Constructing With Snow

The 2010 Olympics are underway. I’ve marveled at the snow construction. The Canadian Olympic committee had to import, by truck, needed snow to construct a snowboard cross track and the half pipe course. These tracks are amazing—more like a sculpture than a construction project. How does one learn to do that kind of work anyway? You can be sure, a lot of experience was required.

I’m old enough to remember Jim McKay’s opening sequence for ABC’s Wide World of Sports. In his words, “the human drama of athletic competition and the agony of defeat.” As a child I learned when to look at the TV, upon hearing these words, to see Vinko Bogataj slide off the right side of the ski jump ramp. This ski jumper survived his terrible accident with only a few bruises and a mild concussion. He returned to competition the very next year. [Link]

This year, we were reminded that in the Olympics, especially the winter games, margins for error are razor thin and errors in judgment can be fatal. During a practice run, luge slider, 21-year-old Nodar Kumaritashvili from Georgia, lost his life in a fatal accident on the luge track. He misjudged a turn and sailed out of the track hitting a support column. Naturally, the designers and builders of the track, which was an amazing feat of construction, did their best to make the track safe. Now the memory of this fatal accident will be with them forever.

In the construction business, judgments are made all the time. In our business we often work around high voltage equipment, and around bacteria, viruses and airborne contaminants. We cannot afford mistakes, for mistakes can be devastating. When working in critical environments, one wrong move or a mistake in judgment could cost millions of dollars or could even be fatal. Preparation and planning are keys to success and more than 20 years of experience with construction in these environments is useful too. Keeping people safe while protecting investments. That’s what Critical Environment Construction is all about.

Joseph Bramlage
- Director of Marketing and Information Technology