There are elements to every job that can teach us lessons about other aspects of life. The chef is taught that preparation is key, which can be applied to almost every aspect of our daily lives. With heavy-lift and specialty rigging services, this goes deeper. Let’s take a look at how cranes can teach us about project management.

When it comes to bigger-picture tasks like project management, we don’t have to look far to find a wellspring of valuable tidbits that can help guide our decisions. One of the greatest teachers on the modern construction site may well be the crane, which goes above and beyond the heavy-lift and specialty rigging they’re typically used for!

Here’s a look at what we can learn about project management from the standard operation of a crane.

The Importance of Project Management

When working with a crane on a construction site, the crane itself is only one of many elements that need to be managed. There’s no point in having a crane ready for heavy-lift and specialty rigging if you don’t have anything to haul or rig. When working with a crane, one is forced to think holistically about how all the elements on-site work together. The same can be applied to project management, in that multiple moving parts are interdependent for success.

Connecting the Dots

When working with cranes, it’s important to find connections between the variables and the ramifications they may have. If it’s too windy to use the crane on a certain day, the operator may be better off using their time planning for future lifts or rigs or even checking parts.

In project management, connecting the dots can mean considering the bleed-on effects of variables changing. If something goes awry, rather than shutting the project down for a day, there are other methods for staying productive, even if it means avoiding the same problem in the future.

The Importance of Environmental Conditions

Being both on and of this planet, we are all aware of the fact that Earth is not a vacuum and that we are all affected by environmental conditions. These conditions can impact how we function and how we feel and thus are better acknowledged from the get-go. When it comes to crane operation, the environmental conditions that impact their performance are relatively obvious: the ground and the wind.

Good Footing

Of the utmost importance on a worksite, especially when bringing in a crane for heavy-lift and specialty rigging, is the condition of the ground. Bringing a crane onto uneven or soft ground can spell disaster on a grand scale, so it should be one of the first considerations.

When it comes to project management, the ground represents the foundation of the project and needs to be strong and stable enough to see it through. This could mean ensuring the funding is concrete or that staff will be available when necessary.

Daily Conditions

Unlike the ground, which can be considered a constant, the wind that laps at the shores of a construction site is an ever-shifting threat to stability. While we can predict some of the wind conditions on our construction sites, there’s always the possibility of the unexpected.

In project management, wind can be analogous to those conditions that change each day and can remind us to expect the unexpected. Rather than pausing the project when conditions aren’t optimal, being able to use time wisely regardless of conditions can ensure minimal wastage.

The Importance of Component Maintenance

Cranes are complex machines engineered out of a huge variety of interrelated moving parts that allow for the heavy-lift and specialty rigging we rely on them for. They regularly require maintenance on a variety of parts to ensure that they’re functioning as they should. Failing to maintain parts can not only cause damage to the crane but can be a risk to the whole construction site.

Project Management at a Construction Site

While there are literal components that need to be maintained on a construction site when it comes to project management, these components can also take on an allegorical sense. A construction project, like a crane, is engineered with a variety of components. From getting materials to the site to managing the operators of the various pieces of machinery, each component is as necessary as the last.

Maintaining the components of your project may mean breaking it down into separate parts and then considering how each works together. This is where holistic thinking can be truly valuable, as you’ll be able to see the cause and effect as it happens.

Heavy-Lift and Specialty Rigging-Sheedy Crane

As you can see, there’s more to be gleaned from crane operation than merely lifting and rigging. Here at Sheedy Crane, we believe that all of these processes are interconnected.

Feel free to check out some of our current and past projects, or contact us today if you’re interested in learning more about our Bay Area crane rentals services.

If you’ve ever experienced an earthquake, you’ll know that they have an almost incomprehensible amount of power. So much so that it’s a wonder that we can inhabit places where they occur frequently, let alone build cities around or on top of the fault lines that they often spring from. Cities like San Francisco seem like a testament to human resilience when you consider the above, with inventions like seismic retrofitting keeping the buildings upright.

While much of the progress in seismic retrofitting has been made in the last centuries, the idea would have been around since the humans built the first huts in earthquake-prone areas. As with anything, this technology has been honed over time, and finally, the industrial revolution and the more recent computational revolution have seen exponential progress. If you’re wondering about the necessity of seismic retrofitting in your building, then read on to learn what the determining factors are.

Earthquake Prone Regions

One of the most determining factors for whether your building will need seismic retrofitting is if it’s located in an earthquake-prone region. These are typically areas that are located on or near fault lines, and subsequently, experience more frequent and higher magnitude quakes than other regions. As a provider of Bay Area hauling and lifting services, Sheedy Crane is acutely aware of how to manage these types of unprecedented situations.

San Andreas Fault

One of the most famous fault lines in the world, so much so that it even has a movie about it, the San Andreas fault extends more than 750 miles through California. It forms the tectonic boundary between the North American Plate and Pacific Plate and is split into the Northern, Central, and Southern Fault Zones. The counties within these zones are more or less prone than each other, due to the differences between the fault zones.

Depending on the county where your building is located, seismic retrofitting may be more or less relevant to you. Thankfully, the California Earthquake Authority has a handy website where you can learn about the probability in your county. As daunting as this may seem, it does give you plenty of time to act accordingly now and to minimize both damage and harm.

Date of Construction

The next indication that can determine the necessity of seismic retrofitting for your building is the date that it was constructed. As previously mentioned, leaps and bounds have been made in this field over the past couple of decades, and buildings constructed within this time are more likely to have some degree of seismic retrofitting. Whereas buildings constructed before the 1980s will have relatively primitive earthquake resilience, due to the technology and knowledge that was available at that time.

Records of Construction

It’s not uncommon for older buildings to have received seismic retrofitting in recent years. As the owner of the building, you should have relatively easy access to the records of construction as well as any retrofits that have taken place. These should give you a fair indication of the necessity of a retrofit, as even if it was retrofitted 20 years ago that technology or methodology may have already become outdated.

Soft-Story Seismic Retrofitting

Most apartment complexes, multi-story shopping complexes, and parking garages are considered soft-story buildings due to their having one or more floors with large openings where there would typically be a shear wall for stability. These kinds of buildings are prone to soft-story collapse, which prompted the mandated screening of soft-story buildings in the San Francisco region in 2013.

Since then, many of these buildings have received some degree of seismic retrofitting, although the recent pandemic has affected the rate at which this has happened.

What to Expect from Seismic Retrofitters

Here at Sheedy Cranes, we know that any kind of construction or retrofitting is a stressful prospect for building owners, especially when it affects the workflow or lifestyles of those using the building. When it comes to seismic retrofitting your apartment complex, retail space, or parking garage, you should expect some minor inconvenience, but it’s needed to guarantee the safety of the area’s residents.

To minimize this, it’s best to hire an experienced company who are well-equipped to screen and retrofit as quickly as possible. This will not only ensure the longevity of your building but also ensure the safety of those in and around it while minimizing inconvenience. The need of Bay Area hauling and lifting services will always be prevalent.

Bay Area Hauling, Lifting & Seismic Retrofitting Services: Sheedy Crane

Here at Sheedy Crane, we have almost a hundred years of experience in the San Fransisco Bay Area with all manner of hauling and lifting and have had our part in many of the great buildings that dominate the skyline here. Be sure to contact us to inquire about seismic retrofitting, or check out our website to learn more about our company history and what else we can offer.

Sheedy Crane’s heavy haul trucking services services offers phenomenal work, but hauling as a whole goes further back than that! As Americans, we’ve been hauling things across the country since our earliest days of colonization. Once upon a time, this was only possible with trains and horse-drawn carriages, but thankfully we’ve advanced well beyond then. Nowadays, hauling is easier than ever, so it’s time to look at how hauling can impact your business.

When you work with heavy machinery, you’ll often be limited by the different forms of transport you have available for moving said machinery. This can make it difficult to compete, especially against larger companies that have fleets of trucks at their disposal. As a provider of Bay Area crane rental and hauling services, we can help your business expand your serviceable area, let’s look at how.

The Need to Expand

Many businesses are finding that in the metropolises we base ourselves in, we find countless other providers of similar services. While this is convenient for the customer, it spells disaster for those businesses with heavy machinery which need constant upkeep. The need to expand is usually driven by a need for more money coming through the business, so while hauling may add to your costs, it may also provide much-needed financial relief.

Determining your Range

Before making your services known, you’ll need to know exactly how far you can haul your equipment. This will usually be determined by the hauling rate, which considers both the distance and the equipment being carried. If you have different sets of equipment for different tasks, be sure to work out how much it’ll cost for each type.

If you’re in the Bay Area, feel free to contact us as Sheedy Crane to hear about our hauling rates or any of our other relevant services such as Bay Area crane rental and maintenance.

Seasonal Work

You may also want to consider what time of year is best to make your services available away from home, as things like rain may affect your work. If the rain will stop your work, then sticking to late Autumn through to early Spring may be best. Otherwise, if you find places where you have access to storage during rain, you can offer your services year-round.

Making Your Business Available and Known

You’ll want to find those nearby areas with limited access to the services your business provides. There are a couple of different ways you can go about getting your name out there: through social media and word of mouth.

Social Media

This may be the best way to gauge things and is a great way to get your name out there. Jump on any local groups of neighboring areas on your favorite social media platform, and express interest in expanding your services to these areas.

Word of Mouth

Going out into these places and talking to people on the ground is always going to give you a better idea of the situation. By finding businesses you typically work alongside, like hardware stores or electricians, and speaking with them, you may be able to find out whether your services are needed. This is also a good way to hand out your business card to those very same businesses, in case anyone does want to hire you knowing your services can be made available.

Financial Logistics

Before you go out offering your set rates to these areas, be sure to include the cost of hauling onto the cost of your services. While this may increase your rate, it will still be preferable to those businesses who simply want to get work done, rather than waiting for ill-equipped local teams. You may also be able to absorb some of the initial cost if you’re particularly dry on work.

What to Look for in a Heavy Haul Trucking Provider

Finally, if you don’t have the luxury of being able to contact us here at Sheedy Crane for our services, there are some things you should look for in a hauling services provider, including:

– Pilot car support for overweight or over-dimensional cargo

– Project management of the transportation, including procurement of all relevant permits

– Surveys of both the route and intended site, with relevant engineering and feasibility reports

Beyond these, you may also seek those businesses who abide by local emissions requirements, as well as equip their staff with Transport Worker Identification Credentials (TWICs).

Bay Area Heavy Haul Trucking Services

Here at Sheedy Crane, we are more than a crane rental company, we’re proud to handle all things such as heavy haul trucking services, shoring, and rigging. If you’re looking for a provider of high-quality work at a reasonable rate, completed promptly, then look no further than our team. Contact us today to learn more!