Whether you need a straightforward modular solution, a fully custom engineered structure or a combination of both, Hart has got you covered.
We design, engineer, manufacture & install roof plant platforms for any site, Australia wide.
The coordination gap between platform, screen and roof safety contractors is a common cause of delays, variations and compliance risk on rooftop projects. Each trade works from a different set of documents. Interface details fall between scopes. And the builder is left coordinating multiple inductions, delivery schedules and handover processes across related rooftop systems.
Hart eliminates that gap entirely.
As a design and construct provider, Hart can deliver your plant platforms, screens and safe access under a single scope.
One contract.
One design team.
One site crew.
One point of contact.
For builders, this means less chance of any rooftop scope being missed. Fewer coordination issues between trades and suppliers. Better programme control. And one set of handovers for the full rooftop scope.
For architects, it means greater confidence that rooftop elements will be delivered as documented. The platform, screen and access elements are designed as one coordinated system from the outset, reducing on-site modifications and workarounds. It also provides certainty that the rooftop system will function well for end users.
This is how you deliver a complex rooftop plant zone without losing control of the programme or budget. It’s also why architects and builders who value practical, well-coordinated outcomes regularly specify Hart.
We manufacture three platform types, each engineered for a specific roof construction and structural condition. If you’re not sure which type suits your project, our design team can advise based on your roof drawings and equipment schedule.
For new construction on steel portal frame and rafter roof structures
Rafter mount platforms span between rafters, transferring equipment loads into the building’s primary structural members rather than onto the roof sheeting. This approach suits heavy equipment loads, particularly where imposed loads exceed 5kPa. Rafter mount systems also provide greater clearance between the platform and roof, giving you better access for future roof maintenance and servicing.
Because loads are transferred directly into the rafters, rafter mount platforms can need extra structural steelwork depending on the project and loading conditions. They also have roof penetrations, so careful flashing and waterproofing detailing are needed to keep the roof watertight over time.
Rafter mount platforms can be designed to span multiple rafter bays to suit equipment footprints that exceed standard rafter spacings. Load ratings, deck dimensions and rail configurations are derived from your equipment schedule and structural drawings.
The rafter mount platform is ideal where equipment loads need to transfer directly into the primary structure. Morialta Secondary College in Adelaide shows this approach in practice, we delivered multiple rooftop plant platforms integrated directly into the buildings’ new steel-framed structures.
For roofs where direct structural access isn't available
Roof mount platforms distribute equipment loads across the roof surface through an engineered spreader structure rather than transferring them into the frame. Unlike rafter-mount platforms, they aren’t constrained by rafter spacing, so you get more flexibility in platform sizing and placement. The platform footprint is designed around your equipment layout rather than extended to suit the structural frame
Because roof mounted platforms use less material and need less supporting steelwork below, they’re lighter and easier to install than rafter-mount platforms.
Depending on equipment loads, roof mount platforms may require extra purlins. They’re not suited to heavier equipment loads — particularly where imposed loads exceed 5 kPa — and need coordination with roof penetrations and tray flashings.
Roof mount platforms are a good choice for new buildings and existing buildings alike.
The Burnside Village installation — 610m², 90+ tonnes of equipment, with some zones rated up to 15kPa with very high point loads — shows what our roof-mount platforms deliver at large scale.
For construction on concrete roof slabs, plant room floors and podium decks
Where the roof substrate is a concrete slab, Hart’s concrete-mount plant platform creates clearance beneath the plant for ductwork, pipework and cable trays — reducing trip hazards and improving access around equipment. It can also assist to isolate vibration from mechanical equipment, improve drainage around plant and keep services clear of waterproofing details and penetrations.
Concrete-mount installations are the most common platform type in CBD commercial office, hotel, hospital, university and high density residential construction where reinforced concrete frames are standard. The structural challenge shifts from load spanning — as in a rafter-mount — to managing load concentration, isolating vibration and protecting the waterproofing membranes and expansion joints typical of concrete roofs.
We design each concrete-mount platform to suit the slab’s structural parameters, and can include vibration isolation, non-penetrating fixings and integration with existing roof drainage and waterproofing. The installation at Camperdown Aged Care shows this capability in practice.
Most plant platform providers offer a modular system, a standard load rating and a lead time. That works for straightforward commercial projects with a clear brief and uncomplicated roof layouts. But what happens when the project demands something beyond a standard solution? Constrained roof space. High equipment loads. Bespoke screens. And a builder who needs one point of accountability rather than three? That’s where engineering capability — and a supplier who takes responsibility for the entire rooftop scope — starts to matter.
Here’s why architects and builders choose Hart:
The most common frustration architects have with rooftop plant suppliers is the same regardless of the project: the supplier’s standard product dictates the outcome, and the design intent has to bend around it.
Screen heights are fixed to catalogue options. Equipment positions are constrained by standard rail spacings. Visual outcomes are limited to what the product range can produce. And when the DA requires a specific screen profile or the design calls for a finish that isn’t in the catalogue, the answer is usually no — or a variation that costs more and takes longer than it should.
Hart’s design process starts with your intent, not with a product catalogue. We develop screen profiles, heights, blade angles, colours and finishes around your architectural brief. And when you need line-of-sight studies to satisfy planning conditions or design requirements, we conduct them as part of the design scope.
The result is a rooftop plant zone that looks like it was designed for the building, because it was.
We also provide full documentation support for the specification process. Product data sheets, technical drawings, compliance references and project-specific BIM files are all available to you and your consultants at design stage — no formal engagement needed.
Making specification easy is part of how we work.
The rooftop plant zone is rarely the highest-profile scope on a commercial project. But it’s one of the most reliable sources of late-stage programme risk when it isn’t managed well.
A platform that runs behind schedule delays the mechanical contractor’s installation. A screen supplier who isn’t coordinated with the platform supplier means fitment issues on site. An access system specified separately from the platform adds coordination complexity. And when something goes wrong — a dimension that doesn’t match, a fixing detail that isn’t resolved, a compliance certificate that covers one element but not the next — the builder is in the middle of three conversations with three subcontractors who each point at the others.
Hart’s single-scope option removes all of that.
One subcontract covers the platform, the screens and the complete AS1657-compliant access and fall arrest system. One design team resolves all interface details before fabrication commences. One site crew installs the scope in a coordinated sequence. One compliance package — structural engineering certificates, AS 1657 confirmation, as-built drawings — is handed over at practical completion.
If you’re a project manager on a compressed programme, having one coordinated rooftop subcontractor simplifies sequencing, communication and accountability. If you’re a contracts manager closing out a project, a single compliant handover package from a responsible subcontractor is worth considerably more than the three separate ones.
Hart delivers the right plant platform solution for each project, rather than forcing every project into the same system.
For straightforward projects with standard roof types, conventional equipment layouts and modest loading requirements, modular platform systems are an efficient and practical solution. We provide these solutions where they suit the project.
But not every project fits within the limitations of a standard system. That’s why we offer custom-engineered options as well.
When a building’s structure, roof type, equipment configuration or architectural requirements demand something beyond a standard solution, Hart can help. Our strength is designing, manufacturing and installing plant platforms custom-engineered to suit your project.
Custom-engineered platforms are perfect for projects where:
Our in-house design team works from your structural drawings, equipment schedule, mechanical engineer’s layout and architectural brief to engineer a platform for your project’s actual parameters — not adapted from a standard product to approximate them.
As a result:
We match the solution to the project.
The result is a plant platform that fits the project properly — whether it needs a straightforward modular solution, a fully custom engineered structure or a combination of both.
That flexibility is what sets us apart from suppliers limited to a single system type.
Hart can deliver a structural platform, the architectural or acoustic screen and an AS 1657-compliant safe access system under a single design and construct contract.
This matters for three reasons:
First, the platform, screen structure, screen cladding and access system work as one coordinated rooftop system. We resolve critical interface issues early, before they become site problems. And we certify the integrated structure as a whole system, not as separate elements designed and certified under different scopes.
Second, you have a single point of contact for the complete rooftop scope — simplifying coordination, communication and programme management.
Third, your compliance documentation at handover is provided as one package, not a collection of certificates from three separate subcontractors that your project manager has to chase and collate.
Hart plant platforms are fabricated from structural aluminium — a material that delivers measurable advantages over steel for rooftop applications where weight, maintenance and long-term performance all matter.
Aluminium is approximately one-third the weight of equivalent structural steel. On a roof structure with limited allowable load capacity — which describes most retrofit and existing-building installations — a lighter platform structure directly increases the load budget available for your mechanical equipment. In practical terms, aluminium often lets you install more equipment on the same roof than an equivalent steel platform would allow.
Rooftop environments are among the most corrosive in commercial construction — UV exposure, temperature cycling, coastal salt air and chemical-laden HVAC discharge all degrade unprotected steel surfaces over time. Aluminium doesn’t rust. It needs no ongoing painting, galvanising maintenance or corrosion remediation — significantly reducing the whole-of-life cost of the installation compared to steel.
A steel platform that isn’t maintained will corrode, weaken and eventually need replacement. An aluminium platform won’t. If you own or manage a building with long-term WHS obligations and compliance requirements, that distinction matters.
The structural aluminium alloys used in our platforms deliver load capacity comparable to structural steel in platform applications at a fraction of the weight — which is why aluminium has become the material of choice for the most technically demanding platform installations in the Australian market.
For modular platforms built within standard design parameters, Hart provides standard compliance certification to the relevant Australian Standards. Where your project falls outside standard modular configurations, project-specific certification is provided based on the unique platform design, loading requirements and site conditions.
This includes structural engineering certification confirming the platform design meets the relevant Australian standards such as AS1170.1 (dead and live loads), AS1170.2 (wind actions), AS1170.3 (snow and ice loads) and AS1170.4 (earthquake loads) for your project’s specific loadings and site conditions. We also supply AS1657 compliance confirmation for all walkways, platforms, ladders and guardrails, plus as-built drawings of the installed configuration.
You’ll receive the complete compliance and certification package at practical completion.
Hart has designed, fabricated and installed plant platforms across every major commercial building sector in Australia. The engineering principles are consistent — load, structure, access, compliance — but the specific requirements of each sector shape how those principles are applied.
Our project portfolio spans retail, education, healthcare, industrial and commercial sectors nationally. The case studies below cover a range of platform types, building sectors and engineering complexity levels — from straightforward single-building installations to large-scale multi-trade coordination projects.
While steel is the tradional choice for structural applications, aluminium offers clear advantages in rooftop environments where weight, corrosion resistance and whole-of-life performance matter.
Our plant platform product data sheets include structural configuration details, standard load ratings, fixing methodology, material specifications and compliance standard references for each platform type.
If you require a custom CAD or REVIT file for a specific platform configuration, contact Hart’s design team with your project drawings and equipment schedule.
Our design team works with architects, mechanical engineers, builders and HVAC contractors at every stage of a project — from early design development through to tender, construction and installation.
If you have a project that needs a plant platform, the fastest way to get an accurate specification and indicative cost is to send us your roof drawings and equipment schedule. From those documents, we can provide a preliminary platform type recommendation, load assessment and budget estimate — no obligation.
For complex or large-scale projects, book an early design consultation before documentation is finalised. The earlier the platform scope is coordinated with the structural and mechanical design, the less likely it is to create program delays or cost problems during construction.
Call: 1300 654 790 or complete a project enquiry form
