Hanson Building Products | Precast Concrete Flooring Systems

Technical Guidance Note

Omnia Bridge Deck www.omnidec.co.uk

General Information
Omnia Bridge Deck and the Omnia Lattice Girder
Hanson Building Products has been the leading exponent of the development of pre-cast
permanent formwork for many years and the company has supplied Omnia Bridge Deck for
numerous projects and to most major civil engineering contractors.
Omnia Bridge Decking is a practical and economical means of providing permanent
formwork to deck slabs of bridges, especially where these span over live roads, rail tracks
and rivers.

Within the definition contained in BS 5400 Part 5, Omnia Bridge Decking can be considered as participating formwork, and
the concrete and reinforcement in the pre-cast plank taken as part of the deck with corresponding cost savings compared to
traditional methods of construction.

The planks are primarily designed to cope with temporary condition loads only, however it is very often the case that Bridge
Designers use the reinforcement provided as part of the permanent works design, and furthermore very often ask us to
increase the amount of reinforcement in the plank thereby saving reinforcement in the in-situ portion.

Hanson Building Products design the planks to carry construction loading but also limit deflections to span/400 and crack
widths to 0.1mm in the temporary case.

Wherever possible, the correct size of the lattice girder will be selected to provide a chair for
the top mat reinforcement and there are aligned during manufacture to ensure ease of fixing
longitudinal reinforcement over the Omnia planks.

A typical cross section of a Bridge

Deck plank shows the arrangement
of the lattice girder and the
reinforcement with the precast
concrete.

There will normally be 3 reinforcing

bars cast within each plank,
minimum 10mm dia, maximum
14mm dia.

A corrosion inhibitor can be included

in the design mix of the precast
plank to inhibit the corrosive action
of chlorides on reinforcing steel.

Threaded anchors can also be cast

into the planks for supporting
lighting, drainage etc.

Sheet No: Omnia BD/01/1 Rev:01 Issue Date: 1/9/2003 Initials: SL

Housing and accommodation - Hoveringham, Nottingham, NG14 7JX Telephone: (01636) 832 000 Fax: (01636) 832 020 jetfloor.co.uk
Commercial and non-accommodation - Birchwood Way, Cotes Park Industrial Estate, Alfreton, Derbyshire, DE55 4NH Telephone: (01773) 602 432 Fax: (01773) 603 134 hansonprecast.com
Omnia - Wilden Road, Pattinson South Industrial Estate, Washington, Tyne & Wear, NE38 8QB Telephone: (0191) 417 0066 Fax: (0191) 417 0131 omnidec.co.uk
 Hanson Building Products | Precast Concrete Flooring Systems

Technical Guidance Note

Omnia Bridge Deck www.omnidec.co.uk

Manufacture
Omnia Bridge Deck is manufactured to all relevant British Standards and the "Specification for Highway Works", using
C50 concrete in planks 300mm wide x 60mm deep, although special widths can be manufactured up to 600mm wide for
use as infill panels at transverse beams or abutments.

Each 300mm wide Omnia Bridge Deck has an Omnia lattice girder centrally placed and the plank is reinforced with steel
bars 10-14mm dia at 100mm centres (i.e. 3 No per plank).

The upper surface of the Omnia planks has a Class 2 finish as required by the ’Specification for Highway Works’ to
expose the aggregate. This surface accommodates the horizontal shear stresses at the pre-cast/in-situ interface. The
manufacturing tolerances and soffit finish (Type F2), are as specified in the Highways Agency "Specification for Highway
Works" and the production process is controlled by the procedures set out in our model specification.

The Omnia lattice girder is at the heart of all the Omnia product range and is responsible for ensuring that the panels will
span the required distance in the temporary condition. The lattice also acts as a physical link between the precast panel
and the in-situ portion, and as lifting points during erection. We will also endeavour where possible to provide a lattice
girder that is set at the correct height for the placing of the top mat of reinforcement.

Dimensions
Omnia Bridge Decking can be manufactured in lengths up to 3.80m and depending on the overall slab depth, can be
used for clear spans of 3.69m with a preferred bearing of 55mm at each end.The long edges are formed with a chamfer to
the underside, so that when placed adjacent to each other, the effect of a birds-mouth joint at 300mm centres can be
seen on the soffit. Planks can be manufactured with skewed ends to suit the shape of the structure if necessary, however
as the maximum plank length can be no greater than 3.80m, the clear span will be reduced.

Transportation, Handling & Erection

Omnia planks are normally supplied on pallets with 24 planks each, Compriband Washington 0191 417 8700
and can be offloaded directly on to the deck using a suitable lifting
Fosroc Milton Keynes 01908 261220
frame. Prior to placement of the planks, flanges of support beams
should be painted and a bearing material (e.g. a bitumenised Schlegel Henlow Camp 01462 815500
compressible strip) applied. This can be obtained from a number of Servicised Slough 01753 692929
companies including those shown on the right.

Bearing
Planks generally require a nominal bearing of 55mm, however, for health and
safety considerations, the maximum amount of bearing will be designed by our
draughtsman, usually approx 75mm.

We would normally expect there to be a set-off dimension of h+5mm (usually

25mm) from the face of any shear studs to the face of the Omnia plank.

Once laid, to prevent grout leakage, joints between planks should be sealed using a fillet of mortar along the joint,
adhesive tape, or a proprietary sealant.

The bearing of the Omnia planks may be affected by the positions of top flange splice plates and bolt groupings. If in
doubt please contact the Omnia office prior to detailing the steelwork connections.

Sheet No: Omnia BD/01/2 Rev:01 Issue Date: 1/9/2003 Initials: SL

Housing and accommodation - Hoveringham, Nottingham, NG14 7JX Telephone: (01636) 832 000 Fax: (01636) 832 020 jetfloor.co.uk
Commercial and non-accommodation - Birchwood Way, Cotes Park Industrial Estate, Alfreton, Derbyshire, DE55 4NH Telephone: (01773) 602 432 Fax: (01773) 603 134 hansonprecast.com
Omnia - Wilden Road, Pattinson South Industrial Estate, Washington, Tyne & Wear, NE38 8QB Telephone: (0191) 417 0066 Fax: (0191) 417 0131 omnidec.co.uk