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Dallas — Business Wire — March 11, 2015 — Connectrac announced the results of a breakthrough study from RSMeans revealing that Connectrac Wireways save 50 percent or more compared to alternatives such as core drilling or trenching. The findings show hundreds of millions of dollars can be saved off the cost of retrofitting buildings and new construction throughout North America.
RSMeans, the leading supplier of construction cost information, was commissioned by Connectrac to compare the cost of its wiring connectivity solution to the alternatives, core drilling and trenching.
The study identifies significant inefficiencies by commercial facility managers and electrical contractors as they retrofit existing commercial buildings or provide technological access for new buildings. For decades, core drilling and trenching received little attention as the go-to method to provide technological access. Because no other alternative existed, these options became the standard for connectivity needs by default. However, 21st century data and power needs birthed Connectrac, a highly flexible, low cost and low profile wireway, as the new standard.
Connectrac, with a decade of successful installations in top corporations, universities, and government agencies, allows cabling to be routed through a small opening in the bottom of the wall and through a protective, covered wireway base track all the way to the power box. Connectrac CEO Clint Strong said emerging data and power technologies are driving the need for even more savings and flexibility. “Seeing results like these is always exciting,” Strong said. “But it actually inspires us even more to strive for any and all opportunities to make our products more innovative and to provide our customers with even better service.”
The RSMeans study left no stone unturned, taking into account costs for every aspect including equipment rentals and service fees. For the study, each solution was compared on identical projects by market; in this case, an office building conference room.
RSMeans analyzed the time and materials required to provide electrical/AV/telecom receptacles, and then calculated the total charges of each operation. “Three estimates were prepared using RSMeans cost data, core drilling through elevated slabs and running conduit and cable, sawcutting a slab on grade and running conduit and cable, and Connectrac product installation,” said Bob Mewis, director of engineering for RSMeans. “The estimated costs of the Connectrac product installation were significantly less.”
Core drilling involves drilling holes in the concrete floor slab, installing conduits through these holes, and routing them beneath the floor slab to the new poke-through device. With trenching, a portion of the concrete floor slab is saw-cut and removed. Conduits and electrical devices are put in place and the floor slab is then patched with new concrete.
RSMeans (www.rsmeans.com), from The Gordian Group, is North America’s leading supplier of construction cost information and consulting services, including custom cost engineering.
About Connectrac: Connectrac Wireways are the best floor-based solution for bringing power, data, and communications from the wall to all interior commercial applications. This allows the flexibility to meet the demands for new technology connectivity while maintaining the aesthetic and structural integrity of the building without expensive and inconvenient core drilling or trenching for inflexible floor boxes.
Dallas-based Connectrac, founded in 2005, is a privately owned company with representatives throughout the U.S., Canada, and increasingly throughout the world. It sells its products through electrical distributors, AV contractors, contract furniture dealers, and others and is quickly becoming the go-to solution for North America’s top corporations, government agencies, schools, and universities.
