Slideshow: Workers rappel down LeVeque to examine exterior – Columbus – Business First.
Author: Vertical Access
These building inspectors climb LeVeque’s exterior
By Steve Wartenberg, The Columbus Dispatch Friday April 6, 2012 5:17 AM
Whenever she tells people that she makes a living climbing up and down buildings, doing inspections, Kelly Streeter gets one of three responses.
“Some people ask if I’m scared, others say there’s no way they would ever do that, and some people say it sounds like the best job ever,” she said of her career as an industrial rope-access technician.
Since Monday, Streeter and a small, well-trained team of safety-conscious climbers from Vertical Access have been Spider-manning their way up and down the 555-foot-6-inch-tall LeVeque Tower.
In exhausting six-hour shifts, they’ve rappelled down 600-foot ropes, toting 30 to 40 pounds of equipment that includes a self-braking descender with an anti-panic function to prevent free falls, a tablet computer to digitally log all the cracks and crumbles they spot — and snacks. READ FULL ARTICLE: These building inspectors climb LeVeque’s exterior | The Columbus Dispatch.
120-year-old mystery to be solved next week
Courtesy photo
Hanging Flume reconstruction begins Wednesday
By Ellen Metrick, Editor
Published: Tuesday, April 3, 2012 11:29 PM CDT
Workers on reconnaissance, rappelling from Hwy. 141, above the San Miguel River, to mark the 48 feet of the Hanging Flume to be reconstructed in a grand event next week. “You might call it historic reenactment, except that no one is completely certain the construction methods that will be employed to restore 48 feet of the Hanging Flume are historically accurate. Nonetheless, the feats that workers will undertake on a short stretch of the crumbling 10-mile long hydraulic wonder, built in 1889 above the San Miguel and Dolores rivers, promise to be stunning and hope to be successful.
“This is very exciting,” said Chris Miller, the executive director of the Western Colorado Interpretive Association (WCIA). “It’s the culmination of 10 years of research.”
Neon green tags marking the stretch of flume to be restored are already visible on the canyon wall above the San Miguel River, just upstream from its confluence with the Dolores. Workers rappelled down the cliffs from Hwy. 141 to place them one month ago, preparing for next week’s event.” READ FULL ARTICLE > Telluride Daily Planet > Norwood Post > News
Engineered to Last -Fenway Park Turns One-Hundred
Jon Marcus, a writer for Product Lifecycle Stories, has just written an article on the preservation of one of the most famous sports venues in the world, Boston’s Fenway Park. Jon tells an interesting story about recent preservation efforts at the stadium, and relates that at one time the iconic ballpark was threatened with demolition. As with any structure of its age, there are many layers of history attached to the stadium. It has undoubtedly been both a challenging and a rewarding aspect of the project to understand those layers and how they work together. Among the sources for Jon’s article is Vertical Access partner Evan Kopelson. Although Evan has never seen a baseball game at Fenway Park and is not involved with the current preservation effort, he definitely has an appreciation for the history of the structure and the work going into its preservation.
The Quarterly – January 2012
Read the January 2012 Quarterly Newsletter here. Subscribe to the blog and receive email updates automatically when news about what we’re doing is posted here throughout the year.
H&M Powerhouse in Jersey City Has a Much Needed Check Up
Yesterday, February 27, Mark Hinkel brought Geoff Smith of Robert Silman Associates and Evan Kopelson of Vertical Access to the top of one of the three remaining smokestacks at the former Hudson & Manhattan Railroad Powerhouse in Jersey City. Mark owns a 200′ Bronto lift, one of the few in the country and the only one in the Northeast. Fortunately, the lift was available for one day between long-term rentals, and the day happened to be sunny, 55 degrees with relatively calm winds.
Geoff Smith and Mark Hinkel looking down into one of the smokestacks
The up-close inspection of the three smokestacks was performed to assess the condition of the smokestacks, an iconic feature of the H&M Powerhouse. The powerhouse was designed by John Oakman of Robins & Oakman and constructed between 1906 and 1908. The building has been underused or vacant for most of its history. The Jersey City Redevelopment Agency and Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy have been spearheading the effort to save the building and give it new life. Leading the design team for the project is Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners.
More on the redevelopment of the H&M Powerhouse and the close-up inspection can be found on the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency’s news page: Powerhouse Has a Much Needed Check Up | Jersey City Powerhouse Official Website.
Eight Years Later: A Return To The Hanging Flume
Vertical Access technician Donn Hewes surveying remaining elements of the Hanging Flume near historic Uravan, Colorado.
Driving along the San Miguel River near the historic town of Uravan in western Colorado, one has to study the cliffs to find remnants of a 10 mile long structure built 120 years ago. Constructed by the Montrose Placer Mining Company between 1889 and 1891, the Hanging Flume ended its service life in 1903 and has since succumbed to weathering, rock fall and plundering by locals in need of timber.
With much of the structure long gone and few existing original documents and photographs, myriad mysteries surround the construction process. Did the workers use a steam engine powered drill, or were the thousands of anchor holes in the sandstone drilled with only a hammer and chisel? How were the frames weighing more than 300 pounds moved into place? These and other questions have stirred up a “flume fever” in residents of neighboring communities. It is known that at its completion, the Flume was a 10-mile long series of wooden and earthen troughs carrying 80 million gallons of water per day to gold mines.
In 2004, Vertical Access teamed with Robert Silman Associates, Anthony & Associates and Western Colorado Interpretive Association (et al.) to document representative sections of the Flume. Eight years later, VA technicians returned to the Flume to begin a new phase of work.
A 1/8 scale model of the Hanging Flume, built by Vertical Access.
Keith Luscinski and Donn Hewes were on site February 10-12 to gather more information on one particular “hanging” section, that is, a section that was built on the side of the cliff. Taking dimensions and recording deterioration, the two technicians gathered information to prepare for reconstruction of the 50-foot long section that is slated to take place in April. The building process will not only help answer questions about the original construction techniques, but also provide residents and visitors of the area with a representation of the original structure.
Vertical Access will be working with other members of the project team over the next two months to acquire the necessary timbers and arrange construction logistics. As part of the preparation process, VA has constructed a 1/8-scale model of two sections of the Hanging Flume. The model has already proved valuable by providing insight into the assembly process. Stay tuned for updates on the final product in April!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu6Bnr91THM]
Update: New Jersey Considering Facade Legislation
In May 2011, we reported that the New Jersey Legislature was considering a statewide facade inspection program, bills S-2771/A-3895. The bills passed the Legislature last December, but were recently vetoed by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. One reason cited by opponents of the legislation is that it would have given jurisdiction for the facade inspections to multiple local enforcement bodies. Opponents also argued that the state-wide ordinance would have duplicated facade inspection requirements that are already in place in New Jersey. Although the latter argument may be true for some building types, such as hotels and rental apartments, other types of high-rise buildings would have been brought into the periodic inspection process. In addition, the current New Jersey Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Act simply states that these properties must be inspected every five years, but does not specify the level of inspection. The proposed facade inspection program, which was based on Philadelphia’s 2010 facade ordinance, would have strengthened, clarified and standardized facade inspections in the state.
Spanish Newspaper, El País, Highlights Vertical Access Team Member In Action
Berta de Miguel Alcalá, architect and SPRAT certified rope technician.
Berta de Miguel Alcalá, architect and rope technician who works out of Vertical Access’ New York City office was highlighted in an article published on January 15th in El País, the popular daily national newspaper in Spain. The article is about Spanish professionals living and working in the United States. The photograph of Berta shows her on an inspection project working at-height on a building in Philadelphia. In the printed edition of the paper, the photo runs full page! Read the article here. It is in written in Spanish, but you can use the language selection feature found in most browsers to translate into English.
Highlights from 2012 SPRAT Annual Conference in Golden, CO
Mike Gilbert and Keith Luscinski traveled to Golden, Colorado this month to attend the 2012 conference for the Society of Professional Rope Access Technicians (SPRAT). SPRAT is an organization comprised of individuals, companies, and agencies that have a stake in the safe development of rope access standards and practices. Although SPRAT is based in the United States, its scope is international. Currently, SPRAT members hail from the USA, Canada, Mexico, South America, and Europe. The membership includes individual practitioners, companies that provide rope access services, training or equipment, and government agencies.
Mike Gilbert, Level 3 SPRAT certified. Location: Jefferson Market Library, New York City. Photo by Ken Kobland.
SPRAT supports rope access practitioners with certification programs, regulatory support, networking, and opportunities to participate in developing industry-consensus standards. The key elements of the conference took place on Thursday and Friday, January 12 and 13.
Keith Luscinski, Level 3 SPRAT Certified. Location: Arthur Ravenel Bridge, Charleston, SC. Photo by Vertical Access.
On Thursday afternoon, a meeting was held by the Standards Committee, which comprises all SPRAT members. The Standards Committee oversees the key subcommittees that maintain and promulgate the current SPRAT standards and formulate new standards. SPRAT has recently been seeing growth in new countries and industries, which was certainly evidenced by the committee’s attendance. Members were present from the USA, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, and Turkey, as well as from the window cleaning, chimney repair and telecommunication sectors. Vertical Access, however, was one of only a few firms representing the East Coast.
An interesting new development by the Standards Committee is the introduction of a rope access company audit program. This effort is the purview of the Company Audit Subcommittee. Keith attended the subcommittee meeting Thursday afternoon.
Intended to be a voluntary process, the audit would add distinction to businesses that are fully SPRAT compliant. Currently, SPRAT certifies individual technicians but has no process for evaluations at the employer level. This year will likely see a handful of trial runs of the audit program, with a full implementation of the program within the next few years. Vertical Access is interested in this program, and will likely participate in the “beta testing”.
Friday was primarily given over to presentations by the SPRAT membership and interested outside parties and without a doubt, the hottest topic at the conference was Petzl’s presentation of its recent statement regarding the Shunt backup device. Used by the majority of industrial rope access technicians in the United States, the Shunt has been an inexpensive, lightweight and user-friendly fall-protection/backup device for over fifteen years.
Petzl’s recent statement addresses the hazard of an uncontrolled descent should the user either fail to let go of the Shunt or grab the Shunt in the event of a fall or working line failure. While this hazard has been acknowledged by Petzl and rope access practitioners for years, recent testing suggested the previous policy of allowing the Shunt to be used by trained technicians does not adequately mitigate the hazard.
The Petzl Shunt
The conclusion is that in spite of our best intentions, we cannot train panic. As part of the statement, Petzl advises against the use of the device for industrial rope access applications. Many industrial rope access companies are now searching for other backup devices that are “panic proof,” meaning that they will arrest a fall even if grabbed by the user.
While every occupation has its hazards, historical data shows an exceedingly low rate of major injuries to industrial rope access technicians. See statistics gathered by the Industrial Rope Access Trade Association.
SPRAT is reviewing its evaluation criteria in light of the previously ubiquitous use of the Shunt device. Vertical Access will begin using an alternative device, while we all await the development of the ideal backup device. Attention all inventors…..