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NEWS

Four hours to go home safe

This is a return slip for an 8’H x 10’L x 5’ wide MOD System, nothing too special about it; Pro-Tec Equipment fills many of these out a day. This MOD System is a little different though.

Multiple Small Trench Shields vs Longer Trench Shields

January 11, 2018

There is a saying or phrase associated with Abraham Maslow that goes something like “When the only tool you have is a hammer, everything begins to look like a nail.” This is true in the trench shoring and shielding world as well. When the only tool you have is a trench shield, every job is a trench shield job, no matter how deep or how big. When all you have is a slide rail, everything is a slide rail job, no matter how small or how large.

Looking further into this, if a market is only use to having smaller trench shields in it, say 8’ tall x 10’ or 12’ long, contractors will find a way to make due with these smaller shields. However, let’s look at these smaller shields a little more in depth. If a contractor needs to lay a 20’ long pipe, it can be done using a 10’ long and a 12’ long trench shield, providing 22’ of total trench shield length. This is good, the full length of the pit fits within the trench shields, allowing for crews to work in a safe area around the pipe as needed. But as the diagram shows below, lowering said pipe is easier said than done. To do so, the pipe would have to be snaked in the shields, under the spreaders in the middle, severely cutting into a crew’s productivity.

The reasoning for using the smaller boxes is a valid one, not every crew has access to the larger machines commonly found in the United States. In Latin America for example, the most common size machine is a 20 ton excavator. For that size machine, the use of these smaller shields makes sense, as such; the market is flooded with them.

There is an alternative to this, which still provides crews with a safe working area, while allowing them to use the same, 20 ton excavator is to use a longer shield. Pro-Tec Equipment is able to achieve this combination of shield length and reduced weight, while still bearing a usable depth rating.

With a shield of this length, crews are able to easily lower the 20’ pipe into the shield without having to snake it around center spreaders, increasing crew efficiency and productivity, while still providing a safe working environment.

Interested in more information? Contact Pro-Tec Equipment here.

Pro-Tec Equipment Announces new stocking steel and aluminum trench shield distributor in Oregon

Pro-Tec Equipment, the leading producer of trench shoring and shielding equipment, is pleased to announce the addition of Falcon Shoring Company to our distributor network! Located in Tualatin, Oregon, Falcon Shoring Company – headed by industry veteran Bret Taylor, is a rental and sales company protection solution for utility and underground structure installation in the excavation business and is a stocking distributor of Pro-Tec Equipment’s steel and aluminum trench shields, including the MOD Series, a modular aluminum panel system that is lightweight and easily transported via pickup truck. It can be used as a 2-, 3- or 4-sided system with existing components and can be changed on the fly at a job site to meet the job’s requirements.

For more information on Falcon Shoring Company, contact them at 503-855-4964, on the web at www.falconshoring.com, or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/falconshoring or in person at 9995 SW Avery St. Suite 210, Tualatin, OR 97062

Eight hundred, ninety-five feet

Eight hundred, ninety-five feet. That was the distance Chicago based contractor James McHugh Construction Company had to install 84” reinforced concrete pipe (RCP) as part of the WB 290 Flyover Project (Contract 60W28). McHugh subcontracted Dynamicx Enterprises (Chicago, IL) to install the shoring, and tunneling contractor LJ Keefe Company (Mt. Prospect, IL) to do the pipe jacking/tunneling. Keefe planned to use a 102” diameter tunnel boring machine (TBM). This is simple enough on the surface, but below the surface is where things get interesting.

In order to do the tunneling, LJ Keefe required a jacking pit with an inside dimension of 20’ wide x 40’ long x 32’ deep. They needed 24’ clear (minimum) in the front bay of the pit to bring in pipe and remove spoil. The tunneling also required a thrust block 12’ high x 22’ wide x 8’ thick. The receiving pit had an inside dimension of 21’ ¼” wide x 29’ 4 ¼” long x 25’ deep.

Product Improvement: Double Slide Rail Post

After multiple tests, Pro-Tec Equipment announces the release of the Gen II Double Slide Rail Corner and Spreader post!

J & K Contracting Scores with New Slide Rail Post

Constructing a cast-in-place pump station is nothing new for J & K Contracting, of Ames, Iowa. However, constructing a cast-in-place pump station inside of Iowa State University’s Jack Trice Stadium, less than a first down’s length away from the southern end zone, is certainly something new.

The project is part of the Jack Trice Stadium South End Zone Project, a $60 million project that will add capacity and a High Definition video board. Upon completion of this project, prior to the start of the 2015 college football season, Jack Trice Stadium will be the third largest football stadium in the Big 12 conference.

12 trenching tips that could save a life

January 05, 2015

Trenching cave-ins are often deadly. In a recent case, OSHA cited a Missouri plumbing and heating company for five serious violations after a foreman died from being trapped inside a trench on a residential construction site. OSHA requires that each worker in a trench be protected from a cave-in by adequate protective systems, including:

Closing off the open side of an aluminum trench shield system

December 05, 2014

A trench shield system (steel or aluminum) can have the third and fourth side closed off in many ways, these are just a few. If you would like information or if you have an upcoming project where you need to close of all the sides, feel free to contact Pro-Tec Equipment at 800-292-1225 or click here to email us.

Closing off an open side of a trench shield system

August 13, 2014

Deep (16’+) four sided systems are normally an ideal place to use a slide rail system. Allowing contractors to go vertically deep, while maintaining the surrounding area. In some cases, a slide rail system is just not feasible. For those situations, the stacking of steel trench shields can be the answer. However, the question remains on how to close off the open sides of an excavation?

Mod in the Street

The Pro-Tec Equipment Mod series was recently used in the middle of a 4-lane street in Lansing, Michigan, to assist a bore crew with their job. Used with Pro-Tec Equipment road plates (street plates) the crew was able to conduct eight different bores while keeping the road open to traffic.

Equipment used:

5 – MPS-2×4 panels (bottom panel was omitted to allow for bore machine bit to enter system)
6 – MPS-2×6 panels
4 – MC-72 Post
1 – Mod Lift eye set
4 – SP-812 8′ x 12′ road plates

Lightweight Pipeline High Clearance Arches!

Pro-Tec Equipment, a leading producer of trench shoring and shielding equipment, introduces its line of lightweight Pipeline High Clearance Arches!

Designed with pipeline crews and crews with smaller excavators in mind, the Pro-Tec Equipment lightweight Pipeline Arches provide exceptional vertical pipe clearance while keeping the overall weight of the trench shield system to a minimum.

EVENTS

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