Metro choose the Geobear re-leveling solution with the supermarket continuing its normal business operations, whilst the remediation work was carried out.

CUSTOMER CHALLENGE

The supermarket had been operating in Zhenjiang for 3 years. The structure is supported by pillars placed into the bedrock and the floor slabs of the building are attached to the pillars. During the 3 years of operation, subsidence problems had occurred causing problems, in particular, with shopping trolleys that were able to roll free and uneven product shelves. One of the basic expectations of customers and employees in a grocery store is a safe shopping environment. Uneven floor surfaces may result in unexpected dangers, such as sprained ankles or even bumps on the head.

 The owner of the property was presented with two alternatives to fix the problem- either remove the entire floor and build a new one (resulting in a closure of the building for at least 3 months) or choose the Geobear re-leveling solution (with the supermarket continuing its normal business operations, whilst the remediation work was carried out). Geobear was contracted to lift an area of 4700m² between -80mm and -170mm.

Objectives

 The aim of the project was to lift the floor slabs so that the supermarket could operate normally without having to worry about hazards caused to employees and customers by rolling customer carts and unlevel product shelves. Another important aspect was that the remediation work shouldn’t affect the operating hours of the supermarket, which meant, that the work would be performed during the night. The schedule was tight, as the Chinese New Year was approaching and the work needed to be completed before that.

Customer Reviews

 4700m² shopping area floor was lifted to the target level of -70mm during night between 10PM-6AM. The whole project was completed one month before Chinese New Year without any interruption to the normal business.

 

For us, it was most important to keep the effect on our daily business, caused by the floor repair works, as low as possible and not to compromise on our opening hours. The store remained open during the project, without interruption. The project was also completed within the agreed upon schedule and we are very satisfied with the results and how Geobear carried out the work.”

 – Michael Neundorf Head of construction of Metro China