HERMEQ UK
HERMEQ Ireland
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HERMEQ DACHBridges & Stairs
HERMEQ supplies trench bridges, temporary footbridges and temporary staircases for crossing open trenches, ditches and ground-level obstructions, and for getting into and out of excavations. The range is used on construction sites, civil engineering schemes, utilities works and temporary works, by operatives and members of the public alike.
Railed trench bridges span open trenches, ditches and shallow canals with an anti-slip deck and handrails, while stepped bridges and stairways cover wider gaps and changes in level. Aluminium decks and galvanised steel frames stand up to daily site use and repeated moves between excavations. The range is held in permanent UK stock.
Trench bridges and trench crossing units
The range divides into flat-deck trench bridges, which lie across the trench close to ground level and carry an integrated ramp, and stepped bridges, which climb up, cross and step down again to clear a wider gap or a raised obstruction.
Railed trench bridge
The railed trench bridge is an aluminium pedestrian crossing with an anti-slip deck, reflective handrails that fold flat and an integrated ramp. It suits footpath diversions over utility trenches, ditches, shallow canals and maintenance excavations, and its light weight makes it the easier bridge to carry between jobs and store flat at the yard.
Aluminium trench bridge
The aluminium trench bridge has a galvanised steel frame under its aluminium anti-slip deck, which makes it the heavier-duty of the two flat-deck crossings, and it comes with a wider deck option and a ramp for wheelchair and pushchair users. Choose it for highways and utilities works on public footways, council schemes and event sites, where a bridge takes steady public footfall and the occasional knock over a long programme.
Temporary groundworks bridge
The temporary groundworks bridge is a modular stepped footbridge, built from a flight of steps on each side and a deck between them, and it spans far wider trenches than the flat-deck bridges. It is the temporary footbridge for wide utility trenches, civils excavations and public realm schemes, and its modular steps adapt to the depth of the trench and the lie of the ground on either side.
Up and over obstruction bridge
The up and over obstruction bridge is a short stepped crossing that carries pedestrians over obstructions sitting at or above ground level, such as pipe runs, cable runs, low services and shoring that stands proud of the excavation. It stands on its own feet without ground anchoring, so it can go down over live services and in groundworks areas where nothing can be fixed into the ground.
Step-free or stepped trench crossings
The deciding factor is who has to use the route. Wherever wheelchair users, people with pushchairs or members of the public pass, a flat-deck bridge with its integrated ramp keeps the crossing step-free, and for public-facing works the aluminium trench bridge also takes bolt-on ramps and edge skirting. Stepped bridges are the answer when the gap is too wide for a flat-deck span or when the obstruction stands above the ground, and they carry operatives, inspectors and site visitors on routes inside the works.
When a public diversion has to cross a wide excavation, plan the route so the crossing falls at the narrowest point of the trench, where a flat-deck bridge can bear on firm footway at both ends, and keep stepped bridges on the site side of the fencing. On mixed schemes both types often work on the same job: a flat-deck bridge carries the footpath diversion while stepped bridges take the gang across wider sections and over pipework behind the barriers.
Sizing a trench bridge for the excavation
Every bridge in the range is a pedestrian crossing, rated at 200kg per square metre on the flat-deck models, so vans and plant crossing an open trench belong on steel road plates or ground protection mats, and sizing a bridge comes down to the trench, the ground and the footfall.
Span and bearing on firm ground
Measure the trench across its top edge at the point where the route crosses, then allow enough length for each end of the bridge to sit on firm, undisturbed ground set back from the lip, never on spoil, backfill or an edge that is already breaking away. Flat-deck bridges in the range run from 1.7 to 3.2 metres long, and where the excavation is wider than that once bearing is allowed for, the stepped groundworks bridge takes over, or more than one aluminium trench bridge can be positioned to span the wider distance. A slot narrow enough to sit under a flat plate in the footway needs trench covers in place of a bridge.
Deck width and footfall
The flat-deck bridges come with 1 metre and 1.2 metre decks. A 1 metre deck carries single-file traffic on a site route or a quiet footway, while the 1.2 metre deck gives room for two-way footfall, pushchairs and people passing each other on busy public diversions.
Aluminium or galvanised steel
Aluminium keeps a bridge light enough to carry by hand and does not rust, which suits crews who move a crossing frequently. A galvanised steel frame adds impact resistance and corrosion protection for bridges that stay down for longer on busy or public routes, and the stepped bridges use corrosion-resistant steel frames for the same reason.
Moving bridges between work phases
Folding handrails and carry handles let the flat-deck bridges pack down for transport and storage between jobs, and the stepped bridges fold and have integrated lifting points for repositioning as phased trenching moves along. Treat each move as a new installation: check the bearing at both ends again, set the handrails and ramp, and close off the open trench either side of the bridge with barriers before the route reopens.
Temporary stairs for trenches and excavations
Bridges take people across a trench, and the stairways in the range take them down into it, up an embankment or onto a level, so the choice between them turns on depth, footprint and how often the stair moves.
Temporary trench stairway
The temporary trench stairway is a galvanised steel stair for access and egress in trenches and on embankments, with folding, self-levelling steps, high-visibility handrails and anti-slip treads. It gives a gang working below ground a stair to walk in and out on, and the longer flights also lie across a trench as a gangway, so one product covers getting in and getting across.
Modular steel stairway
Units of the modular steel stairway connect together to suit the height of the job, from a short embankment to stair heights of up to 7.7 metres, and the stair secures to a concrete slab or to scaffolding. Choose it for between-floor access on phased builds and for routes up embankments that stay in place for the length of a contract.
Temporary aluminium stairway
The aluminium temporary stairway is the lightweight option in the range, with an adjustable pitch and a locking mechanism that holds it in position. It suits site entrances, internal scaffold routes, mezzanine access and phased egress routes, where a stair is taken down and set up somewhere else as the work moves.
Spiral tower staircase
For shafts and deep excavations where a straight flight will not fit, the spiral staircase for deep excavations builds up in modules to the depth required within a narrow footprint. It is designed for below-ground work zones in groundworks and shoring, where operatives need to carry tools and materials down a stair in place of climbing a ladder.