Blogs

Construction has several highly scientific measuring instruments. Levels. Lasers. Transits. Surveying equipment. Measuring tapes. And apparently: Eyeballs. "Looks level enough." There it is. Four words capable of doing an impressive amount of damage when you're about to build something tall, heavy, and occupied by people. Because when it comes to scaffolding, there's something more important than whether the ground looks level. Will it stay that way after you put thousands of pounds on it? Welco …

Scaffolding Massive Bridges Sometimes the work you need to reach isn't 300 feet above the ground. It's 300 feet above water, traffic, or absolutely nothing. Welcome to bridge scaffolding. Bridges present some of the most unusual access challenges in construction. Unlike a building, where much of the work is accessible from the ground or from relatively predictable elevations, the areas requiring maintenance on a bridge may be underneath the structure, between massive structural members, above ac …

Scaffolding Giant Statues Most scaffolding projects begin with a building. Buildings are usually somewhat cooperative. They have walls. Corners. Floors. Rooflines. Relatively predictable shapes. Then someone asks you to scaffold a 200-foot person. Suddenly things get interesting. Around the world, enormous statues rise above cities, mountains, temples, and monuments. Some are made from stone. Others from concrete, copper, bronze, or steel. Many require regular inspection, cleaning, restoration, …

Building in Desert Environments When people picture a desert construction site, the first thing they usually think about is heat. And they're not wrong. But heat is only the beginning. Across the Middle East, North Africa, and the southwestern United States, contractors work in environments where extreme temperatures, blowing dust, intense sunlight, limited water, and dramatic temperature swings can affect almost every part of a project. Workers feel it. Equipment feels it. Materials feel it. Ev …

How Construction Differs in Australia At first glance, construction in Australia might not seem all that different from construction in the United States. Modern cities. Commercial buildings. Roads. Industrial projects. Residential construction. Familiar equipment and familiar trades. But travel outside Australia's major cities and the construction environment can change dramatically. Extreme heat, enormous distances, remote mining operations, difficult logistics, and strict workplace safety req …