In the high-stakes world of large-scale industrial construction, every detail matters. For Turner Industries, a leader in building structural steel modules for projects within this industry, precision and efficiency are paramount. Clay Miller, a Foreman at Turner Industries, shared his firsthand experience with Applied Bolting Technology™ and Squirter® DTIs. In the abridged interview below, Clay provides valuable insights into how Applied Bolting Technology’s responsive team and innovative products have significantly impacted his work.
Q: How have your experiences with Applied Bolting Technology been so far?
A: A while back I emailed Applied Bolting about whether we can reuse DTIs if they were submerged underwater overnight. Some got left out. It rains a lot here in south Louisiana. I got a response almost immediately, which is awesome because that typically doesn't happen with anything in my industry.
Fast forward a month or so, and I was having some issues with selling off these modules with the client because they were using procedures for inspection that reference standard DTIs, not the Squirter® DTIs. It was a lot of back and forth between me and the client so my boss says, "Get a hold of the manufacturer and see if we can get them on site." I'd already had a good response from Applied Bolting before, so I emailed and got a response again, almost immediately.
I got a phone call from Chris Curven, and we spent about an hour on the phone. I'd sent him pictures of the bolts that were in question and just explained the issue. There was nothing wrong with the bolt or the Squirter® DTI, it was just a thick coating on the steel surface the DTIs were being applied to that was preventing the orange indication media from coming out.
Click here to watch Clay's testimonial video.
Chris was super helpful and explained everything. Then once he understood the situation, he offered to come to our site. Before we even got off the phone, he had already booked his flight. It was just a few days off. So that was surprising too. Nobody in this industry does stuff that fast.
He flew in from Vermont and he got here early, which is great because we had time to walk our site down. He broke down everything and was able to explain the specifications that we go off for our industry from the research council. It helped navigate me through how I can get these modules sold off based on these inspections and be able to find a happy medium between me and the client.
Later in the day, we did a demonstration. We set up our Skidmore and tested some bolts and DTIs and did the feeler gauge method. It was a great teaching moment for our client who was not very knowledgeable on structural – they're more focused on welds. We were able to agree on what was acceptable and not based on what our client wanted without them having to change their procedure, which was not going to happen. They don't like changing procedures.
I was able to get some modules released after that and we haven't had any issues since. About a week later, we got a box in the mail with some cool T-shirts and some hats. It was a great experience!
Q: Did Chris coming to your site for field bolting assistance help you?
A: It was extremely helpful, and it made me a better inspector. It made me understand the specifications better.
Q: Is it common in the industry for a company to show up at no charge to help with a problem or to educate how to use it?
A: Not at all. Everything in my industry is based on a budget and time. This didn't cost us a penny and he was there in no time!
It makes life a lot easier because typically, like with our fabricator, if we email them, we may get a response or we may not. It may be a week, it may be a month, you never know. Even for an issue within our own company, people just don't respond that quickly. For Applied Bolting to be almost immediate, it's a relief, because if I contact the manufacturer, I have something going on that's pressing. For them to be ready to respond and have an answer was great.
Q: What do you like about the Squirter® DTIs?
A: They save me so much time on my inspections because I inspect every single bolt, every single connection. Breaking it down to being a visual inspection makes it so much faster, and I can get so much more done in a day. I could inspect a thousand bolts in one day and if I had to use a feeler gauge, I couldn't do half that. If I see that media around the Squirter® DTI, I'm confident that that bolt is tensioned properly.
Part of my duties as an inspector is to test everything. I've had a couple of bolts fail, I've had a couple of nuts fail, but I’ve never had a DTI fail. It makes my life easier for sure.
Q: If you could change something about Squirter® DTIs what would that be?
A: I don't know how you can make it better. I don't know if it's possible! Y'all have like a perfect product.
Q: Do you use any other bolting methods?
A: No, I can't say that I do. DTIs are the most efficient and cost-effective for sure.
Q: Would you recommend Applied Bolting Technology and our Squirter® DTIs to others and if yes, why?
A: Yes. The product is, I guess, perfect. I mean, I don't know how you could ever get any better. To achieve what y'all have, it's ideal.
But the customer service is something I haven't experienced in this industry. I think that's what sets y’all apart because. I've been able to get my job done, nothing was being held up, and I couldn't be happier.