Built for Good Newsletter - Spring/Summer 2014 by Walbridge

Spring - Summer 2014

BUILT FOR GOOD

Walbridge Technologies

Outdoor Adventure Center

New Tanks at Camp Lejeune

we build

you educate, inspire, house, feed, keep safe, train, challenge, compete and maintain traditions.

COUNT ON OUR UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE. www.walbridge.com/highered

This Issue

From our leadership

Technology advances at Walbridge

Bringing the great outdoors into the city

Reaching new heights

Walbridge Timeline: Metropolitan Building

There when you need us

What weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re building

Awards

Cover: New 750,000-gallon water tank at Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base in North Carolina Built For Good is a publication of the Walbridge Group, Inc. Forward any comments or questions to Mark Marymee at mmarymee@walbridge.com ÂŠ 2014 SM

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FROM OUR

LEADERSHIP

ecently I attended a meeting for new employees and was astonished to see how many people - - some with as many as 10, 20 and 25 years of service with us - - were there to show their support for these new members of our company. What a positive message to employees looking ahead to what they hope will be a long and positive relationship with an organization that values their talents and contributions.

For me, that meeting showcased one of the really special things about Walbridge. I don’t know what the average length of service is in our company, but I would bet it’s one of the longest in the industry. Once we find a good employee, someone who fits our culture, we do everything we can to keep that employee. That’s because we know our most important and valuable assets are the hundreds of dedicated people who have chosen to work here and make us an important part of their lives. Being the seventh CEO of Walbridge, I’ve been asked many times how it feels to have this responsibility. Is there a lot of pressure? Actually, the day- to-day pressure of running the business is so intense you rarely think about what it’s like to be the CEO. You just go out and do your job every day. But when I have the opportunity to reflect on special moments like that meeting for new employees, the thing that is so overwhelming to me is what an honor it is for me to serve and actually have the support of 1,000 employees who help me do my job every day. That’s where the real pressure comes from; returning to them what they’ve given to me and making sure they have a place here at Walbridge where they can progress with their careers, where they can be satisfied and can be fulfilled. Clearly that was the message sent in that meeting by our seasoned employees to the women and men who were just starting their careers with us. And it is a deep sense of responsibility and honor, the sense to repay our employees for the tremendous job they do for our company, that’s what motivates me. John Rakolta, Jr. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Walbridge | Detroit, Michigan

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ohn Jurewicz is an expert in the use of technology in the construction industry. He is Walbridge’s new General Manager of Virtual Design and Construction and serves as the head of the company’s newly formed business unit, Walbridge Technologies LLC.

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Where we see technology headed, and Walbridge Technologies headed, is better simulations and using them in much more intensive ways in the process.

Technology Advances At Walbridge How does greater utilization of technology benefit a project owner?

They can benefit in two ways. First, the cost of technology is coming down. Everything is moving toward smart devices and apps that are so much more cost effective. Next there are efficiency gains through better organization of data from the architect, the civil engineers and the contractors. The data can be repurposed so it can be more useful to the owner throughout the whole lifecycle of the project.

What’s the difference between VDC and BIM?

I call VDC virtually constructing, because that’s what we’re really doing. You can re-engineer the whole construction process before you even design a building. Having a building model with information tied to it is useful. But virtually constructing is a much more meaningful way of how to conduct the process of putting the whole thing together. You pre-think how you design and leverage ideas from how you constructed before.

What’s ‘smart modeling’?

Smart modeling is the use of big data that isn’t just a building model, but could be multiple building models and how they all relate to each other on a campus or complex. You can use that for master planning or for where you’re going to build your next building or phase. You can use this as a larger map that has intelligence to it. For instance, you see where water lines are so you don’t disturb as much infrastructure the next time you build so things are less costly.

John Jurewicz

Where do you utilize laser scanning?

We’re using laser scanning in large automotive and industrial processing plants to record what’s there quickly and efficiently. We can use a laser scan or point cloud to then model what’s new or what’s going to be improved at a plant. We can use it for productivity studies, or follow along the path of how something is made in a factory and how it’s going to change with new modeling and run interference checks. You can optimize an assembly line and improve efficiency.

Are there any safety benefits?

We can use point clouds to look at pinch points in a line for a safety analysis. So, if there’s a place where things are really close together and we see something that might pose a safety risk to a worker, we can straighten that out beforehand.

What does Walbridge Technologies do?

Walbridge Technologies is unique because it allows us to sell more than just construction services to owners. We can sell just technology services to an owner who’s looking for help in figuring out how all of this data can be reused and repurposed. We can come in and provide guidelines, which we’re doing now at several universities. The guidelines can show the architect how they should model. We can send guidelines to contractors so they have standards and examples of how they can better use technology to meet the owner’s needs.

Where are we heading with use of technology in the construction industry?

Where we see technology headed, and Walbridge Technologies headed, is better simulations and using them in much more intensive ways in the process. An example of that might be to model an exothermic reaction in a plant and then build in blast walls around that area to prevent damage that could happen to the rest of the plant, even while we’re in the planning process. For more visit www.walbridge.com/tech Built For Good I 5

Bringing the great outdoors into the city

Globe Building before rehabilitation

efore it was known as the Motor City, Detroit was a hub for ship building. The depth of the Detroit River and the city’s proximity to the Great Lakes made it an ideal location to launch freighters. This maritime manufacturing history will make up one of many planned exhibits at the new Michigan Department of Natural Resources Outdoor Adventure Center (OAC), located inside the rehabilitated Globe Trading Company Building, which housed the Detroit Dry Docks Engine Works more than 100 years earlier. The intent of the OAC is to bring an awareness of Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the state’s vast recreational offerings to a demographic far removed from wilderness. Its exhibits will cover everything the state has to offer in terms of natural resources and outdoor adventure; from fishing, hunting and trapping, to boating, camping and so much more. Situated on Detroit’s East Riverfront, the OAC is geared to educate visitors on Michigan’s eco-system, as well as on energy conservation. It brings a full-service DNR office to the banks of the Detroit River, allowing anglers to pick up a fishing license and walk across the street to enjoy their sport. It provides connectivity between the Dequindre Cut bikeway, 6 I Built For Good

Milliken State Park and the Detroit Riverwalk. And it’s helping revitalize the state’s international riverfront by transforming what used to be a crumbling, graffiti-covered eyesore into a state-of-the-art cultural center. Creating the OAC required the combined efforts of several important players: The DNR, with its immeasurable knowledge of Michigan’s great outdoors; The Roxbury Group, a premier developer in the City of Detroit; Hobbs + Black, which tapped its spatial and playful imagination to design the new space; and Walbridge, which took on a condemned and dangerous structure, preserved its historic bones and fashioned a comprehensive, accommodating facility to house the new OAC. But two decades of abandonment had left the 120-year-old Globe in hazardous condition. Met with giant concrete panels hanging from the ceiling, compromised brick and shattered windows galore, Walbridge was tasked up front with creating a safe, workable jobsite. Rehab called for the demolition of 40 percent of the building, including its three-brick-wide skin along Atwater Street. Determining what was salvageable

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BRICKS D E S U E R

Entrance of the new OAC after the Globe’s rehab

was the first step in addressing both the safety concern and understanding what was needed to save the bulk of the historic building. Because the Globe is one of the earliest examples of steelframe construction, the project team opted to save a large portion of the building’s beams, columns and unique Wellman-style trusses. Without three layers of brick support, however, the Globe’s historic steel columns swayed like spaghetti noodles – sometimes a foot in each direction – as its original brick skin came down. This created a giant obstacle for the project team, whose plan for temporary bracing evolved amid construction into one that better mimicked the horizontal support of the wall’s unique threewithe brick skin. A planned knockdown of the 30-foot Atwater Street wall quickly turned into hand demolition, with bricks being individually plucked from the top down by construction crew. This contributed greatly to the team being able to reuse 40,000 bricks later on. Completely rehabilitated, the Globe is ready to house the new OAC, whose concept is designed to connect visitors

to Michigan’s natural and cultural resources and inspire people to make positive environmental changes in their yard, neighborhood, city and state. Through interpretive themes on Michigan trails, tree and waterways, the DNR hopes to bring awareness to activities like off-roading, kayaking and climbing while also showcasing the importance of plants in the state’s ecosystem. The state’s network of rivers will also play role in the OAC’s educational component, showing how what goes on underwater and above the surface can impact our natural resources. Boating and fishing simulators will show visitors different ways to enjoy our watercourses and lakes. And programming will educate visitors on ways to be more eco-conscious at home. Other planned exhibits include an archery range, indoor camp site, eagle’s nest and beaver dam, a deer blind, laser hunting, night sky and a serenity pod to promote Michigan’s sunset and sunrise. Event space was also constructed with the building’s rehab. The DNR’s OAC is expected to bring a never-before experience to Detroit – its youngest residents in particular – having a direct and positive impact on the city, as well as Southeast Michigan. Built For Good I 7

Reaching new heights WATER TANK REPLACEMENT SUPPORTS CAMP LEJEUNE EXPANSION

n an effort to expand facilities and improve water pressure for Camp Lejeuneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 138,000 marines, sailors, retirees and families, the Naval Facilities Engineering Command hired Walbridge to replace eight water tanks on the North Carolina Marine Corps base with seven new tanks that are bigger and better. The old towers are all steel legged tanks â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a common form of elevated water reservoir, featuring several legs supporting a large circular chamber up in the sky. The new tanks vary in capacity and style. The two smallest are made completely of steel; the 100,000-gallon tank is a pedesphere and the 200,000-gallon tank is a steel-fluted tower. The remaining five are composite structures, made of a concrete pedestal and steel tank; the three largest each hold 750,000 gallons of water, the other two hold 500,000. Each new tank took roughly 10 months to build. Thanks to the well-coordinated sequencing of subcontractor labor and suppliers, the tanks were constructed simultaneously, with concrete placement following driven-pile foundations and steel erection chasing pedestal construction. Additionally, roughly 10,000 feet of new underground piping was placed for the water tank replacement project.

I Built Good Smallest of8 new waterFor tanks erected at Camp Lejeune

Raising of 750,000-gallon water tank

Inside new telecommunications building

Upgraded pumps in water treatment facility

With the tank replacement, Walbridge also upgraded two water treatment facilities, which play an important role in the base’s potable water system. Pumps were replaced and electrical systems were updated at both facilities. The upgrades required each treatment plant to go offline for construction while the other remained functioning. Without redundancy in the system, work on each facility was critical; there was no room for mistake, and work had to be completed in a timely fashion. Lack in redundancy in any water system is risky, requiring construction to be executed meticulously and efficiently. Among the project’s unique challenges was coordinating construction in and around an active military installation. Two of the new tanks were constructed in residential neighborhoods and one was erected at a community beach – areas of the base teaming with family activity. Strong logistics plans were put into place and precautions above and beyond normal safety requirements were taken to coordinate material and equipment maneuvering and to secure jobsites. To prevent pedestrians – namely children – from wandering into construction zones, 7-foot fences were erected around sites in congested areas. Walbridge and Navy personnel coordinated best routes through communities, identifying courses that were not necessarily the shortest or most direct, but rather the safest and least invasive to residents. In supporting the mission of the Marine Corps, all water tank replacement construction took place while base operations remained ongoing and residents’ water service continued without interruption.

Six of the new tanks are completed; the last is underway, its planned start was postponed due to a governmentinitiated change in location. Once the final tank is finished and commissioning complete, demolition will begin on the old tanks. While logistics planning for each tank’s demo took some time, actual disassembly will take only take one or two days each. Commissioning the new tanks will take place this fall. Circumstances require the new tanks be placed online in quick succession through a closely coordinated sequence as to maintain a balance in pressure within the system. Because the team will be cutting into an existing system, commissioning will take place over night to minimize disruption to residents. The new tanks are spread throughout the 150-acre base, located miles apart from one another. Team members visiting each of the nine jobsites often got a two hour drive around Camp Lejeune, which spans 250 square miles. The new tanks’ red-and-white-checked paint job make them hard to miss, and that’s the whole idea.

INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT In a separate project within Camp Lejeune, Walbridge was also tasked with a major utility upgrade at the base’s Courthouse Bay area. The job brought improvements to the area’s water, sewer and forced main systems, as well as upgraded underground communications and a new telecommunications building. The project included the placement of a smaller elevated tank and miles of underground piping.

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A Jewel in Detroit The Metropolitan Building stands on a triangular lot in downtown Detroit. Weston & Ellington Architect designed the 15-story building and construction began in July 1924. Walbridge Aldinger Company completed it one year later at a final cost of $709,000. Since it was largely occupied by jewelry manufacturers and watchmakers it became known as the “Jewelers Building.” Its exterior facing is composed of brick, granite and terra cotta. The building remained open until 1977. Today, some observers consider it a “brick-dropper” suitable for demolition; to others it’s a classic example of stylish architecture from Detroit’s past that’s worth restoring. In July 2014, an announcement was made that a local developer would stabilize the crumbly façade in preparation for a potential deal to restore the Metropolitan and construct 61 high-end apartments.

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There when you need us W

hen the main power transformer started failing at DTE Energy’s Fermi 2 Plant in Newport, Mich., the company hired Walbridge Industrial Process (WIP) to remove it and install a new 884,000-pound Elin/Siemens transformer in a critically short timeframe. WIP mobilized immediately, draining 160,000 pounds of oil from the replacement transformer, temporarily positioned at an offsite storage area, before prepping it for relocation in DTE’s protected area at Fermi 2. The team jacked up the unit and installed slider beams to load it onto a 128-wheel dolly system. The transformer was then transported a half-mile through the DTE’s facility before being lifted with a heavyduty hydraulic turntable, rotated 90 degrees, placed and refilled with oil.

DTE then took the old transformer offline and prepped it for WIP to extract and complete an interchange of the new transformer. The interchange required jacking up the failed transformer by 42 inches, installing a jack-and-slider system and moving it approximately 150 feet to the west to make room for its replacement, which was immediately connected to all power systems upon reaching its final position. WIP installed the original 997,000-pound Hyundai power transformer back in 2010. WIP finished the job under budget and five days ahead of schedule, having completed the interchange process in just 48 hours. The project was successfully carried out with no operational interruptions or safety issues.

Transporting replacement transformer

Walbridge Process Engineering & Construction (WPE&C) has been formed and combines the construction expertise of Walbridge with the process engineering capabilities of Process Engineering Associates (PROCESS) of Oak Ridge, Tenn. WPE&C has global reach and offers comprehensive process engineering, detailed engineering, and construction services to customers in the chemical process industry, as well as the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, specialty chemical, and oil and gas industries. The unit is based in Greenville, S.C., with offices in Charlotte, Oak Ridge, Tenn., Philadelphia and Mobile, Ala.

To support relationship-building efforts with companies from Asia and China who look to establish operations in the United States, Walbridge is launching a new micro-website. Walbridgechina.com provides information about the firm’s construction services capabilities, history and experience in building research and development, manufacturing and related facilities in the U.S., as well as Canada, Mexico and South America. Content on the site has been translated into Chinese.

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New strategic initiatives launched

This is an easy way for people to get to know us and for us to demonstrate who we are and how we can help companies get started in North America and South America.

Mark McClelland, Walbridge Vice President of Industrial Operations

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What we’re building RECENTLY AWARDED

GETTING STARTED

UNDERWAY

WRAPPING UP

University of Michigan Ross School of Business

General Motors Assembly Plant, Flint, MI

Nestlé Plant Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, Mexico

Orange County Public Schools’ Elementary Schools

University of Michigan recently awarded Walbridge a construction manager contract for a major renovation and addition to its Stephen M. Ross School of Business. The project includes a comprehensive renovation of the Kresge Business Administration Library, demolition of the Computer and Executive Education Building, construction of a new academic building, and addition of exterior finishes to Sam Wyly Hall, the Business Administration Executive Dormitory and the Hill Street Parking Structure.

Gallagher-Kaiser Corporation hired Walbridge to design-build a new paint shop at the General Motors Assembly complex in Flint, Mich. The new facility is expected to reduce the amount of sludge taken to landfills by 90 percent and will use 20 percent less gas and 40 percent less electricity. Roughly 10,000 tons of steel is currently being erected for the new 600,000-square-foot paint building. Construction is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2016.

Cereal Partners Worldwide, a joint venture between Nestlé and General Mills, hired Walbridge to oversee its Mustang expansion project in Jalisco, Mexico. The project includes 139,930 square feet of new construction, 113,021 square feet of new roadways and parking lots, and installing and relocating various equipment systems throughout an existing Nestlé complex in the city of Lagos de Moreno. Work is on track for a completion late this fall.

Walbridge’s team in Florida is working to replace Orange County Public Schools’ John Young and Shingle Creek elementary schools, built in 1989 and 1992, respectively. They’re two of eight elementary schools the district is replacing over the next year. The two new school buildings – identical in appearance – are two stories and each total 83,150 square feet. Construction of Shingle Creek is currently wrapping up; John Young is expected to be completed in early November.

Awards

t’s been a productive first and second quarter in achievement for Walbridge. In the last few months, we’ve received three prestigious awards: The Association of Union Constructors (TAUC) awarded both Walbridge and Walbridge Equipment Installation a 2013 Thomas J. Reynolds Award for construction safety and health in April. In May, Ford Motor Company presented Walbridge with a Silver Award through its World Excellence Awards program, which recognizes suppliers for excellence in quality, cost performance and delivery.

On behalf of the University of Michigan Law School Lawyers Club renovation team, Walbridge accepted an Engineering Society of Detroit Construction & Design Award in June for excellence in construction, design and collaboration. The Kalamazoo/Battle Creek (Michigan) Chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction honored Walbridge’s Laurel VandePutte and Ashley Page with Innovation Vision Awards for their work on the new Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine.

Achieving LEED© certifications Two of our projects achieved LEED© certifications this past quarter. The renovation of Eastern Michigan University’s 237,108-square-foot Pray-Harrold Hall academic building was LEED certified and the 57,000-square-foot Tactical Equipment Maintenance Facility we built at Fort Hood, Texas, achieved LEED Silver. EMU Pray-Harrold Hall

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Fort Hood TEMF

People P

eople are the backbone of our business. We’re pleased to applaud the following employees for their recent accomplishments: Sr. Engineer Coordinator Alyssa Hepker recently achieved her Professional Engineer certification. Project Engineer Clayton Stull became Walbridge’s newest LEED® professional, earning his LEED Green Associate designation in June. Chairman and CEO John Rakolta, Jr. was named a “Distinguished Warrior” by the Urban League of Detroit and Southeast Michigan. And we welcomed several new team members: Delphine Chang-Grattan was brought on to oversee business development efforts in China; Hope Alexander will be in charge of business development in the Chicago area; Brian Moore joined the business development team for Walbridge Industrial Process; John McNeil joins Walbridge Southeast to head up business development efforts from Mobile, Ala.;

Michael Davies was hired as project director of Walbridge Pre-Construction Services; and Michael Howard joins the team as a senior project executive for Walbridge Process Engineering & Construction, based in Greenville, S.C. Walbridge also recently announced several executive-level promotions: Joe Chemello – Group Vice President, Estimating Steve Garchow – Vice President, Industrial Operations Steve Helms – Vice President and General Manager, Walbridge Southeast Terry Merritt – Senior Vice President Chris Morgan – Assistant Vice President, Walbridge Southeast Operations John Linenberg – Assistant Vice President, Engineering Group Tim Sewell – Vice President and General Manager, Walbridge Florida

Walbridge’s Cereal Partners Worldwide Mustang Project team in Mexico

Students visit Florida jobsite as ‘living classroom’ O

ur Orange County Public Schools Capital Renewal Project team in Florida recently created a living classroom educational experience for local high schoolers. More than 60 students were invited to visit the Shingle Creek Elementary School jobsite in Orlando, Fla., through the Orange County Public Schools Ace Mentoring Program. Walbridge is replacing John Young and Shingle Creek elementary schools as part of the district’s capital renewal project. Read more about the project in our What We’re Building section.

Students pose with Shingle Creek project team

Connect with us:

SALES | Randy Abdallah, Executive Vice President 866.331.6585 | rabdallah@walbridge.com

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