Advanced Showers hit the ground running � well almost.

With a strategy of offering high quality education to students both at home and abroad it is not surprising that Royal Holloway University demand the best quality of accommodation for its students and summer letting alike. In addition to a rolling programme of building new residences the university are committed to an ongoing programme of residence refurbishment. The latest project completed being their Runnymede phase of three blocks each being on 3 floors The project was to completely refurbish the 252 residences inside and out during the summer shutdown.

When it came to the shower rooms it was important to source an appropriate leak proof shower but the problem was finding a product that could be fitted into the limited space and which could be taken from the delivery vehicle and taken straight to the site for immediate installation. In many cases this meant moving them up three flights of stairs through the entrance doors and into the confined space of the shower room.

As Gary Pearson, Head of Accommodation Services, explained:

"Our previous experience indicated that most cubicles of this nature are one piece, heavy and cumbersome and impossible to use in a refurbishment project".

Having seen the Advanced Showers solution advertised Royal Holloway made an appointment to review the way forward and visited their head office at Guildford.

"Advanced Showers had a patented sectional solution which would fit inch perfect. Following a tour of residences at Surrey university where some 3000 units have been fitted over the last eleven years it was reassuring to see eleven year old cubicles looking as good as new and being free of maintenance over that time frame" said Gary.

The next step was to include the Advanced Showers cubicle in a mock up room subsequently approved by Facilities Director Stephen Bland.

So far so good but the next challenge was the speed of the project; could Advanced Showers hit the ground running and deliver 252 units with a very short lead in on a project that had to be completed in six weeks whilst the students were on summer vacation. Having appointed Exel Construction as the main contractor the order for the shower cubicles came 5 days before installations were to commence.

When three vehicles a week were to be delivered to Exels exacting schedules would the plumbers hit the ground running? As the Contracts Manager of Exel highlighted.

"We were able to take the cubicles from the vehicle, remove the protective packaging and carry the sections straight to the designated rooms". This gave us the potential to have the unit fitted within a couple of hours of the units arriving. With 6 shower rooms being completed every day this practical solution was fantastic in ensuring a rapid and smooth workflow.

The project was signed off by the residences housekeeping staff delighted with the shiny new makeover.

Gary was very pleased with the whole project and the decision to choose Advanced Showers paid off. Hopefully he will sleep easy at night in the certain knowledge that there will never be any maintenance nightmares or costs.

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