scaff old & access magazine

Solution to Access

a National Treasure

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

SOLUTION TO ACCESS

A NATIONAL TREASURE

By Joe Riccio

RARELY ARE WE PRESENTED WITH A PROJECT SO STEEPED IN HISTORY THAT WE NEED TO

LOOK TO THE PAST TO PUT INTO PERSPECTIVE OUR CURRENT

APPROACH TO A SOLUTION. THAT IS WHAT ZAMPELL DID TO

PROVIDE SCAFFOLD ACCESS FOR A $12 MILLION TO $15

MILLION RESTORATION OF THE USS CONSTITUTION AT THE CHARLESTOWN NAVY YARD.

30 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

ON THE COVER

USS Constitution, “Old Ironsides,” was � rst launched on October 21, 1797. It was � rst restored at its current location in Charlestown Navy Yard 100 years later in 1897 .

In March of 2014, a team from Zampell met with the Naval History and Heritage Command Detachment Boston (NHHC), the caretakers of the iconic frigate. The discussion centered on the previous dry dock experience from 1992-1995. Construction practices, including engineered scaffold systems have become safer and more ef� cient over the past 20 years, and a solution to the dif� cult task developed.

Working with engineers at Universal Manufacturing, a leading U.S. scaffold manufacturer based out-side Pittsburg Pennsylvania, Zampell designed and proposed a complete scaffold system to ensure access to every inch of the aged warship’s hull.

SCAFFOLD & ACCESS MAGAZINE 31

Dry dock and ship challengesThe challenge of design-

ing a scaffold solution while Constitution was still a�oat in Boston Harbor was overcome by utilizing ships drawings, dry dock sketches, and photographs past and present. Dry Dock 1, originally named Adams Dry Dock after President John Quincy Adams, opened in 1833 to host the Navy’s oldest warship for the �rst of several restorations throughout Constitution’s storied history.

Without the ability to take hard measurements of the dry dock, hull and ship supports, the Zampell design team had to anticipate how the ship would be positioned once water was drained from the dry dock. The �nal position-ing of strong backs and keel supports were critical to the scaffolds foundation design.

Once the vessel was in position and water drained, our engineers and senior scaf-fold builders spent two days measuring the �nal positioning of the strong backs and keel supports. This enabled a �nal base layout to be designed. We used plumb bobs to determine locations of scaffold posts to

ensure they missed critical parts of the ship. Spending a few days on site prior to the �nal design and bill of material being �nalized proved critical to the success of the project.

Logistics and material handling

More than 250,000 lbs. of system scaffold components and several bundles of wood planking were used to com-plete the work platforms built to access the entire hull of Constitution. At 180’ L x 50’ W x 45’ H with work plat-forms every 6’6” in height we created a safe work environ-ment for the Navy craftsmen to perform their work.

Through partnering with the NHHC, scaffold materials were expedited to the work site. No tractor trailers were utilized for the delivery of scaffold, opting instead for carefully planned smaller loads. All deliveries happened by 6 a.m. as the area around the dry dock and the adjacent National Park were still open to the public. Two cranes and Navy rig-gers were utilized in moving scaffold materials into the more than 30’ deep dry dock.

Adding to the dif�culty, was storing the large amount of scaffold equipment necessary to complete the work. Due to the limited space on site, the NHHC wanted all the scaffold in the dry dock. Additionally they requested access to the bow of the ship as soon as possible. Our engineers worked on �nal designs of the bow and bill of material that could be stored in the dry dock near the

bow of the ship. We were able to give NHHC access to the bow within the �rst two weeks of the project. All remaining equipment was stored in the dry dock at the rear of the ship. This posed a serious concern as 75 percent of the ship still needing scaffold was stored over 150’ away from the work areas. Zampell utilized, a 150’ long adjustable conveyor from one of our other business units. The material handling unit was then able to transport 80 percent of the scaffold used for the ship to the areas needed.

Anticipating obstaclesAttention to detail and a

thorough understanding of the overall project was important in designing a scaffold system to be effective throughout the 30-month project. The dif�cult shape/contour of hull, existing rigging, positioning of strong backs and other obstacles protruding from the historic vessel created unique situa-tions for the scaffold crew. The NHHC also did not allow any bracing of the scaffold off the ship and preferred to have any vertical posts two feet off the ship’s hull. Experienced

32 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

designed into the system at four locations around the ship allowed workers access to the ship, dry dock, and ground level wood shop. The poten-tial need to adjust the scaffold over time was not overlooked. The inherent nature of a long term project with varying scopes of work could present conditions impeding work to be performed. Throughout the scaffold installation, our design team was on hand to make adjustments in the design and to anticipate future changes. Constant communi-cation with the NHHC staff made it possible to anticipate changes and make modi� ca-tions to the design prior to � nal completion. The intent was to give the wood work-ing crew easy access to the areas in need of repair and to minimize future modi� cations.

The successful completion of scaffold installation took

approximately � ve weeks with work starting before the 2015 July 4th Holiday and completed at the begin-ning of August 2015. •

About the AuthorJoe Riccio is the Senior

Operations Manager at Zampell, a family owned business established in 1966. Zampell is an organization that is chie� y involved with the engineering and construc-tion of refractories, insulation, and scaffolding within the industrial sector and facilities maintenance and manage-ment within the commercial sector. Zampell has branch of� ces in Massachusetts (headquarters), Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas, and Oregon. Zampell also has a subsidiary, Zampell A/S, with locations in Jutland and Sjælland in Denmark.

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SCAFFOLD & ACCESS MAGAZINE 33