Cutting Goes Pop
Sawing and Drilling Professional Transforms Coca-Cola Bottling Distributing Center
(Photo courtesy of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company UNITED)
When arguably one of the biggest brand names on the planet needed to carry out extensive renovations to one of its bottling distributing centers, there was no room for imitators. A specialty contractor was required to complete over 16,000 linear feet of concrete flat sawing, create over 25 window openings up to 14 feet square and core drill over 100 holes 6 inches in diameter.
The Montgomery, Alabama location of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company UNITED has undergone a large remodeling of its existing warehouses for a new distributing center. The work involved, among other tasks, the creation of footer openings and plumbing trenches in the existing concrete slab and the cutting of window and door openings in precast walls. Raco General Contractors of Montgomery was responsible for the demolition portion of the work and contacted a known professional contractor to perform concrete sawing and drilling techniques.
CSDA member International Drilling & Sawing, Inc. (IDS), also of Montgomery, was awarded the contract. Terry Sanders was the project manager on the bottling distributing center job for IDS, Inc. “Due to the renovation being an existing building and associated structures, diamond cutting was specified. Our cutting methods would retain the structural integrity of the remaining walls and slabs, plus they would minimize the amount of dust and debris. Add to this the speed at which we could do the work, there really was no other alternative methods considered.”
Track-Mounted wall saws were used to create 5-foot-tall, 4-foot-wide window openings.
The first task involved the flat sawing of footer openings and plumbing trenches in the existing slab for a new mezzanine, as well as cutting areas of a roller-compacted concrete pavement outside the facility. Operators used a Core Cut 3700 flat saw from Diamond Products and an FS6600 electric flat saw from Husqvarna Construction Products to create smooth edges for the general
contractor to pour back against, when ready. Over the course of two weeks, 13,000 linear feet of cutting was completed to depths between 8 and 12 inches.
All window and dock door openings were made through 10-inch-thick precast
concrete walls.
Next, the cutting team set up wall sawing equipment for the creation of 10 dock door openings in 10-inch-thick precast concrete walls. The contract specified that some openings be 10 feet square and the others 14 feet square. IDS, Inc. planned to create each opening by cutting four smaller pieces to lift out individually. Operators began by core drilling two 6-inch-diameter pick holes through each of the marked sections with a Shibuya core drill supplied by Diteq Corporation. A 1600 Longyear track-mounted wall saw was then employed to make the necessary vertical and top horizontal cuts. All 10 top cuts were completed first, then the vertical ones. Steel shoring was applied to prevent the cut sections from tipping out prematurely. Before all four cuts were completed for each piece, rigging was run through the core-drilled holes so that the cut concrete section could be removed by crane. To complete each opening and leave a clean finish, IDS, Inc. used a Core Cut 8000 ride-on curb cutting saw from Diamond Products to make flush cuts along the bottom level with the slab.
The contractor made 28 window openings to help renovate the bottling facility.
Once cutting of the dock doors was complete, the contractor moved on to create 18 window openings measuring 5 feet wide and 4 feet tall in some of the same 10-inch-thick precast concrete walls. As per the dock door openings, a core drill was used to create pick holes through each of the marked locations before the same wall sawing techniques were applied for the top and vertical cuts. To avoid overcuts in the corners of the openings, IDS, Inc. employed a concrete chain saw from ICS and completed over 1,200 linear feet of cuts in the 10-inch-thick walls. During the cutting and removal of the dock door and window openings, the main focus was the safety of IDS, Inc. employees while working around large vertical cut sections and aerial lifts. All employees were fully trained and certified on the operation of the equipment, including the aerial lifts. This generated clear communication with the general contractor and the precision necessary to make the operation go smoothly. The cutting contractor performed daily walk-throughs of the work area before work began and completed Job Safety Analysis forms that were submitted to Raco.
IDS, Inc. spent over five months working at the Coca-Cola Bottling Company UNITED distributing center in Montgomery. The job was completed successfully on time, within budget and with no incidents. One issue complicating the job was the safe disposal of concrete slurry. IDS, Inc. employees had to transfer the collected slurry to the back of jobsite, which was a round trip of 20 minutes and added a lot of time to the work. There was also a delay for the installation of steel reinforcing members in the tilt wall panels where openings were cut. This presented a challenge, as the contractor had to avert from typical mounting methods used for its wall saw. With some careful and safe planning from lead operators Matt Jeffers and Mark Taylor, operators were able to overcome this challenge with innovative mounting solutions.
“The Coca-Cola bottling distributing center was a great project for IDS, Inc., since we had a previous relationship with Raco and the company’s superintendent, Rick Kelly. Communication and pre-planning was key for us, as this was not the only large project that we had going on at the time,” said Terry Sanders, project manager for IDS, Inc. “Our solid relationship with the general contractor, our previous experience with large jobs and the proximity of the facility to our office were all contributing factors to us being awarded this work. Raco did not choose us based on price, but on our reputation, quality of work and focus on site cleanup,” he added.
This CSDA member proved that when specialist concrete cutting techniques with diamond tools are required, customers need the real thing. There is no substitute for professional, certified operators that can perform detailed sawing and drilling methods to complete work to a high standard.
Company Profile
A CSDA member since 1996, International Drilling & Sawing, Inc. has been in business for 21 years. The company is based in Montgomery, Alabama and has support locations in Birmingham and Pensacola, Florida. IDS employs 28 operators, has 18 trucks and offers the concrete cutting services of slab sawing, wall sawing, hand sawing, wire sawing, core drilling, selective demolition and GPR imaging. IDS is a CSDA Certified Operator company.
Resources
General Contractor:
Raco General Contractors
Sawing and Drilling Contractor:
International Drilling & Sawing, Inc.
Montgomery, Alabama
Phone: 334-288-8322
Email: terry@idscuts.com
Website: www.idscuts.com
Methods Used: Flat Sawing, Core Drilling, Wire Sawing, Wall Sawing
