August 2013Click any article link:
Join other SEAA members and supporters for a face-to-face meeting with OSHA representatives at our SEAA Road Show followed by the 2nd Annual George R. Pocock Memorial Golf Tournament. George Pocock, who passed away in 2011, was a board member and a long-time organizer of SEAA golf events and a great friend to SEAA for over 15 years. SEAA-MAC is the sponsoring organization. Both events take place Monday, September 9, 2013 at the Heritage Hunt Golf & Country Club, Gainesville, VA. The OSHA Road Show begins at 9:30 AM followed by lunch and the Shot Gun Start at12:30 PM Click here to register online. Click here for a printable registration form. Who is SEAA-MAC?The SEAA-MAC is professional association of contractors committed to enhancing the performance of our members, representing their interests, and building a better climate for construction. As much fun as business, it’s a chance to let go a little and do something for our industry, making it is a great opportunity for construction firms in the Mid-Atlantic and surroundings areas to make connections and support a good cause. Tournament DetailsThe Golfer’s Package is ($125 per person) and includes 18 holes, cart, lunch, refreshments on the course, and the post-tournament reception, prizes and awards. The format for the tournament will remain the same as the previous year: Shot Gun start with Scramble Format. A kick-off breakfast will be available at 8:30 AM with the OSHA Road Show from 9:30 AM until 11:00 AM (see details on Road Show below). Golf registration and lunch begin at 11:00 AM. Contests occurring with the tournament are Closest to the Pin, Longest Drive, and prizes for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Place Teams. Join us afterwards at the Clubhouse for prizes, awards, and networking. Register now for your spot in the tournament! OSHA Road Show InformationJoin us for face-to-face meeting with OSHA and get your questions answered in person. * Find out the latest on GHS - Global Harmonized System - What is it? Why is it necessary? What is the scope? * Updates on the Crane Certification – Does the operator of a forklift need to have a crane operator certification? Who Should Attend the Tournament and Road Show?General Contractor: Are you a contractor whose work is predominantly done directly for owners? Subcontractor: Are you a specialty contractor? Associates: Are you a supplier or service provider to the construction industry? This premiere event can provide your company with great industry connections. Contact SEAA-MAC at 571-248-6890 – golf@phoenixerectors.com, for more info. Register now for your spot in the tournament!! Course Information
Heritage Hunt Golf & Country Club Directions:
September 1st Deadline Is Almost Here: Reserve Your Ads for SEAA Connector 2013 - back to top
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Be sure to reserve space for your ad in the 2013 issue of SEAA Connector by September 1st. As a non-profit organization, SEAA relies on financial contributions from its members and associated companies. You can both help our organization and yourself by advertising in the SEAA Connector. There are several levels of advertising available in this widely read publication. CLICK HERE for a PDF rate card (2013 Edition). CLICK HERE for a PDF Overview. CLICK HERE to subscribe (FREE) online! Advertisements/Classifieds – Deadline September 1st Ad materials for The SEAA Connector® magazine should be submitted to our publisher, John Teague, at teaguejrt@gmail.com |
SEAA Member Schulz Interviewed on TV about Health Care Law - back to top 
SEAA member Dave Schulz of Schulz Iron Works, Inc. in Raleigh, NC was recently interviewed on WRAL-TV about his response to requirements in the Affordable Care Act and their impact on small business. You can read the article and see the interview HERE. You can contact Dave Schulz at 919-981-6121 or dave@schulzironworks.com. |
Featured Project: SPS “Sandwich Plate System” Used on Germany’s Mettlach Bridge - back to top
The 1951-vintage suspension bridge crossing the river Saar in Germany at Mettlach needed refurbishing to meet current highway safety standards. The bridge is located in unique “Saarschleife” tourist region and connects the districts of Mettlach and Keuchingen with a double span of 108 m. This is an important traffic connection in the area for which a total closure was not allowed. In the 1950s the bridge was a pioneer project for light design. It originally received a light steel-concrete composite deck supported by a steel girder and cable structure. Due to wear, corrosion and high traffic, the structural load carrying capacity was reduced. SPS (Sandwich Plate System) was chosen as the best solution to reinstate and upgrade the bridge to current standards.
SPS is a structural steel material that is stronger, more versatile and accurate than concrete. The Sandwich Plate System is a composite material comprised of two metal plates bonded with a polyurethane elastomer core and is 75% lighter than an equivalent-strength concrete deck. SPS transfers shear between each plate and eliminates the need for stiffeners while precluding local faceplate buckling. SPS was originally designed to protect drilling islands in the Arctic Beaufort Sea from ice floes and has been in use for over 18 years. SPS has since evolved as a product of choice for architects and engineers around the world for a variety of engineering projects.
With nearly 3 million square feet in use, SPS can be found in the mezzanine floors of New York’s historic Carnegie Hall, the terraces of the 2012 London Olympics Aquatics Center, roof structures & building floors and as a strengthening method for ship hulls and decks. There are many conventional and orthotropic bridge decks in countries around the world that have been improved by SPS technology. Some SPS Bridge Deck installations have more than 350 million fatigue cycles without incident.
Eiffel Deutschland Stalhbau (EDS) together with Intelligent Engineering (IE), inventor of SPS along with the support of RWTH Aachen in Germany developed details and designs in accordance with the appropriate Euro Codes and have now applied these designs to build the 3rd SPS bridge in Germany. SPS is able to replace orthotropic bridge decks with a new design that has enhanced structural performance. SPS is an isotropic plate with damping and vibration insulation characteristics that also reduces traffic noise emission.
By using the SPS deck, the Mettlach bridge weight was reduced from 500 tons down to 200 tons making it possible to increase traffic loads to current standards while relieving stress in the cables. The slim design of SPS is also only a quarter of the depth of the original orthotropic deck. The replacement strategy was developed within a short 4-month construction schedule. Importantly, there was no full closure as one full traffic lane was maintained. Construction phases for both lanes separately began in November, 2012 and were successfully completed in February, 2013.
For more information on SPS, please see www.ie-sps.com or contact Kay Jimison at jimison@ie-sps.com.
INDUSTRY |
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Ruthmann to Introduce New 22-m Truck Mount in 2013 - back to top
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The LECTURA Guide: Cranes 2013/2014This report lists all important manufacturers including machine categories, types, and costs as well as recommended prices for used machinery over the last 10 years. This publication is available in 8 languages: German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Polish and Chinese. Published in July, 2013, the guide costs $225.00 and is available from www.khl-infostore.com. |
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ACT 100: 2009-2013 Top ListAmerican Cranes & Transport’s ACT 100 tracks the largest crane-owning companies in North America. This new five-year compilation provides expert analysis and opinion of the highs, lows, and trends the U.S. crane industry has undergone during the 2009-2013 period. The ACT 100 list grew exponentially in 2013, as did all categories of the list (for the first time since 2009), including the overall ACT 100 Index. The ACT 100 is the largest and most comprehensive list of U.S. crane companies. The report is in English and all prices given are for DIGITAL format only. Published July, 2013, the report costs $160 and is available from www.khl-infostore.com. |
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The Rental Report 2012International Rental News (IRN) and KHL Group has just published the 2012 edition of The Rental Report. This document provides an overview of the world’s equipment rental sector by IRN editor Murray Pollok, a report on the global construction market by Chris Sleight, editor of International Construction, and over 50 pages of supplier and services listings. The listings provide details of thousands of suppliers covering everything from excavators, mobile cranes and aerial platforms to rental software specialists, asset tracking companies and rental associations. This year the listings have been expanded with the addition of more than 25 Chinese manufacturers of self-propelled aerial platforms and construction hoists. Also included in the report is the most recent IRN100 list of the world’s largest 100 equipment rental companies, reprinted from the July-August issue of IRN. Published December, 2012, the report costs $160 and is available from www.khl-infostore.com. |
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Special Report: Low Level AccessThe Low Level Access Report from KHL Group compiles articles about Low Level Access aerial platforms from the pages of Access International magazine and its US sister publication, Access, Lift & Handlers (ALH). The articles and opinion pieces in the report were all published over the five-year period from 2009 to 2013. The report provides not only an in-depth view of how the Low Level Access sector is developing worldwide, but also shows how its growth has been influenced over recent years. Published June, 2013, this 28-page report is available only in digital format at a cost of $160 from www.khl-infostore.com. |
Construction Stud Welding - back to top
OVERVIEW
Stud welding meets a broad variety of fabrication and construction requirements. It is fast, easy and strong and provides a lower installed cost when compared to other fabrication methods.
PROCESS DESCRIPTION
The stud welding process is similar to the stick welding process; however, unlike the stick welding process, stud welding is automated and can be performed by operators not trained in the welding field.
The operator loads a stud and a ceramic shield into the welding tool. (The ceramic shield serves to contain the molten pool of steel during the welding process.) The operator places the stud tip against the work piece and presses the trigger. The power supply then operates the internal mechanism in the weld tool (often called a gun). The tool creates a lifting action which is analogous to striking the arc in stick welding. The power supply provides the necessary weld current to sufficiently melt the stud and the base material. The power supply maintains this arc for the appropriate duration (typically less than one second) and then plunges the stud into the molten pool of steel created by the arc. The ceramic shield (ferrule) molds the molten pool of steel until the steel cools and then the ceramic shield is broken and discarded. This automatic process means that the welding of fasteners is extremely fast. In a time where labor costs are a significant factor - if not the significant factor- in a job, any labor savings is appreciated by the fabrication shop.
STUD WELDING CONSTRUCTION APPLICATIONS
 Bridge Girder with 7/8 Shear Studs |
 Welded Deformed Anchor Bar |
 Embed Plates |
 Shear Stud Welded Through Deck |
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Because the weld produced by the stud welding process offers high structural integrity, excellent productivity and many other benefits, it is used extensively in a wide range of construction applications, including:
Bridges: The shear stud is welded onto a bare I-beam used in steel bridge construction. When the concrete is poured the shear stud interlocks the steel and concrete together.
Deformed Bar Anchors (DBA) are used to provide anchorage with surrounding concrete. Unlike conventional deformed bar (re-bar) DBA’s are weldable using the stud weld process. This means anchorage can be welded quickly and reliably into a wide variety of spaces and surfaces.
Embed Plates: Studs are welded to the back of a plate and are embedded into material. This can be concrete in tilt up wall construction or it could be earth in a retaining wall application.
Through Deck (Thru Deck): In multistory steel building construction, shear studs are welded through the steel decking. This joins the shear stud, steel deck and I-beam together. Once the concrete is poured, it too is interlocked to the steel structure by the shear stud. This is commonly referred to as composite beam construction. This approach can allow for smaller beam webs and/or greater spans between beams. This can add up to significant cost savings for the steel erector.
Threaded Studs: Threaded studs also have their place in construction and fabrication. They are used in window retention (Rock & Roll Hall of Fame) and drop ceiling applications and wire way routings as well as many other applications.
STUD WELDING EQUIPMENT
The stud welding equipment is composed of a few key pieces:
- Power Supply to generate the weld energy
- The weld tool (gun) which is used to automatically strike the welding arc and hold the fastener during the welding process
- The proper accessories that are suited to the particular welding application
- Cables that run between the power source and the weld tool. The cables can become a critical component if they are undersized or if a user attempts to put too much cable onto a power supply that cannot handle the cable load.
While these components do not appear complex, like any system, they require the proper maintenance and care to ensure maximum job uptime.
MAKING THE DECISION
To determine whether stud welding is the optimum metal fastening method for your requirements, analyze your specifications and consider such factors as productivity, quality, aesthetics and engineering assistance. If appearance is important, compare stud welding’s onesided fastening process with twosided processes. When comparing welding times between processes, be sure to compare the steps involved in one process versus another to reach an accurate assessment of productivity rates.
If you have selected the stud welding process, consider the following qualifications when choosing a studwelding partner.
PRODUCT DESIGN AND ENGINEERING
Is the manufacturer an innovator, offering solutions for promoting efficiencies and solving problems in your process? Do they offer accessible on-staff technical support? How responsive are they?
EQUIPMENT
 Stud Welding Accessories |
 Shear Stud thru deck and Bluearc Stud Gun |
Does the supplier manufacture stud welding equipment, guns and studs meeting various size and power requirements? Do they offer a complete package, including power supplies, stud welding guns, studs and accessories? Can they recommend the optimal equipment and/or complete package for your unique application? Do they assist you in determining the optimum equipment, fasteners and accessories?
EASE OF EQUIPMENT USE
Is the equipment easy to use? Does it offer advanced technology, such as digital features included on the equipment to help you increase your efficiency, flexibility and reliability and ease of set up for your operators?
VALUE ADDED SERVICES
Does the manufacturer provide additional process capabilities? Do they offer such value-added services as component reduction, secondary process elimination, waste minimization and quality improvement to help you minimize costs and maximize your productivity?
SUPPORT
Does the manufacturer provide training? Do they have maintenance programs in place, including routine maintenance and emergency/breakdown service? How quickly will they respond to your inquiries? Are they consistently available when you need them?
EXPERIENCE
How long has the manufacturer been in the stud welding industry? Do they offer the expertise to help you fulfill your unique metal fabrication requirements? Does the manufacturer have any active members in the American Welding Society and the SEAA?
BLUEARC STUD WELDING
Bluearc manufactures shear studs, deformed bars and threaded studs in a wide variety of sizes. Bluearc also offers arc equipment along with all the proper accessories to get your job done right and quickly.
For more information or to discuss your construction fastening requirements with one of our experts, contact Bluearc today.
DUKE PERRY
Territory Sales Manager
Tel: (877) 824-STUD (7883)
Email: dukeperry@imageindustries.com
4505-D Newpoint Place
Lawrenceville, GA 30043 USA
Voice: (770) 513-2066
Fax: (770) 513-2077
www.bluearcstudwelding.com
SAFETY |
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New ZT Universal Harness Includes Additional Safety Features - back to top
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The ZT Universal Harness is the latest in the award-winning ZT product range. The Universal offers five-point attachments: front, rear and side loops for work positioning. It incorporates the ZT leg gaiter design, which completely eliminates the use of groin straps and the serious damage they cause when restricting the femoral artery in the groin area during prolonged suspension.
The harness combines an integrated harness and lanyard with performance work-wear trousers or coveralls. It employs a patented leg gaiter system with lanyard and front point attachment. The elimination of loose straps or lanyards means there is no risk of catching these on door handles or wing mirrors when entering or exiting a vehicle. There is no metal 'D' ring so it's also comfortable to wear when driving. Restraint or shock absorbing lanyards can be connected easily to the harnesses front or rear point attachment.
The universal harness is an essential piece of height safety equipment that can be worn as a fall restraint or fall safety harness with the added benefit of work positioning loops. Between work at height tasks and during breaks, the lanyard can be removed and stowed without the need to need to remove the harness or change.
The harness is certified to 330 lbs in body weight as well as being certified to EN361:2002 and EN358 standards.
ZT Safety has also introduced a new range of jackets, winter suits and body warmers specially designed to be worn in conjunction with its harnesses.
OSHA and National Weather Service Team Up to Protect Workers from Heat Illnesses - back to top
At a recent training in West Springfield, Mass., an OSHA area compliance specialist
educated a class of 37 immigrant workers from Somalia, Bhutan, Iraq, Burma and
Nepal about the hazards of working in heat along with other workplace safety issues.
OSHA and the NOAA National Weather Service are teaming up again to prevent heat-related deaths and illnesses. Record-breaking heat the past two years has exacerbated heat-related injuries and fatalities in outdoor workers. With summer heat continuing, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels and NOAA's National Weather Service Director Dr. Louis Uccellini are reminding employers that heat-related illnesses can be prevented.
"Each year, thousands of workers across the country suffer from serious heat-related illnesses," said Michaels. "This can easily be prevented with water, rest, and shade. If outdoor workers take these precautions, it can mean the difference between life and death."
In 2011, 4,420 workers experienced heat illnesses and 61 workers died according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics data. To help prevent heat related deaths and illness among workers, NOAA will continue to include the following language in its excessive heat warnings that are sent across the country:
For more information and to download OSHA's Heat Safety Tool smartphone app, visit OSHA's Heat Illness Prevention page. To order quantities of OSHA's heat illness educational materials in English or Spanish, call OSHA's Office of Communications at (202) 693-1999.
LAWS & REGULATIONS |
AISI Public Policy Priorities – Promoting a Pro-Manufacturing Agenda - back to top
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TRAINING |
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Crane and Rigging Workshop - September 18 - 20, 2013 - back to top
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Following requests at the IPAF Summit in Miami, the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) has launched American Work Platform Training (AWPT) courses in Spanish.
Managed in the US and Canada by IPAF’s North American subsidiary AWPT, the aerial work platform (AWP) operator course is now available in Spanish as part of IPAF’s continuing commitment to provide training and safety materials in other languages.
IPAF USA and AWPT executive vice-president, Tony Groat, called on the industry to make full use of this new service, saying, “We open up the challenge to those in the industry. Get your employees trained in a manner they can understand for safe AWP operations. The material and the tools are there and there is no excuse for untrained workers when working at height.”
The AWPT Spanish course will be available at approved training centers, including the Valcourt Exterior Building Services based in New Jersey. The AWPT eLearning module will be available in Spanish by the end of September.
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