Aquatic Bath Spray Booth

Challenge

The plan was to build the booth over the top of two floating conveyor systems which carry individual bath sections and shower enclosures to be laminated inside. The new laminating spray booth production line would significantly increase productivity and make physical labor much more ergonomic.

The biggest challenges for this project were:

• Working around the top of a fully erect conveyor system.
• Assembling large size duct in elevated spaces utilizing tall ladders and scissor lifts.
• Building the spray booth onsite while not interrupting Aquatic Bath’s current production schedule in a fully occupied and operational manufacturing plant.
• Taking extra safety precautions working in a hazardous environment.

Solution

Before the actual construction work commenced, we coordinated with Aquatic Bath to participate in their Contractor Safety Training that they require for vendors to perform work within their facility. We also developed a comprehensive Site Specific Safety Plan that included a Fall Protection Plan and an Activity Hazard Analysis. Since the work was to be performed while under occupied and fully operational manufacturing conditions, it was extremely important that all field personnel were educated about working in a hazardous environment of flammable vapors and fumes and that they wear the correct personal protection equipment specific to this facility.

A lot of the preliminary work was done at our facility in the sheet metal shop where framed sections were welded together then shipped to Aquatic Bath for assembling. The final welding of the frame that occurred onsite required us to work with Aquatic Bath’s Health Safety & Environment Manager for acquiring hot permits and taking extra care to reduce the risk of potential fires. Needless to say no issues arose from carefully executing safe practices for this work.

A Closer Look

The project accounted for custom fabricating and installing just over 6,000 pounds of sheet metal for the booth coverings, duct fittings and exhaust system. The structure also included over 1,000 feet of welded angle iron and metal studs for the frame and structure of the massive booth. The booth was so large that it required having structural load calculations for personnel to work on the roof deck for routine maintenance. The project was completed without a hitch and became the standard for all other production booths that Aquatic Bath has and will have built in the future for all of their plant facilities.