Charter Steel Melt Shop Facility
Cuyahoga Heights, Ohio
Structural Engineer of Record, Structural Steel

As a member of the Design-Build team for this project, Ruby+Associates performed structural design of the three main buildings of the steel facility, which house two-200 ton overhead cranes, one-15 ton crane and one-30 ton crane. The three buildings occupied a total of 100,000 square feet. Building dimensions were: 600 feet x100 feet – 110 ft high; 112 feet x 290 feet – 50 ft high; 75 feet x100 feet – 75 feet high.

Challenges:

Achieving lateral stability for a long, slender structure with a 200-ton crane moving back and forth at the top. Meeting a fast track schedule while redesigning portions of the facility to meet code requirements and stay within the fabricator's bid.

Solutions:

Ruby delivered an innovative approach to resolve the stability requirements and minimize the weight of the structural steel required by designing a unique girt system that utilized bar joists and reduced the need for channels. The D-B team relied on Ruby's expertise throughout erection to resolve changes in MEP design and stability concerns. Ruby accommodated the fast track schedule, using crane building expertise and knowledge of working with fabricators to achieve the least cost design.