinion is required before procurement commits.