Page 36: of Maritime Logistics Professional Magazine (Jul/Aug 2019)

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PORT EXPANSION “We’re able to look at the structure beforehand and then take that imagery, evaluate and con? rm elevations, quantities and conditions. We were able to deal with any items that might create issues in advance of performing any actual work on the structure.” – Blake Yaffee, area manager for the project’s demolition portion that data into operators’ control boxes. Thruway to remove the material. As a result, the site was re- “Anybody that has performed water demolition is very fa- turned to the state of New York in a more pristine condition miliar with the term ‘working in the blind’ because that’s basi- than when they started work. cally what people do,” said Yaffee. “For us, the investment in Yaffee believes that the technology has also allowed the team the product against the scale of the project, together with the to carefully evaluate and document project progress. The tool’s fact that the sonar and the software can be recon? gured and real-time as-building capabilities provide daily insight into pro- used on the next project, made it very easy for us to make the ductivity and documentation that benchmarks were being met. decision to bring this equipment on.” Once tasks were completed, the team collected images of the area and identi? ed any follow-on work that needed to be done.

Following this new work? ow, Yaffee explains his team’s work

Focus: Safety and the Environment

In addition to quickly identifying and removing debris un- has been safer, faster and more accurate. Not only that; the ex- derwater, precise positioning has helped Tappan Zee Con- tended team can’t imagine going back to conventional methods. structors break up dif? cult components and material under- “We no longer go through an evaluation process that we did water, without relying solely on divers. Divers also have a initially to determine if it’s worth the investment, if there’s more predictable and well-documented plan before they go going to be a return on investment of bringing this equipment underwater to work, which improves diver safety. on,” said Yaffee. “In other words, it’s not going to make ? nan- “Cutting steel piles with excavator mounted shears without cial sense for us to have a piece of equipment out here that’s either the support of a diver or spending a signi? cant amount of ‘blind’ while all the other pieces of equipment ‘have eyes’.” time just feeling around is nearly impossible,” said Yaffee. “With

The Author this level of visibility and positioning we are certainly able to Kevin Garcia review the conditions with the divers before they go under.” is business area manager for marine and spe-

Scanning the river bottom, the team also identi? ed eroded cialty construction in Trimble’s Civil Engineering structures, components and materials that had collected over and Construction Division. He has more than 15 years of experience in specialty construction and the years from the old bridge. Tappan Zee Constructors re- can be reached at [email protected].

corded these scans and was asked by the New York State 36 Maritime Logistics Professional July/August 2019 | |