Buzzi had decided to relocate a hopper from inside a building to outside.  They enlisted the services of TLF engineers to design the structural steel required to support the hopper as well as the concrete ramp and foundations needed to support the large mine dump trucks that will fill the hopper.  Maddox was awarded the contract to perform the concrete installation.

Company Profile

Headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Buzzi Unicem USA is one of the leading cement manufacturing companies in the US.  The company’s eight cement plants produce approximately 8.5 million metric tons of Portland and specialty cements annually.

Technical Situation

The project, which began in February, occurred in some of the wettest, snowiest weather of 2010.    The compressed time period for the project dictated that tasks were well planned and executed to meet the customer’s deadlines.

During the course of the project, several conditions were uncovered that also needed to be dealt with during construction.  Upon excavation, it was discovered that drain piping in the area had collapsed.  New elevations of the ramp and stone around the ramp now required that the pipe bedding be capped with concrete to prevent future pipe crushing.

Trades Required

Pipefitters, Concrete Carpenters, and finishers.

Solution

Although the expected project duration was two weeks long, it was soon discovered that the reinforcing steel would have a longer lead time than expected.  Maddox worked with local steel fabricators to expedite and get steel on site by changing the order of the ramp construction to match just in time steel deliveries.

During periods where materials were being delivered, Maddox was able to use the same crew to perform all of the pipe repairs and additional work required for the project.  This meant that Buzzi did not need to re-train people to get them accustomed to the site or worry about a shifting crew as the tasks changed.

Benefits

A single crew was able to perform all excavation, rock breaking, concrete construction, underground piping, and above ground pipe rerouting.  Open channels of communication also enabled improvements and enhancements to be added at minimal cost.