The Quarterly – January 2012

Read the January 2012 Quarterly Newsletter here. Subscribe to the blog and receive email updates automatically when news about what we’re doing is posted here throughout the year.

H&M Powerhouse in Jersey City Has a Much Needed Check Up

Yesterday, February 27, Mark Hinkel brought Geoff Smith of Robert Silman Associates and Evan Kopelson of Vertical Access to the top of one of the three remaining smokestacks at the former Hudson & Manhattan Railroad Powerhouse in Jersey City.  Mark owns a 200′ Bronto lift, one of the few in the country and the only one in the Northeast.  Fortunately, the lift was available for one day between long-term rentals, and the day happened to be sunny, 55 degrees with relatively calm winds.

Geoff Smith and Mark Hinkel looking down into one of the smokestacks

The up-close inspection of the three smokestacks was performed to assess the condition of the smokestacks, an iconic feature of the H&M Powerhouse.  The powerhouse was designed by John Oakman of Robins & Oakman and constructed between 1906 and 1908.  The building has been underused or vacant for most of its history.  The Jersey City Redevelopment Agency and Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy have been spearheading the effort to save the building and give it new life.  Leading the design team for the project is Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners.

More on the redevelopment of the H&M Powerhouse and the close-up inspection can be found on the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency’s news page:  Powerhouse Has a Much Needed Check Up | Jersey City Powerhouse Official Website.

Eight Years Later: A Return To The Hanging Flume

Vertical Access technician Donn Hewes surveying remaining elements of the Hanging Flume near historic Uravan, Colorado.

Driving along the San Miguel River near the historic town of Uravan in western Colorado, one has to study the cliffs to find remnants of a 10 mile long structure built 120 years ago.  Constructed by the Montrose Placer Mining Company between 1889 and 1891, the Hanging Flume ended its service life in 1903 and has since succumbed to weathering, rock fall and plundering by locals in need of timber.

With much of the structure long gone and few existing original documents and photographs, myriad mysteries surround the construction process.  Did the workers use a steam engine powered drill, or were the thousands of anchor holes in the sandstone drilled with only a hammer and chisel?  How were the frames weighing more than 300 pounds moved into place?  These and other questions have stirred up a “flume fever” in residents of neighboring communities.  It is known that at its completion, the Flume was a 10-mile long series of wooden and earthen troughs carrying 80 million gallons of water per day to gold mines.

In 2004, Vertical Access teamed with Robert Silman Associates, Anthony & Associates and Western Colorado Interpretive Association (et al.) to document representative sections of the Flume.  Eight years later, VA technicians returned to the Flume to begin a new phase of work.

A 1/8 scale model of the Hanging Flume, built by Vertical Access.

Keith Luscinski and Donn Hewes were on site February 10-12 to gather more information on one particular “hanging” section, that is, a section that was built on the side of the cliff.  Taking dimensions and recording deterioration, the two technicians gathered information to prepare for reconstruction of the 50-foot long section that is slated to take place in April.  The building process will not only help answer questions about the original construction techniques, but also provide residents and visitors of the area with a representation of the original structure.

Vertical Access will be working with other members of the project team over the next two months to acquire the necessary timbers and arrange construction logistics.  As part of the preparation process, VA has constructed a 1/8-scale model of two sections of the Hanging Flume.  The model has already proved valuable by providing insight into the assembly process.  Stay tuned for updates on the final product in April!

Update: New Jersey Considering Facade Legislation

In May 2011, we reported that the New Jersey Legislature was considering a statewide facade inspection program, bills S-2771/A-3895. The bills passed the Legislature last December, but were recently vetoed by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. One reason cited by opponents of the legislation is that it would have given jurisdiction for the facade inspections to multiple local enforcement bodies. Opponents also argued that the state-wide ordinance would have duplicated facade inspection requirements that are already in place in New Jersey. Although the latter argument may be true for some building types, such as hotels and rental apartments, other types of high-rise buildings would have been brought into the periodic inspection process. In addition, the current New Jersey Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Act simply states that these properties must be inspected every five years, but does not specify the level of inspection. The proposed facade inspection program, which was based on Philadelphia’s 2010 facade ordinance, would have strengthened, clarified and standardized facade inspections in the state.

Spanish Newspaper, El País, Highlights Vertical Access Team Member In Action

Berta de Miguel Alcalá, architect and SPRAT certified rope technician.

Berta de Miguel Alcalá, architect and rope technician who works out of  Vertical Access’ New York City office was highlighted in an article published on January 15th in El País, the popular daily national newspaper in Spain. The article is about Spanish professionals living and working in the United States. The photograph of Berta shows her on an inspection project working at-height on a building in Philadelphia. In the printed edition of the paper, the photo runs full page!  Read the article here. It is in written in Spanish, but you can use the language selection feature found in most browsers to translate into English.

Highlights from 2012 SPRAT Annual Conference in Golden, CO

Mike Gilbert and Keith Luscinski traveled to Golden, Colorado this month to attend the 2012 conference for the Society of Professional Rope Access Technicians (SPRAT). SPRAT is an organization comprised of individuals, companies, and agencies that have a stake in the safe development of rope access standards and practices. Although SPRAT is based in the United States, its scope is international. Currently, SPRAT members hail from the USA, Canada, Mexico, South America, and Europe. The membership includes individual practitioners, companies that provide rope access services, training or equipment, and government agencies.

Mike Gilbert, Level 3 SPRAT certified. Location: Jefferson Market Library, New York City. Photo by Ken Kobland.

SPRAT supports rope access practitioners with certification programs, regulatory support, networking, and opportunities to participate in developing industry-consensus standards. The key elements of the conference took place on Thursday and Friday, January 12 and 13.

Thursday morning Mike attended the Evaluations Committee meeting. One of the more important services SPRAT provides is third-party certification of rope access technicians. The certification process is performed by SPRAT evaluators. In 2010 SPRAT sought to increase the number of certified SPRAT evaluators to meet an increasing demand for SPRAT certification. The effort was successful, and the number of evaluators tripled during 2010 and 2011. This growth did not come easily though, and the Evaluations Committee and the Board of Directors have seen fit to improve the process of soliciting, vetting, training and certifying evaluator applicants and candidates. There is presently a moratorium on considering new evaluator applications while the committee and board develop the new process. SPRAT uses a consensus-based decision making process, and given the breadth of preferences expressed by the committee members and the current evaluators, there is hard work ahead for the committee.

Keith Luscinski, Level 3 SPRAT Certified. Location: Arthur Ravenel Bridge, Charleston, SC. Photo by Vertical Access.

On Thursday afternoon, a meeting was held by the Standards Committee, which comprises all SPRAT members. The Standards Committee oversees the key subcommittees that maintain and promulgate the current SPRAT standards and formulate new standards.  SPRAT has recently been seeing growth in new countries and industries, which was certainly evidenced by the committee’s attendance.  Members were present from the USA, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, and Turkey, as well as from the window cleaning, chimney repair and telecommunication sectors.  Vertical Access, however, was one of only a few firms representing the East Coast.

An interesting new development by the Standards Committee is the introduction of a rope access company audit program.  This effort is the purview of the Company Audit Subcommittee. Keith attended the subcommittee meeting Thursday afternoon.

Intended to be a voluntary process, the audit would add distinction to businesses that are fully SPRAT compliant.  Currently, SPRAT certifies individual technicians but has no process for evaluations at the employer level.  This year will likely see a handful of trial runs of the audit program, with a full implementation of the program within the next few years. Vertical Access is interested in this program, and will likely participate in the “beta testing”.

Also on Thursday afternoon, Mike attended the Safe Practices Document Subcommittee meeting. The SPRAT Safe Practices document is a compendium of best practices for establishing and implementing a Rope Access Program within a rope access company. It also provides the basis for the Certification Requirements document, which sets out the requirements and procedures for the certification of rope access technicians, and SPRAT evaluators. At the meeting Mike was chosen to serve as co-chairperson of the Safe Practices Document Subcommittee. Mike is currently a member of the Certification Requirements Subcommittee, so he will be able to serve as an informal liaison between the two groups.

Friday was primarily given over to presentations by the SPRAT membership and interested outside parties and without a doubt, the hottest topic at the conference was Petzl’s presentation of its recent statement regarding the Shunt backup device. Used by the majority of industrial rope access technicians in the United States, the Shunt has been an inexpensive, lightweight and user-friendly fall-protection/backup device for over fifteen years.

Petzl’s recent statement addresses the hazard of an uncontrolled descent should the user either fail to let go of the Shunt or grab the Shunt in the event of a fall or working line failure.  While this hazard has been acknowledged by Petzl and rope access practitioners for years, recent testing suggested the previous policy of allowing the Shunt to be used by trained technicians does not adequately mitigate the hazard.

The Petzl Shunt

The conclusion is that in spite of our best intentions, we cannot train panic. As part of the statement, Petzl advises against the use of the device for industrial rope access applications.  Many industrial rope access companies are now searching for other backup devices that are “panic proof,” meaning that they will arrest a fall even if grabbed by the user.

While every occupation has its hazards, historical data shows an exceedingly low rate of major injuries to industrial rope access technicians.  See statistics gathered by the Industrial Rope Access Trade Association.

SPRAT is reviewing its evaluation criteria in light of the previously ubiquitous use of the Shunt device. Vertical Access will begin using an alternative device, while we all await the development of the ideal backup device. Attention all inventors…..

Webinar : New! Web-based Conditions Data Project Reports with TPAS

Date: January 23, 2012
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 EST

Join us for a demonstration of the new web-based reporting feature of TPAS – the tablet PC annotation system that let you enter data directly in AutoCAD drawings in the field.

Web-based TPAS reports allow you to interactively search, view and format your field-captured data and photographs within an internet browser. You will be able to create, edit and print reports from the browser without opening AutoCAD. The new TPAS report portal will summarize and aggregate data to allow all project stake holders to communicate more efficiently about site observations. Once the data is brought into the portal you can create printable web and pdf reports to easily share information with others. Ultimately, this will reduce the time and resources your project team spends on reporting tasks for complex, data-driven projects.

Applications are as limitless as the reporting needs for your architecture, engineering or construction project, ranging from ASI and RFI reports to memos documenting hazardous condition or high priority items.

Register for our free webinar to see how TPAS can work for you with this live demo and Q+A forum.

After registering you will receive a confirmation email with information about how to login to the webinar. Hope you are able to make it!

Read more about TPAS

ANSI Z359 November 2011 meeting

Eighty fall protection professionals representing the fall protection industry throughout the US and Canada gathered in Boulder, Colorado over three days in November to continue moving forward the Z359 fall protection code from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Kelly Streeter travels out to this meeting twice a year to take part in this consensus standard writing process. Vertical Access originally became involved in order to be an active subcommittee member of the Z359.8 group: Safety Requirements for Suspended Rope Systems.  Chaired by Loui McCurley, representing the Society of Rope Access Technicians (SPRAT), the document is nearly ready to go to the full committee for ballot.

For the past year, Kelly has been the chairperson along with co-chair Steve Hudson, from PMI, of the Z359.9 subcommittee which is tasked with creating the standard for Personal Equipment for Protection Against Falls – Descending Devices. This standard reaches far beyond the world of industrial rope access as we know it at Vertical Access and includes six different types of descenders including devices that are intended solely for rescue purposes. The benefit of these meetings is not only to work on the Fall Protection Code, but also to connect with fall protection professionals outside of the Industrial Rope Access industry.

Vertical Access Documents Toronto’s Heritage

In the heart of the Toronto financial district is 1 King Street West, a hotel and residential tower that exemplifies both Toronto’s architectural heritage as well as the city’s more recent building boom.  The current building on the eastern portion of the site was built in 1914 as the headquarters of The Dominion Bank.  The 14-story masonry building has a granite base and terra cotta at the upper floors, with neo-classical ornament fitting for a bank building of the period.  In 2005, a 51-story residential tower was appended to the historic building, making it one of the tallest residential buildings in Toronto.

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RESTORE offers 2011-2012 Masonry Conservation Course

Here’s some information that we’d like to pass along from a colleague in our community of conservators, architects, and engineers …

Registration is now open for Masonry Conservation 2011-2012, a two-semester program of classes, labs, and field workshops designed to equip participants with the knowledge and skills needed to handle complex preservation and maintenance issues encountered in the field.  Classes start NOVEMBER 15, 2011.

This is the 35th year that RESTORE  has been offering training in the technology of architectural conservation with their team of nationally and internationally renowned faculty.   Tuesday evening classes are held in New York City and are approved by the Professional Development Committee of the AIA. Graduates will receive 50 AIA continuing education learning units, 14 of which qualify for AIA Health, Safety, Welfare credit. Participants include a diverse cross-section of building design professionals, craftworkers, contractors, cultural resource and facilities managers, architectural conservators and preservationists.

• Visit the RESTORE website
• Download the 2011 – 2012 Masonry Conservation Brochure (PDF)