Skytree strengthens measures to prevent snowfall Snow removal time is halved with new equipment | Regional Economic News | Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun Electronic Edition

"Snowfall from 634 meters above the ground is very damaging." The world's tallest tower "Tokyo Sky Tree" (Sumida-ku, Tokyo) will continue to focus on measures against snowfall this winter. Since 2009, 11 cases of snowfall have been reported for Skytree, which has reached its ninth winter, including the time of construction work. In order to minimize damage, 67 movable surveillance cameras will be installed, and improved snow-wiping work equipment will be installed exclusively for Skytree, and workers will manually remove snow. (Sayoko Takahashi)

From the 375-meter point of the Tokyo Sky Tree, there is a plate-shaped "blocking hardware" that closes the dents of H-shaped steel, and a metal plate "parapet" that is installed on the entire outer circumference of the observatory roof and slides snow inward. You can check the equipment for snow fall countermeasures such as a movable monitoring camera that observes the snow accretion situation. A "temporary net" is also installed at the gain tower at the top of 634 meters. From this winter, the net has been treated to be water repellent, and measures against snow and ice have been strengthened.

The workers also do the work of removing the snow. The "Sweeper" device, which was introduced in 2013, has a rubber attached to the tip of the rod. Scrape out the snow that has accumulated on the surface, centering on the uneven parts, at a convenient position. A rope-shaped device called an "omnis ring" is wrapped around a pillar at a height that cannot be reached by a sweeper, and is slid to remove snow. Since 2014, we have added a lineup of brush-type and saw-shaped tools, and use them properly according to the hardness of the snow and the shape of the pillars.

From this winter, a "small washer" that melts snow by spraying hot water of about 40 degrees Celsius was also introduced on a trial basis. Hot water can be sprayed over a wide range from the nozzle, improving workability in areas that were previously unreachable by hand. The worker predicts that "depending on the amount of snow, the snow removal work time from the 50-meter point to the 634-meter point for one snowfall can be reduced to about half at the maximum." The introduction of new equipment is expected to improve work efficiency and reduce snow damage around the tower.