2013_Customer_Winter_Newsletter

&
NEWS
NOTES
WINTER 2013 | VOLUME 6, ISSUE 4
KERKSTRA PRECAST
Happy Holidays!
from the team at Kerkstra Precast!
KERKSTRA PRECAST NEWS & NOTES
WINTER 2013 | VOLUME 6, ISSUE 4
CONTENTS
4 MEET OUR SALES TEAM
6 JOIN OUR TEAM
7 TOLERANCES FOR PRECAST WALL PANELS
9 RESIDENTIAL MARKET
12 EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT
meet our
sales team
BOB ROSE
TEAM
SR. SALES CONSULTANT
C: 810.560.0588
E: BROSE@KERKSTRA.COM
PART OF YOUR TEAM.
From the moment you begin to consider precast as an option for your project, you’ll
meet our talented sales team. We will pair you with a sales consultant that will be able
to help you with initial design, engineering and budgeting.
RANDY VANHOVEN
SR. SALES CONSULTANT
C: 616.292.1734
E: RVANHOVEN@KERKSTRA.COM
Randy is responsible for the sales in West Michigan,
North Michigan, Indiana and Illinois. He knows precast.
Randy’s been with Kerkstra Precast for 25 years. He
started in production and moved into several other
positions throughout the company before landing in
the sales department. His in depth knowledge of the
product makes Randy the perfect guy to talk to about
your next project.
Bob handles the sales in the Eastern Michigan
and Ohio region. Before joining Kerkstra
Precast, Bob spent over 20 years in the precast
installation business. Bob has fun doing
everything…even, working. His energy and
genuine enthusiasm is what makes working with
him exciting, rewarding and enjoyable.
TIM FRAKES
RESIDENTIAL SALES
C: 616.890.0429
E: TFRAKES@KERKSTRA.COM
Tim takes care of residential sales at KP. Tim
manages the whole process from sales to
detailing to installation of residential garage
floors, small bridges, terraces and more. When
Tim first joined the KP team he worked in our
production facility. His hands-on experience
makes it easy for Tim to understand what you’re
looking for.
Want to know more about our sales department or the rest of our team? Check them all out here.
www.kerkstra.com/about/our-team/
4
YOU ASKED...
“What do I need to
know about tolerances?”
JOIN OUR TEAM
Kerkstra Precast is looking to add talented skilled tradesmen and professionals to our staff. If you know of anyone in the market
that might make a fit at Kerkstra, please send them our way. Applications are always accepted and reviewed.
Current Openings:
PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER
Seeking a P.E. with a minimum 7-10 years experience to perform
engineering design for precast products that meet structural
requirements, economics, constructability and quality. Must be a
P.E. in the State of Michigan or an ability to obtain within 6-months
of employment. Excellent verbal and written communication skills
with customers, engineers, sales, manufacturing and detailing.
Must be proactive in problem solving and project engineering to
meet schedules and continuous improvement.
FIELD PATCHER
Seeking a Field Patcher to perform the final finish work on installed
precast. Some of the duties include; repairing chips and other minor
damage on Floor Plank; wall panels; wet cast chips and spalls;
power washing; measuring; using hand and power tools, including
but not limited to hammers, drills, concrete saws & grinders;
operate aerial lifts; and regularly working on ladders, scaffolding,
and/or lifts to perform assigned tasks. Other tasks and duties will be
assigned as necessary. Successful candidates will have 2+years of
experience. Travel and excellent attendance is required.
6
ASSISTANT CREW LEADERS
Individuals with leadership ability and a drive for quality
workmanship. Leadership skills, blueprint and tape measure
reading are a must. Assistant Crew Leaders are considered the
“right hand” to the Crew Leader and step in when s/he is away.
CREW LEADERS
Individuals with strong leadership ability to direct a team of 5-10
employees ranging from general laborers to skilled precasters.
Crew Leaders are responsible for not only leading the team to
produce high quality product, but also preparing for production
each day through the use of shop tickets and production schedules.
Any questions regarding employment should be directed to Lisa
DeRoo, PHR, Human Resource Manager: lderoo@kerkstra.com.
You can also visit our website to download an application.
http://kerkstra.com/about/employment/
A tolerance is a permissible
variation that comes from specified
requirements.
TOLERANCES FOR PRECAST CONCRETE
CONSTRUCTION MAY BE GROUPED INTO
THREE CATEGORIES—PRODUCT TOLERANCES,
ERECTION TOLERANCES AND INTERFACE
TOLERANCES.
Product tolerances are the fabrication tolerances for the
individual precast component. An example would be the
accuracy of the length and width of the precast component.
Erection tolerances are related to the individual precast
member alignment to ensure proper structural performance,
as well as an acceptable appearance of the in place structure.
Since no structure is fabricated or constructed perfectly some
permissible tolerance is allowed for items such as plumbing of
wall panels and alignment of reveals to help the erector place
the precast members to “best fit” for structural performance
and aesthetics.
Interface tolerances are defined as the relationship between
the precast concrete elements and the non precast components
within the structure. An example of this would be mechanical
penetrations through the precast element and the HVAC duct
work that is to pass through that opening. Some clearance
between the duct and edge of the opening in the precast
member must exist to ensure that the duct can be installed
properly.
ARTICLE CONTINUES ON PAGE 8 AND 9...
...CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7
We’ll focus on product tolerances for precast
prestressed structural wall panels. To the right,
Figure B-1 Solid or Insulated Flat Structural Wall
Panels, an excerpt of PCI MNL 116-99, illustrates
the product tolerances for solid or insulated flat
structural wall panels.
Let’s consider the permissible tolerances for a
blockout. Looking at the plan view of the wall
panel, you can see the labels associated to the
blockout n1 and n2. These notations are the
location and size of the blockout respectively.
Referring to the table, it is discovered that the
location of a blockout may be ± 1” from the true
detailed location and the size of the blockout
could be ± ½” from the actual detailed size of the
blockout. For example, a man door penetration
through a precast wall panel it now becomes clear
why the precast rough opening size is larger by
½” in the width and length than the actual door
and frame that is to be installed in that opening.
In other words, careful attention is required when
detailing size and location of penetrations on
the contract documents as well as defining if
the opening is the precast rough opening or the
true actual size. The precaster requires this type
of information to avoid costly field modification
or rework due to misinterpreting the contract
documents.
tolerances of precast products including but not
limited to, forming material, prestressing, creep
and shrinkage of the concrete (volume change),
and cost. The dimensional tolerances of the precast
component can be greatly affected by the forming
material or type of form used to fabricate the
product. If the product is produced on a rigid form
the fabrication tolerance are easily attainable but
has a direct effect on cost since the construction of
the form is likely made from steel which bears more
cost than other traditional forming materials, such
as wood. Tolerances should be considered during
the developmental phase of the project and they
should reflect the type of structure and functionality
of the building systems within that structure to
ensure proper performance. Tolerances provided
are recommendations. Tighter tolerances may be
achieved, but would likely add cost to the project.
Since production methods vary between precasters,
it is a good idea to contact your local precaster for
additional fabrication tolerance information.
This article is an attempt to bring awareness to the
issue of tolerances the intent is not an in depth
discussion on the subject. The author encourages the
reader to review the referenced material for a more
complete understanding of the subject material.
-Written by Bruce Hopkins, P.E.
Director of Engineering and Quality Control at Kerkstra Precast
A question that comes to mind is what things
may affect the product fabrication tolerances?
Several items will have an effect on the fabrication
8
Figure B-1 Solid or Insulated Flat Structural Wall Panels
Figure B-1 Solid or Insulated Flat Structural Wall Panels; Appendix B, page B.6; from the Manual
For Quality Control for Plants and Production of Structural Precast Concrete Products; MNL - 11699; Fourth Edition; 1999; Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute
B-1 Solid or Insulated Flat Structural Wall Panels
B-1 Solid or Insulated Flat Structural Wall Panels; Appendix B, page B.7; from the Manual For Quality
Control for Plants and Production of Structural Precast Concrete Products; MNL - 116-99; Fourth
Edition; 1999; Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute
Do you have a technical question you’d like an engineer to answer? Email yours to marketing@kerkstra.com.
RESIDENTIAL MARKET
The residential market has been busy this year!
Our Multi-Level Garage System is the most common
precast product when it comes to the residential
market. However, there are other ways you can fit
precast hollowcore into your residential plans.
SUSPENDED DRIVEWAYS
Precast solid plank offers an alternative
for non-traditional use of driveways and
walkways. Precast solid plank provides an
attractive and often cost effective solution
where backfill for a typical slab on grade is
not allowed or practical.
9
DECKS & BALCONIES
Precast plank is the perfect alternative
to the traditional wood deck system.
Precast balconies can cantilever
without additional support, allowing
for a visually appealing solution.
In this newsletter, we’ve highlighted some of the unique residential
projects we’ve been working on this year.
LAKESIDE DRIVE
Using precast beams, columns and solid plank, KP designed a suspended drive system to support large planting areas, heavy concrete
pads and heavy vehicle traffic. This particular structure was also designed to support the load required for a 60,000 pound fire truck, in the
unfortunate case of a fire.
RESIDENTIAL BRIDGES
Our precast bridge components make
the most durable system you can
find. Our products can be designed
to accommodate just about any load
required.
Heavy artillery provided by Gelock Heavy Movers.
Beam and column layout all set for 12” solid plank.
ON THE LAKESHORE
This unique precast project consisted of a suspended driveway and garage. Limited
site space required a septic system to be placed under the drive. This driveway was
also designed for supporting a fully loaded fire truck.
The entire KP Residential
Crew was needed for
the installation of this
project. Due to the tight
site conditions, an extra
hand was necessary. Not
to mention this happened
to be the hottest day of the
summer.
VDV GUESTHOUSE
BOATHOUSE IN ADA
The original plans for this boathouse had only a small amount of Hollowcore plank and several costly
helical piers and grade beams. KP worked with the architect and owner to revise the entire layout of
the helical piers and grade beams to make plank more efficient than treated 2x12’s at 12” on center.
By taking advantage of the long span ability of KP’s Hollowcore, we were able to eliminate several
of the costly helical piers and grade beams, making this project more cost-effective with the use of
more Hollowcore.
GUESTHOUSE
8” Hollowcore allowed
this customer to take full
advantage of long clear spans
to create vast open living
spaces and recreational/work
spaces.
KP is also providing solid
plank for a tunnel that will
connect this guesthouse to
the adjacent main house.
10
“This combination garage and suspended drive project brought on many challenges with its tight
site conditions and limited road access,” explained Tim Frakes - KP’s Residential Sales Representative.
“Working together with Timpson Transport, Inc., we devised a plan to deliver and install the precast
and overcome these conditions.”
Crane provided by Gelock Heavy Movers
VOLUNTEER AT KP
GETTING INVOLVED AT SCHOOL
We understand the importance of giving back to the community. To
encourage our employees to get involved, we’ve offered them one
paid day off of work to spend volunteering at an organization they feel
passionate about. This has been nothing but a positive experience and
has made us more aware of organizations in need.
WHAT OUR EMPLOYEES HAVE BEEN UP TO THIS YEAR:
• Cleaning at the YMCA
• Festival of the Arts
• Salmon in the Classroom
A couple of our employees have volunteered at their child’s or grandchild’s
school. It’s a great way to get involved and help the school as well as get some
quality time with your family.
EMERGENCY SANDBAGGING HELP IN GR
If you think back to a few months, when a large portion of Grand Rapids and
nearby areas were under water, due to the flood, there was a large need
for volunteers to fill sandbags in Grand Rapids. Tori Rider (pictured
below with her husband) was working at our Utility Products division,
in Jenison, (before the Utility Products division was sold) and was
unable to get into work. Instead of staying at home all day, she
used her paid volunteer day to help out the city of Grand Rapids
and fill sand bags.
• Compassionate Heart Ministries
Summer Camp
• Kids’ Food Basket
• Field Day Volunteer at Child’s School
S
alm
• Field Trip Chaperone at Grandchild’s
School
• Emergency Sandbagging During
April Flood
on
in
the
class
ro
om fishing tournament.
Getting involved at school.
KIDS’ FOOD BASKET
The Kids’ Food Basket is a non-profit organization providing kids in West Michigan their third meal of the day. The Kids’
Food Basket’s Sack Supper program serves nearly 6,000 kids each day.
Volunteering at the Kids’ Food Basket is a popular request from our employees. It has been quite the experience for those
that have been able to help and witness the amount of work accomplished in just one day and the impact it has on so
many children.
SALMON IN THE CLASSROOM
Salmon in the Classroom is a program that allows children to raise salmon in their classroom from fall until spring.
Throughout the year, students learn about the life cycle of salmon. At the end of the school year, the class releases the fish
into the water.
An employee at KP was involved in a fishing tournament that helps provide the funds to run the Salmon in the Classroom
program!
12
Emergency sandbagging in Grand Rapids.
KERKSTRA PRECAST
3373 Busch Drive
Grandville, MI 49418
www.kerkstra.com