Cleveland Clinic Addition Covers Three Football Fields 2007

The success of the Cleveland Clinic is causing rapid growth on its campus in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. Recent rankings by US News and World Report place the medical facility in the top three out of 5200 hospitals studied. A new support center being built with several methods of concrete pumping combines an underground 227,000 square foot facility with an aboveground 8-story parking ramp to create one of the largest concrete structures in Cleveland. The use of a separate placing boom will be a first for general contractor’s Donley’s, Cleveland and another first is the debut of a new concrete pump model. The resulting structure will be more than 1.5 million square feet.

The project started with an enormous excavation requiring the removal of 186,000 cubic yards of soil. An extraordinary series of pours was enlisted to create a hydraulic slab for the structure’s 315’ x 550’ footprint. Howard Concrete Pumping with offices in Cuddy, PA and Cleveland performed four pours totaling nearly 15,000 cubic yards. The largest single pour took place in May 2007 utilizing a Schwing S 58SX, S 47 SX, S 45 SX and a brand new model just introduced at the World of Concrete 2007 – the S 52 SX with RZ5 Boom. All models utilize unique curved front outriggers that telescope out from the chassis. These Super X outriggers provide a compact set-up and a stable platform for the Overhead Roll and Fold Booms that all of the pumps also employ. In addition the pumps incorporate Generation 3 pump kits with 213 cubic yard per hour outputs. The 10-inch diameter pumping cylinders cycle through long 98-inch strokes to provide fewer strokes per minute with high volume. The resulting lower noise levels are an important consideration in a hospital setting.

The new pump which will add “diversity to our fleet,” according to Frank Howard III, is the first long boom from Schwing to incorporate five sections with a Z boom at the tip. The 270 degree Z boom tip section combines with 180-degree folding points of the other four sections for 990 degrees of total articulation.

Working from street level Howard’s pumps placed the slabs by pumping two-inch mud mats before a waterproofing barrier was added. Two-inches of concrete protection was then poured and two-feet of topping slab was pumped afterwards. According to Donley’s superintendent Joe Hrkovec, “We would schedule the pours early in the morning and get about 500 yards per hour to the four pumps which they could easily handle.” Donley’s is acting as the design/build contractor on the job and self-performing the concrete construction.

Because of the massive size of the project, Donley’s is using a separate placing boom for the first time in their history. As a Schwing dealer, Howard was able to network through the Schwing organization and arrange to have Hrkovec see how concrete was pumped with this method on several projects in Florida. “I couldn’t believe how easy it was, “Hrkovec commented, “I’m glad the guys at Howard suggested this method.”

Donley’s has divided the huge parking structure into quads. They are coordinating the construction so that when booms are pouring a deck on one quad, the forms are being stripped from another quad so that pumping is on-going somewhere on the structure. Two tower cranes and six crawler cranes are on the site to facilitate form handling.

Each quad has two mast locations strategically located to take advantage of the 39-meter placing boom’s 40,000 square foot of coverage. Donely’s leased an operator and a Schwing KVM 39X with detachable placing boom from Howard for the duration of the project. “I figure if the placing boom wasn’t needed for a couple of days, we could reattach the boom and use it for conventional pours, “Hrkovec notes. The KVM39X is equipped with the latest Generation II technology that allows the boom to be mounted with four pins and eight hydraulic quick-connects for reattachment in minutes. With the best weight to reach ratio in its class, the boom weighs only 12,890 pounds. The key to this lightweight versatility is a powerpack/hydraulic reservoir module that stays on the mast.

The truck-mounted pump at ground level will feed the placing boom on the decks. Howard makes this type of lease package of pump and operator “a couple times a year for customers,” according to Howard, Jr.

Because of the availability of crane time, the contractor decided to forgo the self-climbing option. “Those guys in Florida were raising the mast and boom in ten to fifteen minutes,” Hrkovec stated. Utilizing floor frames and wedges, the 39-foot mast is supported by two existing decks. More than 30,000 cubic yards will be placed with the separate placing boom.

“The biggest advantages we see with the separate placing boom are the labor savings and the quality of the post-tensioned slab,” according to Donely’s project manager Mike Dilley, “Your don’t displace anything with the controlled precision placement. Howard eased a lot of questions by introducing us to this method of placement.”

Known as the East 89th Street Service Center and Parking Deck, the new building will open the east half of the garage in August 2008 and the west side in October 2008. The centrally located facility will connect with existing underground “utildors” that are tunnels used to move medical supplies and food service throughout the hospital. Automated Guided Vehicles will navigate the tunnels. In all more than 92,000 cubic yards of concrete will be pumped on the project.

Specs: Owner/Developer: Cleveland Clinics, Cleveland, Ohio

Design/Build Contractor: Donely’s, Cleveland, OH

Concrete Pumper: Howard Concrete Pumping, Cuddy, PA & Cleveland, Ohio

Equipment: Schwing S 58 SX, S 52 SX and S 45 SX