Mahaffey Blog

Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) units are among the most popular amenities that accompany Mahaffey’s temporary structures. A comfortable, climate-controlled environment keeps your crews productive, your operations efficient and your budget on-track. 

HVAC systems need regular preventative maintenance, and if you’re not taking care of the units installed with your temporary structures, it could have disastrous effects on your projects or events. Here are five consequences of neglecting the HVAC units on your fabric tents:

Lost Production Time

Every time you ignore the everyday wear-and-tear on your HVAC unit, you are moving it one step closer to a total system failure. Without consistent check-ups by either you or a professional, your unit could face a whole slew of problems, from dirty filters and leaking refrigerant, to burst coils and blown fuses. If you wait to look at your HVAC until after it’s stopped working entirely, you’ll then be dealing with larger, more intrusive issues that get in the way of your business. Time that you spend on a full HVAC repair or replacement may reduce production efficiency — or worse yet, a total system failure may halt your production entirely. A small but persistent issue with your unit could have you facing significant losses in production and efficiency.

When it comes to flooring for your temporary fabric structure, you have a lot of options to consider. The first is whether your project requires flooring at all.

Facilities managers are always looking for new strategies to save energy and cut costs. According to Energy Star, the average commercial building wastes 30 percent of its energy consumption due to inefficiencies. This hits operations where it hurts—the bottom line.

Turnkey fabric structures offer a wide variety of amenities, like climate control and lighting options, to keep your crews comfortable, your materials protected, and your overall energy expenses in check. Selecting the right amenities for your project and properly maintaining them is key to maximizing energy efficiency in your temporary structure. 

For many projects, temporary fabric structures are an ideal solution. When you lease a temporary structure--whether it’s for months or a week--you already know you’ve solved a couple of big problems regarding budget and time.

Permanent construction can’t compete with the flexibility instant structures offer. Temporary structures are scalable and mobile.

They are also temporary—not forever. They are there when you need them and removed when your project is complete.

In our first blog in this series, we shared with you an introduction to the engineering behind anchoring temporary structures. This anchoring is powerful enough to cover your most critical long- or short-term operations—ensuring structure integrity and stability you can count on.

A major benefit of temporary structures is that they can be installed on virtually any ground surface from asphalt and concrete foundations to gravel or soil. With correctly engineered anchoring, temporary structures can be strong and stable no matter where they stand.

In Part 2 of this series, engineering expert Brian Szkaradnik explains the role your ground surface plays in determining the right anchoring solution for your structure.

Temporary structures or fabric buildings are designed and engineered to protect the people, materials and equipment inside them. And although the focus of customization is often on designing a structure’s amenities like flooring, HVAC, and light, ensuring structural integrity and stability is the most critical element of structure customization.

Brian Szkaradnik, one of Mahaffey’s own technical engineering specialists, took a moment to share his expertise on the science of anchoring clearspan fabric structures. Read on to learn more about anchoring in Part 1 of this two-part series.

Winter will be here before we know it, and now is the time to plan for the harsh climates and unpredictable precipitation that come with it.

In instances of extreme weather or growth, a company may decide it’s time to relocate. Temporary fabric structures are the optimal solution when a project needs to change locations (or expand its current one). Modular fabric tents are completely portable, and can be quickly installed and dismantled. Crews can complete a typical installation of 10,000 square feet per day, something that would not be possible with a brick-and-mortar building.  

During the summer season, risk for heat exhaustion and other heat-related illnesses and accidents is its highest. During this time, precaution must be taken to ensure the safety of employees. 

This is the second part in our series highlighting temporary structure door options and their many uses, types and applications. This article will focus on the ever-evolving (or should we say rolling) roll-up door.