A food ingredient manufacturer in Urbana, Ohio had a difficult time maintaining their dust collection and fire suppression systems due to the systems being located in an awkward spot. In order to service these systems, maintenance workers at the company were required to harness themselves and to straddle two I-beams approximately 30” apart roughly 30 feet above ground level. The company contacted Brad Snodgrass at Horner Fan and explained their predicament. Brad made the trip to Ohio to inspect the situation and offer suggestions. The customer advised him that whatever was presented would need to be bolted into place because welding was not allowed in the plant.
Once back in the shop, Brad worked with the Horner Fan Engineering group to convey the customers’ situation and to come up with a design solution. What they came up with was a 3’ wide platform that was approximately 14’ long with a 90 degree turn and then an additional 3’ of platform. It also included OSHA 3 safety hand rails and a kick plate. The plan was that this assembly would fit snuggly between the existing I-beams with an entrance in the front allowing for easy step access. The platform was fabricated in the fab shop, and transported to Ohio. The install team completed the job 30’ off of the ground, in a 120 db environment, with no direct access from underneath and no welding allowed in the plant all in one day. Hats off to Horner Fan for a great team effort throughout the process – design, fabrication, installation and most importantly, one very satisfied customer.
