NPS® beams are designed to be assembled by taking them directly from the means of transport.
If storage is the option, the beams can be stacked horizontally on several levels, resting on wooden boards. For long-term storage, the steel parts must be protected from the weather.
Each NPS® beam is identified by an identification tag showing the lifting weight and the code in the assembly drawing.
For technical storage requirements, please refer to the Tecnostrutture’s product assembly and installation booklet.
The internal route through the site and the material storage area are agreed with the site manager.
NPS® beams can be lifted and handled with normal lifting equipment, such as cranes or crane trucks.
The NPS® beams must be unloaded from the vehicle using ropes or chains attached to the lifting systems provided in the beams.
Normally, a team of 3 workers and a crane operator will lay an NPS® beam in 5 minutes.
It is possible to mount the safety guardrails in the appropriate provisions of the NPS® beam already on the ground.
The building site crane used must have a suitable capacity in relation to the loads being lifted. It is necessary to check that the load is well balanced by pulling the ropes or chains and lifting the material by a few centimetres before moving the structure. Before handling the structure, the dimensions and positioning of the end supports of the beams must be checked.
The beam is then lifted with the crane. Once the beam has been brought close to the assembly point, the operators will accompany the product until it is completely supported on the brackets.
The beams are laid in simple support, except in specific cases indicated by Tecnostrutture in the laying drawing. If shoring of the lateral beams is foreseen for overturning, the NPS® Beam must be blocked only at the ends, never in the span and/or in the middle. For further details, refer to Tecnostrutture’s product assembly booklet to the prescriptions contained in the elaborate.
The slab is then laid. Only at this point is the completion casting carried out, according to the instructions and prescriptions of the manufacturer and/or supplier of the slab.
If prestressed panel slabs are used for hollow core slabs or similar, the anti-tipping systems installed on the primary beams must be used before the element is unhooked.
The completion of NPS® beams is usually done with standard (non-self-compacting) concrete and is done without the risk of air bubbles. Vibration is also simple, thanks to the lattice structure of the beam itself.