By Jeff Eriks, Cambridge Companies

March 1, 2016

 

Maintenance Shops serve different purposes throughout the waste industry. Determining the need from these facilities at a Hauling Company or Landfill site will best define the design.

Maintenance Shops can be a necessary component at a Landfill site and serve multiple functions. The main use of a Maintenance Shop at a Landfill is to house and maintain equipment such as dozers, compactors, and haul trucks. Typically, this facility is near your Landfill employee break room, locker room, and offices.

The shop design should include accommodations for the equipment and a safe environment for employees to perform equipment maintenance. One of the key factors in determining the type of shop construction is how long the Maintenance Shop is left in this location. Often, Maintenance Shops are built on future landfill cells and need to be moved in the not-so-distant future to allow for cell expansion.

Shop Structures and Environment

Due to the nature, maintenance shops will stay in the same location. They get constructed out of various types of materials and structural systems. Materials for maintenance shops can range from fabric, steel, wood pole barns, or stacked shipping containers with a roof. One of the advantages of temporary structures such as pole barns, fabric buildings, and sea cans is that they don’t require concrete foundations. However, this is advantageous if the structure will not be in this location long-term and can help to reduce costs on foundations. A much more solid and permanent solution is a metal building with a concrete foundation, as this will provide a solid structure for 50 years or more.

The decision for a temporary or permanent facility depends on the overall function of the facility. Questions to consider asking, include:

  1. How long the maintenance shop will be in a specific location?
  2. What is the budget?
  3. What kind of climate will the facility be located in?

These questions are important to answer before contracting a company to design and build the Maintenance Shop.

Read the full blog on Waste Advantage Magazine