CASE STUDY

Case Study

Santa Fe County Adult Correctional Facility

Commercial buildings run the gambit from hospitals, hotels, shopping malls and everything in-between—even prisons! In 2018, Nations Roof® was asked to bid and subsequently won a reroofing project for the Santa Fe County Adult Correctional Facility, a high-security prison in Santa Fe, New Mexico. For many commercial roofers, taking on a high-risk job of this nature with stringent security measures and a hard deadline would not be feasible; but for Nations Roof, this was just another day in the life of being the #1 commercial roofing company in the US.

Here’s how that project played out from the unique high-security challenges and intense logistics through to the finished, approved job. 

The Project Specifications

The scope of the project was to reroof 108,300 Sq. Ft. and tear off the existing EPDM roof, saving the ISO foam board insulation for reuse on the new roof.

Removed:

  • 4” of ISO and store on the ground – this entailed backing out the screws and placing the ISO into 4 x 8 stacks that were shrink-wrapped for later use

Installed:

  • 5/8” Primed DensDeck® in 4’x8’ sheets mechanically attached to the metal deck
  • 1-ply of the base using Siplast Irex 40 vapor barrier torch
  • Reinstalled the existing 4” ISO in low rise foam adhesive and replaced what was not salvageable with new 4” ISO in low rise foam adhesive
  • 1.5” ISO 4”x4” in low rise foam adhesive
  • ½” Primed DensDeck® in 4’x4’ sheets with low rise foam adhesive
  • 2-ply base (Siplast P-20 TG)
  • Cap sheet (Siplast P-30 FR TG)
  • Siplast Veral Aluminum Flashing
  • Siplast Parapro Flashing System on many details throughout the project
  • New sheet metal and re-used sheet metal as specified

Replaced:

  • 48 clear double dome skylights each 4’x4’

Security Measures

In a high-security facility where inmates are looking for reasons to make formal complaints against the prison, maintaining clean air was very important to avoid possible lawsuits. Both the warden and Santa Fe county took the risk of health issues from polluted air very seriously. To ensure the air quality remained at the highest level, Nations Roof® contracted with Acme Environmental to carry out air monitoring throughout the project. Every week the air was sampled and analyzed to confirm it was within the acceptable level. Nations Roof was also required to install 2” thick charcoal filters at all air in-takes throughout the facility to help filter out any odors or contaminants. 

Logistics

In an environment where tools are used as weapons or for digging escape tunnels [yes, think, “Cool Hand Luke”], Nations Roof had to be extremely diligent when working to avoid dropping tools into the open space below. Guards would also conduct random audits of all tools to ensure none were missing.

The prison, shaped like a hexagon, had four pods each with a secured grassy area and in the center was the prison yard which was open to the sky. Nations Roof’s Operations Director drafted a logistics plan allowing for materials to be safely removed and delivered to the facility. Instead of the original proposal to use a single loading area, Nations Roof recommended a crane that would get placed in proximity to the work zone and be able to more efficiently deliver materials over the high-security fence, across the yard, and onto the rooftop.  The warden of Santa Fe Adult Correctional Facility agreed to the plan on the condition that a crane operator was always present.

Additional steps taken were:

  • Large lockable containers were brought in to store sensitive materials and tools.
  • Through a strong working relationship between the prison warden, Santa Fe County project manager and Nations Roof®’s superintendent, developing trust in Nations Roof® and their ability to follow procedures, the correctional facility went above and beyond to help Nations Roof®, installing a security fence to provide access to difficult to reach areas without breaching the security protocol.

Safety

There were no safety violations or lost time due to injuries throughout the entire project. The following measures were taken to prevent accidents and ensure safety for all those involved.

  • Nations Roof® invested in 1,500 lineal feet of zip rail so the crew could carry out work freely without being tied off
  • A certified fall cart was in use when working in areas outside the guard rail
  • Fall protection got installed over the skylights within a given work zone
  • The entire crew received training in all aspects of safety
  • A Job Hazard Analysis was documented each day 
  • Each week Toolbox Talks took place 
  • Nations Roof’s third-party safety company STC (Safety Training Consultants) conducted several safety audits

Timeframe

Not unlike other projects that Nations Roof manages, the Santa Fe County Adult Correctional Facility needed to be finished by a certain date. With a time extension issued to account for the high number of rain and high-wind days, the project was completed by the required deadline, and therefore no liquidated damages were incurred.

Finished Job

Despite tie-ins on at least two of the roofing sides, there were zero leaks on this job. The Nations Roof team were meticulous on how the tie-ins were implemented to avoid water penetration. At the final inspection with a large team of people walking the roof that included a representative from the manufacturer Siplast, the roofing consultant, the Santa Fe County project manager and the prison warden, the completed project received top marks and zero punch list items were recorded, a rarity for a project of this size and specification. Nations Roof® is pleased to announce they will be entering this project for the NRCA Gold Circle Awards for 2020.

Since starting over fifteen years ago, Nations Roof has earned a strong reputation for delivering high-quality workmanship, consistently good value, exceptional customer service, and award-winning safety standards. Nations Roof has been recognized by the National Roofing Contractors Association, receiving the Gold Circle Award for Quality Workmanship and Risk Management in previous years.

Nations Roof welcomes the opportunity to present a bid on your next project and to demonstrate their commitment to the highest standards of quality, safety, and expertise. Call today: 877-324-9854 to schedule a free inspection.

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