Going “back to basics” is a simple sounding concept, but it gets harder to do the more a person is indoctrinated into a system.  This is even true when it comes to businesses, and especially true when it comes to Pro-Tec Equipment.
With the core of Pro-Tec’s staff having around 10 years of time on the job, more or less, we have been able to go through the whole learning curve.  Starting with the basics (how to size a trench shield) and going all the way to the advanced classes (custom shields and Slide Rail Systems).  However, the more and more a person deals with the advanced classes, some of the basics start to fade away.  Once you’ve mastered a calculator, it’s tough to do division, long hand, with a paper and pencil. Read the rest of this entry »

One challenge stands out beyond the everyday challenges faced by crews building the new, $412 million, 40,000 capacity stadium for the Minnesota Twins. Located just a few blocks west of downtown Minneapolis, the construction site is hemmed in on all sides by bridges, roads and buildings; making for tight working conditions and a logistical challenge for moving hundreds of workers and trucks in and out of it daily. Read the rest of this entry »

A new green corn receiving pit was recently completed at the Monsanto Site in Constantine, MI by James Ware Construction Inc of Sturgis, along with Morris Excavating of White Pigeon and Davis Contracting of Grand Rapids. The receiving pit was over 100′ in length, 14′ wide and started at 8′ deep and gradually went to 11′ deep by the end of the run.

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A 50,000-square foot Tendercare Health Center, which will be an adult assisted living center, is being construction on 6 acres off of Marsh Road in Meridian Township, MI.  The $12-million project began in October 207 and is scheduled for completion in June.

L.D. Clark Excavating Company’s scope of work included clearing and grubbing; excavating and filling 8 feet deep across the project site; placing 1,500 feet of water main with two roadway bore and jacks; placing 3,000 feet of storm sewer and 670 feet of sanitary sewer by directional drill and open cut; site excavating and grading; parking lot construction and asphalt paving.

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Installing a 20-foot-square cast-in-place concrete foundation for a pump station at the bottom of a 24-foot-deep excavation in metropolitan Indianapolis presented more than a few problems for Bowen Engineering Corp. of Fishers, Ind.

CAT 330 and 345 hydraulic excavators team up during installation of the PRO-TEC Slide Rail System. First and foremost was the location. The 30-foot-6-inch by 34-foot-6-inch-long and 24-foot-deep pit that was excavated to accommodate the poured concrete bed was sandwiched tightly between E. Westfield Avenue on the west side and a levee walling off the White River on the east with little operating room and no room at all to slope in any direction. Read the rest of this entry »

Associated Construction Publications

The Slide Rail System was an integral facet in the installation of the twin 900-foot-long, 84-inch-diameter water intake and outflow pipes.

For shear size and complexity, this was by far the biggest and most interesting trench shielding job I have ever been a part of, and I’ve been working with trench shield systems for over 25 years,” said Gary Carlson, president of Gary Carlson Equipment of Blaine, Minn., the PRO-TEC shielding and shoring distributor for the state of Minnesota.

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Background

The University of Michigan Hospital at Ann Arbor required a 300,000-gallon diesel fuel tank for emergency power generators to be installed on-site.

Problem

The tank had to be installed 24’ deep, requiring an excavation 64’ long x 17’ wide, with an existing 30” diameter underground water pipeline, paved road and property lines close by.  With all this had to be done in a “Quiet Zone” where the vibration caused by installing tight sheeting was not acceptable to hospital personnel performing life saving micro-surgical procedures. Read the rest of this entry »