Case Study: Innovative Concrete Restoration Revives Hospital Parking Structure With Zero Downtime to Critical Infrastructure

Complex concrete restorations often require engineered solutions that are carried out by expert teams working in close collaboration. Learn how StructureCare developed and implemented a challenging restoration project to combat hazards that threatened the structural health of a busy hospital’s parking garage.

Problem: Navigating a complex structural concrete repair

After a leaking storm drain caused significant damage to a regional hospital’s parking structure, the facility manager entrusted StructureCare, its longstanding parking structure preventative maintenance provider, to engineer and implement a solution that navigated several significant and unique challenges.

“These are the types of concrete restoration projects where StructureCare shines,” John McCormick, Vice President, Managing Director of StructureCare, states. “We were excited to embrace the complexity of this parking structure project, knowing it would allow us to showcase the depth of our technical engineering capabilities, as well as the inherent benefits of our streamlined approach. The team's innovative solutions and seamless coordination of all parties involved provided the client with exactly what they desired: a repaired structure, zero downtime or interruption to critical infrastructure and no budgetary surprises.”

The hospital encountered a deteriorated cast-in-place concrete column and damaged overhead girder that supported multiple parking garage levels, as well as mechanical equipment for the adjacent hospital building within the garage structure. The project was unique because the column and girder were surrounded by complex, hospital-grade mechanical equipment (boiler, steam pipes, HVAC ductwork, electrical conduit), which restricted access to make the repairs. Because of the mechanical equipment and the engineering solutions needed to repair the integrity of the structure, third-party specialist contractors were needed to perform the full scope of work. Lastly, to add to the project’s complexity, all repairs needed to occur while allowing the parking garage and critical hospital infrastructure to remain in service without any downtime.

Solution: Delivering outside-the-box parking structure solutions

Having historical knowledge of the garage, the StructureCare team was able to swiftly assess the challenges, prioritize needs, align third-party specialist contractors and develop a plan of action. Unlike other engineering firms, StructureCare’s unique turnkey approach enabled the team to work directly and seamlessly with the specialty vendors to design and implement the solution, rather than using the conventional model of working as separate entities.

The first step was to install temporary shoring to carry the loads on the concrete column and girder. Some of the mechanical equipment was temporarily relocated in a process that required very close coordination among the StructureCare team, the client and a mechanical contractor.

The remaining clustered mechanical assets prevented the use of conventional shoring systems, so StructureCare designed and fabricated custom shoring with structural steel (including a 40-foot shoring column) and rigging. Each element was developed to be precisely installed to maximize parking space in the garage’s compact facility. In addition, continuous mechanical operations required the use of a dust containment system due to the critical needs of the adjacent hospital system.

StructureCare also developed an innovative solution that used custom-designed fiberglass crane pads to serve as a temporary shoring foundation, allowing us to spread out shoring loads without damaging the existing concrete floor.

With the project complexities addressed, contractors were able to complete the water damage restoration.

Result: Ensuring long-term safety, operations and profitability

When a conventional solution wasn’t possible, StructureCare’s team developed an approach that was customized and highly engineered. StructureCare’s turnkey approach enabled the team to design and implement a solution that allowed the garage to remain open to hospital patients, visitors and staff during the project.

With the project completed, the lifespan of the hospital’s parking structure and the health of the critical mechanical equipment were significantly increased. The StructureCare team then worked with the hospital’s facility manager to provide training to the in-house maintenance team to increase their ability to recognize parking garage deterioration and root cause issues. With staff education and a proper preventative maintenance plan in order, this parking structure can avoid future costly repairs and remain safe, operational and profitable for many more years.