LED Upgrade with a Quad Access Whammy - APPA Business Partner Project
APPA and MAPPA member, Iowa State University (ISU) needed to change out 23 mercury vapor lights for high-bay LED lights. The challenge was that 21 of the lights were 68′ from the floor, which was 15″ below ground in an atrium. Access to the atrium floor was available via an indoor bridge crane with 10-ton capacity. Four of the lights in the atrium were more difficult to access because they were above a 40′ 3D simulator. Two additional lights were 50′ high and accessible only through a single 34.5” door opening on the ground level.
Possible solutions:
- Scaffolding, but the cost and disruption to the use of the building were not acceptable.
- Rent a lift that weighed less than 10-ton, could reach the lights in the atrium, be used indoors and fit through a single door opening of 34.5” wide.
The only lifts that fit these criteria would be an Atrium Lift. However, the lights over the 3D simulator required a lift with long jibs. After research was done, only one lift seemed to meet the need. A ReachMaster Falcon 95′ has a max reach of 95′ straight up with two 10′ jibs and 45′ horizontal reach with a weight of 4.5 ton.
ISU had worked with Innovative Reach on past projects with our Falcon 95′ lift. They requested a site visit to discuss the feasibility of using our lift for the project and found that the lift could meet their needs.
ISU wanted to use their current list of approved electrical contractors and liked the idea that Innovative Reach provided a ground operator with the Atrium Lift. Doing so minimized the lack of experience with Atrium Lifts by the electrical contractor. The complete job took eight days to replace 23 mercury vapor lights with 23 high bay LEDs, which included dimmable lights with light harvesting features.
Innovative Reach rents Atrium Lifts (Boom Lift, Manlift) which have unique technologies that fit through a standard 34″ door, can be used on commercial floor systems (100 lb/sqft) and reach heights up to 66′ or 95′ with a horizontal reach up to 30′ or 45′ respectively. This rental service includes commercial applications, provides an OSHA trained ground operator and serves the entire continental United States. Ask about our Extended Reach Program to find out how you can save up to two-thirds on transportation costs.
Author: Philip Koch is a member of APPA and the president of Innovative Reach, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He can be reached at (319) 900-5995.
Contact us now to find out which of our lifts is the best for your project!
Work High Over a College Basketball and Volleyball Court - APPA Business Partner Project
Creighton University, a member of APPA Central Region (CAPPA), needed to paint the 72’ high gable ends of the basketball and volleyball court in the Ryan Center, to give it a facelift. The challenge was to find a lift that could reach 72’ high, not cause any damage to a high performance college basketball and volleyball court, and could be used by three different trades and be efficient for workers that had not used high tech atrium lifts. Heavy loads on a basketball court could cause cracking of the highly polished basketball floor. Innovative Reach provides an atrium lift that can reach 95’ and be used on floors that have a 100 lbs/sq ft weight limit. Innovative Reach also provides a ground operator to assist the workers who are not familiar with atrium lifts.
Possible solutions:
- The Scaffolding option proved to be inefficient and costly due to prior scheduled events in the Ryan Center and would require extra take downs and set ups.
- Renting an atrium lift without a ground operator was a possibility but proved to be difficult to accomplish with three trades having a two-week learning curve to master its use and completing the job in a tight timeline.
- Selecting Innovative Reach, which provides an atrium lift with a ground operator and has the ability to reach 95’ that can work on sensitive floor surfaces was the best solution.
Since 2009, Innovative Reach’s services have been used in one of the university’s buildings to assist window cleaning because of the lift’s ability to go through a single door.
Innovative Reach was contracted by the general contractor and worked with the general contractor’s subcontractors.
The project was to give the facility an internal facelift to encourage school spirit and to make the school colors more visible. This project’s focus was to access and paint the 72’ gable ends of the court. The original color was light gray.
Total lift usage was about three weeks with the project taking longer.
Innovative Reach rents Atrium Lifts (Boom Lift, Manlift) which have unique technologies that fit through a standard 34″ door, can be used on commercial floor systems (100 lb/sqft) and reach heights up to 66′ or 95′ with a horizontal reach up to 30′ or 45′ respectively. This rental service includes commercial applications, provides an OSHA trained ground operator and serves the entire continental United States. Ask about our Extended Reach Program to find out how you can save up to two-thirds on transportation costs.
Author: Philip Koch is a member of APPA and the president of Innovative Reach, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He can be reached at (319) 900-5995.
Contact us now to find out which of our lifts is the best for your project!
Painting Over a Sunken Outdoor Court with Weight Limits - APPA Business Partner Project
Illinois State University, a Member of APPA Midwest Region (MAPPA), needed to paint over a 30′ high, 30′ wide, and 60′ long sunken outdoor court, landscaped with flowerbeds. Since the work surface was the building’s roof, the challenge was to find a lift that could reach out 30′, work over a handrail, and meet the roof’s weight limit.
Possible solutions:
- The Scaffolding option proved too costly, due to the volume of the space and flowerbeds.
- Renting an atrium lift without a ground operator was a possibility but this was going to be a short project and the learning curve for atrium lifts is about two weeks.
- Selecting Innovative Reach, which provides an atrium lift that can reach 30’ horizontally and be used on floors that have a 100 lbs/sq ft weight limit. Innovative Reach also provides a ground operator to assist the workers who are not familiar with atrium lifts.
The project was to finish painting an area that could not be reached through other economical means.
Total lift usage was about two days.
Innovative Reach is a business of APPA and rents Atrium Lifts (Boom Lift, Manlift) which have unique technologies that fit through a standard 34″ door, can be used on commercial floor systems (100 lb/sqft) and reach heights up to 66′ or 95′ with a horizontal reach up to 30′ or 45′ respectively. This rental service includes commercial applications, provides an OSHA trained ground operator and serves the entire continental United States. Innovative Reach also has access to atrium lifts that reach up to 138’. Ask about our Extended Reach Program to find out how you can save up to two-thirds on transportation costs.
Author: Philip Koch is a member of APPA and the president of Innovative Reach, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He can be reached at [email protected].
Contact us now to find out which of our lifts is the best for your project!
An Impossible Industrial Access Problem Solved Well
Received a call from Kerkstra Precast in Grandville, MI about an access problem.
Advanced Insulation Technology needed to do some spray foam insulation for Kerkstra Precast in one of their new buildings that was 12’ wide X 27’ long with a conveyor system that only left 7’ wide in portions of the space and access to the space was a 3’ wide entry door with handrail. They had two walls 60’ high X 12’ wide that need to be insulated. To my knowledge, I have the only rental lift that can setup in an 8.5’ space and go up 95’. The job was very challenging. I would have liked to assess the problem on-site; however, since the location was six hours away, we decided to work with pictures and diagrams. After further review of the problem, it still looked “iffy” but with the only other solution costing $35,000 to scaffold, we decided to try. So off we went to solve the problem.
Total lift usage was about one day.
Innovative Reach is a business of APPA and rents Atrium Lifts (Arial Lift, Boom Lift, Manlift) which have unique technologies that fit through a standard single door, can be used on commercial floor systems (100 lb/sqft) and reach heights up to 66′ or 95′ with a horizontal reach up to 30′ or 45′ respectively. This rental service includes commercial applications, provides an OSHA trained ground operator and serves the entire continental United States. Innovative Reach also has access to atrium lifts that reach up to 138’. Ask about our Extended Reach Program to find out how you can save up to two-thirds on transportation costs.
Author: Philip Koch is a member of APPA and the president of Innovative Reach, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He can be reached at [email protected]
