A Look at Our Hoisting Work on the Hay Adams Hotel

Scaffold Resource has a long history of providing scaffolding, shoring, and hoists to high profile projects in the Washington, D.C. area and around the country. The iconic Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington, D.C. is one place that relied on our services as part of a major project to add a vertical addition to the building. We assisted with a personnel and material hoist that was used above an active alleyway, which presented multiple challenges that we helped the team overcome.

The hoist had to service the roof and scaffolding for a two-story addition to the building while allowing a high-traffic loading dock to be used safely over the alleyway, which was in use for the duration of the project. There was a complex back structure required, and a scaffold had to be built between the hoist and the building that accommodated the existing architectural features.

Scaffold Resource helped this project and many others reach safe and efficient conclusions with our hoist and scaffolding services. Talk to our team about your needs for scaffold rentals in Washington, D.C. by calling (301) 924-7223.

The Building of the New Cooper River Bridge

The Arthur Ravenel Bridge, also sometimes called the new Cooper River Bridge, is an engineering marvel. The cable-stay bridge is the third longest such bridge in the Western hemisphere. The building process was dangerous and required careful safety management and large scaffolding systems.

Watch this video to learn more about the building of the new bridge. The structure is eight lanes across and connects Charleston and Mount Pleasant in South Carolina. It is part of Highway 17, which is a major north-south thoroughfare along the Southeastern seaboard.

Scaffold Resource knows the demands of complex projects such as these and provides secure scaffolding and project management assistance. For more information about our scaffolds in Washington, D.C., call (301) 924-7223.

How Fatigue Can Affect Job Site Safety

On building sites of all sizes, fatigue is a common factor in many accidents and injuries. It is essential for all workers on a site to be well rested and to not be impacted by fatigue, no matter what their role in the project. At Scaffold Resource, we offer engineering and project management consultancy services, and safety is at the forefront of what we do. Could fatigue be compromising the safety of your job site? Here is a closer look at some of the risks associated with fatigue and what you can do about it.

How does fatigue cause workplace safety issues?

According to the National Safety Council, driving while fatigued is as dangerous as driving while impaired. Someone who loses two hours of sleep has similar symptoms as someone who has had three beers. On the job site, your workers need the same kind of attentiveness that they do to drive safely, and fatigue stands in the way of that. You wouldn’t let workers perform any tasks on your project if they were intoxicated. However, allowing them to do so while they are fatigued can have similar outcomes caused by slow reaction times, poor decision making, and lack of attention to detail.

What are some symptoms of workplace fatigue?

There are safety devices that can be installed in construction equipment that will alert the operator of fatigue symptoms. In most cases, though, it’s up to the people working on the site to be vigilant about potential signs of fatigue, like difficulty concentrating, dizziness, headaches, and slow response times.

How can the risk of fatigue-related incidents be reduced?

On construction sites, creating a culture that puts safety first is essential. This includes a culture in which workers are encouraged to self-report when they feel too fatigued to function safely in their roles and in which workers are not pushed to work overtime hours in order to complete a project. Setting realistic project timelines will also help.

Do you have a project in need of engineering or management advice? Scaffold Resource can assist through all of the stages of your project, as well as provide shoring and scaffolding rentals in Washington, D.C. To learn more, call us at (301) 924-7223.

An Overview of Historic Restoration Standards

Historic restoration projects are challenging to complete. Ensuring that a structure adheres to the design standards of a specific time period without features that are not historically accurate requires careful planning and building techniques. It also requires using equipment, such as shoring or scaffolding, that won’t harm the property. There are specific standards to which anyone undertaking a historical restoration must adhere, regardless of the time period or use of the structure. Here are the standards that must be followed on all historical restorations.

Features that are added must be established as historically accurate.

During restoration projects, it is acceptable to add certain features that are missing from the property. However, designers must provide physical proof or other kinds of documentation to show that the features are accurate not just to the time period but also to the property itself. Designers cannot combine two partial elements into a new design feature that was not a present at the historical site. Features from one historical property from the period in question cannot be used in another restoration project, even if the time period is accurate.

No treatments can be used that would damage the historical site.

Often, part of restoration means cleaning up the features of the site so that they look their best. However, it is important to avoid any chemical or physical cleaning process that could potentially cause harm to any part of the property. It is the responsibility of the construction team to ensure the gentlest process is used in each instance.

Historically accurate materials cannot be removed from the site.

Historical restoration does not allow any materials to be removed from the property or features constructed during the time period to be changed. If features were added to the property later that were not available during the historical period, those can be removed.

Scaffold Resource understands the special requirements for historical restoration and has provided shoring and scaffolding for a wide range of these types of products. For more information about shoring systems or scaffolding rentals in Washington, D.C., call (301) 924-7223.