December 2013 CAM Magazine

DECEMBER 2013

Vol. 34 • No. 12 • $4.00

®

“Voice of The consTrucTion indusTry”

EXCAVATION/ SITE WORK Hydro-Excavation Professionals Safely Uncover the Underground Grid

MICHIGAN CONSTRUCTION OUTLOOK 2014 Non-Residential Building Still Slow Despite Local Economic Improvement Success in 2014: What it Looks Like for Contractors

DEMOLITION AT COBO: DEMOLITION COMPANY AIDS COBO CENTER’S RE-INVENTION ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: BRIGHTON HIGH SCHOOL: “LOUD, PROUD AND POSITIVE”

HOMRICH 4 DETROIT

Photo by RogeR Lee homRich

DEMOLITION

Homrich’s equipment arsenal completely removed the interior of the 12,000-seat Cobo Arena and its access ramps.

™

Demolition Company Aids Cobo Center’s Re-Invention

By Mary E. Kremposky, Associate Editor

t

he iconic oval of cobo Arena has offered patrons a front row seat to history for the last half century. the voice of martin Luther King, Jr. once filled the 12,000-seat arena with a rendition of the civil rights leader’s “i have a Dream” speech. cobo center as a whole has hosted every sitting president since 1960, beginning with eisenhower and including george W. bush and even then-candidate barack obama, according to the cobo center website.

From Detroit Pistons basketball to the Rolling Stones, cobo Arena has 16 CAM MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2013

been a legend in the sports and music world. the sounds of Pink Floyd, the Who, KiSS, bob Seger, Jimi hendrix and other top performers will forever rock the memories of fans who once flocked to this landmark arena.

As part of cobo’s 21st century re-invention, the Detroit Regional convention Facility Authority (DRcFA) has transformed the former arena into the recently opened two-story, 40,000-square-foot grand Riverview ballroom with a prefunction area overlooking the shining, blue expanse of the Detroit River. Acting as its own project manager, the DRcFA remains “Voice Of The Construction Industry”®

SucceSS in the ‘new’ conStruction Market In a good or bad market the overall common goals that every contractor should try to achieve in 2014 are simple – manage cash flow, decrease operational costs and maximize profits. For some this is easier said than done. Follow these four best practices and you should find success in 2014: 1. Be savvy about your teams and terms: Construction is one of the few industries that can dictate how and when one gets paid. Use this to your advantage to better manage cash flow by using contract terms to establish a scenario where the owner and the general contractor can insist on payment by a given date: • Upfront cash-flow techniques: Use techniques such as “front-end loading” to help increase cash flow in the initial stages of the project and ensure adequate cash to complete the project.

• Develop a system: After thoroughly reviewing contract terms and requirements, develop a system revolving around these terms, including knowing to whom to send invoices, how many to send and the actions needed to be taken if a payment is returned.

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2. Manage supplier costs: With rising raw material and supplier costs come price increases. Do not be quick to cut your losses, and try these strategies first: • Map out costs: Understand exactly where increased costs have come from by charting out how much each step of the construction project costs.

• Look for cost cuts: Below are a few areas where costs can be reduced: a. Inventory: If you obtain supplier discounts consider stocking fast-moving inventory. b. Alternative materials: Seek out materials that can do the job for lesser costs.

• Build strong relationships: Building a strong working relationship with suppliers can help you make compromises and reach fair prices.

3. Beware of underbillings: Underbillings are viewed by many bankers and bonding underwriters as a bad asset to have on your balance sheet, indicating that you are either being overly aggressive when estimating profits on open jobs or are not able to bill in a timely manner. Bankers shy away from anything over a 10 percent variance between underbillings and overbillings. To give financial statements a boost, consider including a footnote showing a healthy backlog. Especially if you’ve had a rocky couple of years, this can help instill confidence in your banker or bonding agent.

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CAM MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2013 31

CONSTRUCTION HIGHLIGHT

BRIGHTON HIGH SCHOOL: “LOUD, PROUD AND POSITIVE”

AUCH and SHW Tackle New Bond Issue for Brighton Area Schools

By Mary E. Kremposky, Associate Editor

W

ith a new football stadium and a field of synthetic turf, the Brighton High School Fighting Bulldogs certainly can be considered “lucky dogs,” thanks to the George W. Auch Company, Pontiac, and the SHW Group, LLC, Berkley. Both firms are wellschooled in bringing to life some of the best facilities in Michigan’s education marketplace. The football stadium is only one piece of an $88.5 million dollar bond issue for Brighton Area Schools. At Brighton High School, Phase I of the bond issue called for the transformation of outdated athletic fields and select improvements to the 450,000-square-foot high school - a school almost as big as a shopping mall. The first phase of the bond also called for alterations to six elementary and middle schools in this thriving Livingston County community.

Both Brighton High School and the district-wide improvements are the result of a five-year renewal plan launched by Brighton Area Schools under 34 CAM MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2013

Photos by Lark Photography

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Gregory Gray. “We hadn’t had a bond in a while,” said Gray. “Our athletic facilities were dilapidated and outdated. …

We were struggling with the condition not only of our athletic facilities but also with our technology.”

The program is being implemented over a three-year span at 10 different schools. The current phase included dramatically improving athletic facilities, installing new security vestibules in elementary schools, improving lighting and HVAC systems, and providing new information technology. “We now have wireless systems district-wide,” said Gray. “Beyond that, the instructional portion of technology – touch screens, smart boards and Betio video projectors – have now been infused in the classrooms.”

Brighton Area Schools selected SHW and the Auch Company to successfully implement its vision. “Auch has worked in the district a long time, and all of their work shows a great deal of quality,” said Gray. “They always “Voice Of The Construction Industry”®

deliver what they say they are going to deliver, and it’s on time and on budget. That is important to me as a superintendent.” Gray also praises and trusts the abilities of SHW. “They have creative designers, and I think they listen,” he said. “I don’t get the feeling that they just take the last design that they did and implement it in a different manner at our schools. They actually listen.”

SHW and the Auch Company both joined the project in the early phases. “For a year, we went through all of their buildings to develop a scope of work, closely working with Auch to put numbers to the project,” said SHW Project Architect T.J. O’Connor, AIA, LEED AP. The district and the project team held focus meeting with teachers, the community and other stakeholders. Based on these meetings, “the community drove the athletic improvements at Brighton High School,” said Gray. The athletic fields and amenities throughout the district are also available for community use, a godsend in an area of avid sports fans, added O’Connor.

In addition to community demand, the athletic facilities were in dire need of improvement. “The grass football field was in tough shape, the tennis courts were in bad shape, and the whole athletic portion of the school needed an upgrade,” said Auch Project Manager Dennis R. Smith.

The name Of The game: BudgeT and Schedule Brighton Area Schools has 32 different athletic programs and approximately 99 teams. The high school alone is almost like a mini-Olympics with its wide array of athletic fields spread over the 75acre campus. The school offers baseball, softball, football, track and field, lacrosse, soccer, rugby, wrestling and other sports.

As construction manager, the Auch Company began tackling this sprawling expanse of fields in fall 2012, working closely with SHW throughout design. “We check the budget as they design each phase, beginning with schematic and all the way through construction documents,” said Smith. “We are always checking to make sure we are staying within budget.”

The Auch Company worked within a tight time frame. “In building these athletic complexes, you can’t start until April and the football portion has to be done in August, because the team starts practicing in mid-August,” said Smith.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature wasn’t a team player, but delivered a steady drumbeat of rain.

“We had a tough summer weather-wise,” said Gray. “It’s difficult to build outdoor fields when it rains a third of the summer. The fact that we got it done and it turned out as great as it did is a testament to how the Auch Company operates.

Everything is top-notch.”

Extended hours and Saturday operations kept the project on schedule, as well as the site’s fairly Visit us online at www.cammagazineonline.com

sandy soil. “The contractors were aware of the various constraints on the schedule,” said Smith.

“Most everybody included overtime in their bids.”

The Auch Company staged their construction operations in a west-side parking area located farthest from the high school. The Auch Company kept the bus loop open until school closed for the summer, enclosing construction operations in temporary fencing.

The campus is a tight weave of athletic fields, parking lots and even a sizeable pond, all clustered around the massive high school. For SHW, preserving parking while expanding and improving the multi-use athletic fields was a delicate balancing act. “It was a continual challenge to maintain parking, but still provide the right-size facilities for competitive play,” said O’Connor.

West of the school, a prime example is the expansion of the oval of the football field and its companion running track. “We had to expand into the existing parking lot, because one of the challenges of adding the turf field and reconstructing the running track was that it had to be large enough to accommodate soccer also,” said O’Connor.

East and behind the school, a new practice field triggered the need for a small, new parking lot. In addition, the entire campus shares close quarters with the surrounding neighborhoods.

“The practice field is right on the border of the school’s south property line,” said O’Connor.

KicKing Off The SeaSOn The end result is the design and construction equivalent of a touchdown. The play-by-play: It’s

August 29 and the Brighton Bulldogs take to the field for the first football game of the 2013 season. Clad in the school colors of orange and black, the team runs out of the new locker room facility emblazoned with the words Brighton Pride: Home of the Fighting Dogs. The new 4,672-square-foot building is a curved structure following the arc of the field and designed to directly face the home team’s cheering fans, said O’Connor.

Pre-renovation, the football team had to prepare for the game in the high school’s locker room located a distant jog across the school’s inner roadway. The new facility offers a spacious locker room for the exclusive use of the football team during its season, as well as a conference room, separate space for the visiting team, and a small satellite concession and restroom. Inside the inner sanctum of the Mighty Bulldogs, a video playback monitor and white tack board allow for game discussions; a Tectum roof deck offers the proper acoustical control.

The new locker room is located almost on the very edge of the newly resurfaced running track that wraps around the field. As part of Auch’s construction game plan, “we had to have the masonry bearing walls completed for the new locker room before installation of the track’s new running surface,” said Smith.

Once on the field, the players pass, punt and tackle on a new playing field of synthetic turf – the district’s first use of such material. As part of the bond issue, Brighton High School’s practice field and a newly renovated middle school also enjoy the benefits of a synthetic turf field.

“Synthetic turf is more durable and drains

The new entrance to the football field is “watched over” by statues of two bulldogs decked out in the school’s signature black and orange jersey.

CAM MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2013 35

CONSTRUCTION HIGHLIGHT better,” said O’Connor. “They can also play multiple sports on the field.” The “grass” is composed of nylon polymers rooted in a “soil” of granular rubber fill. “The biggest benefit is that the school gets much more use out of the field,” said Smith. “They can use it while it is raining, and they can use it numerous times a day. The players love it.”

The fields’ vibrant graphics honor the school’s mascot – a fierce-looking bulldog.

A large orange paw marks the practice field and a bold mug of a bulldog dominates the football field.

The field markings are tufted rather than painted on the turf, meaning the markings and the chosen graphics are an integral part of this lovely expanse of turf. “The turf for the major line

markings comes in a roll and certain pieces come in strips that are glued into the field,” said Smith.

The newly renovated stadium also boosts the fan experience. A small, obscure ticket booth once marked the entrance to the stadium. Today, a new entry gate and arcade welcomes students and visitors to the game. The two entry columns each sport a statue of a bulldog decked out in the school’s signature black and orange jersey.

SHW’s design gives the entire stadium a visual glow - literally. Sunlight interacts with translucent panels at the entrance gate and in the center of the new concessions building. “At night, the panels are backlit, lighting up the orange panels,” said O’Connor.

The positive fan experience continues within the stadium. Formerly made of wood planks, the visitors bleachers are now aluminum with risers painted orange and black. Got the munchies at half-time? Due north of the field, the new 4,836square-foot concession and restroom building offers expanded service for fans in a building that is double the size of the original one. The new facility has a bank of large restrooms and one smaller in number, allowing the district to tailor usage to the size of any given event, said Smith.

Like the new locker room, this new masonry building follows the curve of the field. Together, both buildings bracket or frame the football field and the newly resurfaced running track, complete with small, yellow paw prints. “I think the project is exceeding the community’s expectations,” said Gray.

eaST meeTS WeST Other improvements to the west-side athletic facilities include a new and improved discus, shot put, long jump and pole vault area for track and field events. SHW and Auch also revitalized the athletic facilities due east of the large high school, adding a long scroll of renovated and new fields to the school district’s roster.

Smith rolls out the list: Re-graded and resodded the baseball and softball fields, along with installing a batting cage with Astro turf, a sod practice pitchers’ mound and new bleachers and a press box; updating and expanding tennis courts from eight to 12; a synthetic turf practice field for football, lacrosse, soccer and rugby; a new parking area, and a small restroom and storage building.

Part of the project literally leveled the playing field. “They essentially rebuilt the baseball field because the grades and the drainage were bad,” said O’Connor. “During a game, if the ball went to the outfield it dropped three feet. Brighton certainly had the home field advantage just by knowing the lay of the field.”

Slated for spring 2014, Phase II calls for the conversion of the high school’s existing pool into a fitness center and construction of a 24,900square-foot natatorium addition on the western 36 CAM MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2013

“Voice Of The Construction Industry”®

edge of the high school, said Smith who will spend part of the winter working with SHW in preparing for this phase of the district’s bond program. “The new pool will be right across the parking lot from the stadium entrance, so we will be revamping the site circulation and parking to tie the area together,” said O’Connor. Future phases may also involve a new entrance for the massive high school. “We are going to create a sense of entry,” said O’Connor. “Right now, you can’t really tell where the main entry is into the building.”

indOOr “SpOrTS” The Auch Company and SHW also renovated select spaces and infrastructure within the high school.

The Auch Company installed a completely new fire alarm system, as well as new LED lighting for the media center, gymnasium and the exterior soffit lights near the rear parking lot.

The Auch Company had to work around the schedule of a vibrant school with an almost constant lineup of activities. “We did some of the prep work for lighting in the spring,” said Smith, “but primarily we did the fire alarm on the second shift in the afternoons and evenings.”

Other work included installation of new drapery and theater lighting in the high school’s performing arts center, and the revitalization of the automotive training garage.

“For the

The new locker room facility, a curved structure following the arc of the field, is designed to directly face the home team’s cheering fans. automotive program, we provided new painting, new epoxy flooring, and new temperature controls, as well as new car lifts and other equipment,” said Smith.

Renovation of four sets of restrooms with new ceramic tile, accent tiles in the school colors, new toilet fixtures and the conversion of individual sinks to wash fountains now offer brighter, more

General Contractors Construction Managers

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AU AUCH CH

Over a Century of of Buildi Building ng T Trust rust

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CAM MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2013 37

• Electrical - Metro Electric Engineering Technologies, Inc., Romeo • Fencing - Motor City Fence Company, Troy • Asphalt - Nagle Paving Company, Novi • Carpentry - New Carpentry, Detroit • Theater - North Coast Studios, Inc., Clinton Township • Overhead Doors - Overhead Door of Whitmore Lake, Whitmore Lake • HVAC - Pleune Service Co., Grand Rapids • Toilet Partitions - R.E. Leggette Company, Dearborn • Aluminum, Glass & Glazing - Rochester Hills Contract Glazing, Rochester • Masonry - Rosati Mason Contractors, Rochester Hills • Foundations - Six-K Construction Co., Inc., Brighton • Grandstands and Press-Box - Southern Bleacher Construction Co., Graham, TX • Wire Mesh Partition, Lockers - Steel Equipment Co., Pontiac • Drywall - Turner-Brooks, Inc., Madison Heights The Construction Highlight list of subcontractors is provided by owner, architect or construction manager.

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Summer School: Auch and SHW Upgrade Seven Brighton Area Schools The George W. Auch Company, Pontiac, had a busy summer in 2013 performing a diverse array of work on seven different facilities for the Brighton Area School District, including Brighton High School. “Auch did a fantastic job in managing all of the different sites,” said SHW Project Architect T.J. O’Connor, AIA LEED AP. “They accomplished a great deal in a short period of time.”

SHW is the architectural firm working with the Auch Company on bringing the $88.5 million bond issue to life over the span of three years, beginning in April 2013. As part of Phase I, much of the work involved constructing a security vestibule near the main entry for each of the schools, as well as exterior door replacement with fiber-glass reinforced polyester (FRP) doors and aluminum frames. A security vestibule essentially creates two sets of doors and funnels all traffic to the main office. “In a future phase, we will be creating new music rooms on two of the elementary schools and a gymnasium on another,” said O’Connor.

A list of the project team’s “homework” for Phase I includes: Scranton Middle School: New tennis courts and stadium; replaced indoor carpeting; creation of a security vestibule; and replacement of half the exterior doors.

Maltby Intermediate: Creation of a security vestibule, toilet room renovation; replacement of corridor and classroom lighting with more energy-efficient fixtures; and replacement of all mechanical equipment and controls.

Hawkins Elementary: Revamping of the entire site, including all the parking lots and the addition of a new parking lot; replacement of half the exterior doors; toilet room renovation; creation of a security vestibule; upgrading of all playgrounds and playground equipment; replacement of classroom lighting with energyefficient lighting; locker replacement; and addressing site drainage.

Hilton Elementary: New playgrounds; creation of a security vestibule that involved relocating the main office within the building.

Hornung Elementary: New playground, creation of a security vestibule.

Spencer Elementary: Redid the site circulation, half the exterior doors replaced, new EDPM roof, new playground, and creation of a security vestibule.

CAM MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2013 39

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“Voice Of The Construction Industry”®

Concrete Contractors Honored for Exemplary Safety at ASCC Annual Conference Concrete contractors with exemplary safety records for 2012 were recognized by the American Society of Concrete Contractors (ASCC), St. Louis, MO, at the association’s Annual Conference in September 2013 in Columbus, OH. W. Burr Bennett Awards for Safety Excellence were given to specialty contractor T.A.S. Commercial Concrete Construction, Houston, TX, and general contractor, T.B. Penick & Sons, San Diego, CA. These awards are presented in partnership with CNA, Chicago, to contractors that place the highest priority on safety. Entries are judged on three years of safety performance indicators, values and trends; a self-assessment checklist of company safety practices; and detailed descriptions of safety plans and culture.

Additional awards based on the incident rate for 2012 were presented to general and specialty concrete contractors in four categories. The incident rate is the number of lost workday cases from the OSHA 300 log, times 200,000, divided by the number of work hours in a calendar year.

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General contractors receiving the Outstanding Safety Achievement Award for the lowest incident rate were Walbridge, Detroit, MI (over 250,000 work hours); Prus Construction Co., Cincinnati, OH (100,000 – 250,000 work hours) and Quesenberry’s, Big Stone Gap, VA (under 100,000 work hours).

Specialty contractors receiving the Outstanding Safety Achievement Award were Wayne Brothers, Kannapolis, NC (over 250,000 work hours); Canyon Contracting, Inc., Mt. Airy, MD (100,000 – 250,000 work hours); and Pence/Kelly Concrete, Salem, OR (under 100,000 work hours).

48 concrete contractors received awards for zero lost time due to accidents and 34 contractors were recognized for having lowered their incident rate from the previous year. 62 contractors received certificates for achieving an incident rate below the national average.

Three companies were recognized for outstanding fleet safety records: Rex’s Custom Concrete, Cedar Rapids, IA 150,000 miles with zero accidents; Kolde Construction, St. Marys, KS 503,740 miles with zero accidents; and L. Keeley Construction Co., Sauget, IL 2,800,000 miles with zero accidents.

Walbridge and Orion Announce Construction Teaming Walbridge and Orion recently announced that they have signed a strategic construction teaming agreement calling for the two Michigan-based companies to cooperate on bids and construction for select projects in the West Michigan region.

The companies will team on construction opportunities when factors such as project location, size, and complexity call for increased capacity or combining complementary capabilities.

The relationship between company leadership dates back to the early 1990s when Orion Construction CEO John Boonstra and Walbridge Executive Vice President Randy Abdallah worked together at the Detroit office of London, Ontariobased EllisDon. The agreement was finalized in September 2013 and plans are already underway to team on construction of the recently announced Arena Place Development in downtown Grand Rapids.

The project is due to break ground in the first quarter of 2014.

Walbridge is a construction firm founded in Detroit in 1916, and is still based there today. Orion is a multi-service construction company founded in 2000 and based in Grand Rapids.

CAM MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2013 9