by siteadmin | Feb 15, 2019 | Aqua-Barrier, Flooding
Flooding is one of the biggest concerns and can cause the most damage to homes and businesses. Commercial buildings, like any property, are subject to costly weather-related damage, but when you are properly prepared and take the right steps, you can help flood proof your commercial business.
What Can You Do to Help Protect Your Commercial Business From Flooding?
You can help keep your commercial business safe from floods when you take flood proofing serious and have a solid business continuity plan, flood insurance, and proper flood barriers, you can be ready when the next storm comes along.
- Business Continuity Plan
- Flood Insurance
- Design and Construction
- Clean Up
- Flood Barriers
1) Business Continuity Plan
A business continuity plan is a strategy for recovering your business in the event of a natural disaster or other emergencies. An effective business continuity plan builds upon four key steps, such as identifying flood risks, assessing critical business components and the resources to support them, and where to house back-up and maintain critical equipment at another location or safe space.
2) Flood Insurance
One of the most important things you can do to protect your business is to get flood coverage for your business–just in case. Usually, basic commercial property insurance does not cover floods, so make sure to get flood coverage through the federal government’s National Flood Insurance Program.
3) Design and Construction
It is imperative to begin taking precautionary measures for flooding during the design and construction of your building, especially if you are located along the coastline or in a high-risk flood zone. Consider elevating your building if you are waterfront in a storm surge or flood prone area, and install hurricane-glass windows and storm shutters for the openings in your building.
4) Clean Up
Before a storm moves in, prevent water from backing up into your building by cleaning out gutters, downspouts, as well as roof and perimeter drains.
5) Flood Barriers
There are several types of flood barriers you can use to help flood-proof your commercial business.
Metal flood Barriers can be a great way to help shield your business from high-velocity water loads. These highly resistant metal flooding protection systems have a long and effective flood barrier in flood-prone areas all over the world.
Aqua-Barrier Water Inflated Dams are the ultimate flood barrier for commercial areas. These great tools guard your business by placing it around the premises will help to prevent invasive water from damaging your property.
ProTip: The Aqua-Barrier® is less timely to use compared to sandbags and is the environmentally friendly approach to flood protection.
Best Tools for Flood Proofing Your Commercial Business
The more prepared you are for a flood by creating a solid risk assessment plan and having the best tools ready, you can help flood proof and protect your business from going underwater.
Join the conversation to learn the best ways to flood-proof your commercial business.
by siteadmin | Nov 30, 2018 | Aqua-Barrier, Construction, Dewatering
Having a solid plan is the foundation of a successful construction project. In construction, projects may be large and complex, but with a proper construction management plan, you can keep everything running smoothly while managing the constraints of time, cost, and quality with ease.
Creating a Construction Management Plan
So, what exactly is a construction management plan? Basically, it can be many things, but overall, it maps out the entire project from its goals to evaluation, to progress, through completion. A management plan is a roadmap of where you want to go and how to get there. When creating a construction plan, it is important that it includes the following things:
- Determine Project Scope & Phases
- Activities Schedule & Task Milestones
- Budget & Resources
- Communication & Progress
- Document Everything
1) Determine Project Scope & Phases
The project scope determines the responsibilities of each team member, as well as deadlines and phases it will take to get everything complete.
2) Activities Schedule & Task Milestones
This sets up deliverable timeframes and creates a schedule for team members to follow. It is basically a to-do list for what needs to happen before the project is complete. Make sure to prioritize the list to get an understanding of which things are more important than others.
ProTip: Identifying task milestones helps break down your construction project into smaller, more manageable pieces.
3) Budget & Resources
What are the costs associated with this project? What tools and equipment are needed to complete the job? Make sure you have everything you need to get the project done in a timely fashion. Be sure to use the best tools for the project. For example, you can save time and money during the construction dewatering process when you use an Aqua-Barrier® inflatable water dam instead of the outdated system of sandbags.
4) Communication & Progress
One of the most important pieces of the construction management plan is to keep daily communication and progress on the project. Frequently assessing the goals and objectives of the project can help everyone stay on task, and also allows issues to be brought to immediate attention so it can be quickly handled.
5) Document Everything
Everything that happens or changes during the project needs to be documented. Always keep a paper trail for each step of the project. These documents are crucial to making sure everything was completed as expected and in closing the project successfully.
Construction Project Management
With a strong construction management plan, you can be sure your project runs into few if any issues. Whether you are new to the construction industry, or you’ve been in it for years, a management plan is a must-have for any project, big or small.
Contact us to learn more great tips on how to create a construction management plan.
by siteadmin | Nov 9, 2018 | Aqua-Barrier, Construction, Dewatering, Safety
If you work in construction, you know how important a dry worksite can be. Dewatering the construction site prior to beginning work allows the site to be safer by lowering the risk of accidents, firms the soil where work will be conducted, and it also helps the environment by removing standing water that can be a target for mosquitos and toxins.
Construction Projects and Dewatering Precautions
Dewatering is needed on nearly all construction sites. Water needs to be removed from these sites to create a safer work environment, help prevent erosion, and also help protect the environment. It is important to consider some dewatering precautions before getting started on a project. Here are a few to remember:
- Water should never be pumped directly into slopes.
- Discontinue dewatering if the area shows signs of instability or erosion.
- Channels used for dewatering need to be steady and protected by grass and vegetation.
- Never dewater during heavy rains. The water and infiltration rate will be slower during the dewatering process or it will not function entirely.
- Never discharge water that contains oil, grease, or chemical products.
- Make sure to acquire any additional permits from state, local, or federal agencies.
Dewatering Methods
There are many dewatering methods to get the dry worksite you need for your construction project. These vary from open excavation, trenches, gravity drainage channels, and also inflatable cofferdams. An Aqua-Barrier® Inflatable Water Dam is the perfect tool for many dewatering and construction projects and is a more environmentally friendly and safe alternative to other traditional dewatering methods.
ProTip: An Aqua-Barrier® Cofferdam is the perfect alternative to sheet piling and sandbags that is environmentally friendly, as well as cost and time effective.
Ensure Safety with Dewatering Precautions
Whether you are working on a bridge repair, pipeline construction, sediment control, or shoreline restorations, keeping your work site safe requires dewatering and following the dewatering precautions above.
Contact us to learn more reasons it is important to follow dewatering precautions to ensure a safe worksite.
by siteadmin | Sep 21, 2018 | Aqua-Barrier, Cofferdam, Water Diversion
Cofferdams are used in many industries when dewatering and water diversion are necessary. You might not realize it, but the history of cofferdams is long and fascinating and dates back thousands of years. During this time the cofferdam has evolved and improved several times.
The Evolution of the Cofferdam
Cofferdams have been around for centuries, but they haven’t all looked or worked the same. The history of cofferdams is interesting and takes us back to the Persian empire. Here is the timeline of cofferdams used throughout history and how they have advanced through the years.
- Earthen Cofferdam
- Roman Cofferdam
- Sandbags
- Steel Sheet Pile Cofferdam
- Aqua-Barrier® Inflatable Cofferdam
1) Earthen Cofferdams
The first cofferdams were said to be used by King Cyrus of Persia in 539 B.C. to temporarily divert water from the Euphrates river, allowing the capture of Babylon. This capture of Babylon ended their rule, allowing the Medo-Persian empire to begin.
2) Roman Cofferdams
The Romans had their own cofferdam, as well, and it was made from wood pilings that they temporarily used in order to build bridges across the Danube river in 102 A. D. in what is now Romania.
3) Sandbags
In the 1880’s, during the Napoleonic wars, people used sandbags to control water. Initially, these bags of sand were used for the protection of the troops during battle, but eventually, they were used as temporary dams and water control.
4) Steel Sheet Pile Cofferdams
After a hundred years of using sandbags, a milestone in cofferdams was introduced through the steel sheet pile cofferdam. In the early 1900’s, a German engineer came up with an interlocking design of ‘U’ shaped steel to help control water. This interlocking steel cofferdam design is still being used today in some countries.
5) Aqua-Barrier® Inflatable Cofferdams
Fast forward to 1996 and the invention of the Aqua-Barrier® cofferdam. This inflatable cofferdam features a patented internal baffle system that not only provides stability but the ability to use on any terrain, too. The Aqua-Barrier® is vastly more effective and efficient than outdate sandbags, and is also more environmentally friendly, too.
Modern Uses and the Cofferdam
The modern Aqua-Barrier Inflatable Cofferdam is the essential tool for a variety of dewatering projects, such as building and repairing boat ramps, pipeline construction projects, water park maintenance, shoreline restoration, flood protection, and more.
Contact us to learn more about the fascinating history of cofferdams.
