Before Summit Erectors began the full scope of its work at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL, crews had to ensure they wouldn’t interfere with the facility’s operations.

President Kurt Treece said his firm ensured the welding process would not interfere with the hospital’s delicate MRI equipment and surgical lasers. As a precaution, Miller Electric of Jacksonville, FL, ran some special electrical circuitry to the site to ensure the medical equipment would not be affected.

There are two aspects of the project: the vertical expansion of a two-story building by four stories for an additional 200,000 sq. ft. of space as well as a six-story tower, to be called Mayo Clinic Hospital, with 300,000 sq. ft. of space for 214 hospital beds.

The expansion will house administrative offices and outpatient services.

Summit is a subcontractor on the job for lead contractor Centex Construction of Nashville, TN.

What makes this job different for the 25-member Summit crew is the tremendous reach demanded of the cranes on site.

Treece said most of the work requires the machines to lift material 230 ft. over an operational hospital with 7,000-lb. loads.

To meet these demands, the crew brought in its Manitowoc 888 with a 190 ft. tower and a 170 ft. luffing boom.

The Summit crew, led at the site by Field Supervisor Robert Showalter and Project Manager Bob Homrich, has been on the job since mid-October and expects to wrap up its part of the work by July.

Just a few weeks into the job, Treece said is was one week ahead of schedule. He said a lot of time will be saved throughout the project since it brought a surveyor onto the job before work began to ensure the steel it was erecting is detailed to fit the existing structure.

He said this eliminates the guesswork of “working with a drawing with supposed dimensions that are theoretical.”

Treece said his crew will erect 4,200 tons of structural steel and metal deck, fabricated by Steel Services in Jackson, MS, through the length of the job. He credits Steel Services for helping his crew stay ahead of schedule.

“They have been moving their deliveries up to meet our needs,” he said.

Treece founded Summit Erectors in 1993. The company is co-owned by Vice President Benny Cleghorn. In addition to the Manitowoc at the Mayo Clinic site, the firm owns Manitowoc 999 and 555 crawler cranes as well as a 65-ton lattice boom truck and a 50-ton hydraulic truck crane.

Historically, the firm had rented all of its cranes, but decided to begin purchasing the machines approximately two years ago. Summit always supplies its own operators and does its own maintenance on the machines.

In total, the company employs between 50 and 100 people, depending on the scope of its assignments.

Currently, its crews also are working on two parking garages and a seven-story office building in Jacksonville.

The $255-million Mayo Clinic Hospital is scheduled to open in early 2008. CEG

This story also appears on Crane Equipment Guide.

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