One of the main attractions in the area - and a prominent figure in the skyline of downtown Detroit - is the Renaissance Center. At 5.5 million square feet, the Renaissance Center is one of the world's largest office complexes, and more than 10,000 people work in the facility. Currently home to the headquarters of General Motors, the facility also houses restaurants and a theater. With the amount of people frequenting the space each day, parking is an extremely important commodity. A three-level parking garage that is 100,000 square feet per level is located below the building. The building's property management company recognized that the existing metal deck in the parking garage had rust on it and was deteriorated. Structural Preservation Systems (SPS) was hired to complete the repairs.

The project included 9,500 square feet of repairs of the severely deteriorated areas of the metal deck within the below-grade parking levels. The overhead slabs of the parking levels are a composite structural system, constructed using 16 to 20 gage, three-inch-deep galvanized composite metal deck with four to four-and-a-half inch concrete topping that is reinforced with welded wire fabric. Loose pieces of rusted metal deck and any loose concrete were removed by sandblasting. The structure was coated with an epoxy to prevent further corrosion. Crews had to go into the underside of the slab and drill and anchor more than 10,000 bolts into the existing and new metal decking. Crews then fireproofed the perimeter.

It was extremely important that these repairs were conducted in a timely manner without any interruption to the owner or any operations in the building. Dust levels had to be kept to a minimum, and the repair team was only given a small amount of space for material to ensure that as many parking spaces remained available as possible. All of the work was performed after 7:00 pm. Crews needed to clean the work area at the end of each shift to ensure the space remained clean. The repair team clamped visqueen to the existing steel members all around the work area to minimize dust. Air purifiers were used to suck out the dust and sand.

Crews had to work around the embedded electrical component in the slab. To ensure a safe working environment, the team utilized an electrician to make certain that each area was safe for drilling. There were more than 4,000 man-hours on the project with no injuries. The team developed an in-depth pre-plan and made sure it was followed throughout the project, which led to success.

Beginning in early April 2008 and ending on May 30, the project was completed on time with no interruptions to operations. The owner was extremely satisfied with the project.