Newspaper Printing Facility
New York, New York
One of the nation’s largest newspapers was experiencing problems with their slab-on-pile warehouse. The warehouse depends on the assistance of Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV) to carry rolls of paper that weigh in excess of 4,000 pounds. The floor began to experience extreme reflective cracking due to the large loads. This cracking affects the performance of the AGVs and needed to be repaired to ensure the facility was operating at maximum efficiency. Additionally, heavy loads, repetitive pathing and sharp turn angles of the AGVs were causing extreme wear to the concrete as the wheels of the AGVs ground into the surface.
Initial inspections of the facility by Structural Preservation Systems (SPS) revealed that there was a construction defect – the rebar was placed too low in the slab to handle the large loads. This defect led to the reflective cracking. SPS was originally contacted to provide an estimate for repairing the original construction defect using conventional concrete repair techniques. Another company was working on conventional repairs in a different area of the warehouse and was over budget and had surpassed the estimated time of shutdown and repair. SPS’ suggested an innovative repair strategy involved using Tstrata TR (Tensile Reinforced Flooring System), which is a polymer resin flooring system that incorporates Hardwire® High Strength Steel Reinforcement and a high-wear UV stable, clearcoat finish. The incorporation of Hardwire allowed the floor to have adequate tensile strength and support. The AGV systems employed by the printing facility required a static dissipative flooring system which was easily incorporated into the durable Tstrata TR flooring system. Like all Tstrata Flooring Systems, the unique UV curing finishing system allows the floors to be immediately put back in service following installation.
By utilizing the Tstrata TR system, SPS was able to employ a progressive repair approach that required shutdown of the facility in sections for only a couple of days over weekend periods. Other methods would have required a lengthy shutdown and would have required removing the existing floor and rebar and replacing it. SPS was able to save the newspaper both time and money with this approach.
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