12.28.2016

Defense Contractor Seeks Help with Large Coiling Fire & Service Doors

A large contractor was selected to build a new facility for a defense contractor where complex project details didn’t leave any room for error.

PROBLEM

The project called for 35 coiling fire and service doors. Twelve of the insulated fire doors were 56 feet wide by 23 feet tall, which is very large. The project retained two different manufacturing plants to procure the products and logistics were a challenge as well.

Because the plants could produce only two doors per week, the project schedule had to be adjusted. In addition, the job site had only one entrance that could accommodate the size of the doors; essentially the central hall of the building had to be shut down for all other activities while the doors arrived and were positioned.

SOLUTION

DH Pace made quality control visits to both plants to inspect the progress and coordinate site requirements. Details such as curtain and barrel orientations along with precise delivery time lines were meticulously coordinated. The curtains were shipped on reusable air bladders and handled with straps. The head brackets on each curtain weighed a massive 2000 pounds even before the motors were installed.

The installations of the doors were show stoppers. Eight of the doors were positioned within floor trusses and had zero headroom for a traditional crane installation, so they were installed with specialized forklifts.

CONCLUSION

There is a massive amount of precision and detail required to seamlessly install doors of this scale. DH Pace has successfully executed installations of this magnitude and has the technical expertise to wow experienced engineers.