Teamwork makes OICC Florence work

ByAshleySnipes

Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Officer in Charge of Construction Florence

Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command’s Officer in Charge of Construction Florence (OICC Florence) completed a five bridge project for Marine Corps Air Station(MCAS)CherryPointonJan.18.

The bridges, built in the 1950’s, were damagedwhenHurricaneFlorenceravaged NorthCarolina causingsignificantdevastation to buildings and infrastructure across MCAS Cherry Point, Marine Corps Base (MCB) Camp Lejeune, and MCAS New River Each bridge in the $2.7 million project presented a unique logistical challenge requiringthoroughplanningtoensureminimal disruption to the Marines and Sailors workingatMCASCherryPointandatRange BT11onPineyIsland

Project coordination with MCAS Cherry PointRangeControlwasextensiveforthree ofthebridges,becauseofthewidevarietyof personnel,equipment,andaircraftusingthe areafortrainingevents Inaddition,muchof the project material had to be delivered to the island on a barge and daily synchronization had to be made for transporting the crewstotheworksites

“They had regularly scheduled trips from the main land to the island, but then theyalsohadspecialtripstheyhadtomake for the folks to come back and forth,” said MatthewO’Brien,AIA,CSI,LEED,SupervisoryConstructionManager,ResidentOfficer InChargeofConstruction(ROICC),Cherry Point. “We couldn’t hog dock space so we hadtocoordinateallthat.”

O’Brien credits the personal relationships built by his Engineering Technicians, William Church and David Canupp, with Range Operations Center personnel for the smooth daily operations associated with refurbishingthebridges

On MCAS Cherry Point, Bridge 4341 providedagreatopportunityforvalueengineering due to the experience provided by thedesignerofrecord,FrankBurns,PE

“Therewasthishugetransitionpiecethat neededtobestripped,sandblasted,primed andpainted,”saidO’Brien “Thebetteridea was to pour the foundation and make a concreteramp Nocost,nochange.”

Thechangewasoneofonlythreerequired during the project with O’Brien acknowledging Burns efficiency from the very start ofthejob

“He did a very a good job designing the construction documents and writing the specifications,”addedO’Brien “Therewere veryfewissuesandveryfewRFI’s[requests forinformation].That’sthesignofatightset ofplans.”

The entire task had little overlap for the contractor,meaningwhenonebridgewould complete, the next one started, with the exception of Bridge 4062 which involved overnightwork.Crewsreducedtraffictoone lane in order to perform work in the travel lanesandontheguardrails,asitisoneofthe main thoroughfares on the base and everyonewantedtomaintainasmallerfootprint.

“Theteamdidagoodjobassessingsafety risks on the project; there were a couple activities that were high risk and required some extra attention, added LDCR David Dreyer, PE, ROICC Cherry Point , OICC Florence “The repairs made to the underside of Slocum Bridge (Bridge 4062) required the contractor to utilize a float- ing barge on Slocum Creek to perform the work.”

Constant and consistent communication allowedallmemberstoidentifyanyrisksto theprojectthatcouldescalateintoanissue. O’Brien employed risk identification in the weekly quality control meeting where they discussed the three week look ahead. The teamalsohostedpartneringsessionswhere updates were provided to ROICC, Cherry Point thecontractorandMarineCorps,and riskstotheprojectcompletiontimelinewere discussed.

O’Brien believed the contractor and ROICC shared the vision and mission of thisproject.

The bridges are part of OICC Florence’s mission to provide engineering, construction, and acquisition services supporting the Marine Corps’ recovery from the storm and deployment of the Joint Strike Fighter, re-establishingthereadinessofexpeditionaryforcesforMarineCorpsInstallationEast andIIMarineExpeditionaryForce.

The$3.6billioninrepairsandrenovations the command is responsible for are scheduledforcompletionin2026