Premier Technical Services Group Ltd (PTSG) has completed a specialist Access & Testing project at Harrods as part of a long-standing contract of over ten years.
Harrods is London’s most famous and iconic luxury department store, renowned for its designer retail, famous clientele and beautiful building. It has over 330 departments and is home to 5,000 brands across seven floors. Located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, the store is owned by Harrods Ltd, a company currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority.
On 16 November 1898, Harrods debuted England’s first “moving staircase” (escalator) in their Brompton Road stores; the device was actually a woven leather conveyor belt-like unit with a mahogany and “silver plate-glass” balustrade. Nervous customers were offered brandy at the top to revive them after their ‘ordeal’.
In this contract, engineers from PTSG Access & Safety Ltd attended the Harrods store in Knightsbridge for two weeks, working through the night so as not to interrupt the normal operation of the store. During this time, they tested all internal fixings in all the prestigious designer retail departments such as Dior, Givenchy and Versace.
The regular testing and inspection of safety systems is imperative and is an area in which PTSG has great experience and expertise. Its engineers test and inspect anchor devices, Christmas decoration fixings, guardrails, handrails and edge protection, ladders and walkways, Mansafe systems, mobile man anchors, rail systems, rope access and anchor points.