Cleanroom Demolition Project

Interior demolition projects pose challenges of all kinds, some much more challenging than others. The challenge on one particular R. Baker & Son project was to perform extensive interior demolition in a space adjacent to multiple class-100 cleanrooms. The facility owners required that there could be no interruption to facility operation, which ran twenty-four hours a day, and that demolition activities would have no negative impact on the clean spaces.

To ensure that no dust or particulates would infiltrate the cleanrooms, R. Baker & Son’s team of demolition experts devised an ingenious vacuum airlock. A 35 ft. wide by 16 ft. high by 18-inch wide cavity was constructed from aluminum studs and drywall. The interior of the airlock was sealed with wall panels specially designed for clean rooms, and several ¾-inch holes were bored into both sides of the cavity to draw air in. Three HEPA exhaust fans were installed on the dirty side, drawing 1,500 CFM into the sealed cavity to create a vacuum. Differential pressure gauges installed on both sides of the void showed a constant negative pressure of a half inch, effectively preventing particulates from migrating from the work area to the clean spaces. The owner was fully satisfied with R. Baker & Son’s resourceful solution, and cleanrooms remained contaminant-free through the duration of the demolition project.

About R. Baker & Son All Industrial Services

R. Baker & Son All Industrial Services, a  Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB)  in business since 1935, is a premier specialized contractor operating in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, with over one hundred employees and an exemplary safety record (we have been directly involved in four sites that received VPP OSHA Safety Awards). R. Baker & Son is financially strong, with bonding capabilities over $10 million. Capabilities include industrial and commercial demolition, rigging, machinery- and plant-moving, dismantling, decommissioning, plant and equipment relocation, interior demolition, selective demolition, warehousing, wrecking and razing, millwright, plant reconfigurations, heavy rigging, salvage, environmental services, remediation, decontamination, abatement, and investment and asset recovery.

R. Baker & Son - All Industrial Services
190 Boundary Road
Marlboro, NJ 07746
732-222-3553
http://www.rbaker.com

Construction Machinery at NJ's Diggerland

Rigging and demolition is a serious business. Crane and heavy equipment operators, like those here at R. Baker & Son, are highly-trained, experienced specialists tasked with using powerful machines to perform challenging and potentially dangerous feats. It is a serious job, indeed, but even the most consummate rigging and demolition professionals still feel a certain thrill when piloting their massive machinery. They are living out their childhood fantasy.

Nowadays, kids don’t have to wait until adulthood to experience their construction and demolition dreams. At Diggerland USA, a hands-on construction themed adventure park located in West Berlin, New Jersey, kids and adults alike can drive, ride, and operate actual heavy machinery. Though there are no cranes for rigging enthusiasts, visitors can drive backhoes, skid steers, and steam rollers, take an off-road drive in an ARGO amphibious UTV, or dig a hole with an excavator. Mini-excavator attractions challenge riders to snatch rubber ducks from a pond, dig up hidden treasures, and knock over bowling pins. Diggerland has even converted heavy equipment into amusement rides, some meandering and gently turning in circles, others spinning and soaring for the less faint-of-heart. Diggerland also features a rock wall, a ropes course, a stunt show, an arcade, and a padded playground for tykes.

For the 18-and-over crowd, Diggerland recently unveiled Diggerland XL, where adults can operate unrestricted, full-size equipment with 1-on-1 instruction. Grownups can play a giant game of Jenga with a 12-ton wheel loader, dig holes and play basketball with a 26-ton excavator, and navigate an obstacle course that requires moving tires and grading earth with an 18-ton dozer.

Diggerland is situated in southwest New Jersey in West Berlin, a twenty minute drive from Philadelphia and about an hour and a half from New York. An R. Baker & Son demolition team member and his wife visited Diggerland recently with their three children and described their experience as “an absolute blast” that was well worth the trip.  www.diggerlandusa.com

R. Baker & Son - All Industrial Services
1 Globe Court
Red Bank, NJ 07701
732-222-3553
www.rbaker.com

The Demolition Environment

Having the proper lighting and ventilation throughout a demolition project is important to ensure safe conditions for workers and site personnel. Though often overlooked by other demolition contractors, R. Baker & Son develops and implements lighting and ventilation plans on every project we do.

Low lighting levels can a pose a significant hazard on a demolition project and can be directly connect with increased injury. Years ago, worksite lighting typically consisted of 100W incandescent lightbulbs spaced forty to fifty feet apart on stringers, and bulbs that burned out often went unchanged. Nowadays, a demolition contractor should provide sufficient lighting with high-output mercury vapor, LED, or quartz lighting with protective cages. Lighting should be at least 3W per square foot, though some areas may require more. Shafts, pits, and other dark pockets require their own lighting, rather than depending on general area lighting to illuminate them. Demolition lighting requires constant vigilance in that lighting and lighting circuits must be relocated as work progresses to keep lighting levels sufficient and fixtures in good working order for the duration of the project.

Dirt, dust, and other particulates are an inherent part of every demolition project. Ventilation can be handled either by using the existing HVAC system, or by bringing in temporary ventilation in the form of sufficiently-sized exhaust fans. Like lighting, ventilation requires constant attention to ensure that filters are clean and equipment is running and performing properly. There should be several air changes per hour at minimum, which can be determined easily by calculating the total volume of the space, but more may be required depending on the task at hand. In demolition areas adjacent to clean spaces, a flow indicator or magnehelic gauge should be used to ensure that dust does not escape.

R. Baker & Son - All Industrial Services
1 Globe Court
Red Bank, NJ 07701
http://www.rbaker.com

Rigging Services

Family-owned and operated- R. Baker & Son began providing rigging services in the New York and New Jersey area in 1935. Now an award-winning industry leader, we perform rigging and dismantling projects, as well as demolition, decommissioning, relocation, ad environmental services, throughout the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, and Europe.

R. Baker & Son employs an expert team of certified crane operators, master riggers, millwrights, and rigging professionals, and we are equipped to perform industrial and commercial rigging projects both large and small, and of the highest level of complexity. Services include rigging of heavy equipment and machinery, rigging of pharmaceutical and manufacturing equipment, and rigging and dismantling process lines and equipment, match-marking, millwright services, asset recovery, and more. With more than 80 years in the industry, we possess the vast experience, and expertise our clients require while maintaining the highest standards of safety, quality, and personal care our clients expect. R. Baker & Son maintains liability insurance of $10 million and $5 million in pollution insurance, as well as completed operations per occurrence coverage, and we have a bonding capacity of $5 million per project.

About R. Baker & Son All Industrial Services

R. Baker & Son All Industrial Services, a  Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB)  in business since 1935, is a premier specialized contractor operating in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, with over one hundred employees and an exemplary safety record (we have been directly involved in four sites that received VPP OSHA Safety Awards). R. Baker & Son is financially strong, with bonding capabilities over $10 million. Capabilities include industrial and commercial demolition, rigging, machinery and plant-moving, dismantling, decommissioning, plant and equipment relocation, interior demolition, selective demolition, warehousing, wrecking and razing, millwright, plant reconfigurations, heavy rigging, salvage, environmental services, remediation, decontamination, abatement, and investment and asset recovery.


R. Baker & Son - All Industrial Services
1 Globe Court
Red Bank, NJ 07701
732-222-3553
http://www.rbaker.com

Demolition and Lead-Based Paint: Safe Practices for Cutting Steel

The presence of lead-based paint is a given when it comes to buildings constructed before 1978, when it was first banned in residential and public buildings, and lead paint is often present in structures built after the ban took effect. Demolition of a building where lead paint may be present requires a contractor to identify all surfaces and follow strict abatement requirements. This includes a written lead compliance program, frequent testing, use of equipment to minimize lead dust and fumes, and supplying workers with the required protective equipment.

When lead paint is present on metal surfaces, such as structural steel beams, staircases, columns, and railings, use of hydraulic shears is always preferable to torch cutting to avoid producing heat-generated lead fumes. In interior demolition and selective demolition of enclosed spaces, however, use of hydraulic tools might not be possible, and torches must be used.  In such cases, the demolition contractor must identify and mark where all cuts will occur and lead paint must be stripped back at least four inches in all directions from where heat will be applied (R. Baker & Son’s routine practice is to strip lead paint at least twelve inches from the cut point). Methods can include chemical stripping and power tools with vacuum attachments, and workers performing this work must be equipped with required PPE, including in-line respirators.

About R. Baker & Son All Industrial Services

R. Baker & Son All Industrial Services, a  Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB)  in business since 1935, is a premier specialized contractor operating in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, with over one hundred employees and an exemplary safety record (we have been directly involved in four sites that received VPP OSHA Safety Awards). R. Baker & Son is financially strong, with bonding capabilities over $10 million. Capabilities include industrial and commercial demolition, rigging, machinery- and plant-moving, dismantling, decommissioning, plant and equipment relocation, interior demolition, selective demolition, warehousing, wrecking and razing, millwright, plant reconfigurations, heavy rigging, salvage, environmental services, remediation, decontamination, abatement, and investment and asset recovery.

R. Baker & Son - All Industrial Services
1 Globe Court
Red Bank, NJ 07701
732-222-3553
http://www.rbaker.com

Fall Protection

May 2-6, 2016 is National Stand Down for Fall Prevention, OSHA’s outreach campaign to raise awareness about fall hazards in construction. Falls from elevation is a leading cause of death in the construction industry, with 337 fatalities reported in 2014, but these deaths were preventable. Employers are encouraged to conduct toolbox talks, safety equipment inspections, develop rescue plans, and discuss job-specific hazards. Stand-Down reached more than 2.5 million workers in 2015, and this year OSHA hopes to reach 5 million, more than half of the construction workers in the U.S.

Fall hazards are inherent in rigging, demolition, and dismantling. Workers are regularly exposed to dangerous heights while working on roofs, aerial lifts, and floors where no walls exist. Conditions constantly change as projects proceed, so jobsites must be continually assessed and safeguarded against fall hazards. In addition to administrative and engineering controls such as signs, barricades, and guard rails, all riggers and demolition team members working at elevations over 6 feet must be equipped with appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) at all times, and a fall protection plan should be in place.

Fall Protection PPE Requirements

It is important to inspect fall protection PPE for before each use. Belts, harnesses and lanyards that have frayed edges, broken fibers, pulled stitches, cuts or chemical damage should be replaced according to guidelines. Check buckles, grommets, rivets, and other hardware for looseness, distortion, cracks, dents, bends, rust, and sharp edges, and repair or replace immediately as required.

Harnesses should be properly fitted to each individual following manufacturer instructions, and should be readjusted as needed. Choose the appropriate lanyard for the application, and make sure they comply with ANSI standards. Shock-absorbing lanyards, which elongate to slow a falling worker to a stop to minimize impact force, and retractable lanyards, which lock up during acceleration to arrest a fall, are the most common types. Retractable lanyards should never be attached to an additional lanyard, and overhead anchors should always be used. Lanyards should never be wrapped around a structure or over railings.

It is imperative to ensure good anchorage. Snaphook gate strengths are stamped on the gate, and snaphooks and carabiners should be attached to compatible connection points, with no part of the gate in contact with any metal. OSHA and ANSI require fall-arrest anchor points to support a 5,000 lb. force load, and fall restraint anchorages should support 1,000 lbs., or twice the expected load.

Clearance and capacity should be calculated to ensure that freefall is limited to 6 ft. or less, taking into account deceleration distance, harness movement, and anchor-point stretch. Capacity calculation should include the weight of the worker’s clothing and tools. Swing risks should be minimized with overhead anchors and limit offset to 30 degrees or less.

Finally, fall protection plans should incorporate a rescue plan in the event a worker wearing a harness falls. Even when PPE works as expected, suspension trauma, also known as harness hang syndrome can set in quickly if a fallen worker is suspended for an extended length of time.

R. Baker & Son places the health, safety, and welfare of our employees and clients as our top priority. All rigging and demolition team members, are continually trained in all aspects of jobsite safety, including working at elevation and fall protection. We are a frequent OSHA VPP Star participant and maintain an ISNetworld A-rating.

R. Baker & Son - All Industrial Services
1 Globe Court
Red Bank, NJ 07701
732-222-3553
http://www.rbaker.com

Rigging a Piece of American History

April 27, 2016 R. Baker & Son performed the offloading, rigging and hoisting of a Northrop T-38n Talon Supersonic Jet onto the flight deck of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.

The striking white jet was a significant tool in training astronauts to react quickly and precisely in varying situations; these meticulous mental experiences were critical practice for the rigors of spaceflight. This particular jet was used as a flight-test chase plane during the crucial approach and landing tests carried out in 1977 by the space shuttle Enterprise, currently on display in the Space Shuttle Pavilion.

Baker performed the task with OSHA (trade specific) trained and certified employees, while making sure all equipment and materials received a thorough inspection before use for safety.  

The project required the use of a 45 Ton Tadano that was fitted with a 14ft. long Modulift Spreader Beam (MOD24) which was basketed with 2 approved slings that were geometrically engineered around and under the fuselage for a safe and level lift of the jet.

The jet was then safely placed on the aircraft carrier elevator, and then raised to the flight deck. Once on the flight deck level the T-38 was towed to its final destination.

R. Baker & Son was honored to be a part of preserving this unique piece of American history.

R. Baker & Son - All Industrial Services
1 Globe Court
Red Bank, NJ 07701
732-222-3553
http://www.rbaker.com