Mahaffey Blog

When you embark on a new project, your needs can change quickly. Suddenly you may find yourself renovating a building with no protection from the winter weather, stuck with limited workspace and new pandemic guidelines for your employees or in immediate need of temporary storage for a highly-sensitive product. You need a solution to keep things on track — and fast.

Enter: Mahaffey Fabric Structures.

Our clear span fabric structures can be completely customized, able to adapt to the quickly-changing needs of your project. We can build a structure to fit any space — whether you need to attach it to an existing building or even place one on top of a skyscraper. Your custom fabric structure can include virtually any accessory system the project may require, such as flooring, lighting and climate control. And when you need to expand, reduce, dismantle or relocate it, these structures can be quickly redesigned to match your new needs.

Though used for temporary purposes, fabric structures have a longer lifespan than steel, able to last for 20 years without needing repairs from rust or corrosion. They’ll even withstand heavy snow, rain and wind so that your project stays on schedule.

Custom fabric structures are commonly used as temporary warehouses, aircraft hangars, base camps, living facilities and lunch tents. However, the uses don’t stop there. When it comes to our custom clear span fabric structures and expert team, the sky is the limit. Here are four unique use cases for custom fabric structures:

The most dreaded pitfall of any manufacturer or construction company is downtime. Any industry leader will confirm that the unplanned stop of production is the single most significant loss of money, man-hours, and efficiency.

Sixty-two billion dollars. That’s how much U.S. companies pay each year to cover expenses associated with workplace injuries, according to the Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index. That’s practically pocket change compared to the $250 billion companies lost last year from employees sustaining injuries off the job, according to the National Safety Council.

In 2007, Mahaffey installed the world’s tallest clearspan structure to cover a 777 jet.

Over the course of our 94-year history, Mahaffey has developed a legacy of innovation by tackling our customers’ problems with state-of-the art ideas and solutions. These innovations have also become meaningful industry contributions. In Part 1 of this series, we shared Mahaffey’s breakthrough solutions from our first five decades, like the development of the first mechanical post driver.

As a more recent example, in 1999 Mahaffey was the first to use insulated guardian steel sidewalls on temporary fabric structures. This design—first used on an on-location movie set—was a solution for our client’s unique security needs. Today, many of our competitors mimic this ingenious hard wall approach. 

In Part 2 of this series, learn about Mahaffey’s game-changing innovations over the past four decades, each custom-designed to address the unique needs and ever-arising challenges of our customers.

Large construction projects involve expensive equipment, large crews, multiple stakeholders and lengthy timeframes. With so many moving parts, complications and unexpected costs are guaranteed. According to a report by McKinsey Global Institute, large-scale projects typically take 20 percent longer than scheduled and can be up to 80-percent over budget.

But with today’s innovative job site solutions, complications and hidden costs don’t have to slow you down or diminish returns on your next project. Temporary structures are an ideal solution to protect your site, equipment, crews and your bottom line.

Time is money. Customers need vendor partners who bring real leadership to the table and possess the necessary business and project management skills to navigate timeframes and budgets. Whether you are renting a single temporary fabric structure or an entire turnkey base camp, it takes a highly skilled and collaborative team working together to get the job done right.

This team is comprised of a Project Manager, Construction Operations Manager, installation crew, engineers and more. 

In this expert Q&A, Mahaffey’s own Construction Operations Managers—Dan Carruthers, Gary “Moe” Moederndorfer, and Andre Pinto—as well as Mahaffey’s Director of Operations, Dave Rech, talk about the role of construction operations management in delivering world-class client satisfaction.

You probably already know temporary fabric structures offer you immediate solutions and great flexibility, but before you design your building solution, follow the old advice to start from the ground up. Unlike traditional buildings which have very specific foundation requirements, temporary fabric structures and semi-permanent buildings, like temporary warehouses, can often be built on any ground surface – from concrete and asphalt to gravel, dirt or even packed sand.

We've all seen the mobile trailer parked at construction sites, maybe even a few at one site. These mobile units act as offices for the managers and supervisors of the construction project, but is there a better alternative? Let's compare a construction site temporary fabric structure vs. the mobile office trailer.

Who needs temporary construction site tents? Every project crew needs one regardless of the job. Temporary buildings meet a number of needs for virtually every industry: 

INTRODUCTION:

Fabric buildings and temporary structures can be used for a variety of projects. Lunch tents, temporary warehousing, construction site covers, or airplane hangers are just a couple of examples of how these clear span fabric structures are used. The uses of structures are endless and can often be designed to suite many unique projects. 

Once a decision has been made that a project is in need of a temporary structure, the next question is what type of structure is best for the project. There are many factors to consider when choosing the size and type of temporary fabric building. From geographical location to number of square feet needed, there are a few determining factors in choosing the best structure for you next project.