Re: What Happens When It All Fails!!!

Posted by Part II on April 24, 2002 at 14:38:20 from (207.173.149.159):

In Reply to: What Happens When It All Fails!!! posted by T_Bone on April 23, 2002 at 17:11:12:

Part II

A little back ground. The engineering firm that designed this school also designed a school in Boulder, Co that had roof collaspe because of under design the same year and collasped from snow load. Several childeren were hurt with two deaths.

The job started out wrong from the get go. Survey made a mistake and the school was built 800ft on another mans property. He wouldn't sell so they bull dozed what was there and started over.

Were ready to set the big 52,000lb unit. The unit is approx 12ft wide and 46ft long. The beams supporting the unit are 36" deep on either end but no side supporting beams other than the curb. There is one 4" pipe column under the heavy end of the unit on the 36" deep beam and if I remember correct it was 70ft between main support columns. I can't remember the cross beam width as it must not have been important. Anyway were all looking at the unit curb and we can't see how this is going to handle the weight of this unit. Na, none of us are engineers but after awhile you just know whats not right and this wasn't right.

I'm thinking I didn't listen to my gut feeling on the unit that fell, listen to this one.

Again a compositie crew of tinners and pipefitters. We decide to put a plumb bob on the 4" column to detect any movement. We also high graded a transit/builders level. We preshot the curb from another roof level. By this time theres so much stink going on the general contractor super is getting envlolved. He sets up another transit level on the same roof as the curb is located. We all looked at one another! What was a level going to show being on the same roof as the unit? Thats why we set ours up on another roof so we could get a independant reading if the roof flexed that the unit was on!

From the ruckcuss going on I really thought we would get fired but thinking back it was the entire building crew, some 75 men, wanting to know whats going to happen when this unit sits and no one would work in that building while the unit was being set and alot wouldn't after the unit was set.

Everyone has now taken there mesurements and I'm getting pressure to get this unit set. Time is money Boy! I told the boss if he wanted the unit set, set himself as I was heading to the house. Come now Boy, I was just funnin. Presures off.

The pick begins. Another blind set for the crane orperator(CO). This time I requested headsets and microphones for the CO and me. That works much better in a blind set. I pre tell the CO we crawl down to granny gear to set the unit and he's not to release all crane holding weight without telling me before hand. We get most of the weight on the unit crub and start taking measurements.

At approx. 90% weight on the unit curb, the plumb bob shows a 1-1/4" bow in the 4" pipe column and our transit level show 3/4" drop in the curb in the center. The super's transit level shows 3/8" drop in the curb center on the same roof. The super's response, "3/8" ain't bad at all". I shook my head and walked away.

All the setting crew wants to leave the roof before the unit is 100% weight supported by the unit curb. I walk over to the roofs edge and locate another sand pile on the ground. Gees I'm glad those block layers dumped that sand there.

The CO gives me this strange look as I'm looking at him and tell him to release all the weight. I closed my eyes and when I opened mine the CO still had his closed. LMAO

The unit sit on the curb with all the weight with a 1-1/2" bow in the 4" pipe column. Flat roof levels didn't change. After the crew took a break be busted the rigging off the crane, disconnected the crane from the load.

Nothing more was said from anyone on the job site. I still couldn't sleep at night. Someone called the engineering dept of the school system and they were not worried about the measurements that had been taken! Ya, the Colo school system had there own state engineers.

Never did here any more about it! I quit the job and moved on.

T_Bone

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