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The Melbourne Cricket Ground is a national Australian icon. Dubbed "The People's Ground", the MCG is home to cricket and Aussie Rules football, plus it hosted the opening and closing ceremonies and the athletic events of the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
Recently marking its 150th anniversary, the MCG has completed a 5-stage redevelopment plan designed to update the building and increase capacity to 100,000 and over 25km of ecoglo® has been installed to help reduce falls and guide MCG patrons to their seats.
MCG General Manager - Facilities, Scott Butler first saw ecoglo® at a VMA Conference 3-4 years ago. In particular, Scott was interested in the anti-slip component of ecoglo®.
"Because the MCG is an open bowl, the lighting component of ecoglo® wasn't the main reason we initially decided to use it," admits Butler, "but it was certainly an added bonus. Slips and trips had been an issue for us in the past, so we were looking for an improved safety system; ecoglo® provided that for us."
As well as the patented photoluminescent glow strip, the ecoglo® stair nosing system features a long-lasting, code-compliant anti-slip material. When patrons walk down a flight of steps, they intuitively place the ball of their foot near the front edge of the step. The ecoglo® anti-slip strip is positioned at this point on the step and the textured surface helps to prevent accidental slips and trips. This anti-slip component is suitable for both indoors and out and has been tested in a wide range of climatic conditions.
By reducing the number of people who slip on stairs, a facility's injury rate reduces. This has a flow-on effect of reducing compensation payouts, insurance premiums, and potential negative public perceptions of a "dangerous facility".
A 6-month trial installation of ecoglo® stair nosings was put in place down one flight of steps in the Southern Stand of the MCG. During the trial, stairs with ecoglo® installed performed well - exceeding expectations and reducing slips and trips in that area of the bowl. Based on this, the decision was made to install ecoglo® throughout the stadium - both inside the stadium itself and down the external exits leading out of the stadium.
The MCG installation is ecoglo®'s biggest to date. Over 25km of nosing and more than 5000 aisle markers was installed over the a period of two years, in conjunction with the MCG's 5-stage redevelopment plan.
Despite the sheer size of the MCG, the ecoglo team were able to maintain their excellent service orientation and high product quality standards. Excellent production and quality control processes were already in place and were more than able to meet the requirements of such a large order.
"We found that installation presented some particular challenges which included working around our busy match calendar and some noise issues (near the office areas)," says Butler. "But we were able to work through a solution. ecoglo were very flexible and responsive to our concerns."
"We've been very happy with the service we've received from ecoglo, both in terms of the ability of the sales team and in maintaining communication".
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