Picture of Solar Panels

Big-Time Solar Panel Contractor Cited for OSHA Violations

A well-known solar panel contractor has been cited for exposing workers to dangerous fall hazards. The company headquartered in Louisiana is one of the leading solar panel installers in the nation. OSHA issued a third-party citation after an investigation found that it violated federal workplace safety requirements despite being previously cited twice in two years.

Following an inquiry by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Marc Jones Construction LLC – also known as Sunpro Solar – for a repeat safety violation after inspectors discovered employees exposed to falls, the most common cause of death and severe injuries in the construction business. Furthermore, the government agency cited the firm for permitting staff to climb up and down extension ladders while holding items that may have prompted them to fall and for screwing up to offer employees a fall safety program.

Marc Jones Construction LLC had received two repeat violations prior, which are issued when an employer previously experienced a similar breach of the same standard or regulation. OSHA referred the Louisiana-based company for similar violations twice in Texas, San Antonio in January 2021, and El Paso in April 2020. “This is another example that falls continue to be one of the leading causes for death and serious injury in construction work,” said DOL OSHA Regional Administrator Condell Eastmond. The OSHA fined the company almost $161,000 in penalties for the violations it committed.

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Based in Mandeville, Louisiana, Marc Jones Construction LLC is a business and residential solar panel installation firm with operations in 21 states. Sunpro Solar, formed in 2008, was named second on “Solar Power World” magazine’s rank of leading home solar installers in the United States in 2021.

After receiving the citations and fines, the organization has 15 business days to cooperate, seek an informal meeting with OSHA’s local director, or appeal the allegations before the independent OSHA commission.

Roofing contractors have become a target of OSHA inspections. At least five roofing contractors were cited in 2018 for violating workplace safety requirements, including one in Kentucky. The installation of metal awnings is being considered to be prone to fall hazards. This is the reason why Upside Innovations is providing experts to ensure that there are no untoward incidents in your workplace or your facilities. Upside Innovations stays committed to ensuring the safety of our employees and protecting the environment through safe work practices.

Roof-mounted railings are a common type of safety measure employed by contractors. Guardrails with safety swing gates are generally placed six feet from the edge of the roof. If anything near the border, like a condenser unit, barriers are needed right up to it.

It may be unappealing to put bright yellow barriers around the perimeter of the roof. There are methods to meet OSHA standards without resorting to such measures. Galvanized rails, for example, are less obtrusive visually but might be prone to corrosion. This is why aluminum handrails are recommended for them to be more durable in weather conditions on the rooftop.

The use of guardrails is also an architectural problem. Some building owners, for example, surround the roof with bright yellow rails. It is under OSHA standards, but it gives the impression that the facility is always under construction and distracted from other structure areas. There are several alternative products available to assist building owners in acquiring OSHA permits. What is important is that building workers and visitors are kept safe in case of stair accidents or slips happen in these building areas.

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Area of Refuge vs. Area of Rescue Requirements

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Estimated reading time: 5 minutes


Area of Refuge vs. Area of Rescue

The main distinction between the two is: an Area of Refuge is an interior a safe waiting space for people during an emergency evacuation while Area of Rescue is exterior. 


The information in this guide references the International Building Code 1009.6 and International Building Code 1009.7

Area of Refuge?

The International Building Code (IBC) defines it as “an area where persons unable to use stairways can remain temporarily to await instructions or assistance during an emergency evacuation.” For example, people in wheelchairs or elderly people would have difficulties going down the stairs, so they need an area where they can wait for help.

These waiting areas must be fire-resistant and protected from smoke, so people can safely wait for emergency responders. An Area of Refuge should be equipped with a form of communication, such as an intercom or a two-way communication device. This allows individuals to get in contact with emergency personnel to notify them that they are in the Area of Refuge and request assistance.

Area of Rescue?

An Area of Rescue is well-known as Exterior Areas for Assisted Rescue, it should be open to the outside air. The area must be no less than 50% open to minimize the accumulation of smoke or toxic gases. The exterior walls that separate the interior building from the Exterior Area of Assistance Rescue should have a minimum fire-resistance for 1 hour.

Stairways that are a means of egress for the Exterior Area of Assisted Rescue should provide a clear minimum width of 48 inches between the handrails. This minimum width is not required when protected by a sprinkler system.

What are the dimensions?

The Area of Refuge size determines how many wheelchair spaces your building requires. One wheelchair space is a minimum of 30″ x 48″. Each Exterior Area for Assisted Rescue should also be sized to accommodate wheelchair spaces of this size.

Area of refuge dimensions

Is my building required to have an Area of Refuge/Rescue?

The IBC requires that all new construction must comply with the most current regulations, which require an Area of Refuge. Existing buildings are not required to make alterations to comply with IBC. The only time new construction is not required to have refuge areas is if both of the following are true:

  1. The building has a supervised automated sprinkler system
  2. Has a wheelchair-friendly route (i.e. ADA ramp system) out and away from the building.

Single-story buildings that are level with grade do not have to have refuge areas because everybody can exit the building on their own.

An Exterior Area of Assisted Rescue on an exterior landing should be provided when the exit discharge does not include an accessible route from the level of exit discharge to a public way.

How many areas do I need?

First, for any building that is above grade or has multiple floors, you will need to determine how many means of egress paths you need.

The required number of means of egress paths are determined by the occupant load:

Occupant LoadRequired Means of Egress
<5002
500-9993
>1,0004

The only exception to this rule applies when a business has 30 occupants or less AND the distance to an exit is no more than 75 feet.

According to the code, you will need at least two of the means of egress to be accessible from any area that can be accessed by somebody in a wheelchair.

An accessible means of egress means it is a way for somebody in a wheelchair to get outside or wait safely for help. It can consist of an elevator, platform lift, ramp, interior area of refuge, or exterior area of rescue.

In order to be considered “accessible”, a stairway between stories will need to incorporate an Area of Refuge unless there is an automatic sprinkler system.

How many wheelchair spaces do I need?

IBC requires that you have one 30″ x 48″ wheelchair space for every 200 occupants that the means of egress serves. A wheelchair space cannot block access in or out of more than one adjacent wheelchair space.

wheelchair space requirements

Where are they required?

The following areas can be designated as an Area of Refuge:

  1. Stairwell – the stairwell must be enclosed.
  2. Elevator lobby – elevator in the lobby must be equipped with standby power.
  3. Horizontal exit – a horizontal exit can act as an Area of Refuge. A horizontal exit is a fire-resistant wall that separates an area into two areas. For example, if a fire started in Room A, a horizontal exit would have a fire-resistant wall that separated Room A from Room B. Room B serves as the Area of Refuge.
Area of Refuge Horizontal exit

If you are unable to have an accessible means of egress (i.e. ADA ramp) down to the ground, you must have an Area of Refuge or Rescue at either of the following locations EVEN IF the building has a sprinkler system:

  1. Interior side of an exit door – it must be enclosed by fire-resistant, interior wall.
  2. Exterior side of an exit door – the exterior wall adjacent to the Area of Rescue must be fire-resistant.

AREA OF RESCUE AREA OF REFUGE

These areas of egress are necessary to give all building occupants a safe route during an emergency. View the United States Access Board: Chapter 4 for more details on means of egress and Areas of Refuge and Rescue.

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Upside Earns Rank in Inc. 5000

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We are excited to announce that Upside Innovations made the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing private companies in the U.S. – an accomplishment that we couldn’t have achieved without our customers and the effort put forth by our team. Thank you to everyone that has helped us reach this goal

!Thank you for your continued support!

How it works:

The companies that rank on the Inc. 5000 list are ranked according to percentage revenue growth over a three-year period. Companies that comprise the 2018 list are evaluated based on their 2014 and 2017 revenues. To qualify, the companies must have generated revenue by March 31, 2014 and be independent, privately held, for-profit companies as of December 31, 2017.

Upside’s growth:

In terms of revenue, Upside Innovations has grown a miraculous 206% over the three-year period when the average growth rate for the Inc. 5,000 list is 158%. We have also increased the number of employees from 18 in 2014 to 39 in 2017 which is a 117% employee growth rate.

Reference point: Average revenue growth for Ohio 135.4%

Reference point: Average employee growth for Ohio 113%

Like most companies, Upside Innovations had humble beginnings, but through many ups and downs, our team and business continues to grow. Read about Upside’s journey that began in 2009, and see just how much Upside has transformed.

Our Rankings:

#17 top Cincinnati company

#48 top manufacturing company in the U.S.

#2153 fastest growing business in the U.S.

View a composite list of the Inc. 5000.

ADA Ramp Material

Best ADA Ramp Material

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Choosing the best ADA wheelchair ramp material can be difficult, especially when trying to balance quality and price along with any other factors that may be important to you. Here is a breakdown of some of the ADA ramp material properties to consider, including weight, strength, corrosion resistance and cost of aluminum, iron, steel, wood and concrete.

Aluminum

The best-known properties of aluminum are its light weight yet high tensile strength, which gives it an ideal weight to strength ratio in construction applications. It is approximately one third the density of steel and much lighter than steel. Aluminum alloys commonly have tensile strength between 70 and 700 MPa, and the range for alloys used in extrusion is normally between 150 – 300 MPa. 

What is tensile strength? It is the maximum amount of tensile (tension) stress a material can endure before failure, such as breaking or permanent deformation. Tensile strength is commonly measured using MPa, which stands for megapascals. As a point of reference, the tensile strength for structural steel is 400MPa.

Aluminum is also corrosion resistant because when it reacts with oxygen in the air, a thin layer of oxide is formed. Anodizing aluminum will increase the thickness of the natural oxide layer which will further protect the material from corrosion, especially corrosion due to outdoor elements. This layer is self-repairing when damaged and provides better adhesion for paint primers and glues than other bare metals. Aluminum is extremely durable in neutral and slightly acidic environments, but corrosion occurs quickly in high acidic environments. High acidic environments can consist of sulfuric pools and geysers along with areas polluted by acid mine drainage.

Another bonus of aluminum is that it is the third most common element on Earth’s crust, and aluminum compounds occur naturally in our food. Thus, it has zero toxicity and is completely recyclable.

For everything considered, including its light weight, high tensile strength, corrosion resistance and recyclability, aluminum is very cost-effective ADA ramp material.

Metals-and-alloys-strength
Metals & Alloys: Strength to Cost
Metals-and-alloys-elasticity
Metals & Alloys: Elasticity to Cost

Iron & Steel

Iron is generally cheaper than aluminum because aluminum is more expensive to extract from its ore.

Iron is slightly stronger than aluminum in terms of tensile strength, but it is much more dense and heavy, making it more difficult to install in certain applications. Cast iron’s tensile strength is commonly between 60 and 800MPa while mild steel is around 300MPa. So what’s the difference between iron and steel? Iron is an element while steel is an alloy that is comprised of iron and carbon.

Different grades of steel exist, each with varying amounts of carbon in them. Carbon is incorporated into the iron during a smelting process which involves controlled heating and cooling of molten iron. A higher level of carbon in steel means that it will be harder, but it will also be more brittle. Whereas lower amounts of carbon allow steel to be softer but more malleable. In general, alloys are much stronger than pure metals, so steel is stronger than iron and consequently more expensive.

Iron is commonly used in construction applications and is usually covered with a strong protective coating or buried within other building materials. Why? Because iron alone is not weather-resistant. The surface of the material readily combines with the oxygen in the air in the presence of moisture, thus, creating rust. In completely dry air, however, iron does not rust. That said, consumers typically opt for a galvanized product. Galvanization is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to iron or steel to prevent rusting; the thicker the zinc coating, the longer it will resist corrosion. This process will increase the initial cost of the product, but will increase the life of the product.

The main concern with galvanization is that the zinc coating eventually develops a natural carbonate on its surface by exposure to the atmosphere and rainwater. The carbonate can become brittle and crusty and eventually split, exposing fresh zinc for corrosion. Since the zinc coating is thin, it can corrode up to the base metal exposing the base to the atmosphere and corrosion as well.

Wood

Wood is typically weaker than steel, iron and aluminum, yet it is not much cheaper on average. Pine and Oak are the strongest woods that would be used for structural applications with tensile strengths between 70 and 90MPa.

It is known that no matter what type of wood is used, it is always stronger when cut with the grain. 

So why is wood stronger when cut with the grain? Wood is a natural substance that is much stronger when the grain is continuous. Think about packing together a bunch of straws; each individual straw is weak, but they become quite strong when altogether. Wood works the same way with its strands of cellulose fibers – when fibers are continuous (packed together like straws) and cut with the grain they are stronger.

Wood is cheaper than the aforementioned ADA ramp material, but the lower cost comes with a maintenance price. Like iron and steel, wood must be treated to prevent corrosion. People typically use a sealer or varnish to prevent rotting and warping, but the sealer must be reapplied every year to maintain its appearance. However, even with treatment, wood does not have anywhere near the lifetime of aluminum; wood will expand in the heat and shrink in the winter even with finishes. Along with rotting and warping, wood can splinter, which can be hazardous if being used by the public.

wood-and-wood-products
Wood & Wood Products: Strength to Cost
Wood-and-wood-products-elasticity
Wood & Wood Products: Elasticity to Cost

Concrete

Concrete is weak in terms of tensile strength with a range of 2-5MPa. Recall tension and compression are not the same; tension forces materials apart whereas compression forces materials together. Concrete weight is typically measured in terms of compressive strength because most concrete applications don’t experience tension. The compressive strength, which is usually about 10x the tensile strength, of concrete is 20 to 40MPa, which is still much less than other materials. In addition, concrete has a very low thermal coefficient of expansion which means that it is highly vulnerable to cracking. Cracking happens more quickly in environments where the temperature is constantly rising and falling.

Another cause of corrosion can be the expansion of the reinforcement steel. If the steel is located too close to the surface of the concrete, it is exposed to air and spalling can occur. Spalling is a process where flat fragments of the concrete chip off from the mass by the structural steel.

Concrete is a relatively cheap ADA ramp material option, but there are many factors that can lead to quick corrosion.

Ceramics: Strength to Cost
Ceramics: Elasticity to Cost

*Young’s Modulus from the charts above can also be referred to as Elastic Modulus, which determines the elasticity of a certain material. Charts courtesy of the Department of Engineering from Cambridge University.

Summary

All of these are good ADA ramp materials, but each one functions best in different environments and applications. The optimal ADA ramp material for an outdoor location with fluctuating temperatures would be aluminum followed by steel. Wood is a cheaper option that can also be used outdoors but would require yearly maintenance due to the likelihood of corrosion and warping. If price is the most important factor and other properties don’t matter, concrete would suffice.

Pick the characteristics that are important to you as a buyer or user, and choose the associated material that fits your need.

To better understand what it means for a ramp to be ADA compliant, read our Beginner’s Guide to Complete ADA Compliance.

Crossover stairs over conveyor

Crossover Metal Stairs for Industrial Applications

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Crossover Stair

Crossover metal stairs have at least two sets of stairs that are connected by one or more platforms and are designed to allow employees to safely travel up and over physical barriers in the workplace. Without stairs that provide access over the barriers, employees could be injured if they try to climb over or crawl under the object. The crossover stairs must comply with OSHA regulations to ensure that employees will not fall.

Aluminum is the most common material used for crossover steps because it is lightweight yet strong, and it won’t rust in a wet or humid environment. Steel is sometimes used, but it will rust, it is more expensive, and it’s bulkier than aluminum.

Crossover metals stairs commonly provide access over barriers such as conveyor belts, industrial pipes and ducts, and walls that don’t extend all the way to the ceiling. There are a variety of common crossover stair layouts that can accommodate a variety of barrier sizes, locations, and configurations.

Simplified Crossover Layouts:

crossover metal stairs layout
C-SHAPE CROSSOVER
crossover metal stairs layout
H-SHAPE CROSSOVER
Crossover metal stairs layout
STRAIGHT CROSSOVER
Crossover metal stairs layout
L-SHAPE CROSSOVER
Crossover metal stairs layout
Z-SHAPE CROSSOVER

The C-shape layout below was designed to help employees cross over a conveyor belt that moved materials through a small opening and into another room. The crossover platform was designed to be high enough to give enough clearance underneath so that the materials could still fit through the opening.

11221 REV-A.dft

This is the final set of crossover metal stairs installed to give access over the conveyor belt. The step risers are of equal heights, and guardrails are provided for fall-protection.


Upside Innovations will custom design a set of crossover metal stairs to meet your specifications whereas many suppliers offer a standard product that may not fit your unique application. The Upside Crossover Steps can utilize either a Grip Strut walking surface or an extruded, aluminum decking. Grip Strut is more of an aggressive tread with holes in the surface, and extruded decking is a solid surface with little raised strips for traction.

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Metal Handrail for Stairs

A Simple Guide to ADA Handrails

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1. Located on both sides

Handrails must be on both sides of the stairs and ramps. For OSHA stair handrails, however, it can be just on one side.

2. Continuous

Handrails must be continuous through the full length of the stair flight or ramp run. They cannot end or break at any point within the bounds of the steps or ramp. This guideline applies to all handrails, including the inside handrails on switchback or L-shaped stairs and ramps; they must continue through the platforms.

handrail heights for stairs, ramps and walking surfaces

3. Positioned between 34″ to 38″ above surface

The top of the gripping surfaces must be between 34″ and 38″ above the walking surface. For a set of steps, the height of the handrail is measured from the edge of each nosing to the top of the handrail. For ramps and platforms, the handrail height can be measured at any point along the path. Handrails should be at a consistent height for the length of the stair flight or ramp run, including any platforms

4. Minimal obstruction

Handrail gripping surfaces should have minimal obstruction. They cannot be obstructed along their tops or sides, and the bottoms should not be obstructed for more than 20% of their length. This guideline ensures that persons using the steps or ramp can easily grip the handrails. This also a reason why aluminum stairs must be free of dirt and must be kept clean at all times.

5. Be “graspable”

ADA handrails with a circular cross-section should have an outside diameter between 1.25″ and 2″. ADA handrails with a non-circular cross-section should have a perimeter dimension between 4″ and 6.25″ with a maximum cross-section dimension of 2.25″.

minimum step and ramp handrail perimeter

6. Extend past the length of the ramp and/or stairs

Ramp handrails should extend straight and horizontally above the landing for at least 12″ beyond both the top and bottom of ramp runs. If the ramp does not continue after the landing, the extensions should return to a wall, guard, or landing surface. If it does continue, the handrail should be continuous.

Stair handrail parts should extend horizontally for at least 12″ beginning directly above the first riser nosing. Extensions should return to a wall, guard, or the landing surface if there is no adjacent flight of steps. If there is an adjacent flight, the handrail should be continuous.

At the bottom of a stair flight, the handrails should extend at the slope of the stair flight for a horizontal distance at least equal to one tread depth beyond the last riser nosing. The extension should return to a wall, guard, or the landing surface or should be continuous to the handrail of an adjacent stair flight.

Handrail extensions for ramps
metal handrails gripping handle
standard ADA handrail tread depth

7. No sharp elements

Handrail gripping surfaces and any surfaces adjacent to them should be free of sharp or abrasive elements and should have rounded edges.

8. Should not rotate within their fittings

Handrails that are connected with fittings should be secure and not rotate. 

Industrial metal stairs

Upside Innovations: Then and Now

When sitting in the first iteration of Upside Innovations’ facility, founder Kevin Sharp used to look out the window of the 1,900 ft2 garage/office and stare at the semis loading and unloading at the large manufacturing facility across the street.  It felt so far out of reach when trying to build a company as the economy was still in the middle of the Great Recession.  Fast forward eight years, and Upside Innovations is in its fourth facility (not including Kevin’s house) and is tearing down walls to increase the manufacturing and office space by another 50%.

Upside Innovations has experienced remarkable growth since the business was formed in 2009. After completing the company’s first project – a large canopy project in Indianapolis – Sean Faller joined the company along with one salesperson.  The original concept for the company was that Upside would outsource all production to fabricators in Cincinnati who had excess capacity due to the recession. After outsourcing production for the first few jobs, Upside made a change to its strategy and decided to begin manufacturing in-house. Kevin says, “We just weren’t having success meeting the quality and delivery standards that we were demanding for our customers.

Sean Faller recalls when they were outsourcing production and how he and Kevin had to constantly pick up and drop off material and parts to various companies for welding. Sean says, “I had bought a car, and I had considered buying a pick-up truck. I don’t know how many times I kicked myself for not buying a pick-up instead because I was constantly putting my seats down in the back of my car because it was cheaper for me to do it than to rent a truck or a service.”

That first location in the Oakley neighborhood of Cincinnati had a small office and a garage where they could start cutting, drilling and welding. The desks in the office were made from old table tops that were stacked on cinder blocks for legs…a real minimalist look! The first two production employees to join the team were Ben Doan (machining) and Jeff Sander (welding).  The garage was so small that they had to prop open the man door while cutting aluminum extrusions so the extrusions could stick through the doorway.

First office in Oakley neighborhood
First office in Oakley neighborhood

Like many people working for small companies, Sean and Kevin wore many different hats including the “Lead Installer” hats. When they weren’t driving around Cincinnati trying to have various pieces welded together, they were at job sites installing each final product. The president and engineer both got their hands dirty! After a year of producing in a confined area and working in a small office, Upside’s operations outgrew the space.

The next office location was in an unoccupied area of a warehouse which was owned by a batting cage company in the Tri-County area north of Cincinnati. It was a 6,000 ft2 space with a few small offices that rented for $1,000/month. Kevin says, “The weird thing about this place was that we had a batting cage in our shop that was used by the building owner on weekends. It wouldn’t be uncommon when we were busy and working on a Saturday to have a sports team come in and be hitting balls in the cage while we were welding 30 yards from the cage.” Sounds like quite a unique setup! It was during the stay in this location, that Amy Gogul joined the team to help run the accounting and operations.  Upside hired an additional 4 or 5 production employees, and from this location, it started to grow its reputation as the access company that was not afraid to tackle the industry’s most challenging projects.  There were two major projects that gave Upside a lot of confidence as a company.  The first was a project that Upside designed and installed in Norfolk, VA, that featured three second-story stair towers, a 75’ second-story walkway between two modular complexes, and a canopy.  The second was a large project for a school that had been destroyed by the Joplin tornado.  Luckily, the company was still “young and dumb” and didn’t say no to either of the projects.  These projects stretched the company’s resources and proved to the entire team that they could succeed at any access project presented to them.  After the entire batting cage plant was rented out to another company, Upside was in search of its third location and found the right spot in the Forest Park neighborhood of Cincinnati.

The Forest Park location was similar in size to the previous location, but Upside had the space to itself and never had to worry about weld flash injuries for pony league baseball teams. This is where the company really started gaining ground and taking on large-scale projects. Even though Upside was making great strides, Kevin recalls, “It still felt like we were ‘playing company’ as the facility was pretty small and the office was not finished out too well.” Amy Gogul says, “The Forest Park location only had one unisex bathroom for everyone to use. It was fun!” There wasn’t any extra money floating around for a cleaning service, so the team had to pitch in to help clean every Friday; mopping the floors, taking out the trash, and cleaning the bathroom were all part of the weekly chores. A few more employees joined the company at this location to keep up with operations: Bill Carroll, MJ Al Jawa, Danny Cornish, Jesse O’Neill, Jim Wendling, and Billy Lippert. Billy, the last to join the company at this location, had a card table for a desk that was in the corner of Kevin’s office. The employees soon outgrew this space as well, so they moved to the current office location on Spellmire Drive in West Chester, OH.

The new 23,000 ft2 location was the first office and shop that felt “real” because Upside’s employees prepared most of the space themselves. They tore down a few walls to make a more useful workspace with modular wheelchair ramps. They then painted the walls and put an “Upside orange” stripe at the top. They ripped up the carpet because the aluminum chips from the shop would not be easy to clean up from the carpet fibers. After the carpet was removed, the team used grinders to smooth the concrete floor that was underneath and coated them with a light gray concrete stain. Sticking to the core philosophy of providing solutions to customers’ most difficult projects, Upside more than tripled its sales volume in the three years at the new location.  With the increase in business and products like adjustable metal stairs for modular offices, Upside has been able to hire many more excellent and talented employees to continue to fuel its growth, but the physical size of the facility has started to impede its progress.

Current office in West Chester, Ohio

Luckily, the tenant located in the unit next to Upside was looking to downsize into a smaller facility, and Upside can now take over additional space just next door.  The new space will be used to expand the machining and welding capacity and provide additional racking and space for finished goods ready to be installed.

Rooftop Crossover Stairs Hero Image

Construction Industry Outlook 2017

Many sectors make up the construction industry, and analyzing all of them can be time-consuming and overwhelming. To help you have a better overall view of the industry, we have collected information about construction sector performance and expected growth opportunities.

The construction industry dropped with the 2008 market crash but has seen remarkable growth in the years following. In 2016 however, the rate of growth appeared to have slowed but not stopped completely. Experts within the industry were concerned that 2016 was the start of a cyclical decline and that perhaps the construction expansion may have run its course.  This idea was dismissed after realizing that 2015 had unusually elevated activity on which the 2016 analysis was based. So 2016, in comparison to 2015 year-to-date, seemed as if it was lagging. However, at the end of 2016, the year-to-date shortfall became smaller and smaller. Industry analyzers believe that construction spending will see moderate gains through 2017, and total construction starts will increase by approximately 5%. This is lower than the 2015 gains of 11% but higher than 2016’s close of approximately 1%. Along with this positive outlook, there is also anticipation that project management tools will be a norm in the future. 

Single-family housing: will rise 12% in dollars, corresponding to a 9% increase in units to 795,000. The increase may be attributed to older-aged members of the millennial generation who are now buying single-family housing units.

Multifamily housing: dollar amount will remain flat, corresponding to a 2% decrease in units to 435,000. This sector was extremely inflated in 2015 by exceptional amounts of activity in New York, but it has since declined to level ground.

Commercial building: will increase by 6%, which is down from the 12% growth of 2016. Office and store construction are steadily working their way out of very low periods. Warehouse construction will continue to grow rapidly, which can be attributed to the increase in web-based sales that require distribution centers; logistics has become an art form. Hotel construction has remained strong over the past couple of years but may begin to retreat since the advancement of companies like Airbnb.

Institutional building: will advance 10% after a period of no growth between 2015 and 2016. School construction will support this advancement through the recent passage of school construction bond measures. The construction of amusement facilities and transportation terminals will also play a role in the increase of institutional building construction.

Manufacturing plants: will increase by 6% and recover from the extreme decline between 2015 and 2016, which reflected the pullback of large petrochemical plant construction starts. The new Trump administration has proposed to lower corporate taxes and encourage companies to bring their foreign profits home. This means that there will be more available funds for new capital projects in the US. Available funds would mean that these companies will be able to upgrade, like replacing wood with aluminum ramps.

Public works: will increase by 6% after falling 3% in 2016. The new federal transportation bill will help increase the construction of highways and bridges, while the Water Resources Development Act will benefit environmental works. Gas and oil pipeline projects will remain steady.

Electric utilities and gas plants: will fall a staggering 29% following a decline of 26% in 2016. New liquefied natural gas export terminals in Louisiana and Maryland increased construction in 2015 but have fizzled over the past year. Power plant construction will also fall as new generating capacity comes to life.

DATA SOURCES: DODGE DATA & ANALYTICS OUTLOOK REPORT & CONSTRUCTCONNECT’S US CONSTRUCTION OUTLOOK 2017

Our Services

Our team designs, manufactures, ships, and installs ADA & IBC-compliant stairs, ramps, and canopies to fit YOUR custom project. Our experts will work with you throughout the project to ensure your installation is correct to your specifications and code-compliant.

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