GRP Access Platforms
A GRP access platform is a raised working or crossing deck in glass-reinforced plastic for plant, pipework and roof equipment. At UIS, we design platforms and step-overs to your engineer's loads and install them with our own teams.
Raised access, built as one structure.
A GRP access platform is a raised working or crossing deck in glass-reinforced plastic, with its own frame, guardrails and stair or ladder access. It gives safe, non-corroding access to plant, valves, tanks, pipework and roof equipment, and because the parts are light and bolt together, it can usually be built inside a live site without hot works.
A platform is only as good as the team that gets it onto your site.
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One framed structure
We design, fabricate and install the legs, the frame, the deck, the guarding and the access as one package, rather than shipping you sections to erect.
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Steel where it helps
Our core trade is steel, so we pair GRP with a steel sub-frame where the spans or the loadings call for it.
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GRP where it is right
We specify GRP only where corrosion, weight or electrical risk make it the right material for the job.
GRP access platform specification at a glance.
The parts of a GRP platform, the standards behind them, and the decisions your engineer and fire strategy make.
- Deck
- Moulded or pultruded open mesh grating, or solid top, 25 to 50 mm deep
- Standard: BS 4592; the span, the load and the deflection limit
- Beams
- Pultruded GRP I-beams and channels, or a steel sub-frame for longer spans and heavier loads
- Standard: BS EN 13706 for GRP sections; your engineer's load case
- Legs and bases
- GRP or steel legs on base plates, or fixed to existing steelwork
- Standard: What the platform stands on, and any wind or impact load
- Guarding
- Top rail, intermediate rail and toe board, at least 1,100 mm high
- Standard: BS EN ISO 14122-3 and the Work at Height Regulations 2005
- Access
- GRP stairs, fixed ladders or step-overs, with self-closing gates where a ladder or stair meets the guardrail
- Standard: BS EN ISO 14122-3 for stairs and 14122-4 for ladders
- Surface
- Quartz-gritted or concave anti-slip
- Standard: A wet PTV of 36 or more to BS EN 16165
- Fire
- A Euroclass to BS EN 13501-1 or a BS 476-7 class, certified for the grade supplied
- Standard: The building's fire strategy
Types of GRP access platform
- Maintenance platforms around plant, valves, tanks and machinery
- Step-over and crossover platforms that carry people over pipework, cable runs, ducts and roof upstands
- Raised walkways and gantries linking plant at height, with GRP walkway runs between them
- Mezzanine and plant decks where a light, non-corroding floor is needed
- GRP on a steel frame, where the spans or loads go beyond GRP sections alone
Where it is used
- GRP for Water and WastewaterGRP walkways over tanks and channels, platforms at valves and penstocks, and ladders into chambers.
- GRP for Substations and Power SitesNon-conductive GRP platforms, ladders, handrails and palisade fencing around live equipment.
- GRP for Data CentresGRP roof walkways to the cooling plant, step-overs, riser flooring and plant platforms.
- GRP for Food and DrinkGRP step-overs across lines, platforms at tanks and stairs to plant, for daily wash-down.
- GRP for Main ContractorsAll the GRP on a project, from riser flooring to roof walkways, detailed, made and installed by one subcontractor.
What decides the price
Every platform is designed to its site and load case, so we price from your drawings or a survey rather than a list. The main drivers are:
- deck area and height, and the spans between supports
- the load case your engineer sets
- GRP throughout, or GRP on a steel sub-frame
- the number and type of access points: stairs, ladders, step-overs and gates
- how the platform fixes to the existing structure
- access, lifting and working hours on a live site
Further reading
- GRP access platform regulationsThe Work at Height Regulations and BS EN ISO 14122, part by part
- GRP step-over platformsWhen you need one, the rules it meets and the design details
- GRP grating load tablesReading span, depth, load and deflection for a panel
- GRP walkway load, width and spacing requirementsUDL and point loads, support spacing, widths and the standards behind them
- GRP handrail loading standardsBS 6180 load classes, the three load cases, post spacing and test data
- GRP vs steelWeight, corrosion, strength and span compared, and where each one wins
From first drawing to installed platform.
One accountable team carries the platform from survey and design through to installation.
Consultation and drawings
Send us your drawings, your engineer's loading schedule and the environment the structure has to survive in. We quote against real information rather than a ballpark, so the number holds. We return quotations on major commercial packages within 1-2 weeks.
Survey and 3D scan
For a retrofit into existing plant, we carry out a detailed geometrical survey and a 3D scan of the area, then overlay the proposed structure in CAD before anything is cut.
Design to your loadings and detailing
We design and detail the framed structure to your engineer's specified loadings, with a GRP deck and frame and a steel sub-frame where the spans demand it, and issue the drawings for your approval.
Fabrication off site
We cut, drill and assemble the GRP sections, supplied to us as pultruded profiles and moulded grating, and fabricate any steel sub-frame, in our two Rotherham workshops, prefabricated to keep work off your site.
Delivery and installation
Our own teams install the structure, with every lift planned by our in-house Appointed Person and live-site or out-of-hours working where production cannot stop.
Handover and aftercare
We hand you the project O&M pack at handover, including BS EN 16165 pendulum slip-resistance values and the project fire-classification documentation, so the structure's safety specification is auditable on day one. We fabricate the grating to BS 4592. After handover we stay available for advice or modifications, with a defect liability period of 12 months on all steelwork in line with standard JCT terms (unless your contract sets different terms).
Where GRP earns its place over steel.
GRP earns its place where it beats steel: chemical plants, rooftop plant decks and coastal exposure, where corrosion drives the whole-life cost, and around electrical risk, where a non-conductive structure matters. Where steel is the better answer, we will tell you so.
Tour our workshop
Platforms and step-overs.
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What a single accountable team delivers.
Steel and GRP from one fabricator, designed to your engineer's load case and built to go in cleanly.
About UIS-
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One accountable team, from the first drawing to the handover
Split a GRP access package across a product supplier, a steel subcontractor and an installer and you build a triangle that points fingers the moment the deck does not drop onto the frame. Our in-house teams keep design, fabrication and installation under one roof, so there is one point of contact and no subcontractors on the structure. When a question crosses from what gets supplied into how it gets built and signed off, the same company answers it.
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Steel and GRP from the same fabricator
We are a steel fabricator and installer first, so where the spans, the loads or the fixings need it we build a steel sub-frame and fit the GRP deck, guarding and access to it as one structure, rather than forcing one material to do the whole job. The same team details both, so the GRP deck drops onto the steel frame it was drawn for.
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Your engineer keeps the load case
Loadings come from your structural engineer. We design and fabricate the platform to whatever they have specified, from light pedestrian maintenance access up to heavy plant loads, rather than publishing a generic capacity figure and quietly building to that. You keep control of the load case, and there is no surprise substitution to carry on your stamp.
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Designed to go in, not just to ship
For a retrofit into existing plant, we carry out a detailed geometrical survey and a 3D scan of the area, then overlay the proposed structure in CAD so it fits the building you actually have, not the one the original drawings describe. We prefabricate off site to cut the work done at height, and our own teams install it with lift plans written by our in-house Appointed Person, including live-site and out-of-hours work where the plant cannot stop. Our teams installed a plant deck inside a live supermarket at Oban on night shifts the same way.
"I've worked with UIS for several years on some high profile and very complex projects. Their attitude and work ethic are second to none - providing high quality services and products which are delivered safely and on time every time. Overall they are a pleasure to do business with and wouldn't hesitate recommending UIS for any steelwork or metalwork packages."
Access platform questions.
We do both. We design, fabricate and install the whole framed structure with our own teams, so there is one point of contact and no subcontractors on the steelwork or the GRP.
Yes. Our core trade is steel fabrication and installation, so where the spans or loadings need it we build a steel sub-frame and fit the GRP deck, frame and handrail to it as one structure.
Your structural engineer specifies the loadings. We design and fabricate the platform to those loadings rather than publishing a generic capacity figure, so you keep control of the load case.
We issue both with the project O&M pack: BS EN 16165 pendulum slip-resistance values and the project fire-classification documentation, because the fire rating depends on the GRP grade specified for your project rather than a single blanket figure. We fabricate the grating to BS 4592.
We build aftercare into step eight of our process, not bolt it on as an upsell. We stay available for advice or modifications, and a defect liability period of 12 months runs on all steelwork in line with standard JCT terms (unless your contract sets different terms).
A step-over, or crossover, is a small access platform with steps or a ladder on each side, built to carry people safely over pipework, cable runs, roof upstands or ducts instead of climbing over them. In GRP it suits wet, corrosive and electrical areas, and it bolts together on site without hot works.
Permanent access to plant falls under BS EN ISO 14122: Part 2 for platforms and walkways, Part 3 for stairs and guardrails, and Part 4 for fixed ladders. The grating is specified to BS 4592, pultruded sections to BS EN 13706, and edge protection to BS EN ISO 14122-3, with guardrails at least 1,100 mm high on platforms, as part of meeting the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
It depends on the deck area and height, the load case, whether it is GRP throughout or GRP on a steel sub-frame, the number of stairs, ladders and gates, how it fixes to the existing structure, and the access on site. We price from your drawings or a site survey and itemise the quote, rather than working from a list price.