Information from this article was first published in Demolition Magazine and is being reused with permission from the National Demolition Association.
By Alexa Schlosser
For years, residents of Sand Springs, OK, drove by a vacated steel facility in the center of the city. An eyesore might be too strong of a word, but people definitely noticed. After all, hundreds of residents had worked there over the years, and when the Sheffield Steel Plant closed in 2009, many were left jobless. Railroad and transportation management company OmniTRAX purchased the site in 2014 to redevelop it for mixed use, including industrial, retail, office and transportation/logistics.
A local trade partner notified NDA member DT Specialized Services of the potential decommissioning and demolition of the plant for OmniTRAX. “The DT project development team provided a qualification package with credentials and contact information of previous clients from other successful projects in years past,” says Lora Lockhart, DT’s director of project development.
“DT has a philosophy to obtain contracts of this caliber where we can provide our experience in managing a project from the start of the project to close out,” says David McAfee, president of DT. “We call it handshake to closeout. In essence, a complete turnkey demolition project managed by DT directly for the owner.”
The plant had several structures tied together with heavy steel requiring precise separation for proper salvage.
In September 2017, after six months of collaboration on a plan, DT mobilized equipment and got to work. Over 33 weeks, the company demolished 390,000 square feet of plant buildings using its own manpower, company-owned equipment and resources.
DT used 14 heavy machines, varying from skid steers to PC 490s with rotating grapples, hammers and buckets. During the pre-demolition process, DT and OmniTRAX worked together to expedite heavy haul loads of steel to an on-site recycling yard owned and operated by an OmniTRAX sister company.
“The use of DT haul trucks with a quick turnaround proved to be beneficial for the project as a whole,” says Steve Chuilli, DT’s senior superintendent.
Just like every demolition job, the Sheffield Steel Plant project included some unique aspects that affected strategy.
“The plant had several structures that were tied in to one another with heavy steel, which required precise separation to allow for proper salvage of the structures that were to remain,” Chuilli says. “The plant was constructed as a steel mill; therefore, the heavy iron and remaining equipment produced many unforeseeable conditions that required experienced crew members and attention with specialized demolition methods.”
DT Specialized Services recycled 87% of the material during demolition.
The majority of the building materials that were demolished were constructed of heavy steel so DT was able to recycle 87% of overall material. The two-story office building was the only structure that generated waste materials that were hauled to the local landfill.
“The project was an overall success in all aspects,” McAfee says. “We did not have any safety issues, the project met all budget goals, and the owner provided exceptional feedback on the DT performance of the site.”
Project statistics
- Weeks to demolish: 33
- Average crew size: 16
- Square feet demolished: 390,000
- Amount recycled: 87%
