Lifting equipment for water, power and utility networks.

Utility-sector lifting tends to happen at hundreds of individual sites rather than at one large plant — a pumping station here, a substation there, a distribution chamber somewhere else. The equipment profile follows: distributed, purpose-matched, and specified for long operational life with relatively low intervention frequency.

Where Somers equipment is specified

Somers Handling supplies lifting equipment into UK water utilities, power distribution network operators, gas networks and specialist utility contractors. Typical project shapes include:

• Freestanding pillar jib cranes at water pumping stations, treatment works and valve houses — for lifting pumps, valves and strainers clear for maintenance without contracting-in a crane every time. Weatherproof coatings, duty classes sized for long-interval operation.
• Portable and fixed davits with cast-in sockets for confined-space access — man-riding variants to BS EN 795 Class E where rescue capability is required, goods-only davits for lifting tools and equipment into underground chambers.
• Bespoke lifting equipment for substation work — switchgear positioning, distribution-scale transformer handling, cable-drum lifting — sized to the specific site and load.
• Handling aids for ongoing network operations — one-off lifting equipment that solves a specific maintenance-access problem at a specific site.

Engineering priorities

• Long service life, low intervention. Utility equipment often sits unused for weeks between uses, then has to work first time. Materials, bearings and coatings are selected accordingly.
• Weatherproofing and site conditions. Pumping stations, substations and distribution sites are often outdoors, exposed and subject to weather. Coatings are specified to match site conditions rather than indoor industrial defaults.
• Standardisation across a fleet. Utility operators with many similar sites benefit from equipment specified consistently across the fleet — simplifying training, maintenance, spares and the statutory LOLER examination schedule.
• Man-riding compliance. Where the lifting device is used for confined-space access, BS EN 795 Class E compliance and the associated testing regime become central to the design.

Complementary services

Many utility-sector customers bundle initial equipment supply with an ongoing LOLER thorough-examination and servicing contract covering the distributed fleet, so statutory compliance and equipment availability are managed as a single service.