Design & Materials Project Delivers Unistrut Ceiling Support for Radiology Equipment

We recently received an inquiry from a general contractor in a remote town in Texas tasked with suspending 650 pounds of X-Ray equipment from the ceiling in a remodeled radiology room. The contractor didn’t want to take any chances; he wanted to be confident that his firm had the right design and materials so his company would get the installation done right the first time.  A safe and simple installation with the right support materials was critical.

The GC knew his on-site crew could do the installation during hours that best served the needs of a 24/7 location. Having on-staff carpenters tackling the installation would maximize the efficiency of his labor costs. “Let’s face it,” he told us, “I don’t want the labor and travel expense of bringing in a specialist from out of state to my obscure location.” What the contractor really needed was the design to be right for his job. A design and correct bill of materials was critical -- one meeting all vendor, customer, local and building safety codes -- drawn by experts for this support structure. But the GC also desired the flexibility to install the support system himself. For these reasons, he approached Unistrut Service Company of Ohio to create the design and to purchase all the required materials for support of the GE Radiology equipment.

At USCO, our first step was to create the design personalized to his project. Our specified design loads are drawn to support 1,000 pounds, so in his case the X-Ray machine (weighing 650 lbs.) will be secure. If the support structure isn’t solid, the equipment won’t hold still, which can mean unsafe conditions and the potential of inaccurate X-Ray results. The installation process also took into account variables unique to a medical environment, eliminating fumes and dust resulting from cutting and welding pieces of a steel structure.

Next, we created a complete bill of materials bundling our best Unistrut materials for his job - ensuring he had exactly what he needed for his project, with the best materials, from a leader in the industry. For this project we supplied Unistrut P1001, P1000, P3301, P1737, P1359, P2346, P2324, P1068, P2484, P2751, P5500T. Because this was a medical application, the GC knew he needed to minimize margin of error and make installation as simple as possible. With little more than a wrench, hammer, portable band saw and tape measure, the contractor's employees completed the installation in the fraction of the time needed to install similar work fabricated from structural steel. Our pre-engineered medical support system is so easy to install that even the GC himself can hold the tolerances required by the equipment manufacturer - GE in this case - which requires minimal deflection rates.

Unistrut Service Co. has designed and installed thousands of radiology support projects featuring Unistrut components, so our proven track record with medical applications gave this Texas based GC the confidence and peace of mind to bring his installation to successful completion. With well-engineered drawings and the right materials, he minimized his field labor costs using a trusted technician on-site. And if there had been any questions along the way, we were standing by as close as the carpenter's cell phone. Our solution contributed to an overall 10% savings on his project without sacrificing quality. Confidence in doing the best work with the best materials, that’s what our Unistrut Design and Materials Program can give you – it’s what the GC told us we gave him, and it doesn’t get much better than that.