Repairing exterior brickwork was probably the furthest thing from the architects’ minds when they designed partially enclosed balconies sticking out from the bottom five floors of the Capitol Centre building in Madison, Wis. With the irregular shape of the balconies, along with other angular elements, access was a big challenge when brick masons needed to do repairs recently.
Beyond the challenges of the unusual façade, the project would require a rapidly moving, stable, safe access platform located primarily near the top of the 17-story edifice, for a masonry crew, their gear, and heavy materials. Crews would also need access to areas throughout the exterior surface of the building for lighter brick work.
Furthermore, the building owner didn’t want to disturb its tenants. Built in 1981, Capitol Centre is a stalwart downtown Madison apartment complex, with 201 residential units, and 2,500 sq. ft. of commercial space on the fi rst fl oor. Additionally, the building is located in a busy downtown area with lots of pedestrians. On top of all the other challenges, any access equipment would have to have minimal impact on neighbors and foot traffic.
Traditional Scaffolding Problematic
Safway Services was called on to answer the challenges of the Capitol Centre job. Safway’s Milwaukee branch manager, Andy Virnich, said some access contractors might have used traditional scaffolding for a challenge like this. “But for work this high off the ground, scaffolding would have required large amounts of equipment and time to set up, with costs to match,” he said. “Scaffolding would also have required workers to use a personnel hoist, stairs, or ladder at the start and end of each work period.”
Another access option would have been to come down from the top using a swing stage platform. But that would greatly complicate getting bricks up to the platform, and removing any masonry debris. “A swing stage just isn’t a good solution for this kind of heavy- duty operation,” Virnich said.
Fortunately for the building owner, just about the time the work needed to be done, Safway was launching its SafRise Climber—a mast climber with particularly unique features—that suited the unique challenges of the Capitol Centre job.
The SafRise mast climber moves up to 8,000 lbs. at speeds of up to 30 fpm, and is easily adaptable, with one- and two-mast versions (the latter rated for 13,000 lbs.). Three other features that were critical for this particular project: the machine can be adapted to conform to angular or curved surfaces, can be equipped with an optional hoist, and has an electric drive.
Silence is Golden
Typically mast-climbing work plat- forms are gas-powered, which can cause an issue in a densely populated residential area, Virnich noted.
“The SafRise Climber utilizes an electric drive, which means there’s no exhaust fumes, and the only sound is the whir of the meshing gears,” Virnich explained. “The residents on the other side of the glass can’t hear a thing. It’s perfect for a downtown area with high pedestrian traffic like this particular site. In addition, SafRise uses readily avail- able three-phase, 230-volt power.”
“The thing work crews notice most about SafRise is that it’s smooth and stable,” said Jason York, construction superintendent for Safway. “For us, it’s all about making people on that platform feel very safe. That’s really important because it improves worker productivity. The masons don’t have to be nervous about how they step or move. It makes a big difference when they can concentrate on their work.”
“Stable worksite access is often key to productivity,” agreed Chad Baumgartner, head of Safway’s motorized division. “Being able to position people and very large loads quickly can be the margin of success for smart contractors.”
Baumgartner added, “The ability to quickly lift large equipment, a skilled team, and large amounts of materials to optimum ergonomic working heights brings assembly-line-type productivity to large projects, and unprecedented agility to cumbersome multi-step jobs.”
He noted another benefit of the SafRise Climber is a unique safety feature. “If a work environment is not safe, nothing else matters,” Baumgartner explained. “Unlike other mast climbers that simply lock up in the event of a failure, SafRise can be slowly lowered to ground without power.”
Specially Engineered
Safway’s engineering prowess turned out to be critical to the success of the Capitol Centre project as well. Normally the mast for a climbing work platform would be anchored to the masonry. But on this particular site that wouldn’t work, so Safway engineers devised a plan to anchor the mast through the brick to the structural steel underneath it, adding yet another layer to the complexity of the job.
Increase Efficiency
Another optional feature for the SafRise Climber utilized on the Capitol Centre project was a 1,000-lb. capacity hoist that was key in quickly getting materials up and any debris down – safely and cleanly. Again, the environment—an occupied apartment building with lots of neighbors—required the tidy, quiet movement of any materials up or down.
To reach over the top of the balconies, Safway engineers created a custom outrigger system to extend the work plat- form out 5 ft. toward the brick exterior walls of the upper floors. Attached to a SafRise platform, the outriggers were able to provide confident footing for crews of about six masons, plus their equipment.
When the whole system was put together, including the mast climbing work platform, the outrigger, and the hoist, the crews were able to work comfortably and efficiently. The entire project was set up, completed, and access equipment removed, in a month, with no safety-related incidents.
Safway team members stayed on the job after the SafRise was installed to ensure the contractors knew how to use the equipment confidently, and that everything ran smoothly and safely. “We were able to bring in nationwide expertise,” York said. “Ray Shatz, from Chicago is always a great help to us in working with motorized products. He set up the SafRise Climber at the Capitol Centre building. Josh Tohtz came from St. Louis to provide assistance as well. The entire team on this project is doing an excellent job. Everyone we have working on-site has been fantastic.”
And as it turns out, in a college town like Madison, the SafRise Climber had one more important benefit over traditional scaffolding that even its designers may not have anticipated. “The platform could be elevated after work hours to deter unauthorized access,” said Virnich.
Lift & Access is part of the Catalyst Communications Network publication family.
