Whangārei Hospital – Helipad Upgrade (Structural Steel Works)

SSP Engineering completed the supply, fabrication, and installation of the primary structural steel components for the Whangārei Hospital Helipad Upgrade — a critical infrastructure project supporting emergency and life-saving services for Northland.

The upgrade involved the removal of the existing helipad and construction of a new, enlarged, fit-for-purpose helipad located on the surgical wing roof. To accommodate the increased platform size, the new helipad extends beyond the existing roof footprint and is supported by a complex steel framing system, including propped cantilever structures fixed externally to the hospital’s existing concrete columns.

SSP Engineering delivered a comprehensive structural steel package, including columns, beams, connection plates, stiffeners, and high-strength fixings. The works required detailed coordination with existing structures, concrete scanning, drilling, epoxy anchoring, and installation of shear studs to support the in-situ reinforced concrete helipad deck.

All structural steel was fabricated and installed to strict hospital and seismic standards, with protective zinc epoxy primer and high-build epoxy coatings applied to ensure long-term durability in a demanding rooftop environment. SSP Engineering also coordinated local removal and reinstatement of existing roof screeds and waterproofing to integrate new steel connections seamlessly.

This project highlights SSP Engineering’s capability to deliver complex structural steel solutions in live hospital environments, where precision, safety, and programme certainty are critical.