WE MADE THE BIG MOVE!! Believe it or not, the big move into our new facility has come and gone. It all started with the moving of the shop on Monday (4-19). Timing worked out well with it being a rain day so we were able to use the additional manpower needed to get the job done. Once the shop was moved we tackled the office on Friday (4-23). That move went awesome as well. The dedication of the employees we have cannot make a leader feel any better. We had a lot of help, which made everything go very smooth and quickly. We were up and running by Monday (4-26) morning.

On we go with the 2004 season. I would like to welcome back everyone and look forward to seeing all of you throughout the summer. I would also like to welcome all the new employees starting this Spring. Lets make sure the veterans here are helping the new folks learn the Frattalone Companies' ways. Remember, we were all new at one time or another. 
Frattalone Companies has picked up quite a bit of work to get started on this Spring. A special thanks goes out to the individuals in the office bidding this work. If you're not back to work yet, this will come very soon. We have a few projects that are held up by permits, but we should be at full force in no time.

In the spring of every year, I usually let everyone know what new equipment we have for the start up. Here they are:

Have a great season!

Tony Frattalone, President

Safety Column: 

It has been a busy spring for the Frattalone demolition team. Hudson Hospital and Saint Anthony Public Works came tumbling down. We skinned the exterior wall from the west side of Ashley Furniture and performed some tricky separation and demolition to remove a canopy at Wally McCarthy's in Roseville. Thanks to Red, Mike Rickert, Mark Krause, Dean Law and Todd Johnson for jobs well done.

In my opinion however, the marquee demo job this spring has been the CEPRO grain elevator. The site is located at 28th and 11th Avenue South in Minneapolis. Red and Mark Krause teamed up on this monster. 
The reinforced concrete CEPRO grain elevator was built in the 1920's. The top of the head house vent stack was 200 feet above the surrounding street. A 100 year old bridge and high voltage electrical wires passed within 30 feet of the head house. Single family residences (with children) are immediately adjacent to the site. In fact, we had to remove 3 houses to get enough room to work. We had threshold limits of one part per million total dust and .5 inch PPV seismic vibration at the site perimeter. This was monitored and vigorously enforced by the owner's representative. 

We had considered using explosives to drop the head house, but the dust and vibration limits made it unfeasible so we went up after it. We demolished the silos and used the concrete debris to build a pad for the crane. We used a 999 American with a 6000# ball, a 375 Cat hoe, a 235C Cat hoe with a labounty pulverizor, and a Cat 988 loader on the project. Steve Trudeau proved, once again, that we have the best crane operator in the demolition business. Fra-Dor is crushing concrete, which will be used for a county owned bicycle path.

We have a couple of projects to note coming up. Later this month, we will demolish the former West Saint Paul K-Mart as part of the new Wal-Mart Project. We will also demolish the old NEI Institute in Columbia Heights. The demand for demolition services is still strong. We have several good size demo jobs coming up for bid within the next few weeks and we always seem to get our share. Looks like a busy summer too!

As I look to the busy season ahead I reflect on the past season, and how we've improved our safety record. A lower number of lost work days due to injuries that are less severe in nature has helped to lower our operating costs and improve our ability to bid work. We can, as a group, reach our goal of zero injuries. We achieve this goal each day that we work without an injury, and need to strive towards longer periods of time. The difficult part is to work more days with out having an injury. By working together safely with a positive attitude, Team Frattalone can be injury free. 

The Spring meeting was conducted at the new maintenance shop and was very well attended. A large portion of the meeting covered the new facility. We also reviewed the mandatory company policy on stretching, reminding everyone that stretching is required prior to each work shift. This stretching program has helped reduce our occurrence of back and soft tissue injuries. 

We were also up-dated on how well the Construction Health and
Safety Excellence program (C.H.A.S.E.) is going and were given reasons why it is beneficial to the company. 

Frattalone Companies is looked at as an industry leader in our field, and welcomes feedback from other companies. If another contractor's employee asks you questions, keep an open mind and use this as a way to make the work environment safer.

We have added some new employees this spring. If you see someone on the job you don't know, take the time to welcome him or her aboard. Please help them to understand how important it is to work efficiently, productively and safely here at Frattalone Companies. Also, be sure to turn in copies of your training certificates. This ensures your training file is properly updated and is the only way I know if your trainings have been completed. Your job participation at various sites may also depend upon updated trainings so we need everyone's file current.

Be safe and promote our goal of Zero Injuries at Frattalone Companies.

Steven Kohler, Safety and Training Director