Maximizing Profits/Minimizing Waste In Direct-To-Steel Fireproofing
Because some contractors can be tight-lipped when it comes to discussing their tricks and techniques for maximizing profit margins and minimizing waste, Walls & Ceilings polled a number of fireproofing consultants, equipment manufacturers, distributors and applicators in an attempt to glean some useful strategies for optimizing production.
Fireproofing steel efficiently is a complex task. Accordingly, effective planning prior to the start of a job goes a long way toward streamlining operations.
Tom Donovan, president of The Donovan Company, Inc., an Anaheim, Calif.-based distributor of fireproofing products, outlined a number of the basic subjects that he feels should be considered in bidding and managing each job.
"After the mechanical estimating of a fireproofing job has been completed, a joint meeting should be held by the contractor with his superintendent and estimator pertaining to the correct feel of the job," said Donovan.
This meeting should cover the following items:
- The physical location relevant to servicing the job;
- The thoroughness of the specification;
- Participation of sequencing capability of the most likely general contractors to be awarded the project;
- Availability of a competent labor pool at the estimated time the job will be installed; and
- The most beneficial product to be bid on the project conforming with fireproofing requirements test approvals, application ease, clean-up and support service from suppliers.
Once the job is awarded, detailed planning should be done by the contractor.
"An early award of product to be used allows the opportunity to coordinate with the manufacturer regarding submittals, machinery, and product supply," said Donovan.
And, for effective bidding of fireproofing, Donovan offers the following tips:
- The hourly protection requested in the specification should be carefully evaluated. As an example, the thinner requirement of one hour protection almost always necessitates an additional thickness figured into the job for material and labor.
- Realistic production time should be carefully coordinated with the fireproofing field force. Depending on the difficulty of the job, the number of hours pumping will vary substantially. This should be taken into consideration in the original estimate.
- The manufacturer's claim regarding yield on a product should be tempered heavily to the contractor's practical experience. In virtually all cases, manufacturers will talk in terms of theoretical yield with no waste. Also, they will talk in terms of expanded yield after hydration. This is true with some products, but not necessarily a factor with others. Hydrated weight is not a direct line in relationship to cubic volume yield.
"Prior to the start of a project, a detailed meeting should be held with the general contractor, inspectors, engineers, and any other trades that may interface with the fireproofing," advised Donovan. "Proper sequencing of the job becomes a reality at this point, and is a necessity for effective quality and profit by the fireproofing contractor."
Lola B. Hitchcock, president of L.B. Hall Enterprises, Inc., offered some time-proven strategies for maximizing efficient handling and application of material. L.B. Hall Enterprises, Inc. is actively engaged in the fireproofing, spray insulation and acoustic trades in the greater Chicago area.
"We have learned over the past 45 years that having trailers dropped at the job side can reduce labor costs for handling material," said Hitchcock. "Our suppliers will drop trailers for up to five days at no charge, allowing our workers to use the materials as needed without double handling, as when delivered to our warehouse.
"When applying the material, keep the gun twelve to eighteen inches from the surface to minimize overspray. Whenever possible avoid the use of pole guns and use scaffolds to reduce overspray and increase the consistency of thickness. The use of an air compressor to atomize the material is also useful when spraying mineral fiber products," Hitchcock advised.
Ron Jesse and Hank Miklich, with Contractor's Consulting Services, Inc., Nashville, stress using the right equipment for the job.
"Our application experience is on fireproofing materials made from mineral fibers mixed with dry binders, bagged and shipped that way. This product is conveyed by a suitable machine through hose dry. At a nozzle, it meets with water, which activates the binders to finally solidify the fiber-binder product after its drying process," explained Jesse.
In dry-spray applications, waste can occur in one of two ways _ wasting materials and/or time. Material waste, for the most part, is a result of overspray or over density.
Wasteful spraying can be caused by a number of factors:
- The skill level of the operator.
- The discharge volume of the machine. The higher the volume, the greater the waste.
- Air volume of machine in conjunction with the diameter of the application nozzle results in the discharge speed. If discharge speed is too high, material waste will be greater.
- Incorrect thickness.
Over density can occur if water pressure and volume is too high, or if the product is over-agitated. Mineral fibers break when exposed to a grinding process. Long hose and high pressures can also reduce the life of the fibers.
Miklich recommends that application machines must be built to handle abrasive products. They should have a minimum of parts involved in conditioning and metering fireproofing material, and they should be easily serviced in the field.
"Remember, about $300 worth of fireproofing material is moved through each machine every hour of spray time. The cost of a good application machine is insignificant when compared to how much material it moves. A small waste factor can amount to much loss in material," noted Miklich.
Loren Fairman, with Pete's Equipment, stresses routine maintenance of equipment to reduce downtime.
"Since Murphy's Law guarantees that a system will only go down when you have a critical job to spray, you have a chance of getting ahead of Murphy by regularly performing routine maintenance on your spray system. Sometimes, the obvious is easy to overlook," said Fairman.
"Routine maintenance of the engine, compressor, and other system elements is often ignored by busy operators, with resulting downtime when it is least convenient. Being serious about basic maintenance will almost always save money and prolong the life of a system."
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