Masonry Magazine September 1977 Page. 23
MONEY-SAVING IDEAS
continued from page 12
Wallgren had a crew of 40 bricklayers, 30 laborers and four foremen on the job. Wallgren's masonry contract was for $1.5 million on the $20 million project.
Unitized Masonry Packaging Saves Time
Project Superintendent Siegfried Tobias explained that Wallgren used a simplified material handling plan on the bank project-unitized, steel-strapped packages of concrete block and brick. These packages, which utilize Signode steel strapping, eliminate entirely the need for pallets.
Under the system, the masonry units arrive at the jobsite in large packages which can be broken down into several smaller unitized loads. Signode pioneered the breakaway package concept to provide mason contractors an easy method of moving brick and block around construction sites with minimal labor.
For example, the Signode breakaway package for standard 6-inch concrete block consists of 96 total blocks, which break down into three steel-strapped units of 32 blocks, each containing eight rows of four blocks. In the second row from the bottom of each package, the top of the block face outward forming a void to allow for easy entry by forklifts or hand carts and eliminating the need for pallets.
According to Tobias, the development of unitized block packaging has been a boon to mason contractors. "By not having to use pallets, we save two men's labor," he said. "Pallets on a job like the bank project would have cost us approximately $600 a week in labor alone.
"Another consideration is storage. On a big job we would have to rent a yard just to store pallets. And the strapped packages also have a safety advantage. Since there are no loose block, there's no chance of them falling from a load and injuring someone, or breaking."
Besides utilizing steel-strapped packages of unit masonry on the bank project, Wallgren boosted material handling efficiency through the use of two-way radios, which helped to coordinate the movement of men and materials on the job. The radios allowed workmen to communicate with each other wherever they were working, a capability which eliminated delays in getting materials and manpower where needed.
Gaylord Nelson Hits Gov't Regulators
Compliance demands by federal regulatory agencies are "promoting Big Brother surveillance of every American (and) artificially inducing further concentrations of economic power," Sen. Gaylord Nelson (D-Wis.) has charged.
The Senator made the statement in introducing legislation that would relieve many individuals, and small businesses of regulatory compliance burdens. The bill, the Regulatory Flexibility Act, would create different sets of regulations for smaller units of the regulated public whenever feasible.
"Protecting our nation's competitive marketplace requires precise rules which are sharply focused on key problems," Sen. Nelson said. "Regulatory agencies have tended to use rules as buzzsaws rather than as scalpels."
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MASONRY/SEPTEMBER, 1977 23