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SIZE DOES MATTER!! CHALLENGES TO SOLUTIONS Intro: With the sheer size of 43’ tall letters, 90’ logos, on a monumental stadium, a number of challenges would need to be addressed and conquered for a successful project. Working closely with stadiums team of Operations, Engineers, and Architects was essential in Facilities Solutions Group’s (FSG), Austin Texas Sign Division, approach to Size, Time, Environment, and Weather. It’s 10-week venture into one of the Worlds most Iconic sports venue, AT&T Stadium, FSG held up to the challenges of Jerry Jones, Charlotte Anderson, AT&T, and Jeff Stroud. Pretty much as heavy as it gets. FSG produced over 200 drawings and documents, launching us into a Sign Man’s dream job. “Gentlemen, we are going to make some real big Signs,” said Jerry Jones. ---

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SIZE DOES MATTER!!

CHALLENGES TO SOLUTIONS

Intro:With the sheer size of 43’ tall letters, 90’ logos, on a monumental stadium, a number of challenges would need to be addressed and conquered for a successful project. Working closely with stadiums team of Operations, Engineers, and Architects was essential in Facilities Solutions Group’s (FSG), Austin Texas Sign Division, approach to Size, Time, Environment, and Weather. It’s 10-week venture into one of the Worlds most Iconic sports venue, AT&T Stadium, FSG held up to the challenges of Jerry Jones, Charlotte Anderson, AT&T, and Jeff Stroud. Pretty much as heavy as it gets. FSG produced over 200 drawings and documents, launching us into a Sign Man’s dream job.

“Gentlemen, we are going to make some real big Signs,” said Jerry Jones.

---Challenge: Time, and Space.Facing immediate constraints regarding materials, fabrication processes, and installation schedules, jammed up all the gantt charts. Finding space for the coffee pot was difficult since sleep was rare. 49,310 square feet of roof sign fabrication in a 50,000 sq. foot facility yielded the term “High Property Value”. The shear quantity of simple materials, extrusions, ACM (aluminum composites), LED’s, also gave extra challenges to our vendors. Ten weeks from End Zone to End Zone put us into Overtime at the beginning.

SIZE DOES MATTER!!

Solution: Extremely fast turn times needing procurement within 72 hours. Taking a couple days sabbatical with a team is simple. The harder challenge is knowing the country cant supply your demands. Pull

out the Dies, challenge the factories, and get the boats on the sea. With 3 days into it, fabrication started on day 4. Letter design also included storage position within the plant. We gave logistics for each part every day for eight weeks. Receiving materials over the next few weeks, tasked us to space efficiencies. Our playing field used the sidelines and then some. Old school building letter on top of letter on top of letter helped buy that space in receiving the waves of material. Letters were broken down in most cases, sections no wider than 16’ by 43’. Our (56) wide load trucks for the letters clogged the 200-mile stretch to Arlington from Austin. Every day for a month, two trucks headed to a fenced area two blocks from their final destination. Acquiring 30 plus trailers for the letter storage was vital for the install mobilization.

SIZE DOES MATTER!!

“End of the First Quarter” ---

Challenge: Eliminating Weather Conditions during that Game Time Blimp Shot.Customers request was “No mater how much snow and ice, we need to display our sponsor”. Weather issues were magnified due to the angles we were facing. Climate control of illuminated 90’ logo sections, contouring to the stadium shape, and requiring a max of 7” depth, was true meaning of Oxymoron. The channel letter faces having 70% ACM cladding and 30% acrylic face presented heating of dissimilar materials challenging.

Solution: FSG shined at the forefront of combining climate control technologies. Couple miles of Heat Trace wiring installed on the second surface of the ACM fascia for 43’ letters was the ticket. An additional series of designed foot mount heaters were strategically placed to circulate air throughout heating the air beneath the

acrylic. Fill these big bad boys 9’ of insulation (R-19), and it’s easy to maintain 33 degrees. The 90’ dia., 7” deep, contoured flex face logo cabinets use the stadium air for its climate control.

SIZE DOES MATTER!!

A pair of designed 1hp 16”fan motors recessed in a custom air displacement housing, at one end of each element. Then return vents directed back into the dome at the other end, maintains wonderful cross flow ventilation. The stadium air handlers were re-directed to our vent system so controlling temperature is a breeze. Summer months rushing cool air across the LED’s has great advantages!

“End of the Second Quarter”---Challenge: Design Engineering of Large-Scale mounting 43’ front and back lit letters.The movement of the stadium structure (shape) presented itself from the beginning.While surveying intersecting truss points our first day, things were growing as the sun broke past lunch. With advanced equipment, we were only able to locate general mount locations. Later revealed thru engineering, 1” in a 43’ lateral distance was to be expected. Traditional mounting match plates, pipe sleeves, slotted bolt points, were quickly scratched. Letter weights over 5000 lbs., various curves, angles, and shear wind pressure, all combined with the thermal dance, life of a letter was becoming very interesting. Rigid points would collapse letters or even the stadium.

Solution: FSG successfully created letters that virtually are “floating on the roof.” Mounting a large piece of equipment was the direction Dan Tessier , FSG’s Division Manager, investigated. Motion control revealed tickets to the end game. Cable isolator mounting plates were designed and engineered for all 116 mount locations. Take ½” stainless steel cable wound up eight times in a 5 “ diameter then plate clamp together 180 degrees apart. Different diameters

and spacing’s yield different strengths. Every engineering question became simple at this point.

“End of the Third Quarter” ---Challenge: The Install Environment.

SIZE DOES MATTER!!

Throughout this project, FSG would climb a number of mountains in the many environmental challenges that made AT&T Stadium. Installation equipment that can handle those challenges, pure logistics of qualified manpower, methods, and alignment of letters. A good 450’ of reach with a 5000-pound letter on angles has a fear factor that measures differently on who you ask. Coordinating steel locations and seeing a concrete effort come together. Knowing that mounting points can’t be drilled prior to that install time, forced us to creating a install method.

SOLUTION: From Monster Cranes to Living in the Sky In order to deal with size in all project stages, FSG utilized every option in a no holds barred approach with lifts on a 600-ton mobile crane by Davis Crane. The first day

of install was the “Perfect Man Day” Dan said. “When I saw a 250,000 pound crane drive into the parking lot followed by 14 semi truck loads of crane parts, my breath was short. At the same time, a Helicopter was

lifting steel to the roof, taking what breath I had left.” The crane settled in one

place for each set. 385’ of copy set back 300’ was easily obtained by the beast.

“Wow! Just had to screem, What a Man DAY!”

It took 20 men a full day just to assemble the monster. Its Jib was 285’ long, just 15 yards short of the end zone. The helicopter blazing away with 20 loads of 6” steel tube in a hour.

Alignment on a curved roof with moving mount points was challenging. We purchased a high end Drone with a GoPro. Drilling mount points on one plate of the letters and marking general locations on the rest, gave us a start point. FSG’s Project Manager, Adam Armentor, set up drone operations, and our Field Manager, Mike Stephens, flew up with each letter. Mikes flight goggles were able to give us live action. Here is where Old School

layout was being taught by Dan came in handy. Mikes intel was relayed to the roof install crew to rotate letter alignment.

SIZE DOES MATTER!!

The install crew had to be trained in repelling, repelling rescue,

rigging certification, OSHA 10 hour, crane safety, hold a journeymen sign license, have an attitude of an Iron Worker, and some sense of detail. FSG had an overwhelming supply of FSG employee’s that met most of the criteria. We deployed from Fort Worth, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio FSG branches.

On Time, On budget…Touchdown!

“End of Forth Quarter. Game Won!”

Dan Tessier, Division Manager, FSG Signs Austin, Texas