Smart Solutions Category: Drains

Olson Plumbing Saves Time, Cuts Costs with Josam Drainage Products for Hospital Installation Project

Tight timelines are a constant in building, but supply chain disruptions triggered by the COVID pandemic have complicated matters further. Olson Plumbing turned to Josam Company for drainage products that could meet the specifications and timing required for a new Colorado hospital. Josam’s packaging, labeling, and shipping method saved Olson Plumbing time onsite, cutting labor costs.

St. Clare is a new, 140,000-square-feet, state-of-the-art orthopedic hospital located in Colorado Springs, CO. The building features 72 beds with 10 operating rooms; a full emergency center with 14 treatment rooms; an imaging department that includes radiography, magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, and ultrasonography; a helipad; a laboratory; sterile processing facilities; a full kitchen; and a parking garage with a rehabilitation field on the upper level.

Pivot to Josam Products

Olson’s project manager met with the design team to determine the best drainage solutions and assisted through the design phase to get the drainage products selected and approved, coordinated, and procured in time for installation. The project schedule was expected to be fairly fast-paced, with the material required onsite quickly. Disruptions to the supply chains complicated the original procurement plans given the demands of the project.

Working closely with Olson Plumbing, Josam and its manufacturing representative, RKR, stepped in to provide the required drainage products on time to meet the project’s schedule requirements. The design team was satisfied with Josam’s drainage product selections and the various options available to them. Josam provided approximately 250 drains and carriers for the project, ranging from floor sinks, drains, and cleanouts to specialized drains for the rehabilitation field.

Packaging Improves Productivity

Olson Plumbing was impressed with Josam’s superior packaging, labeling, and shipping method, offered at no extra charge. Josam recognizes that receiving, identifying, and matching up incoming products on a jobsite can take a considerable amount of time and typically increase labor costs. In particular, drains and carriers often require multiple components, so they are time-consuming to assemble and parts can easily be lost. Olson Plumbing saved time and labor costs because each item was individually wrapped and tagged with specific product designations for easy on-site identification and transportation.

Olson Plumbing also took advantage of Josam’s prefab carriers before on-site delivery. Josam’s carriers are available in a standard 500-pound prefab package, with load capacities also available in 750 and 1,000 pounds.

Because they are among the first products required on the jobsite, time is of the essence when it comes to drains. Josam had the right products for Olson Plumbing right when they needed them.

For more information, visit www.josam.com.

Josam Company’s Lightweight Drain System Makes Installation a Snap for Egan Company

Egan Company selected Josam Company’s drain system to ensure that LeafLine Labs, the premium medical cannabis cultivator in Minnesota, had the right drainage systems to meet their unique needs. Josam Company’s PRO-PLUS^® Trench Drain System was a welcome change from other labor-intensive drain systems that Egan Company had used, saving time and streamlining installation.

LeafLine Industries opened its headquarters and an indoor cultivation facility in Cottage Grove, MN, in 2014. It tripled the size of that facility in 2020 with the addition of a 134,000-square-foot greenhouse and continued to expand with the construction of a 77,000-square-foot addition in 2022.

Cannabis medical facilities produce a lot of plant wastewater, so it is essential to have drainage that can handle large amounts of liquid and effectively remove wastewater from the facility. Drainage systems work hard in these facilities; without the proper drainage system as part of the design, the water runoff from the irrigation system would have nowhere to go, which could then cause diseases to the plants.

Egan Company found Josam’s PRO-PLUS Trench Drain System easier to handle and install than other systems because of its lightweight composite material, which is stronger and more temperature-resistant than other trench drain products.

Josam Company and Bennerotte Marketing Agency, Josam’s manufacturing representative in Minnesota, worked with Egan Company from the start of the LeafLine Labs construction project during the submittal phase. Egan Company’s senior project manager, Todd Achterkirch, met with the design team to determine the best drainage solutions and assisted through the design phase to get the drainage products selected, approved, coordinated, and procured in time for installation.

To satisfy the project requirements, Josam provided 772’ of PRO-PLUS 100 Series channels with ductile iron grates to meet the drainage demands. The PRO-PLUS channels provided were 4” nominal width and the grates were Class-C PRO-SNAP^®, Josam’s innovative grate securing system without bolts. Josam supplied the required drainage products on time to meet the project’s schedule. Prior to the material arriving at the project destination, Egan Company pre-assembled the drain in the shop to streamline the field installation.

Egan Company was delighted to use the PRO-PLUS trench drain system for this project. “The PRO-PLUS system was much easier to handle and install because of its lightweight material,” said Achterkirch. The system “assembled nicely, the parts were all labeled well, and the pre-installed set screws saved time and worked perfectly with the all-thread rod,” he added.

The Josam Company’s trench drain is manufactured using glass-fiber reinforced polyester (GRP) pressed from sheet molding compound (SMC), which is a composite of polyester resin, mineral fillers, and glass-fiber mats. It is lighter in weight, stronger, and expands and contracts in extreme temperature ranges less than other trench drain materials such as polymer concrete, polypropylene, and high-density polyethylene. The combination of SMC and GRP makes this channel 1.5 times stronger and 70 percent lighter than polymer concrete trench drains.

“To make it even easier during the installation process, Josam provided an installation technical layout design which tells you exactly where each channel goes in the run at no additional cost,” Achterkirch added.

The project also used the innovative PRO-SNAP grate securing system. PRO-SNAP grates can be secured and removed quickly and easily with a single hand movement, eliminating the need for bolts or special tools and preventing loose or rattling grates. “The PRO-SNAP design gave us an attractive drainage solution while offering a simpler grate installation by pushing down on them with your hand and locking them into place,” said Achterkirch. “We saved even more time by not having to spend extra time typically needed with the traditional locking bar grate system.”

Achterkirch continued, “Projects that involve installing the PRO-PLUS trench drains are simple and less stressful. It’s not only a quality product but one that offers a variety of labor-saving features that allow us contractors to remain profitable.”

For more information, visit www.josam.com.

Josam Company’s Trench Drain Saves Miinc Mechanical Money, Time, and Headaches

With its light weight and easy installation, Josam Company’s Pro-Plus trench drain system not only minimized hassle for Miinc Mechanical Contractors of Dallas, TX, but it also saved them labor and installation time. Instead of using three or four workers to install the trench drain, Miinc needed only one or two workers laying the Pro-Plus system during a recent project for Southwest Airlines.

Avoiding the Hassle Factor

Most contractors do not enjoy working with trench drain. “Finding a trench drain system that, first, is not broken into pieces when you receive it; second, doesn’t require an advanced degree to determine the proper way to install it; and can also withstand extreme weather conditions and temperature changes is not an easy task,” said Alan Milby, director of preconstruction at Miinc. “In such a competitive environment, we need to avoid as many delays and potential issues in the field as possible that can cause increased labor costs on a job. Installation of trench drain is no different,” he added.

Miinc was awarded the Simulator Office at Southwest Airlines Headquarters Building adjacent to Love Field in Dallas. The company spearheaded the five-story expansion, which included office space, a flight training building, and central plant expansion. The scope of work included three trench drain runs that were 8” wide with a C class load rating. In search of a trench drain system that would prove to be different than previous experiences, Milby turned to Miinc’s long-time cast iron drainage supplier Josam Company for a solution. Josam Company was up for the task of proving to Milby that working with a trench drain system does not need to be a dreaded task.

Surviving Texas Heat

The Josam Company Pro-Plus trench drain system is the only system made of glass-reinforced polyester pressed from sheet molded compound, or SMC/GRP. The product is 1.5 times stronger than polymer concrete, yet it is 70 percent lighter, a big plus in handling and labor. Similar systems made of polypropylene experience 4.4 times more thermal expansion than SMC/GRP, and trench drain systems made out of high density polyethylene (HDPE) experience 10 times more. In the heat of Texas, thermal expansion is a big deal. Milby noted, “When we put the Josam Pro-Plus in, it stayed nice and straight on the install. We didn’t have to do anything special with bracing or blocking to keep it that way like we would have with other manufacturers’ products that we used. It went in really nice.”

To meet the specifications, Josam Company shipped their 8” nominal-width trench drain with a class-C ductile iron grating and the innovative Starfix grating system. “While the Starfix design results in a much nicer-looking finished installation, we were even more pleased with the simplicity of simply securing the grates by pushing down on them with your hand and locking them into place as opposed to the timely process of securing the grates with a traditional locking bar system,” said Milby. “It is little features like this that can help keep our labor costs down and be a benefit to our client down the road from a safety and ease-of-cleaning standpoint.”

“The reduced weight of this product allows me to use one to two men for laying out and installing the run, as opposed to three or four men for the heavier products we’ve used.”

—Alan Milby, Director of Preconstruction, Miinc Mechanical Contractors

Easy Installation

Milby further noted, “The channels were received at the jobsite with no breakage, and all channels were easily marked with a numbering system for easy installation. I have a few larger projects coming up where I fully intend to take advantage of Josam’s no-charge service to provide an installation layout drawing which tells you exactly where each channel is to be placed for longer and more complex runs. The reduced weight of this product allows me to use one to two men for laying out and installing the run, as opposed to three or four men for the heavier products we’ve used. Again, this cuts down on my manhours and ultimately reduces labor costs.

“Lastly, when I received my quotation from Josam Company, I questioned why they quoted product to meet a class-C load rating without quoting a rail to support the load,” Milby stated. “Josam advised us that, unlike other manufacturers, they are able to achieve up to and including a class-E load rating without needing to add an additional rail system like other manufacturers we have used. This not only is a material cost savings, but once again a labor-savings feature.”

Although Miinc has a longstanding relationship with Josam Company, they often never thought of Josam when it came to trench drain. “Working with the Josam Pro-Plus system was an enjoyable and profitable experience for us, and we fully intend to use it whenever we encounter a trench drain installation” said Milby. “We are always searching for quality products that we can provide to our clients. The Josam Pro-Plus system not only is a quality product but one that offers a variety of labor savings features that enables us to remain profitable in our competitive environment.”

For more information, visit www.josam.com.

All Area Plumbing Counts on Josam Company’s Stainless Steel Piping to Stand Up to Tough Conditions

All Area Plumbing found that stainless steel waste and vent piping systems from Josam Company were the perfect fit for a restaurant in need of a product that could stand up to just about anything. Stainless steel has a lot of advantages over other materials, such as a low corrosion rate, strength, and durability. It is also recyclable, fireproof, nonporous, and attractive. Moreover, Josam’s Push-Fit joining system sped up installation, a plus for All Area Plumbing.

Costly Mistakes

All Area Plumbing was contracted to supply plumbing for a food service establishment being built on the third floor of a mall, directly above an athletic footwear company. The client wanted a product that could endure employee abuse and certain chemicals and still provide an aesthetically appealing solution in a food handling and preparation environment. Specifically, the product had to withstand an employee jamming a broom handle down a floor sink to unclog it—an incident that occurred and dislodged the P-trap below. A whole weekend passed before the damages were realized by the tenants in the store below. By that time, the store had lost sales and product. The restaurant above never knew that there was an issue.

Cost-Effective Solution

All Area Plumbing specified Josam stainless steel waste and vent piping systems for a restaurant because the product could stand up to abuse by employees and corrosive chemicals.

A common concern about using stainless steel is always cost. All Area Plumbing had to ensure the advantages of stainless steel waste pipe and fittings would outweigh the costs of typical materials such as cast iron, PVC, and ABS. So, they called two manufacturers and asked for samples of key fittings (a sanitary tee, wye, long turn 90 [a.k.a., a long sweep], and a P-trap). Josam Company’s product was far superior to the other products. The interior waterway was smooth, the fittings were uniform, and the exterior welds were visibly better.

Josam gladly came to All Area Plumbing’s offices to provide training and product review. Their system relies on Push-Fit technology. The joining method simply involves lubricating the joint and pushing the spigot and socket together. While the system seemed effective, All Area Plumbing had to provide their client with a “bulletproof” waste system that could withstand abuse of employees. Fortunately, Josam also offers locking collars that easily clamp around the joined fitting. The collar locks everything together, providing extra security.

Installation went faster than expected, even with clamping the joints. All Area Plumbing’s attention to detail and thoughtfulness proved to be a timesaver during installation.

For more information, visit www.JOSAM.com.