St. Francis Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana, is in the midst of a $265 million expansion.  When completed by mid-year 2010, the Indianapolis hospital campus will have a new emergency room, six-story inpatient tower, surgical suites, and additional space for support services.

As part of this huge expansion, Tonn and Blank (T & B) Construction Company headquartered in Michigan City, Indiana, (The construction subsidiary of the Sisters of St. Francis Health Services, Inc.) is installing a 30,000 gallon fiberglass fuel tank measuring 47 feet long, and 12 feet in diameter.  The tank will be used to fuel the hospital's backup generators.

On a busy hospital campus such as St. Francis, a project such as this was not going to be easy or routine.  The excavation site was located about 6 feet from the hospital, and had very limited access and many surrounding obstacles to contend with, including: a loading bay dock directly along one side that had to stay open throughout the excavating and installation process, and newly installed electrical banks just a few feet on the other side of the excavation site.  Excavators and other equipment could only access the site from two sides.

Shoring the excavation to T & B's strict safety standards was going to be a huge challenge.

United Rentals Trench Safety Answers Call, Provides Solution
Tonn and Blank Foreman Stan Burnside contacted Jim Wright, Branch Manager at United Rentals Trench Safety in Indianapolis, to discuss shoring.  "After looking at the specs of the project, I could see that our options were very limited," said Wright.  "I contacted Scott Moreland, United Rental Trench Safety's Product Install and Shoring Specialist, to discuss all of our options.