Automated Parking System Implementation Program: Structural Mechanical Electrical Installation Across Western States and Beyond
INDUSTRY
Automated Parking Systems
PROJECT SCOPE
Project management, mechanical electrical installation, structural steel
LOCATIONS
West Coast
SilMan Industries supports an in-house installation and commissioning group specializing in Mechanical Parking Systems, providing over 4,000 spaces since 2015.
Innovation Meets Expertise
These are exciting times in the industrial marketplace. We are witnessing an explosion of automated solutions to analog processes – like parking lots – on a daily basis.
Automated parking system innovation requires an integration partner that can manage a wide variety of end-user relationships and challenging job sites. Moreover, the mechanical-electrical team must possess a broad skill set that embraces both traditional tradesmanship and high-tech applications.
These 21st-century creators will continue to challenge our understanding of “normal” life. In turn, construction and system integration providers must continually invest in their project management and execution capabilities.
Fortunately, innovation and change are part of the DNA at SilMan. As a 21st century industrial start-up themselves, SilMan is pleased to be challenged by our association with boundary-busting clients in the automated parking sector.
Onsite Project Execution Challenges
The primary hurdle on APS projects is grappling with the physical environment. The nature of parking garages, and the high-density urban setting in which these projects typically occur, can pose unique obstacles for installation teams:
- accessibility to workspaces
- movement of equipment and materials
- inventory control
- proximity to resources.
As always, Safety is also a high priority on SilMan job sites. However, these projects present specific challenges, such as unfinished infrastructure and multiple adjacent trades. Sometimes even working directly overhead from SilMan team members. For all these reasons, specific protocols and cooperation with other contractors is a necessity.
Speak to a key team member on this project
Meet Jeff Piazza.
For more information about this project or related topics, contact Jeff by email or call directly at 925.984.0062.
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The History of Automated Parking Systems
The first automated parking system appeared in Paris in 1905. However, the use of the concept was not widely adopted until the 1970s in Europe and the 1990s in the United States. In the 21st century, APS is a concept that has come of age as land scarcity and increased parking demands rise in urban centers.
SilMan has a deep history working with specialized industrial equipment for a variety of applications, including multiple installations for Georgia Pacific and Toyota. SilMan’s Site Services Division also provides supports SilMan’s Material Handling Division, installing projects for clients such as FedEx, Brown-Forman, and Levi Strauss.
Millwright and Electrician Services
Projects Scope of Work and Highlights
The scope of an automated parking system installation includes the implementation of electromechanical devices that perform the automated parking function. SilMan mechanical and electrical teams were asked to assemble, build, and integrate this motor-driven structure.
Details of performance for the full course construction by team and discipline include:
- Project Management
- Site Management
- JSA/Safety
- PCB
- Permits
- Structural Steel
- Steel columns
- Support Steel
- Decking
- Field Welding
- Mechanical Installation
- Motors
- Chains
- Sprockets
- Electronic Sensors
- Solenoids
- Low-voltage sensors
- PLC control board
- Limits
- Electrical Installation
- Primary power
- Electrical control wiring
- PLC cabinets
- Raceway and wiring
- Lifting motors
- Transverse motors
- Gate motors
- Commission all electrical devices
- Chain Detects
- Limit Switches
- Platform Hook sensors
- Stop sensors
- Termination of all motor and support devices
- Testing
Featured System Installations
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We turned to Jeff Piazza for commentary regarding select projects from our APS portfolio. Piazza leads the SilMan Site Services team.
Brooklyn Basin (Oakland)
SilMan installed a 240-space “Puzzle” Parking System right in our own backyard at the Brooklyn Basin Sub-division in Oakland, Calif. This was a full installation, providing project management, mechanical installation, and electrical installation. The full course of the project required 8 months onsite.
Project Highlights:
- Mechanical-Electrical
- Structural
- Chains
- Controls & power
- 235 Spaces
- 3 access bays
Jeff:
“This was our first real project of scale in this industry. It was a very dynamic situation on the ground: new construction, material flow, workspace access, safety.
Working in tandem with other trades on site above our team member’s heads is a unique circumstance that demands a lot of collaboration with the project owner and other subcontractors.
This was also a four-phase project – staggered around the other trades and various construction timelines. The result was that we constantly we were stopping and starting work at multiple parking system locations throughout the site.”
San Francisco
Multiple locations including Lombard St, Golden Gate
The San Francisco Bay Area is an epicenter for international business and technological innovation. The entire area is rimmed by water, creating density and pushing the bounds of housing, transportation, and parking.
Project Highlights:
- Mechanical Electrical
- Structural Steel
- Spaces range from 20 to 80
Jeff:
“Working in a dense urban environment like downtown San Francisco, our team adapted operational and safety processes for tight staging and work areas.”
In regard to both the San Francisco and Oakland projects, SilMan Industries is proud to be part of this historic innovation in urban living in our own backyard, connecting our team’s work with the needs of our neighbors.
Views on Fifth (Olympia)
The Views on Fifth property is a new riverfront residential complex in Washington’s capital city. This system was completed in 2020 and currently ranks as the largest automated parking system in the Northwest.
Site photos of the residential tower and parking structure at Views on Fifth in Olympia, Wash. under construction.
Project Highlights:
- Structural / Mechanical / Electrical
- Steel 40’ beams
- 3 access bays
- 137 Spaces
Jeff:
“This was one of the early tower projects for the client.
It was a great collaborative experience with our client’s design team. Our team was able to help develop the concepts and modifications that became the template for future tower installations.
This was a large, high-profile project with lots of trades on the property and continual interaction with other companies.
And, of course, the Northwest weather conditions played a continuing role interrupting timelines.”
Star Tower (New York City), All Storage (Las Vegas) + Others
Millwright support for clients and their partners in the final stages of complex installations.
Project Highlights:
- Millwright Team
- Commission and start-up
Jeff:
“We are always flattered when client specifically requests our expert Millwrights to assist with commissioning systems outside California. These guys are highly skilled and well-versed in inner-workings of automated parking systems. They can add value the minute their boots hit the ground!”
Photo Gallery
Photo credit: Scott Cully, Tyde Biggerstaff (SilMan Industries)
Specialized OEM Support
SilMan’s end-to-end capabilities provide an “Easy” button for clients: Material, Labor, Inspections, and Commissioning.
Moreover, they benefit from the team’s experience with specialized equipment installation and building productive relationships with OEMs. Project managers Jeff Piazza and Chris Fredrickson and SilMan’s project coordinators lead these collaborative efforts, working hand-in-hand with the OEM sourced logistics company to coordinate on-time equipment deliveries.
Leadership in the Field
The SilMan mechanical electrical installation team – Tyde Biggerstaff, Scott Cully, and Justin Neely – are tapped into the excellent pool of Bay Area skilled labor, exclusively deploying Union Millwright and IBEW tradespersons.
- Structural
- Mechanical
- Electrical
And of course, we rely on the vigilance and detail-orientation of the safety and project coordination team members for these projects, Mike Watchers and Maria Salazar.
The interaction of this leadership group with our clients and their partners creates productive and safe daily operations. Their combined experience managing challenging job sites ensures that specialized execution teams can maintain their focus, with minimal distraction.
About the Company
SilMan Industries (previously SilMan Construction) is based in San Leandro, Calif., with Engineering and Field Operations offices in Tupelo, Miss. The firm provides integrated turnkey solutions in the Industrial, Manufacturing, Distribution, and Public Works sectors.
Notably, in 2010 SilMan Industries was contracted to dismantle and remove the NUMMI assembly line in Fremont, Calif., transport the equipment, and reinstall the system in Blue Spring, Miss., establishing Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi (TMMMS). This high-visibility project ignited the company’s meteoric growth, laying the foundation for SilMan’s national service area.
For more information, please visit www.silmanindustries.com/about.
