Tight Quarters
 click to enlarge Once completed, the Spinnaker Bay Condominiums exterior will be made of 800,000 bricks. |
September 1, 2004 - Baltimore, one of the country's first seaports, is a simmering melting pot of American history. At the heart of Maryland 's most populous city is the Inner Harbor , which housed the port facilities until the shipping business declined after World War II. Dilapidated buildings and abandoned warehouses took the place of the shipping hub until the mid-1970s, when the city's revitalization project took effect. Today, the Inner Harbor is home to retail and entertainment venues that bring in $625 million each year for the city.
Part of Baltimore 's renovation endeavor is bringing more homes to the Inner Harbor . One particular housing project underway is the President's Point Condominiums at Spinnaker Bay . This building, which overlooks the Inner Harbor and is located between Little Italy and Fells Point, is the new centerpiece in the East Harbor landscape. With 32 luxury condos, office space, and retail shops inside, the building's exterior features a cast concrete construction with distinctive brick architecture. Subcontractor Baltimore Masonry, Eldersburg , Md. , was brought on to complete the exterior portion of the building.
Downtown specialists
 click to enlarge Using 19 HEK mast climbers, Baltimore Masonry has 35 bricklayers and 30 laborers working to complete the exterior by October. |
Specializing in working downtown jobs with virtually no storage, Baltimore Masonry started working on the job in April and expects to complete its part of the project in October. With more than 800,000 bricks to install on the building, which varies from 12 to 18 stories at different places, the company has 35 bricklayers and 30 laborers working on the job. Because they have a short time to complete the brick laying and limited storage space, conventional scaffolding couldn't be used for the amount of time it takes to set up and the number of workers it takes to construct the scaffold. Instead, Baltimore Masonry is employing the use of 19 HEK mast climbing work platforms, manufactured by Intervect USA , Bridgeport , Conn. Models used on the project include one MS5000 and 18 MSM Super mast climbers.
The company started using mast climbers in 1995, and it now owns four. The other 15 machines came from Specialty Access, a rental subsidiary of Baltimore Masonry. According to Tom Ford, project manager for Baltimore Masonry, the company started using mast climbers for their productivity and safety advantages.
Safety and efficiency
 click to enlarge In addition to the mast climbers, two Sky Trak and Lull telehandlers and a Liebherr tower crane are used to construct the condominium.
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"Safety is our No. 1 concern," Ford said, "and these machines are more efficient." With scaffolding, Ford said, "You have a lot more problem areas - you do have some issues with planks being left out, and guardrails are not put up with scaffolding, so there's nothing to stop you from falling." In comparison, Ford said mast climbers offer a much safer way to work.
When it comes to efficiencies, the MSM Super dual-mast machines have an 8,800-pound platform capacity, so a good amount of tools and materials can be lifted on the platform to perform the days work. The platform measures 4'11" wide (8'2" with extension tubes) and up to 76 feet in length, so complete pallets of glass, paneling, or, in this case, bricks can be lifted to the required height. Ford said, "We only need two to three people during the set up and a forklift to lift the platform on the mast."
Another area where mast climbers provide efficiencies is ergonomic ease of operation. Materials and tools can be positioned so there is less bending down to pick up and less reaching up to place materials. According to Victor Marcantoni, Northeast regional construction sales manager, the cost savings is significant because you use 30 to 40 percent less labor, and employees are healthier because of the ergonomic advantage.
Since Baltimore Masonry started using mast climbers in 1995, the only repair made was on the first machine they bought where a motor needed to be rewound. "And we have some really brutal laborers," Ford said. Perhaps the only problem Baltimore Masonry will ever have is keeping the other contractors from using the mast climbers to finish their work too. For more information on HEK mast climbers, go to www.intervectusa.com .
