SHIMPAC® Systems | What exactly does sustainability mean?

SHIMPAC® Systems, an independent British company developed by industry expert engineers, is the fully compliant solution to seating and levelling street and construction ironwork.

SHIMPAC® Systems products are approved for use by highway, port, airport and rail operators as well as water authorities, communication companies and utilities companies. SHIMPAC® products ensure that ironwork installations are long-term solutions that require no further attention.

SHIMPAC® products are fast and simple to install on site to form a precision engineered collar to reinforce and build up chamber tops, seating ironwork level with any surrounding surface with millimetre accuracy. They provide a strong, stable and long-lasting base for ironworks and other assets that need to withstand extreme loads in highway, port, airport and rail environments.

To date over 15 million SHIMPAC® ROADSHIMS® have been manufactured and sold in the UK, and, when installed correctly there have been zero reported failures. Yes, zero.

How do ROADSHIMS® work? FIND OUT MORE HERE

Sustainability – just what are we talking about here?

Often, it seems references to ‘sustainability’ or ‘going greener’ within the highways sector is solely focused on net-zero emissions.

There are, however, other bigger picture elements to consider – including human, social, environmental, and economic factors. SHIMPAC® Systems is a company with over 35 years of sustainable focus, and its products bring multifaceted sustainable solutions to our road network, providing benefits for a range of stakeholders in the process.

Sustainable Material

SHIMPAC® Systems products are sustainable and recyclable, without impacting on the environment.

Materials used in SHIMPAC® Systems products can be recycled sustainably on site to form part of the road base layer or, alternatively, in foundation work which contributes to the drive for net-zero emissions.

The key to SHIMPAC® ROADSHIMS® is that they are fast, simple and effective, last years, and made from recyclable materials.

Sustainable Safety: The Long Haul

A SHIMPAC® System is a whole life solution with a proven track record – 35 years and counting with no recorded failures when installed as recommended.

For the road user, SHIMPAC® Systems delivers long-term, sustainable safety by preventing ironwork collapsing in the carriageway from dropping due to failures with its seating. Its durability results in millimetre accuracy between ironwork and road surface remaining intact throughout the product life cycle, in turn reducing the risk of tyre damage or blowout due to deep potholes or other surfacing failures because of malfunctioned ironwork seating.

For road workers, the ‘forever’ nature of SHIMPAC® Systems c the need for ironwork-related maintenance, and therefore reduces the exposure of operatives to the hazardous working conditions which go hand-in-hand with highway repair. By utilising a SHIMPAC® Systems product, people are kept out of harm’s way.

Sustainable Spending: The Asset Life Cycle

The elephant in the room is always cost. That said, at what point can we justify safety because the cost was low enough? The answer should be a resounding ‘never.’ However, this ideal is sadly and dangerously not always upheld.

SHIMPAC® Systems ushers the elephant from the room with an incredibly cost-effective product range. A product range that doesn’t compromise on quality or safety in order to be a cheaper solution regardless of consequence.

SHIMPAC® Systems provide sustainable savings for Local Authorities and contractors alike, as its 35-year track record of a system showcases – with such an impressive life cycle cutting out costly remedial work due to product failure.  The use of ROADSHIMS® drastically reduces labour and maintenance cost to carry out ironwork seating repairs and the surrounding damage to carriageways and pavements.  In addition, SHIMPAC® products help to tackle ripple effect repairs caused by knock-on damage of ironwork seating failure. ROADSHIMS® also have a big impact in reducing secondary issues such as accidents, vehicle wear and tear, claims and help to reduce environmental effects by maintaining smooth surfaces,. Installing once is the SHIMPAC® Systems way.

This wider sustainable cost saving and reduced danger is seen by the road user, with vehicles, motor cycles and bicycles less likely to incur damage or accident from sub-par road surfacing because of failed ironwork/ironwork seating and surrounding road surfaces. This creates a benefit cycle, with compensation claims to Local Authorities for accidents or damage as a result of road deficiencies removed altogether.

SHIMPAC® Systems has, for 35 years, focused on providing the most complete, sustainable ironwork seating solution available, ensuring that human, social, environmental and economic factors are all considered equally when ‘sustainability’ is entering the conversation.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SHIMPAC® Systems, VISIT HERE