Posted 08/25/09
The new University Plaza Apartments at Binghamton University in Vestal, New York, are not what you think of when you hear the words “student housing.” With four-bedroom/four bath suites, some with soaring 20-foot ceilings, lofts, and exposed bar joists;
phone lines for every resident; high speed Internet in each room; and kitchens decked out with the latest appliances, these dwellings are decidedly 21st century. Designed to surround students with the comforts of home, they’re a far cry from those old homesickness-inducing college dormitories where students slept in bunk beds and cooked their dinner over two-burner hotplates.
Described as a gateway to the entire area, the University Plaza Apartments are part of a mixed-use development that includes restaurants, coffee shops, banks, retail stores, a state-of-the-art fitness center, and bus service to the university. “It’s a living
and learning community,” says Mickey Lloyd, vice president of project management for Ambling University Development Group, which developed the project in partnership with Newman Development Group (NDG). “When school starts, you show up with your TV, your computer, and your clothes, and you’re ready to go.”
The 186-unit project began in August 2004 and finished in July 2005, with students moving in the fall of 2005. Today the apartments are home to 700 students. The area is a thriving commercial center, bringing new vitality to a languishing center of old and outdated commercial establishments.
Bringing the Power
Equipping these 21st-century student apartments involved a web of electrical input and teledata, including fire alarm systems, air conditioning, cable TV, high-speed Internet, power for individual washer/dryer units in each apartment, and a sophisticated intrusion alarm with a panic button over each resident’s bed. The project also required separately metered electrical panels for every apartment. The panels, metering, and teledata cabling were provided by Graybar Electric. Matco worked with Aimee Szwalla on the design and implantation of the high-speed Internet, which was provided by Time Warner. The fire alarm system was provided by Simplex.
“We took care of everything,” says Mark Freije, Matco project manager. “There wasn’t a piece of wire pulled on the project that we didn’t pull.”
Dealing with the volume of electrical equipment and minute components required for each unit presented a special challenge. “There was a lot of repetition on the project, and we were installing the same systems time and time again,” says Freije. Matco Project
Foremen Tom Planavsky and Frank Broderick devised a good game plan by prepackaging all the components needed for each apartment. Each package had a number on it that corresponded to a master schedule. The materials were sent to the job site and
were there when work crews arrived.
“It was a big labor saving step,” says Freije. “The guys aren’t sorting through individual boxes every time. Everything was there in the room for them ready to go when they got there.”
Working Relationship
Freije describes the project as smooth sailing. “It was definitely a well planned-out project, which helped with implementation,” he says.
Matco and Northeast United (NEU), the general contractor on the project, were brought onboard at the planning stages. The companies were involved in initial budgeting and also had some input into the overall electrical design as well as figuring out the requirements necessary to support the significant teledata needs for the project. Matco was able to identify ways to streamline
utility input and reduce costs. One idea, for example, was to bring the Internet system in through the cable television rather than by a phone line-based system as originally envisioned. Utilizing the TV cable saved having to set up individual network hubs and switches.
Matco and NEU have a history of working well together.
“NEU Project Manager John Nicholich has a knack for keeping jobs running smoothly,” says Freije. “He does a great job coordinating and bringing together all the trades. We have target dates, and we actually beat those dates on John’s projects.”
Freije also praised the guidance of Ambling’s Mickey Lloyd. A construction executive with 36 years of experience in the business, Lloyd was able to bring input from many past projects. One specific example is the way he phased construction on the project so work could continue throughout the winter. Lloyd pulled from experience he had doing a project one winter in Minnesota in which crews continued working even as the mercury dipped to 45 degrees below zero. The key, Lloyd says, was to get the building shells in, with the windows on and the roof shingled, by the time winter set in. Then they brought in a portable heating system. “We could
get it to about 45 to 50 degrees inside, so everyone could still work. It didn’t matter what the weather was outside,” says Lloyd.
Gateway to Vestal
The University Plaza project has done more than just create a great living and learning environment for students. It’s also been a major economic stimulator for the area, bringing jobs, producing sales and income taxes, and reinvigorating commerce in the community.
The development helps attract students to the university and also “adds a new dimension to the community we live in, Vestal,” Binghamton University President Lois B. DeFleur said at the apartments’ ribbon-cutting ceremony. “We are very excited to have this as our gateway.” Visitors arriving from Binghamton see the plaza as they come into town.
At 4700 Vestal Parkway East, the complex includes four buildings. Buildings 100 and 200 are four stories with single-floor two- and four-bedroom apartments. Building 300 is a four story unit of one- and three-bedroom apartments. Building 400 houses four-bedroom apartments designed in the style of urban lofts with features like exposed joists, high ceilings, and half-floor bonus rooms overlooking the living rooms. The units have proven highly popular with students.
To build the apartments, NDG tore down several aging commercial structures, including a Grand Union grocery store, a bank (which was replaced with a new bank with two drive-through teller windows), and an old Ames department store. Ambling incorporated features of the existing Ames structure into the loft-style apartment units such as the old store’s ductwork. In giving tours of the development on opening day, NDG reminded visitors of the center’s history. “That was the Grand Union’s dairy section,” Barry Newman, member of NDG and owner of NEU said, pointing to a courtyard in the complex. During the course of Matco’s long-term
relationship with NDG and NEU, the companies have worked on several projects together.
The project brought money into the area even before it was built, according to Lloyd. Most of the several hundred people employed on the project were local. “You’ve got over 200 employees a day out there working; they’ve got to buy gas, food, tools,” says Lloyd.
The success of the project, Lloyd says, “was due to the proper selection of Northeast United and subs like Matco who were willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done even if it meant working longer days or work weeks.” He praised Matco’s “commitment to quality workmanship, being on time, and staying within budget. Everything a general contractor wants, Matco performs at an above-average level. We’d sign that group of subs up tomorrow to do another job.”
Posted 08/25/09
Sometimes you can just feel the electricity in a relationship right from the beginning. Such is the case with Albany International (AI), the world’s largest producer of paper machine clothing and high performance doors. AI has 37 facilities in 14 countries and produces $1 billion a year in revenue, notes Tim Golden, corporate risk manager for AI. AI depends on Matco Electric’s proactive maintenance program to keep its facilities safe and cost effective.
Matco began the relationship by exploring Albany International’s Homer, New York, facility, doing energized work and checking control panels and electrical routing. “We did thermography studies to see heat sources and checked grounded and loose connections and arc flash potential,” says Golden. As a result of the proactive maintenance, Matco Electric brought the Homer facility
to meet the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) arc flash standards, notes Golden.
After working on the project in Homer, Matco’s Bill Newman and his maintenance engineering group, along with insurance firm FM Global, produced a seminar on electrical safety for Albany International’s engineers from the Northern United States and Canada. “Bill’s group informed them of the safety requirements needed to protect the employees,” says Golden. Training in the proper use of safety equipment such as face shields and arc flash coats followed for managers and supervisors.
“Insurance companies want testing because electrical systems are the number one cause of interruption,” says Newman. “As businesses become more automated and dependent on their electrical systems, they realize that they need to become more proactive,” he says. “They reduce the costs and risks for their insurance companies but also for their own employees’ safety.”
“Our job is to make sure that the employees and the facilities are as safe as possible and to reduce the business interruption and safety risks,” says Newman.
Proactive Prevention
Tom Spicer, Matco’s TEGG maintenance foreman for AI, describes the TEGG testing program for AI. “We are their eyes in the field. We look at their equipment, test all of their main switch gear, and do arc flash studies to conform to NFPA 70E. Their profession is producing fabrics; ours is electricity, and we do it well,” he says. Spicer notes that the testing helps to eliminate downtime and lost production. “They need to run 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” he says, recalling that the electricians worked between Christmas
and New Year’s to avoid lost workdays when the firm was in operation. At one time, 15 electricians were working at six locations in Menands, New York. “We try to plan it out and decide what equipment needs to be repaired or replaced in the future to minimize
downtime,” he says.
The recent arc flash requirement document, from NFPA 70E, is a national document tied into the National Electrical Code required by OSHA. When something goes wrong with electrified conductors and they can no longer withstand the applied voltage, an arc flash can occur, resulting not only in a bright flash of light and loud noise, but also temperatures that can reach more than 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The radiant energy exploding from the electrical equipment can cause injuries to eyesight and hearing as well as severe
burns. The resulting pressure wave can transform equipment, metal tools, and other objects into flying projectiles.
Regulations require the calculation of the “flash protection boundary,” an imaginary sphere surrounding the potential arc point, within “which a person could receive a second degree burn if an electrical arc flash were to occur,” according to the NFPA 70E standard. It has been reported that from 5 to 10 times a day, an arc flash explosion occurs in electric equipment somewhere in the United States that sends a burn victim to a special burn center.
“Most people are hurt due to electrical burns from arc flash rather than shock while working on a panel,” says Newman. The people who work in areas prone to arc flash “need to know what protective equipment needs to be worn to sustain a potential blast and walk
away,” he adds. Matco’s goal at AI was threefold: to protect Albany International’s employees and reduce downtime costs and risks; to provide preventive maintenance information for the insurance company; and to produce information regarding the incident energy level regarding arc flash at every panel.
Golden adds that FM Global also required a one-line diagram schematic of all of the electrical distribution. “Matco has a software
program for that. If a fuse blows out, we can look it right up on the master wiring program on the computer and see exactly which one it was.”
Cutting Costs
Besides the safety aspect, the testing saves money on lost time due to repairs. There is a five-to-one ratio for every dollar for business interruption, notes Newman. “That means that if an interruption takes place, for every dollar it costs to get the business back online, it takes $5 in costs incurred.” Besides that, he suggests, “If a facility goes down you don’t know if you will ever get those customers back. That’s immeasurable.”
AI’s safety and maintenance program with Matco will continue across the continents. In January, training will begin for AI’s European facilities in Germany, Finland, Sweden, Italy, France, and England. “We plan to finish up the United States and Canada in 2007 and 2008 and then continue to maintain our facilities up to compliance,” says Golden. “We not only want to meet industrial standards but to get ahead of them,” he says. “The bottom line is to protect the employees. Safety is permanent.”
Posted 08/25/09
Over the years working with Lockheed Martin, Matco Electric has learned that getting a project off the ground takes organization, determination, and communication. Matco has worked at Lockheed Martin Systems Integration in Owego, NY since IBM owned this
facility in the late 1960s; Matco also completed the first helicopter integration facility at that site in 1978. In March of 1994 Loral Corporation acquired IBM Owego, and Matco Electric helped to fill its needs for electrical work. In 1996 Matco was still a fixture after the complex became known as Lockheed Martin Federal Systems, Owego.
In 1998 when the site became the headquarters for Lockheed Martin Systems Integration-Owego, UK Integrated Systems, and Lockheed Martin Canada, Matco was still at work. In January 2005, Systems Integration–Owego won the contract to design and build the replacement Marine One helicopter fleet. In April 2005 Welliver McGuire, Inc., joined the team when Lockheed Martin completed its national search for the right construction management partner for its Marine One Presidential Helicopter Intergration facility.
“Welliver McGuire was selected based on past performance, experience with similarly sized construction projects, and project management experience in our region,” says Stephen D. Ramsey, executive vice president for Helicopter Systems at Lockheed Martin Systems Integration-Owego, the prime contractor and systems integrator for the U.S. Navy’s Presidential Helicopter Replacement (VH-71) program. “Overall, Welliver McGuire’s selection represents a best-value decision with tremendous benefit to the Presidential
Helicopter program.”
Project Basics
The construction of this 176,000-square-foot facility, just east of the town of Owego, is Welliver McGuire’s first project for Lockheed Martin. The facility houses the program’s administrative offices, systems integration laboratories, paint facilities, and aircraft integration hangars. “Working with Lockheed Martin on this facility was an honor,” says Steve Campbell, project executive for Welliver
McGuire. “Lockheed’s success in landing this project for our area has created a positive attitude. We have a wonderful team environment here — everyone who is a part of this project, including our subcontractors, were committed to doing whatever it took to get the job done well and on time,” he says.
“Matco played a vital role on the team of trade contractors that met the many challenges of successfully delivering the VH-71 Facility to Lockheed Martin,” Campbell says.
Greg Smyder, Matco superintendent, who has worked on three other projects with Welliver McGuire, notes, “because of our long-standing relationship with Welliver McGuire, I understood the policies and procedures of their management format.”
Smyder’s job as on-site superintendent included sharing information from Welliver McGuire with his foremen. Because of the size and schedule of the project, five foremen became integral to the team — Bill O’Brien, electrical distribution and power; Paul Miller,
lighting and security; Frank Broderick, telecommunications and fiber optic cables; Bob Pelton, site lighting and power; and Tom Burns, fire alarm system. “These foremen did a phenomenal job,” says Smyder.
According to Bob Vargo, project manager for Welliver McGuire, site preparation for the facility began in the spring of 2005, and structural steel went up in September 2005. By Christmas the facility was enclosed so that interior work could continue at full speed during the cold winter months. Approximately 250 to 300 people worked at the site over the course of the project’s peak.
Challenges
“We compressed our schedule as much as possible to make this fast-track project go even faster in order to accommodate the aggressive schedule that Lockheed Martin faces for its contract,” says Vargo. He notes that master schedules are set up at the start of a project, and maintained and reviewed throughout its life cycle. “The schedules are very detailed in nature and are a comprehensive list of all project tasks required to design, construct, and commission a building,” he says. Tasks that track design progress, procurement activities, and subcontractor delivery dates for construction of building systems are included in these schedules. “The schedules are most realistic and effective when a team effort is used, and all key stakeholders buy in to the delivery dates and tasks listed on the schedule,” says Vargo.
A major challenge on the helicopter integration project was delivering a completed building ahead of schedule. “By utilizing a team approach and constantly reviewing and reacting to the scheduled tasks, we were able to complete the building three months ahead of schedule,” says Vargo.
Welliver McGuire maintains an excellent reputation for delivering projects on time with high levels of customer service while maintaining cost commitments. The Marine One Presidential Helicopter facility is another example of expertise in action. “‘Expertise in action’ is an excellent description of what occurred on a daily basis at the Lockheed Martin job site,” says Vargo. “We had as many
as 200 plus personnel on site on a daily basis doing all of the things necessary to complete the building. Without their expertise and commitment, we could not have completed the work.”
“On a fast-track project, our expenditures occur in a short period of time, and we must make responsible choices,” says Vargo. “We develop a level of trust with the owner and customer by placing their needs in the forefront, being thorough in our work, and resolving any issues that arise right away so that we meet their expectations at or below the agreed-upon budget. This is true for every project on which we work. Welliver McGuire is very grateful to have been given the opportunity to work with Lockheed Martin-Owego and a high quality group of subcontractors on this project,” says Vargo.
Teamwork
Team members from Lockheed Martin, Welliver McGuire, and Matco kept an eye on the future to solve glitches before they became issues. “As a team, we all offered ideas and answers about how to keep things cost effective,” says Smyder. “The ability to identify
conflicts and pinch points, offer solutions, and document them made the change process a lot smoother. What is impressive was Matco’s supervision team’s ability to offer acceptable solutions when we ran into the conflicts.”
Communication was key between all of the groups on the construction site. “Weekly meetings were required with Welliver McGuire to review schedules, be informed of engineering changes, and get them to the field as soon as possible to maintain our schedule,” says
Smyder. The process worked, resulting in the three-month schedule gain.
Smyder also commended Jan Winner, Matco’s purchasing agent, for “doing a great job in purchasing materials, organizing them, and getting them to the site in a timely fashion.” Project Manager Marty Lewis was instrumental in the equipment “buy-out,” submittal
process, managing the change orders, getting pricing to Welliver McGuire, and scheduling. “I also can’t say enough about the labor IBEW Local Union 325 provided,” says Smyder.
“With Welliver McGuire overseeing construction of this state-of-the-art complex, we are sure to have a worldclass facility worthy of the Presidential Helicopter program,” says Ramsey.
Smyder notes that this facility has a state-of-the-art security system, and a very unique fire suppression system. “During this project we installed 225 miles of electrical wire and telecommunications cable. That’s enough to stretch from Owego, New York, to the Naval Air Station in Patuxent River, Maryland, from where the U.S. Navy oversees the program. Every Matco employee on this
project is a quality player. They all have the ability to adapt and make changes on the run,” says Smyder. All of the contractors
and subcontractors on the site contributed in producing a quality product. “After all, they will be performing final assembly
and integration of the president’s helicopter at this place,” he says.