Construction Industry

Tuesday, 24 September 2013

Construction management - Wiki Article

Why Construction Is Becoming Safer

Construction safety is a big deal. Construction on its own is somewhat of an inherently dangerous trade. Construction workers are in environments with lots of people and equipment, and the chances of injury are higher on a construction site than those at the average cubicle- filled office.

How can construction workers have a safer work environment? There are several factors, and one of the most important is worker education. There are quite a few rules and regulations associated with construction sites, and making sure workers are educated about safety is crucially important to preventing injuries.

Although there are many types of construction, one method that is growing increasing popular is modular construction. Often celebrated for its ability to be built quickly and for its green benefits, modular is a great alternative to traditional building methods. On a traditional building project the materials are brought to the construction site and then used for the actual building. This leads to lots of excess waste, as well as being incredibly intrusive to the job site. These materials often take up a lot of space and are used by a multitude of contractors and subcontractors. This process leads to lots of coming and going, as well as moving materials around.

Modular construction is quite different in that instead of bringing all those materials to the site and working on them there, components are built in an off-site factory. This means that all the heavy lifting and hard work is done in the factory, which translates to no mess or dust at the job site.

Recent studies have also shown that modular construction is safer than traditional means. One study found that modular construction companies have a much higher adoption of safety practices.

After all the modular components are completed at the factory, they are shipped to the build site. Instead of having painters, electricians, framers and other specialized laborers, an installation team can have the project done in record time. Studies have shown that modular construction is completed about 40% - 60% faster than traditional construction methods. Most modularly built projects are completed in days, not months.

In conclusion, construction safety is very important. Many companies are seeing a direct connection between modular construction and safety. It's no accident that modular companies are safer and produce a high quality product. Modular construction is great for a simple addition, out building, partition walls, offices, and many other options.

Learn more about modular construction.

Sunday, 22 September 2013

Company videos - construction industry, commercial property companies, builders, & project managers

Epoxy ESD Flooring Provides Durable, Reliable Solution for Electronic Manufacturing

Epoxy ESD flooring, also known as (electrostatic dissipative) ESD floor finishes, may be the most cost effective solution, for your electronics manufacturing facility, test & assembly areas, and clean rooms. Resin based ESD flooring systems are applied at 20-90 mils, and include both seamless ESD epoxy coatings, as well as ESD urethane flooring. These are applied as thin roll on ESD floor coatings, which are well suited for pallet jacks, and light traffic; or thicker screed-applied systems for heavily damaged concrete and heavy or frequent traffic.

ESD epoxy floor finishes have many distinct advantages over other dissipative conductive flooring options, including vinyl, carpet, tiles, and rubber flooring:

Cost Effectiveness (very low life cycle cost)
Easy to maintain; never needs waxing.
Enhanced durability.
Seamless high-tech appearance; easy to clean
Hi-gloss or satin finish is available.
Chemical resistant.

Due to relatively low installation cost, and low maintenance costs (never needs waxing), resinous anti static flooring provides an excellent return on investment.

A word of caution regarding ESD coating companies; most firms are merely distributors of the materials, and do not actually perform the installation. Since the ESD flooring materials are only as good as the applicator, you are taking a gamble on the outcome. Oftentimes, the distributor is not trained in installation of the products, which limits their knowledge in recommending the correct ESD coating system products. The condition of the concrete, existing flooring and removal required, including glue/adhesives; thickness required, traffic conditions; condition,width and spacing of the joints, temperature, slab moisture condition, duration of the work.

An important consideration when comparing resinous ESD epoxy coating applicators, is sourcing an installation contractor with at least 10 years of experience. For renovation projects, they may need skills and equipment for removal of tile adhesive, and carpet glue removal. Ensure that applicator shall provide a turn-key installation, with their own factory trained company crews, without relying on independent subcontractors. At the completion of the installation, the conductive flooring shall be tested and certified for compliance with ANSI ESD S20.20

OEM's and contract manufacturer's in high-tech industries have implemented the ANSI ESD S20.20 industry standard for an Electro-Static Discharge (ESD) Control Program, used to protect electrical and electronic components. The resinous ESD flooring selected, shall need to be compliant with the ANSI/ESD S20.20-2007 specifications for ESD control flooring. This specification is a combination of three older standards, including ANSI/ESD STM 7.1, ANSI/ESD STM 97.1, and ANSI/ESD STM 97.2

Due to the hardness and durability of epoxy and urethane, this type of ESD flooring does not provide a resilient finish, as does rubber, vinyl, or carpet. However, anti static mats can be utilized, in areas where workers stand for long periods of time.

With all the above advantages to offer, ESD specifiers should take a close look at epoxy ESD flooring, which provide the most durable, long lasting, cost effective finish for electronics manufacturing floors.

About the Author: Robert Long, Sales Manager with EP Floors Corp., has over 25 years of experience in the industrial epoxy flooring business. He attends technical training seminars regularly, on the latest ESD flooring innovations, and has managed over a thousand epoxy flooring projects. For more information Robert may be reached at http://www.epfloors.com/ or by email at rlong@EPFloors.com

The Cost Of Doing Business In The Construction Industry (Part 2 of 2)

How to Select the Correct Conductive Flooring and ESD Flooring for Industrial Facilities

There are various products available in the marketplace, as well as numerous installation contractors. An experienced, knowledgeable, professional contractor, who can provide a turn-key installation, should be your starting point.

There are various products available including ESD Epoxy and Polyurethane coatings (for high traffic areas), to Carpet, Rubber, and Vinyl.

ESD Vinyl

The only ESD vinyl floors to consider, are called solid vinyl tile (SVT). It requires plenty of maintenance, but when propertly maintained SVT vinyl is attractive.. The material is relatively inexpensive, but installation and annual maintenance costs can be prohibiitve (at least $1/sq ft per year). This can add up fast..over five years, this adds over $5/ sq ft to the original cost. There are true no-wax ESD vinyl floors, however, they can be costly, and should only be used in very light traffic areas. High speed buffing (burnishing) is often recommended for cleaning, which can get costly (heat from the buffing machine melts and then reseals the floor). An alternative to this is low speed buffing, using a static control spray buff formula. The maintenance cost of SVT conductive tiles is greater than maintaining carpet and rubber.

Static Dissipative Carpet Tile

Carpet tiles are installed with clean, fast-drying release adhesive. The tiles can be installed directly over old VCT or concrete. If you are tired of the maintenance and waxing an SDT dissipative vinyl ESD floor, then carpet tile may be a good choice. Of course, carpet has its disadvantages. Carpet is not well suited to accommodate heavy loads, such as forklifts and pallet jacks. Carpet also has a low resistance to chemicals and solvents.

ESD Rubber

Conductive rubber greatest advantage, is that it is effective at preventing static in areas where grounded footwear is not, or cannot be used-places such as computer labs, command centers, and 911 call centers. (IMPORTANT: you must be sure that the chosen rubber is conductive and not static dissipative; static dissipative rubber floor conductivity exceeds the recommended system resistance (<35 megohms) requirement of ESD S20.20-2007). Ergonomically, rubber has better anti-fatigue factor than epoxy or vinyl; Rubber is less porous than vinyl, which makes it easier to clean, wash and maintain. However, rubber's installed cost is the highest of all options.

ESD Epoxy

High quality epoxy and urethanes are easy to install, low maintenance, durable, attractive, and cost effective. Solid colors, high gloss, and satin finishes are available. Patterns, multiple colors and textures are even available. An epoxy system must be specified, which will be in compliance with ESD S20.20-2007. This requires resistance to be <35million ohms. Many products on the market do not meet this standard. For explosion proofing, it must be below 1 million ohms. An applicator with suitable experience and knowledge, can ensure that these standards are met. Within facilities where constant heavy loads and high traffic are the norm, epoxies are usually the only practical flooring material. No waxing is required, and low sq ft costs can make this a smart choice. One drawback of epoxy is the lack of color stability. and smooth surface, which can get slippery if wet. Also, when exposed to UV rays, epoxy will tend to amber or yellow. These problems are solved by specifying an epoxy base coat, with a UV stable ESD polyurethane finish coating. This system provide a satin non-slip finish, which with have excellent long term color stability.

Combining Different Materials

In order to accommodate different needs in various departments, you can combine different flooring solutions, for different areas within the facility. You may install conductive carpet tiles in the assembly area then install a perimeter high traffic area of an epoxy conductive flooring system, to handle the majority of the forklift traffic. Another possibility, is to install vinyl tile over access floors and an epoxy product in heavy traffic areas.