Innovation & Quality
Design and construction methods in the foundation industry are constantly changing and improving. Schnabel leverages its entrepreneurial spirit and robust R&D division to generate leading-edge construction innovation ideas that make it a premier earth retention and specialty foundation contractor.
We are constantly looking for ways to improve the quality of our work. We recognize the risk inherent in earth support systems and building foundations, where sub-standard work and lack of attention to detail can lead to catastrophic results. For this reason, we never compromise quality in our designs and construction. Our decades of experience with design and construction of earth retention systems and specialty foundations make us the best construction company in the USA for both price and quality.
Schnabel Specializes in the Latest Construction Innovation Ideas
Sixty years of experience doesn’t keep us in the past, it provides a foundation for continuous improvement and new design and construction methods. To provide our customers with the best earth retention and foundation solutions, we are always looking at ways to improve our work while driving innovation with cutting-edge designs, technology and ideas. Schnabel holds over 20 US patents related to geostructural construction and we consistently have new patents in development.
Innovation throughout Schnabel is fostered by:
Research and Development – Schnabel has a research and development division devoted solely to developing new ideas, finding better ways to service our customers, and improving the quality and efficiency of our work.
Safety – A shared value that provides tremendous motivation to find better or different ways of building our work to improve the health and safety of everyone involved.
Entrepreneurial Spirit – We encourage an entrepreneurial spirit in every employee at Schnabel and empower them to be forward-thinking problem solvers.
Building on a legacy of innovation
HOW SCHNABEL MAINTAINS CONSISTENT QUALITY?
By Following the Critical components of our Quality Program:
Proper Planning – The first step in any quality project is doing a thorough job of gathering all available information and formulating the best approach to design and construct the project.
Designing – Schnabel uses the best available methods to design our work, but there is no substitute for experience. In most cases, we have done it before.
Constructing – Our foreman and key field staff are all experienced craftsmen who work closely with the engineer to ensure that the project is built safely and on time. On design-build projects, the engineers running the job can also make quick design changes when unanticipated conditions occur, giving us more agility than the typical earth-retention and foundation construction company.
Testing and Monitoring – We test and monitor the critical components of our excavation support and specialty foundation systems in the field to ensure they perform as required.
Correcting – We modify our design and construction methods as needed if the excavation support or foundation system is not performing as expected or unexpected subsurface conditions are encountered.
Improving – Knowledge gained from every job allows us to improve on future jobs. This provides our clients the benefits learned from thousands of successful geostructural projects.
Providing Top-Tier Geotechnical Engineering Support
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT AT SCHNABEL
Solving Problems for Our Customers:
Schnabel is a customer-focused company. We solve problems for our customers. This mission of problem-solving is supported by the Schnabel research and development group, a dedicated team of geostructural engineers. Since 1959, we have set aside resources to develop new and better ways of performing our work. This enables us to provide both proven and innovative solutions to our customers, depending on their needs.
Providing Technical Support to Our Customers and Engineers:
The Schnabel R&D team operates with a broad scope and is involved in aspects of both design and construction throughout the company. We maintain contact with our customers by providing technical support to our project managers on challenging projects. Customer contact is a source of inspiration for many of our new developments. Throughout our history, we have received over 20 patents related to geostructural construction.
Special Focus on Improving Safety
In addition to solving problems for our customers, the Schnabel R&D team also has a special focus on improving safety. In some situations, we make iterative improvements to existing methods of doing our work. Other situations call for entirely new ways of thinking. In these cases, the R&D team has the resources to work across disciplines and develop construction methods that replace old ways of doing our work. The most recent example of this is Soil Mix Pier Underpinning (SMPU), a novel method of performing underpinning that replaces labor-intensive hand-dug piers.
