Concrete Products covers the issues that attract producers of ready mixed and manufactured concrete focusing on equipment and material technology, market development and management topics.
Issue link: http://concrete.epubxp.com/i/724035
www.concreteproducts.com September 2016 • 35 FEATURE PRECAST "Working in a 'LIVE' substation is always interesting, and presents unique logistical and safety challenges, but Oldcastle Precast installed the drop-in, 125VDC Dual Battery Building and DC Power was trans- ferred—without affecting customer service," observes Tyson DeVere of SMC-LLC, Salt Lake City-based manufacturers' representative for Oldcastle Enclosure Solutions. TRUFIRE WALL In addition to the battery building, Oldcastle Enclosure Solutions was contracted by Wasatch Electric to deliver a TruFire Wall system. Refractory firewalls are built for large hydrocarbon pool fires (ASTM E1529) that can occur when transformer cooling oil ignites and burns at 2,150°F (1,180°C) with a heat flux of 50,000 Btu/ft. 2 h. "Fire walls" that comply with the International Building Code are not designed for the temperatures encountered during an actual transformer fire. TruFire Wall has been tested to these standards by an independent laboratory. The 24-ft. tall, 20-ft. wide TruFire system consists of refractory concrete fire wall columns, panels, hot-dip galvanized column base plates, base plate thermal covers, and dry mix refractory grout for base connections. The slide-in panels are relatively lightweight and grooved columns minimize fabrication and installation costs without compromising thermal or mechanical performance. Wasatch Electric crews expedited a project whose successes were dual path construction, improved quality, no contractor change orders, defined points of interface, on-time delivery, scheduled out- ages, and seamless cutover transition due to dual battery system and TruFire Walls. PHOTOS: Oldcastle Precast INTERMOUNTAIN OPERATIONS MERIT QUALITY RANKINGS MERIT QUALITY RANKINGS Oldcastle Precast's Idaho Falls and Nampa, Idaho, facilities received the National Precast Concrete Association's 2015 Quality Merit Award for scoring in the top 25 of the nearly 400 operations participating in the annual Plant Certification Program. The achievement ranks the two operations near the top of all NPCA-certified plants, and builds on the company's commitment to producing high-quality precast. The certification covers the facilities' full line of reinforced concrete products and structures. "This is a significant accomplishment that places both plants in the top 7 percent of all NPCA-certified plants," says Oldcastle Precast Site Manager Cache Elzinga. "Mike Blackham, our Idaho Managing Engineer, leads the way for both plants in our constant pursuit to manufacture products to the highest quality." Notes Managing Engineer Mike Blackham, "Our Nampa Quality Control department, led by Dustin Sigman QC Manager and QC Tech- nician Josh Kunerth, has received the Quality Merit Award four times in the last five years. Furthermore, the Idaho Falls Quality Control department, managed by Kirk Burnside, QC Manager, and QC Techni- cian Brandon Cox, had their 2016 NPCA review and received a score of 100 percent." Both Quality Control departments have done an outstanding job and assisted in changing the plants' culture to a "Safety and Quality First" mentality, affirms Elzinga, adding, "Our quality assurance and quality control measures ensure compliance with all contractual spec- ifications, mandatory regulations, and quality standards. The Quality Control department employees do the job right and make certain that our products and services are safe, reliable, and of good quality." New substation building (below) and TruFire Wall system (left) demon- strate Oldcastle Precast's capacity for delivering finished modular struc- tures to highly restricted access sites; and, developing refractory-grade concrete equal to high temperature, explosion-prone conditions.