Unistrut X-Ray Support System Redesign and Material Reuse

The Unistrut Midwest team helped a longtime client reduce the number of days in their construction schedule and save money by reusing an existing Unistrut support system to meet the requirements of new equipment.

• Unistrut Midwest designed, supplied materials for, and installed the system, providing a full service solution
• Unistrut's inherent modular capabilities were leveraged to save time and money
• Our solution shortened the project timeline, allowing the site's only X-ray room to be back up and running sooner than expected

Overview

When a hospital X-ray room needed to support updated equipment, the general contractor approached our team to redesign the existing Unistrut support system in order to meet the new requirements. This contractor has worked on dozens of similar projects with our team, so they knew that Unistrut Midwest would provide a full-service solution. 

Approach

The original system was designed and installed by Matt Fralick, our Regional Construction Manager, and his team when it was a new build about ten years ago. Given his knowledge of the original design and the fact that the existing system was in good shape, our team determined that we could rework the material for the new solution, rather than tearing it out and replacing it with all new parts.  

Our team often highlights Unistrut's reusability as a defining feature, and this X-ray support system redesign was a perfect example of that benefit. Because the Unistrut system eliminates welding and drilling, it is truly modular and reusable. With its continuous channel, new and existing frames can be connected by simply bolting the Unistrut nut to both channels, producing the same strength as welding. No drilling or welding means that parts can be dismantled, repurposed, and adjusted as needs change.

Solution

Although the existing solution was a three-rail system and the new requirements dictated the need for a seven-rail system, our team modified and reused all of the existing materials to fit the new build. The original system was made up of typical parts, including P1000, P1001, P1359, P1737, P2484, and P2346, so it was easy to maintain consistency with the new materials.  

This project was incredibly time-sensitive as it was the only X-ray room on site and would need to be out of commission during construction. Reusing materials took less time than a full rip and replace, which meant the project schedule could be shortened and the X-ray could be back up and running more quickly. Fewer disruptions allowed the staff to get back to full operations sooner, limiting interruptions to patient care.  

By leveraging our team's expertise and Unistrut's modular capabilities, our team was able to shave a few days off the project schedule and come in several thousand dollars under budget, all while delivering a solution that meets this client's new requirements. 

Do you have a Unistrut system that needs to be redesigned? Contact our team to see how you can reuse your existing materials.