Quality product

However, a lot has changed in the world of modular bridging. In keeping with the innovative nature in which the first Bailey was designed and manufactured, the concept has been developed and improved upon significantly over the years. Mabey Bridge has remained at that helm of change. We have led innovative product developments such as steel decks, anti-skid surfacing, and the use of high tensile steels. We apply a unique methodology to ensure structural integrity and product safety, and we use high-quality hot-dip galvanisation methods for an even, high-quality finish to protect against corrosion. All of this has resulted in a lighter, stronger product set which is permanent, more durable and requires less maintenance, reducing overall asset management costs through-life.

Quality in design

The advent of digital engineering is also playing an important role. Drawing on over 70 years of bridge engineering expertise, Mabey Bridge is successfully harnessing the latest digital tools and technologies, including Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and BIM, to provide our customers with unique training and design systems which are world-leading and the most intelligently integrated in the modular bridging industry today. These techniques are informing our manufacturing processes, ensuring lean, cost-efficient and safe manufacture in tight project timescales to help our customers deliver their project more quickly, safely and efficiently than ever before. They are also ensuring that the products we supply are designed in the most efficient manner for the harshest of environments and for the most challenging topographies to promote bridge longevity and sustainability in the field.

Quality in manufacture

Furthermore, automated robotic manufacture has enabled us to build on the original Bailey design principles of repeatability and interoperability to refine our manufacturing processes; Mabey Bridge can now manufacture in half the time and to greater tolerances than ever before, ensuring full component interchangeability and rapid, trouble-free installation, irrespective of project or location. Precision manufacture and state-of-the-art welding combined with world-class manufacturing techniques enable us to produce a quality product on time every time. This is giving our customers outstanding versatility; they can deploy, dismantle and re-deploy quickly and easily in multiple configurations, secure in the knowledge that our bridges will perform reliably and safely, and for longer, every time.

Quality in customer service

Key to longevity is the quality of the technical services provided during and post-installation. Mabey Bridge’s exclusive installation advice and reliable in-field support minimises the need for major on-site work and ensures rapid, safe and trouble-free installation. We also offer a range of post-installation services, including bridge inspections, advice on bridge maintenance, and bridge upgrades and enhancements to maximise the life expectancy of each bridge. All of this is delivered by a team of qualified bridge installation advisors who have overseen the installation of thousands of bridges for customers worldwide.

Quality first at Mabey Bridge

Mabey Bridge’s focus on quality, from design through to manufacture and installation is a key enabler of quick, safe and efficient project delivery. Our ‘quality-first’ approach ensures that we continue to deliver a portfolio of modular bridging products which can, like the Bailey, stand the test of time, but, with our engineering expertise, for longer and in a more cost-efficient manner. It is our quality in product, people and processes which is the secret to long-life bridging and this is why our customers come back to Mabey Bridge time and time again….We hope that quality is driving your procurement too.

To find out how we can support you, please contact us. We would be happy to help!

(This article first appeared in leading publication, Bridge, Design and Engineering, Long-Life Bridging Supplement, April 2019)