Construction Global January 2016

www.constructionglobal.com January 2016

LEGAL ADVICE

How to avoid contract disputes

Wonder web Top tips for the construction industry on getting the most out of the internet

SHOW TIME

The must-attend construction industry events in 2016

EDITOR’S COMMENT

How to build 2016 W E L C O M E T O T H E January 2016

edition of Construction Global. In this issue, we have a great feature offering advice to construction firms on how to avoid legal disputes – making sure contracts are fit-for-purpose will avoid lengthy and costly negotiations. We are also featuring advice on using the internet – sounds simple, but getting smart online and having the right approach can make a big difference to construction professionals, whether it’s making connections with potential new clients to sourcing and specifying the best building products for your projects. We also have a guide to 10 must-attend events in the construction industry in 2016 – ranging from Ecobuild in London to Bauma in Germany.

We do hope you enjoy the issue, send us your feedback on @ConstructionGL

Lucy Dixon Managing Editor EMEA lucy.dixon@wdmgroup.com

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CONTENTS

Features

6 TECHNOLOGY & EQUIPMENT PRODUCT PROCUREMENT

MANAGEMENT/PLANNING Careful contracts

14 4

January 2016

TOP 10 Show time

20

Company Profiles USA

32

Turner Construction

USA

45

Archer Western Lake Livingston Hydro Project

USA

52

Toledo Public Utilities

TECHNOLOGY & EQUIPMENT

PRODUCT procurement

How can the construction industry use the internet to source product information?

W r i t t e n b y: S U B U T C H E R , C O N S T R U C T I O N C O N S U LT A N C Y J UST PRACTISI NG

I’VE SPENT MUCH of the last four years consulting on ‘the dark side’ – working for product manufacturers.

What an eye opener it has been! After training in architecture I spent 15 years running architects’ practices, and when I set up my consultancy helping construction companies use the internet better, I wasn’t expecting the greatest interest to come from product 6 January 2016

companies. The fact is though, they want to talk to architects, but the way they do it isn’t working as well as it did.

Product companies are different Many of the product companies I work with are completely different to the architect practices I used to run.

• They have budgets for marketing – whereas I never had a marketing

budget in an entire career marketing architects’ services; • They have sales people, often teams, whose job it is to cultivate relationships with specifiers and contractors; and • They have technical teams who are kept well away from specifiers.

Indeed I came across one company who even charged 49p a minute

on their technical helpline!

Each of these departments – sales, marketing and technical, don’t talk to each other nearly as much as they should, even in the smaller product companies. This is entirely different to how architects operate; architects businesses often have a relatively flat, non-siloed business structure. If there is any definition, it is 7

TECHNOLOGY & EQUIPMENT usually between ‘the office’ and ‘the partners’. Non fee-earners are rare, often only a practice manager. The RIBA benchmarking reports show us that most architects firms spend less than the 2-5 percent recommended Click here to minimum on marketing. And sales download RIBA people? Don’t make me laugh! benchmarking But seriously, these differences report can help us understand how we can better get what we want out of product companies when it comes to sourcing construction product information.

Product sourcing is changing One reason construction product manufacturers are finding it harder marketing to us, is the changes in how our practices work. Architects practices have always been small (76 percent fewer than 10 staff, 58 percent fewer than five, according to the RIBA) but since the recession new ways of working have developed.

People who were made redundant or became disillusioned during the recession left larger practices and set up on their own, often without a traditional business address, preferring to work from home and online. Some of these practices set up joint ventures with other individual 8 January 2016

professionals, in different locations, collaborating online and rarely meeting in person. Sales representatives can no longer doorstep your practice and offer to update your construction product information or deliver a CPD if you don’t have a doorstep. Indeed they may have lost touch with you altogether.

What is more, the conventional times to contact us no longer really make sense. The new RIBA Plan of Work logo is a never-ending circle of interaction for a reason. A product manufacturer wants to be on your radar all the time, so they contact you. All the time. Pretty soon you’re getting someone else

PRODUCT PROCUREMENT

Research shows 88 percent of specifiers use Google to research products

to answer the phone, setting up a reception area. Oh, wait a minute…

When I was working in practice in the mid noughties, we cut our product library down from 20 metres of catalogues to just five. Research by CIMCIG has confirmed that demand for printed material is dropping, but we know that already, don’t we?

For a start, we need things more quickly. We can’t wait 5 days for a reply card to bring back a generic brochure. That’s why we’ve been using the Internet to source product

information for years. The last time RIBA Insight carried out research into this area (2012) they found that 88 percent of specifiers use Google to research product information, and 83 percent go direct to product manufacturers’ websites.

Problems with sourcing information online If you’re one of those 83 percent who visit manufacturers websites, you’ll know how much of a challenge product companies find publishing 9

TECHNOLOGY & EQUIPMENT on the internet. Internet marketing for construction product companies is really in its infancy, with websites clearly not designed for the specifier.

The traditional way of marketing construction products is never to talk about other companies’ products, so we are unable to make genuine comparisons. There is frequently a focus on features rather than benefits, and technical information is often hard to come by. I have friends who have spent hours trying to get someone to send a standard detail when it could have been on the website 24/7, ready for them to download immediately.

‘If you’re not already using LinkedIn and Twitter to find and build relationships with construction product companies, give it a go” – Su Butcher, Just Practising

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January 2016

Many manufacturers are reluctant to share their digital information, hiding it behind a pay wall that they expect us to pass by giving up email addresses. We don’t like giving our email addresses for product information unless there is a genuine benefit for us, because construction product companies are notorious for spamming us afterwards. So we curse the extra time it takes us to fill out forms.

So how can we find what we want?

How do we know the information is up-to-date? And how can we do all this when we are in a hurry?

PRODUCT PROCUREMENT

Specifiers need access to up-to-date information on construction materials

We need a trusted relationship and efficient conversations There are two things that we, as specifiers, need from construction product companies. We need to find out information swiftly and efficiently, and we need to hang on to the useful people we come across in the process. Some of this is going to take product manufacturers quite a while to sort out for you, so please accept my apology on their behalf for the delay.

In the meantime, here are a few other things you can do to make the experience a little more pleasant.

When I worked in practice there

was a chap who came into the office frequently called Richard Gay. To me he was just ‘the Insulation Man’ – I didn’t know he worked for SIG plc, one of the largest specialist product suppliers in Europe.

The reason that the name of his employer didn’t matter to me, is that we, as specifiers, are interested in solutions, not products. Richard was hugely important in helping the practice solve technical insulation solutions, and he did it for free. So much so that all his introductions came by referral – his name was passed along from architectural 11

TECHNOLOGY & EQUIPMENT assistant to technologist, practice to practice, because he was useful.

Now there are thousands of people like Richard Gay in construction product companies. We need to maintain valuable relationships with useful people like Richard Gay, and today as well as keeping his email address and phone number, we can connect with such useful people on LinkedIn. Using LinkedIn LinkedIn is an online directory of people we know, which stays with us throughout our career; whether we move practice, change address or move into a different sector. Using LinkedIn we can also recommend useful people in public or in private by forwarding their profiles to our contacts, for example. We can keep in touch with the useful product rep even if he moves to another company, and he can keep in touch with us without having to interrupt our busy day.

But what if you don’t know someone 12

January 2016

useful who can help you with your complex cladding challenge or finding a responsibly sourced light fitting? Talking to manufacturers directly can be useful, but we need to find the right person with the right technical knowledge. We don’t want to end up hanging on the phone or giving our email address away to a load of useless contacts.

Using Twitter Some architects are using Twitter to ask specific questions from manufacturers and get introduced directly to the right person or the right information. One of these is Ming Cheng who works for Burrell Foley Fischer Architects in London. Like many architects of his generation, Ming frequently asks questions of product companies on Twitter – why? Because it’s easy, safe and doesn’t take him long. The question sits there in the air, sometimes for days, sometimes for a few minutes.

Then someone replies, and their reply tells us all so much about the company he’s contacted.

Ming recently contacted two

PRODUCT PROCUREMENT

window manufacturers asking whether they had a double glazed window that would meet a certain U-value requirement.

The well-known brand he contacted took until the next day to confirm they did not. The other brand replied within five minutes with a link to the information he needed and an email address for further queries.

Twitter is a great partner to Linkedin, because you can talk to anyone you like. It’s also so much better than trawling websites and hanging on the phone. It is swift, efficient, and you can

control thew conversation. Any sales talk and a click of a button blocks the bothersome user.

If you’re not already using LinkedIn and Twitter to find and build relationships with product companies, give it a go and let me know how you get on. Ask your colleagues too – you might find they already know this little secret.

And if you come across a construction product company and want to tell them what to do, feel free to point them in my direction. We’ll help them become more useful – after all, it is all they really want to do.

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MANAGEMENT/PLANNING

CAREFUL CONTRACTS Net contribution clauses:

how to avoid the blame game W r i t t e n by : M ATTH E W N E E D H A M - LA I N G , P A R T N E R A T S T E V E N S & B O LT O N L L P

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January 2016

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MANAGEMENT/PLANNING WHERE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS are subject to the jurisdiction of a common law country, such as the UK or USA, then the legal concept of joint and several liability will apply.

In general, if two or more people contract together that they will do something, then in the absence of any express clause to the contrary, there is a presumption that each person is jointly liable for the other person’s actions and performance. Performance of those obligations by one of them discharges the other person from the liability for those obligations, equally the failure by one person to perform those obligations leaves both persons

jointly liable. The person for whom the contract was being performed can choose whether to sue one, some, or all of the persons who are jointly liable.

Several liability is merely a legal term to describe a situation in which two or more persons make separate promises to another, and therefore each person is liable only for their own specified obligations.

The contractual relationships between parties involved in construction and engineering projects frequently give rise to jointly and severally liability for the contractual obligations of other parties involved on the same project, primarily because more than one company is

CAREFUL CONTRACTS

‘Several liability is merely a legal term to describe a situation in which two or more persons make separate promises to another, and therefore each person is liable only for their own specified obligations’

involved in the design or construction of the project. The use of contracts which encourage collaborative working and the increasing use of building information modeling (BIM) reinforce the presumption of joint and several liability.

There have been demands for the law to be reformed, for example the Association of Consulting Engineers published a report in the 2004 Professional Indemnity Insurance and Joint and Several Liability in the 17

MANAGEMENT/PLANNING

Construction Industry: the case for reform calling for the introduction of proportionate liability and a statutory capping regime on insurance claims.

However no reform has taken place and none is currently proposed.

Parties seeking to avoid the

consequences of joint and several liability therefore rely upon express terms in their contracts to ‘rebut’ the presumption that they have accepted joint liability for the other person’s actions. The most common are ‘net contribution’ clauses, which limit the

‘Parties seeking to avoid the consequences of joint and several liability therefore rely upon express terms in their contracts to ‘rebut’ the presumption that they have accepted joint liability for the other person’s actions’ 18

January 2016

CAREFUL CONTRACTS

liability of a party. These clauses will state that where two or more parties involved in a construction project are each jointly liable for the same loss or damage, the liability of each party will be limited to the amount that would be apportioned to that party on a fair and reasonable basis having regard to their responsibility for the loss or damage. The intention being that if a court or arbitration determines a party is 30 percent responsible for the loss then their liability is limited to 30

percent of the total damages. In the absence of a net contribution clause, under the law of joint and several liability, that party, despite being only 30 percent responsible could be 100 percent liable for the loss.

The effectiveness of net contribution clauses depends on the clarity of their drafting. They are clauses of limitation and therefore any ambiguity will be interpreted against the party seeking to rely on the limitation, usually the consultant or the contractor. An 19

MANAGEMENT/PLANNING example of the care needed to draft such clauses is demonstrated in the case of Stephen & Carol West v Ian Finlay & Associates (a firm) [2014] EWCA Civ 316. The case concerned the interpretation of the net contribution clause in the appointment agreement between the Wests and their architects Ian Finlay Associates.

The Wests appointed Ian Finlay Associates as their architect to design and administer works to their home, which included lowering the lower ground floor and replacing the plumbing, mechanical services and electrics. The Wests appointed a main contractor and also directly appointed certain specialist contractors to design

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January 2016

and supply certain elements of the project. Unfortunately the works carried out by the main contractor were defective, in particular the lower ground floor suffered from damp ingress. The dispute went to court where the judge decided that the architect had been in breach of its professional duties, and the main contractor had been in breach of its contractual obligations to Mr & Mrs West; both were therefore liable for the losses suffered by them.

Unfortunately the main contractor had gone into liquidation and consequently the Wests sought to recover 100% of their losses from the architects, under the rule of joint and several liability. The architects in turn sought

CAREFUL CONTRACTS

to rely on a net contribution clause in their appointment, the relevant part of the clause read as follows: “Our liability for loss or damage will be limited to the amount that it is reasonable for us to pay in relation to the contractual responsibilities of other consultants, contractors and specialists appointed by you.”

The judge was therefore required to consider whether the clause was effective in limiting the architects’ liability where the main contractor was also liable. In doing so, he considered the clause in the context of what was known by the parties at the time they entered into the appointment and in particular the fact that the architects knew the Wests would themselves procure several aspects of the work, which would not form part of the main building contract.

The judge considered that the net contribution clause was ambiguous; particularly the words “other consultants, contractors and specialists appointed by you” could be interpreted in two ways: A) Everyone with whom Mr & Mrs West entered into a contract in relation to the project apart from the architect, or

B) Limited to the various specialist contractors or suppliers with whom Mr & Mrs West were proposing to enter into direct contracts outside the main building contract.

The judge decided that since there was doubt as to the meaning of the net contribution clause, the court was required to give the clause the interpretation that was most favourable to Mr & Mrs West, which was the second meaning above. As a consequence the clause did not limit the architects’ liability in respect of losses incurred by the main contractor breaching its contract, it merely limited the architects liability in respect of breaches by the specialist contractors appointed by Mr & Mrs West outside the main contract. Mr & Mrs West could recover 100 percent of the damages from the architects, who had no means of obtaining a contribution to those damages from the now insolvent main contractor.

The decision was reversed in the Court of Appeal but it serves to show how careful those operating in construction must be when agreeing the wording of net contribution clauses.

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TOP 10

SHOW T

Which are the must-attend const

TIME

Written by: Lucy Dixon

truction industry events in 2016?

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TOP 10 Attending trade shows, conferences and exhibitions can be a fantastic way for construction industry professionals to keep up-to-date with the latest trends, innovations and product developments. There is often free CPD-accredited seminar content and the chance to get expert advice from some of the industry’s leading companies, as well as the opportunity to network with potential partners and clients. There are a lot of events to choose from, though. If you wanted to, you could probably attend a construction event every single week of the year. So, with so much choice, how do you know which events are really worth attending? By checking out our top 10 of the must-attend construction events in 2016.

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BAUMA GERMANY 11-17 APRIL 2016 / www.bauma.de

Billed as the largest trade show in the world, Bauma 2016 is expected to break yet more visitor and exhibitor records – the 2013 event saw over 535,000 visitors from 200 countries. It really is a huge event, with exhibition space already sold out and over 3,400 exhibitors. The show covers everything related to construction machinery and building materials.

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January 2016

THE BIG 5 21-24 NOVEMBER 2016 www.thebig5.ae

With its place as the biggest construction event in the Middle East, The Big 5 is a show dedicated to the construction industry throughout the region. It offers over 75 free CPD-accredited seminars on subjects including project management and technology and features over 35,000 innovative products and technologies.

08 GREENBUILD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AND EXPO 5-7 OCTOBER 2016 / www.greenbuildexpo.com

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Taking place in a different US city every year, Greenbuild is heading to Los Angeles, California, in 2016. The event attracts some seriously prominent speakers, including in previous years Al Gore, Hillary Clinton and filmmaker James Cameron. One of the event’s most popular features is the tours it operates around green buildings in the local area, ranging from government facilities to zoo exhibits.

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TOP 10 DESIGN BUILD 4-6 MAY 2016 / www.designbuildexpo.com.au

This Australian show takes place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre and celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2016. Features will include a structural and landscape seminar theatre, as well as one dedicated to technology – which will look at 3D printing, 3D visualisation, augmented & virtual reality, business management systems, CAD software, intelligent building systems and smart home automation.

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BAUMA CHINA 22-25 NOVEMBER 2016 / www.bauma-china.com

Since its launch in 2002, Bauma China has grown - it now welcomes over 3,000 exhibitors and 190,000 visitors, 15 percent of which are international. The event takes up 300,000 square metres, which is all of the available space at the SNIEC venue in Shanghai. The exhibition will include showcases of construction vehicles, earth-moving machines, road construction and maintenance equipment, pipe and cable laying equipment and tools and site installations.

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January 2016

05

SHOW TIME

SWISSBAU 12-16 JANUARY 2016 / www.swissbau.ch

Swissbau is one of Europe’s biggest trade fairs for the construction industry and takes place every two years in Basel. The five days of the fair includes around 1,100 exhibitors and over 100,000 visitors.

The dialogue between exhibitors, associations, institutions and visitors promotes the exchange of knowledge and fosters networking.

This similarly holds true of Swissbau Focus, with its 60 or so events dedicated to the following subjects: initial and further training, spatial development, the construction industry, the energy U-turn, architecture and planning, construction systems and materials, interior design, use and maintenance, and building services engineering.

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TOP 10 BATIMAT RUSSIA 5-8 APRIL 2016 / www.batimat-rus.com

Taking place at the Crocus Expo IEC in Moscow, Batimat Russia will showcase construction materials and equipment, window systems, doors and locks, bathroom interiors, ceramic tile and stone, flooring and interior materials. BATIMAT INSIDE is a contest of architectural and interior design taking place as part of the event and there will also be an innovation competition, looking at the fields of both construction and interior design.

CONSTRUCT CANADA 30 NOVEMBER- 2 DECEMBER 2016 / www.constructcanada.com

The 28th Annual Construct Canada will take place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre alongside PM Expo, HomeBuilder & Renovator Expo with a World of Concrete Pavilion in the South Building, and IIDEXCanada in the North Building. All shows combined will create The Buildings Show, North America’s largest exposition, networking and educational event. The show includes over 1,600 exhibits – including over 100 international organisations, bringing the latest in design and construction innovation in products, technologies, best practices and applications.

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January 2016

SHOW TIME

02

WORLD OF CONCRETE 1-5 FEBRUARY 2016 / www.worldofconcrete.com

This huge event welcomes over 55,000 visitors and 1,450 exhibitors to the Las Vegas Convention Centre. Featuring indoor and outdoor exhibits with the industry’s leading suppliers showcasing innovative products and technologies, exciting demonstrations and competitions, the event also boasts a world-class education program. Interactive workshops are on offer, including several boot camps designed for senior construction managers looking to boost their field leadership skills.

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TOP 10

01

ECOBUILD 8-10 MARCH 2016 / www.ecobuild.co.uk

The UK’s largest exhibition of sustainable build ExCel from 8 to 10 March. It’s free to attend an covering everything from building zero carbon Ecobuild is teaming up with Marks and Spence innovative building products and solutions in th

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January 2016

SHOW TIME

ding products and solutions takes place at London’s nd features a comprehensive conference programme homes to the rise of smart buildings. This year er to provide a platform for companies to pitch he hope of becoming a potential supplier to the retailer.

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TURNER CON San Antonio Airport C Car Facility

Building a better rental car center

Turner Construction is creating convenience for ren Airport’s new consolidated Written by: Sasha Orman

NSTRUCTION Consolidated Rental y (CONRAC)

r solution for San Antonio Airport

nters and operators with San Antonio International d rental car center project Produced by: Tom Venturo 33

C O M PA N Y N A M E

Existing Parking Garage Demolition

T

he airport rental car business is changing—and to meet customer expectations, savvy airports are building to reflect that change as well.

“The rental car industry at airports is getting consolidated,” said Eric Wildt, senior project manager for Turner Construction Company.

“That’s where the business model’s 34

January 2016

running, because it creates operational efficiencies for the rental car operators and it elevates the level of customer service provided to the renting public.”

San Antonio International Airport (SAT) is one airport making the change, and the city of San Antonio has selected Turner Construction to help it realize its vision of a new

SECTOR

consolidated car rental (CONRAC) “If you’re pushing the envelope on facility to maximize convenience and catching a flight and trying to find customer satisfaction. where you’re supposed to return your vehicle, it can be very stressful.”

A new vision on an existing site To address this issue, SAT looked “The way that the current rental to the site of its short term parking operations are scattered around garage. After demolishing the the airport, they’re not co-located in existing short term garage, Turner any one place and some of them are Construction is rebuilding the very difficult to find,” Wildt explains. structure as a brand new seven-level w w w. t u r n e rc o n s t r u c t i o n . c o m

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UNIFIED SERVICES OF TEXAS, INC.

Fuel System Contractor UST is a full service contractor providing Fuel System construction to a wide range of clients. Our highly skilled professional’s have been successful in building long lasting relationships with our customers by exceeding their expectations and gaining their trust through exceptional performance.

OUR EXPERTISE: • CRITICAL FUEL FACILITIES • LUBE OIL SYSTEMS • EMERGENCY GENERATORS • CONRAC FUELING • AVIATION FUELING SYSTEMS • MILITARY FUELING SYSTEMS

We are DBE, HUB, VOSB and SBA 8(a) certified.

2110 Greenbriar Dr, Southlake, TX 76092 Phone: (817) 481-9510 | Fax: (817) 488-1729 | Email: info@ustgc.com

www.ustgc.com

No one understands the time-sensitivity and complexity of concrete construction better than FABco. Our team has gone through great lengths to offer products and services that enhance the procurement of reinforced concrete materials. FABco offers a range of products, carefully designed, efficiently fabricated, and quickly delivered.

CONTACT US

713.633.6500

info@FABcoUS.com

TURNER CONSTRUCTION – SAN ANTONIO AIRPORT C O N S O L I D AT E D R E N TA L C A R FA C I L I T Y ( C O N R A C )

multi-use CONRAC solution. The first two levels will serve as public parking to replace the former short term parking garage—on top of this, levels three through seven will be rental car operations. Adjacent to this, a quick turnaround area (QTA) is being built to supply the rental car services with support from fueling stations to maintenance and car wash bays to get rental cars back in shape for their next adventures.

Innovating rental car convenience The new CONRAC structure is much more than the parking garage it is replacing. “We’ve got some really cool features,” said Wildt. One of these signature features is a sky bridge that will connect directly from the airport terminals to the CONRAC customer service center.

“There will be a sky bridge you can walk across after you get your baggage, which takes you over the

Last Phase of the Existing Parking Garage Demolition w w w. t u r n e rc o n s t r u c t i o n . c o m

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Last Phase of the Existing Parking Garage Demolition

TURNER CONSTRUCTION – SAN ANTONIO AIRPORT C O N S O L I D AT E D R E N TA L C A R FA C I L I T Y ( C O N R A C )

drive lanes to level 4 and into this large expansive lobby that will have all the rental brands in front of you,” said Wildt. “If you have a vehicle reserved, you check in and go down to your vehicle. If you don’t, you’ve got all of the brands right there available to you that you can rent from. It creates instant and easy access for the renting public—you don’t have to get on a shuttle for 1020 minutes, it’s a direct connect.”

Wildt adds that this centralized location is of benefit to departing travelers as well. “On the other side, when you’re coming back to return your vehicle, you don’t have to return it somewhere offsite and then take a shuttle to the airport to catch your flight,” he said. “The rental car center is right there in the center, so I can drop off my car, walk across the sky bridge and go to my gate.”

While the sky bridge to Level 4 creates convenience for consumers, the adjacent QTA creates convenience for the rental car services with amenities like 54 fueling points and direct connections of its own.

“The actual service levels are 2, 3 and 4, and each of those floors is

connected via a combination sky bridge and circulation helix to the rental car center,” said Wildt. “This is set up for operational efficiency: every functional level where you’re renting vehicles is connected via direct drive lane over to this QTA, so they don’t have to take the cars all the way down to the ground to some facility offsite to have them cleaned and refueled. It’s a very simple and direct connection that makes things very efficient for the operators.”

Balancing progress with safety Construction projects are regularly complex, but that complexity compounds when it’s a 1.6 million square foot project underway in the middle of a busy transportation hub populated by thousands of travelers and employees passing through every day.

“It’s smack dab in the middle of airport proper, so logistically it’s a very tight project,” said Wildt. “On the west boundary of our site we have a long term parking garage that has to stay up and operational, and on the east side are the drive lanes for the terminals that have to stay up and operational.”

w w w. t u r n e rc o n s t r u c t i o n . c o m

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TURNER CONSTRUCTION – SAN ANTONIO AIRPORT C O N S O L I D AT E D R E N TA L C A R FA C I L I T Y ( C O N R A C )

Pull Planning with Subcontractors a technique used as part of the Last Planner System

®

DYNAMIC SYSTEMS, INC.

MECHANICAL CONTRACTORS

Dynamic Systems, Inc. is proud to be a part of the SAIA CONRAC Project.

University Health System Hospital

We are a world-class leader in the fabrication and installation of sophisticated process and high purity piping systems, process exhaust, HVAC piping and sheet metal, and plumbing systems.

JW Marriott Hill Country Resort & Spa

Our projects include the healthcare, hospitality, commercial, laboratory, life sciences, microelectronics, mission critical, and solar construction markets.

UTHSC South Texas Research Facility

www.DynamicSystemsUsa.com ATLANTA • AUSTIN • BOSTON • DALLAS/FT. WORTH • HOUSTON • NEW YORK • PHOENIX • SAN ANTONIO

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January 2016

Turner Construction has risen to the challenge of tackling this project while ensuring that pedestrian and traffic flow through SAT is able to function smoothly and without major interruptions.

“Site management—the interface with the public—is a big deal,” said Wildt. Turner Construction has employed several strategies to maximize site safety, from working at night when traffic is lower, to building a 600-foot covered walkway for pedestrians to safely bypass the construction zone on their way

USA

from the long-term parking garage to the airport terminal. The construction company is also working closely with the FAA for construction and equipment approval that maintains full visibility for the control tower, ensuring safety both on the ground and in the air.

Paving the way for further growth With construction well on its way, Turner Construction estimates that the first two levels will be open for business by April of 2017, followed with the launch of rental car operations by March 2018. Once open, the benefits will be clear.

“The customer service aspect that’s being enhanced in this program is huge,” said Wildt. “It’s really going to elevate the airport’s ability to offer that customer service to the passengers, and really the satisfaction that everyone flying through that airport is going to experience.”

But the completion of this project will not be the end of growth for SAT—rather, it’s just the beginning of a more expansive plan for the airport. SAT sees further expansion in the future, with even a new terminal in the works down the line, and the smarter transportation and parking options put into play with the new CONRAC facility allow it to effectively support that growth.

“It ties into the master plan to grow San Antonio as an airport over the next many years,” said Wildt. “This asset that they’re creating gives them the ability to continue that vision of growth and expansion in a very smart way.”

Company Information INDUSTRY

Commercial construction HEADQUARTERS

1077 Central Parkway South, Suite 600 San Antonio, Texas, USA, 78232 FOUNDED

1902 EMPLOYEES

22 on project REVENUE

$129.5 million

w w w. t u r n e rc o n s t r u c t i o n . c o m

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Archer Wes Livingston H

Hydro Power com

How the Lake Livingston Hydro Plant projec to the Lone Written by: Sasha Orman

stern Lake Hydro Plant

mes to East Texas

ct is bringing innovation and energy diversity e Star State Produced by: Tom Venturo 43

ARCHER WESTERN LAKE LIVINGSTON HYDRO PLANT

Temporary intake structure at Cofferdam 2

W

hen it comes to power sources, Texas is well known as a land of oil and natural gas. But with a fluctuating market and complex consumer demands, diversification is more important now than ever before. To add range to Texas’s energy supply, the state brought in the expertise of Archer Western Construction, one of the biggest and most experienced hydro plant builders in the United States. Through a partnership with the Trinity River Authority and East Texas Electric Cooperative, Archer Western’s $100 million 24-megawatt (mW) Lake Livingston Hydro Plant project is on track toward providing 44

January 2016

east Texan homes with a greener source of power.

The perfect place to build Hydro plants are a relatively uncommon sight in Texas. But when the perfect location presented itself, the partners behind the Lake Livingston Hydro Plant project seized the opportunity to bring the state more green energy. That location is Lake Livingston, an eastern Texas reservoir along the Trinity River that provides around 71 percent of Houston’s water supply.

“The Trinity River runs right through the middle of Lake Livingston, and for every gallon of

CONSTRUCTION

Powerhouse, pre-excavation water that comes into the lake, they have to let a gallon out to go down to Houston,” says Andy Pettit, assistant project manager for Archer Western’s Livingston Hydro Plant project. As Pettit explains, this project will route water through the hydro plant instead of directly through the dam, taking advantage of the flowing water as a source of power generation.

“There’s always going to be energy being made,” he says. “If it’s low flows, there might just be one gate at the hydro plant open and the dam closed off; with high flows, all three gates at the hydro plant might be opened with some gates of the dam as well. But because this is Houston’s main source of water, it’s never going to stop.”

“We’re one of the biggest hydro plant builders in the country.

As a company as a whole, we have built hydro projects all over the country” – Andy Pettit, assistant project manager for Archer Western’s Livingston Hydro Plant

The Archer Western difference In a state like Texas where water resources are w w w. w a l s h g r o u p . c o m

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Contact Us : 108 E. 82nd Street Lubbock, TX 79404 806-745-7720 5000 Martin Street Fort Worth, TX 76119 817-654-1618

Acme Electric Company, founded in 1958, works throughout Texas and Oklahoma. Projects include Water/Wastewater Treatment Plants, Medical Centers/ Hospitals, Educational Facilities, various projects with the US Corps of Engineers, Multistory Buildings, Retirement Centers, and State Correctional Facilities.

www.acmeelectriccompany.com

SMITH PUMP COMPANY, INC.

WWW.SMITHPUMP.COM Pump & Pumping Systems Specialists Since 1962

Quality Products Quality People FT. WORTH

AUSTIN

4624 M. L. K. Fwy

1900 West Howard Lane

817-589-2060

512-310-1480

Ft. Worth, TX 76119

Austin, TX 78728

WACO

Corporate Office

301 M & B Industrial Waco, TX 76712 254-776-0377

SAN ANTONIO

HOUSTON

13126A Lookout Ridge

5750 N. Sam Houston

210-656-0530

Houston, TX 77032

San Antonio, TX 78233

Pkwy E. Suite 1103 713-997-8647

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limited, a hydroelectric plant must be built for maximum effectiveness and efficiency. This means bringing in the best in the hydroelectric plant construction business to ensure that the project is up to the highest standards. To achieve this, the East Texas Electric Cooperative and the Trinity River Authority turned to the expertise and experience of Archer Western.

“We’re one of the biggest hydro plant builders in the country,” says Pettit. “As a company as a whole, we have built hydro projects all over the country.”

While Archer Western’s Texas division has substantial experience in plant work, from concrete to mechanical work, the Lake Livingston Hydro plant project marks its first hydroelectric plant project. But the division is not navigating

Forming the barreled reinforced concrete penstocks

Forming the barreled reinforced concrete penstocks w w w. w a l s h g r o u p . c o m

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www.mcknightconstruction.com

OUR GOAL Our goal is to help you design and build your structure with the best materials in a timely and professional manner.

Metal Homes & Cabins

Metal Buildings & Roofing

Hay Barns & Horse Barns

Equipment Sheds & Covers

Pavilions

Residental & Commercial

CONTACT :

Robby McKnight – Owner Cell: 936-675-2642 Office: 936-867-4282 Fax: 936-867-4287 Email:mcknightconstruction1@yahoo.com

LOCATION:

3842 Cheeseland Road Pollok, TX 75969

MAILING ADDRESS: PO Box 757 Wells, TX 75976

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uncharted waters alone—it is able to draw from the extensive knowledge of its divisions nationwide.

“Here in Texas we stay in close contact with people working on the other hydro plants. There’s one in Kentucky right now, and one in Pennsylvania as well,” says Pettit.

“We have them come down about once a year and we sit down for meetings to go over what they’ve learned from building their own hydro plants.” By pooling this information, Archer Western is able to bring clients the best and most cutting edge facilities in every frontier.

Opportunities for innovation The biggest benefit of the knowledge network that Archer Western brings to the Lake

Livingston Hydro Plant project is the ability to find new innovations for the hydro plant model. This has led to a project with unique features that combine added strength and efficiency. One key innovative feature in the Lake Livingston Hydro Plant project is its penstocks connecting the intake structure to the powerhouse.

“Typically they will be steel pipe with a lining on the inside. Originally we had 14 foot diameter steel pipes running 2,000 feet from the intake to the powerhouse,” says Pettit. “Through value engineering, that ended up being changed to reinforced concrete penstocks, a big 3-barreled box culvert. It’s my understanding that these are the first concrete penstocks ever.”

Changes to infrastructure are

Lake Livingston hydroelectric plant project in progress, July 2015 w w w. w a l s h g r o u p . c o m

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ARCHER WESTERN LAKE LIVINGSTON HYDRO PLANT

Penstock monolithic wall deck pour required four walls and one deck via crane and bucket 50

January 2016

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not done without good reason, and the concrete penstocks introduced with the Lake Livingston Hydro Plant project bring with them considerable benefits including significant cost savings to East Texas Electric Cooperative, given that steel pipes must be welded, coated, and placed in special bedding for protection from the elements.

The structure of the concrete penstocks adds increased longevity, so that East Texas Electric Cooperative consumers will be able to enjoy the benefits of the hydro plant for decades to come.

Company Information INDUSTRY

Hydro power plant HEADQUARTERS

929 West Adams Chicago, IL, USA, 60607 BUDGET

Working together on a brighter future With plans in design underway, there is still plenty of work left to do. Working with suppliers and subcontractors like Gracon LLC on plans to set turbines and generators in place, Archer Western is on track to complete its Lake Livingston Hydro Plant project by 2018. These partnerships are a vital part of the building process.

“We always communicate with them and value their input on everything and work together,” says Pettit of working together with partners toward a common goal. “We work together to come up with the best solution.”

The results of that teamwork and effort upon completion will be 12,000 homes in East Texas powered by hydroelectric energy. In a world where diverse energy sources are needed, it’s an important step forward for hydro power and for Texas.

$100 million

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Toledo Department of Public Utilities Overcoming obstacles

Facing major infrastructure problems, including a nationall Director Ed Moore discusses how he and his team were ab quality of life for citizens moving forward.

Written by: Robert Spence Produced by: James Hayes

t

ly covered drinking water advisory, ble to right the ship to improve the

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C O M PA N Y N A M E

Ottawa River storage facility

W

hat a difference a year makes: In August 2014, the Toledo DPU advised half a million people in the area to not drink their tap water due to a toxin detected in the water supply.

A state of emergency was declared and residents were without drinking water for nearly three days.

“The do-not-drink advisory is a big 54

January 2016

part of our story, because it became a catalyst for change,” said Toledo’s DPU Director Ed Moore.

While residents have since returned to normalcy, it’s been a different story for the utilities department. Over the past year, DPU has launched a slew of programs and initiatives to upgrade infrastructure in order to ensure the contamination

SECTOR

issue never occurs again.

Plan of attack According to Moore, the utilities department in Toledo had been falling on hard times in recent years, with decreased funding for capital projects and infrastructure. This resulted in a significant amount of deferred maintenance.

“In 2013, with the help of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, we went to the city council and received a water rate increase for capital improvements. We initiated $314 million in bonds through the rate increase, assigned $264 million for the drinking water plant, and the other $50 million to the water distribution system,� said Moore. w w w. t o l e d o . o h . g o v

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T O L E D O D E PA R T M E N T O F P U B L I C U T I L I T I E S

Large diameter pipeline “The original plan was to stretch all the improvements over a 20year period, but the Ohio EPA was seriously concerned about the condition of the drinking water plant and condensed the plan down to five years.”

Faced with this quick turnaround, DPU needed to be highly organized and efficient to meet its goals.

“That’s why we hired Warren Henry to lead the water treatment improvements program,” said Moore. “He basically quarterbacked this initiative and turned things around, including our relationship with the Ohio EPA.” “He called me after the drinking 56

January 2016

water advisory and offered to help.

When a guy like Warren calls, you get him started working right away.

Warren played a big part in what we did and I give him a lot of credit,” Moore said.

Implementing change While plans may have been in the works, the do-not-drink advisory threw into sharp relief how critically Toledo needed these vital upgrades to improve the quality of life for the community. The first step toward change for DPU was getting the donot-drink advisory lifted.

Since then, it has been a beehive of activity with almost as

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Dearborn project many contractor personnel as city employees at the water treatment plant. The department immediately updated its treatment protocol using a combination of chemicals to treat Lake Erie water. “We quadrupled our powder active carbon, quadrupled the potassium intake and activated an early warning system with a buoy that serves as a floating weather system,” said Moore.

DPU also convened a Blue Ribbon Panel of nine national experts to review long-term plant improvements to remove algae toxins. The panel recommended a process that pushed the City of Toledo into the future of water treatment. “They

came in and validated everything we were planning to do. Additionally, the panel recommended we add ozone to our plant, which is the big gun for the microsystin toxin. It’s basically creating lightning in a bottle and electrifying our water. It’s been around but it’s very expensive.”

Taking it a step further, the department has invested approximately $12 million in a new chlorination facility at the treatment plant that will allow more chlorine to be stored on site and injected in more locations along the treatment process, which should prevent future undesired scenarios from happening again. w w w. t o l e d o . o h . g o v

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5177 Richmond Avenue Suite 530, Houston, TX 77056

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Built to deliver a better world MAKING OUR WATERS CLEANER Since the Toledo Waterways Initiative began in 2002, much progress has been made to protect and preserve our local water bodies.

We’re proud to partner with the City of Toledo to deliver social, economic and environmental benefits to the community for years to come.

Ronald Simons, Program Manager +1 248.918.7571 www.aecom.com

CONSTRUCTION

In the end, the do-not-drink advisory was a major learning experience for all of the agencies involved. The silver lining of the ordeal is the department has an established protocol for procuring consistent sampling, which is now being used as a model statewide.

Toledo Waterways Initiative Upon citizen approval in 2002, and in compliance with the city’s consent decree, DPU is in the midst of the Toledo Waterways Initiative (TWI), a massive water pollution control project to upgrade sewer infrastructure and reduce overflows into area waterways that will cost in excess of $500 million.

Led by Julie Cousino, Program Administrator of TWI, the initiative is nearing completion after more than a decade since its inauguration.

TWI aims to reduce contaminants in local rivers, streams and Lake Erie by building several types of structures to hold, separate or divert storm and waste water during periods of heavy rain. This water is then funneled for treatment before being returned to the waterways.

Completed in 2006, phase one of

TWI consisted of improvements to the water reclamation plant with the addition of a wet weather facility with cutting-edge technology, including a 25 MG equalization basin that doubled the capacity of the plant.

Phase two was completed in 2014 and included the elimination of all known sanitary sewer overflows.

The third portion of the program, which is currently underway, involves the reduction of combined sewer overflows. The largest project for this portion of TWI includes a 36 MG underground storage basin.

“The Toledo Waterways Initiative is one of the most innovative initiatives I’ve been a part of,” said Moore.

“This program will allow us to have w w w. t o l e d o . o h . g o v

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T O L E D O D E PA R T M E N T O F P U B L I C U T I L I T I E S

Collins Park settling basin a platform to build upon and set the stage for continuous improvements down the road.”

With the completion of construction in 2020, Cousino said, “TWI will eliminate approximately 650 MG of untreated sewage from entering Toledo’s waterways annually. That’s an 80 percent reduction in overflow volume.”

“Julie Cousino has been paramount for us and has ensured that all portions of the project are completed on time and on budget,” Moore said.

Moving forward “Since the advisory, there have not only been massive capital 60

January 2016

upgrades and investments” said Henry, “but the City has improved communications with the public using social media and the City’s website.” To ensure transparency among residents, earlier this year DPU began implementing a realtime dashboard posted on the city’s website that closely monitors water conditions in the intake crib in Lake Erie.

“One of the biggest benefits of the water-quality dashboard is that it dispelled rumors about drinking water conditions on a daily basis,” said Moore.

The system records the current status of drinking water quality based on Ohio EPA guidelines. The

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scale consist of: • CLEAR: not detected in the intake crib in Lake Erie and in tap water • WATCH: microsystin detected in the intake crib in Lake Erie but not detected in tap water • CAUTION: microcystin detected in tap water, but test results do not indicate the need to issue an advisory; additional testing and sampling underway and water treatment has been accelerated • PRE-SCHOOL ADVISORY: do not drink for children five and younger.

• DO NOT DRINK ADVISORY: do not drink for all citizens “We have an advanced warning system for early detection with buoys and sondes that allows us to implement operational changes, prior to the microcystin reaching the Collins Park Water Treatment Plant,” said Moore.

In addition, the drinking water advisory also revealed a lack of communication with interdepartmental agencies. Therefore, DPU has developed a text message and email system that links all regional community partners with instant communication.

DPU brought in industry experts, business community members and academia to brainstorm together. “All the ideas and recommendations came out of the stakeholder group. This group will continue to play a vital role in restoring the public’s confidence in our water system,” Moore concluded.

Company Information INDUSTRY

Municipal Water and Sewer Utility HEADQUARTERS

420 Madison Avenue, Suite 100, Toledo, Ohio, United States, 43604 FOUNDED

1873 EMPLOYEES

Approximately 600 REVENUE

Approximately $150 million annually

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