Precast concrete manufacturer Metromont recently achieved a huge reduction in airborne dust at a major worksite, all thanks to a managed dust control program from Midwest.
A national provider of precast concrete and concrete building solutions, Metromont has made its central Atlanta worksite safer, healthier, and more environmentally friendly with the help of a custom dust control strategy and application program from Midwest Industrial Supply, Inc.! Metromont’s success shows just how effectively our dust control products can eliminate airborne silica dust created during the construction of concrete buildings.
“Midwest didn’t just offer us an effective product — they managed the program from beginning to end and took the problem of dust control off our plate, full-stop,” says Metromont VP and Manager John Wenkel. “Their team was professional and courteous, and most importantly, they honored their commitments.”
Controlling Respirable Silica Dust
Metromont is one of the biggest providers of precast concrete in the United States. It has manufacturing locations throughout the Southeastern U.S., and the company has completed 500 concrete building projects across the country in just the last two decades. But like many other players in the precast concrete industry, Metromont also has concerns about the presence of silica dust.
Respirable crystalline silica is often produced by typical construction tasks like drilling, jackhammering, and the operation of some heavy machinery. Thanks to recently enacted OSHA regulations, businesses in the construction and precast concrete industries face stiff penalties if they aren’t able to keep the presence of this dust to an absolute minimum on their worksites.
While Metromont had already been using a chemical dust solution to suppress silica dust, Wenkel was concerned that the solution wasn’t effective enough to guarantee a safe working environment for his employees. That’s when he reached out to Midwest in search of a better approach to silica dust suppression.
Getting Better Results
Midwest’s experts visited Metromont’s worksite to perform an assessment and specially design a managed application program that could meet the precast concrete provider’s needs. Our experts in the field quickly realized that the project wouldn’t come without its challenges: over 500,000 square feet of the massive 50-acre worksite would need to be treated, and the process would need to be conducted at night to avoid disrupting the site’s daily operations.
All the same, Midwest proposed an EnviroKleen® managed services program that was able to meet all of Wenkel’s requirements. The program would be entirely managed by Midwest, meaning that Wenkel and the rest of Metromont’s Atlanta staff could carry on business as usual while Midwest handled the application process. Also as promised, it would be implemented at off hours — typically during the night — to ensure that everyday activity at the site wouldn’t be affected by the program in any way.
After an initial demo of our program, the Metromont staff was blown away by how effective our approach to dust control was — almost immediately, Wenkel called our team and asked us to implement the rest of the program. The results have made workers feel far safer and healthier on the job while ensuring that Metromont will remain compliant with OSHA’s new standards for respirable silica dust.
As a Premier Partner of the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute, we at Midwest are confident that our custom dust control strategies and managed application programs can help precast concrete manufacturers like Metromont feel confident in their approach to dust control.
We’re proud to have helped Metromont and other precast concrete industry players make their worksites safer, more environmentally friendly, and compliant with government regulations, and hope to help many other businesses do the same in the future.
Midwest is exhibiting at the PCI Tour in Bloomington, MN September 18 – 20. Stop by to see us and let’s talk Silica Dust Control for roads and yards.
