CCIP vs. OCIP: Which Comprehensive Insurance Program is Right for You?
by Bill Sharp, Vice President, Risk Management
With the size and scope of projects becoming larger every day, program sponsors (owners and contractors) are seeking alternative ways to address insurance needs, both from a coverage standpoint and a cost standpoint.

When the Hospital Board Says, “Build it Green!”
by John Kreidich AIA, LEED AP, Manager, Healthcare Services
Building green in the healthcare environment is here to stay. Well-chosen green building investments will yield benefits with either no additional cost or with a return on investment well within a hospital’s internal rate of return over the life of the improvements.

5 Questions to Ask Your Contractor About SAFETY
An Interview with Gary Amsinger, CSP, Corporate Vice President, Safety
In addition to simply keeping workers healthy and productive, strong safety execution reduces exposure for owners. Amsinger suggests that owners should ask, at the very least, these basic five questions of their prospective contractor.

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As part of its Homeless Education Program, the Roosevelt Elementary School District provides tutoring, uniforms, personal hygiene items, transportation, backpacks and other school supplies to children in need. Last year, the need quadrupled to more than 800 identified homeless children, compared with 180 children the previous year. Donations became even more important and the McCarthy Heart Hats committee stepped in to help collect supplies, which included binders, notebooks, backpacks, pens and pencils, personal hygiene items and snacks, among other items.

“Donations are truly valued as they impact the quality and level of assistance we provide to homeless students. As a result of donations, Roosevelt School District is able to enhance the efforts and support to students who are homeless so they can fully benefit from their educational experiences,” said Cynthia Bryant, director of Federal programs for the Roosevelt Elementary School District. “These donations truly impact our delivery of a very comprehensive homeless program.”

The McCarthy Heart Hats community outreach program is dedicated to ensuring real community needs are being met through hands-on activities and financial support. Last year alone, more than $1 million in financial support, in-kind and hands-on building contributions were made through the program.

“The Homeless Education Program is incredibly valuable in our community and it’s extremely important we help support them,” said Bo Calbert, president of McCarthy’s Southwest region. “We are grateful to all who contributed and feel privileged to be able to donate these much-needed school items, especially in these tough economic times when the need reaches new heights.”

About McCarthy Heart Hats
Founded in 1864, McCarthy is one of the oldest privately held construction firms in the nation.  The McCarthy Heart Hats community outreach program is dedicated to encouraging, supporting and recognizing McCarthy employees’ volunteer efforts in a variety of causes to ensure real needs are being met in communities where employees work, live and play.  A 100 percent employee-owned company, McCarthy employees are as passionate about building better communities as they are about construction. The company has offices in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Salt Lake City, St. Louis, Atlanta, Dallas, Newport Beach, San Diego, San Francisco and Sacramento.  More information is available on line at www.mccarthy.com.

McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. has introduced its new ‘green’ client newsletter, Insights That Build^SM.  It’s all part of the company’s goal of Leaving Green Footprints^®, a 10-year old program aimed at reducing McCarthy’s carbon footprint.  The first electronic edition includes valuable thought-leading content including:

How to get the best final cost on your next project
by Mike Bolen, Chairman and CEO
‘Conventional wisdom’ says that owners can’t have it all. In fact-by taking the right approach-you can turn an old saying into a smarter strategy: ‘Good, fast and cheap: pick all three.’

Design management – why owners get a better result
by Jim Mynott, Director of Design Management
In this economic climate, execution time from proposal to start of construction can be a deciding factor for project funding. A design management approach can help—and it maximizes other owner advantages.

Five things you should ask your contractor about quality
by Chad Dorgan, Vice President, Quality
There are few words in construction that are more used – or more misused – than the word “quality.”  To understand what it means to YOUR construction project, you and your contractor need to talk.

See the National Edition now.

Readers can also view region-specific content by selecting from the drop down menu titled ‘Other Regional Editions’.  These include Southern California, Northern Pacific, Southwest, Nevada/Utah, Texas, Central, and Southeast editions.

Habitat for Humanity and the Heart Hat volunteers of McCarthy were meant to go together.  Beginning February 14 and continuing through mid-May, volunteers from McCarthy are spending their Saturdays building a new home for a U.S. Army veteran and his young family.

From Valentine’s Day through the beginning of May McCarthy volunteers will work on framing, roofing, fascia, windows, drywall, stucco, painting (both interior and exterior), countertops, finish carpentry, landscaping and installing security doors.  Each week a different set of volunteers will come out to the site and lend their expertise to the project. When complete the home will be part of a “Habitat Neighborhood,” which will eventually have 32 homes.

The homeowner and his family, refugees from Togo, are excited to watch their future home being built. “McCarthy is always welcome in our new home,” they told volunteers. The family became United States citizens in 2002, moving to the country in the 90s through a visa lottery.

This year McCarthy’s Southwest Heart Hats volunteers are focusing on assisting veteran-related causes in the community. In addition to building a home for the veteran and his family, Heart Hats volunteers also contributed to the Mesa-based Salute a Soldier Foundation. The funds will assist with the needs of injured military service members and their families as they return to their communities from the Middle East. Heart Hats volunteers also participated in the annual Veterans’ Day parade by funding and building the float that carried the grand marshals. McCarthy is proud that many of its employees are veterans.

About McCarthy Heart Hats
The McCarthy “Heart Hats” community involvement program is dedicated to encouraging, supporting and recognizing McCarthy employees’ volunteer efforts in a variety of causes to ensure real needs are being met in communities where employees work, live and play. McCarthy employees are as passionate about building better communities as they are about construction. In addition to recognizing outstanding employee volunteers and providing a companywide paid volunteer day, McCarthy “Heart Hats” donates countless hours of in-kind services and monetary contributions to improve communities each year.

Founded in 1864, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest commercial construction companies.  McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned.  More information about the company is available online www.mccarthy.com.

PARKING

“McCarthy’s collaborative approach truly paid off for the city of Glendale. McCarthy returned more than $600,000 to the city from the construction contract, which enabled us to complete additional downtown beautification projects.”

— Bill Passmore, principal engineer, city of Glendale

Parking in downtown Glendale, Ariz., is now easier than ever. McCarthy recently completed the $16.2 million, 262,670-square-foot, four-story Palmaire Parking Garage with ground-floor retail.

Visitors to the spectacular Glendale Glitters holiday event, which attracts hundreds of thousands of people each year, experienced the complete garage firsthand this year. Last year, they got a preview, because the garage was constructed on a fast-track schedule that allowed the first three parking levels to be delivered prior to the holiday season. This was accomplished by seamless preconstruction planning that enabled the foundation to be built while the remainder of the garage design was being completed. In addition, the McCarthy team self-performed the concrete work, which allowed greater control over quality and scheduling. The caissons utilized more than 1,000 cubic yards of concrete – enough to pour more than 170 driveways. Architect: Dick & Fritsche Design Group, Phoenix, Ariz.

The plant currently serves 400,000 customers with an initial treatment capacity of 80 million gallons per day (mgd) and is expandable to an ultimate capacity of 320 mgd.

The Lake Pleasant plant was completed for the city of Phoenix by the design-build-operate (DBO) team comprised of the Black & Veatch-McCarthy joint-venture design-build team and American Water Enterprises, Inc., a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), which is the largest investor-owned U.S. water and wastewater utility company.

Phoenix Councilman Claude Mattox, who serves as the vice chair of the National League of Cities Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Steering Committee, congratulated the team on the accomplishment. “Thanks to the efforts of the partners and our city engineers, this state-of-the-art water treatment plant will serve our growing community well into the future,” said Mattox.

The new plant, which is the largest integrated DBO project in North America, was designed to blend seamlessly into the desert landscape without disturbing the natural beauty of the area. As a result, 95 percent of the habitat was preserved in its natural condition.

The plant incorporates the latest developments in modern water technology and automation, which will benefit the residents of Phoenix.  The design-build process included sustainable features that lay the groundwork for future customer growth and development, expanded capacity and emerging treatment technologies. The team also successfully focused on developing the water treatment plant with streamlined, efficient operations.

“A key to the success in achieving our goals was to combine all resources under one roof, which enabled a collaborative work environment,” said Dave Mahaffay, senior vice president and West region managing director for Black & Veatch’s global water business. “All parties involved were focused on delivering the project on time and within budget, as well as on ensuring operational excellence in safety and construction management.”

According to Bob Knochenhauer, senior vice president of operations for McCarthy’s Southwest Division Water Services Group, “The team’s collaborative approach was critical to the effective management of each phase of this complex project. It allowed for construction to start two months ahead of schedule and a budget reduction of $30 million, positioning both the team and the community for success.”

The treatment process design incorporates seven independent barriers for pathogens, virus and bacteria removal while typical treatment plant designs incorporate three to four barriers. Selected water treatment processes – such as high-rate ballasted flocculation, ozone, granular activated carbon contractors and ultraviolet – achieve superior operating and cost efficiency with numerous inventive improvements specific to residents’ needs, the local environment and available resources.

The national award was presented at the DBIA Annual Conference and Awards Ceremony held recently in Las Vegas.

About Black & Veatch
Black & Veatch is a leading global engineering, consulting and construction company specializing in infrastructure development in energy, water, telecommunications, management consulting, federal and environmental markets. Founded in 1915, Black & Veatch develops tailored infrastructure solutions that meet clients’ needs and provide sustainable benefits. Solutions are provided from the broad line of service expertise available within Black & Veatch, including conceptual and preliminary engineering services, engineering design, procurement, construction, financial management, asset management, program management, construction management, environmental, security design and consulting, management consulting and infrastructure planning. With $3.2 billion in revenue, the employee-owned company has more than 100 offices worldwide and has completed projects in more than 100 countries on six continents. The company’s Web site address is www.bv.com.

About American Water
Founded in 1886, American Water is the largest investor-owned U.S. water and wastewater utility company. With headquarters in Voorhees, N.J., the company employs more than 7,000 dedicated professionals who provide drinking water, wastewater and other related services to approximately 15 million people in 32 states and Ontario, Canada. More information can be found by visiting www.amwater.com.

About McCarthy
Ranked among the “Best Places to Work” by The Business Journal in Phoenix, McCarthy has helped define the Arizona landscape for more than 30 years. Founded in 1864, McCarthy is one of the oldest and largest privately held construction firms in the nation. McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned. For more information, visit www.mccarthy.com.

“Both organizations fulfill critical needs within our community,” said Bo Calbert, president of McCarthy’s Southwest Region. “Our team is eager to begin work on a Habitat home early next year, and we feel privileged to be able to give back to soldiers who have sacrificed so much for our freedom.”

Habitat for Humanity is a natural fit for McCarthy and its experienced team of construction professionals. The McCarthy Heart Hats team will provide funding and manpower to build a new home in a southeast Phoenix community. The “Wall Raising” ceremony and first eight-hour work day will take place on Feb. 14, 2009, with the McCarthy Heart Hats crew and deserving family who will work together to build the new home.

“Habitat for Humanity is honored to have been chosen as one of this year’s McCarthy Heart Hats recipients. McCarthy has elected to sponsor and build a home for a military veteran and his family. This is an extension of their commitment to give back to the community and to those who made sacrifices to preserve our freedom,” said Roger Schwierjohn, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona.

The Salute a Soldier Foundation also represents a good fit for Heart Hats because numerous McCarthy employees have served honorably in the military. The Mesa-based Salute a Soldier Foundation raises public awareness and funds to assist with the needs of injured military service members and their families. The organization provides financial, emotional, spiritual and social support to U.S. veterans as they return to their communities from the Middle East.

“Salute a Soldier is very grateful to McCarthy Heart Hats for this grant, which will help us continue serving injured service members and their families as they return to our Arizona communities and rebuild their lives. Salute a Soldier has had the privilege of helping numerous families with mortgage payments, food, gas, utility payments and social events. We are honored to serve those who have given so much for our freedoms,” said Brent Bretz, president of the Salute a Soldier Foundation.

Prior recipients of Heart Hats grants in Arizona include Gabriel’s Angels, Tempe/Kyrene Communities in Schools and Crisis Nursery. Last year, Gabriel’s Angels received $50,000 to expand its child-focused pet therapy programs to an additional 20 agencies currently on the organization’s waiting list. In 2006, Tempe/Kyrene Communities in Schools received $35,000 to furnish a new family resource center at Scales Technology Academy in Tempe. And in 2005, Crisis Nursery was awarded $25,000 to serve a greater number of children threatened by abuse, neglect or homelessness.

The McCarthy Heart Hats community outreach program is dedicated to encouraging, supporting and recognizing McCarthy employees’ volunteer efforts in a variety of causes to ensure real needs are being met in communities where employees work, live and play. McCarthy employees are as passionate about building better communities as they are about construction. In addition to the annual McCarthy Heart Hats golf tournament, McCarthy employees are also encouraged to take part in community outreach individually and through company-sponsored activities, including a company-wide paid volunteer day.

About Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona
Serving Central Arizona since 1985, Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona (HFHCAZ) is a grassroots Christian housing organization dedicated to eliminating poverty housing by building affordable housing. Habitat helps families of low and moderate incomes become homeowners. HFHCAZ also builds community partnerships that promote spiritual values and individual responsibility. Currently the affiliate has completed approximately 700 homes and is active in Apache Junction, Avondale, Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, Mesa, Peoria, Phoenix and Surprise. Habitat for Humanity International, based in Americus, Georgia, is an ecumenical Christian ministry dedicated to eliminating poverty housing. Habitat International dedicated its 200,000th house last summer and has more than 1 million people living in Habitat homes they helped build and are buying through no-profit, zero-interest mortgages.  For more information, visit www.habitatcaz.org.

About Salute a Soldier Foundation
Founded by U.S. Army Sniper (retired) Brent Bretz after he was seriously injured in Iraq in December 2004, the mission of the Salute a Solider Foundation is to raise public awareness and funds to assist with the needs of injured military service members and their families by providing financial, emotional, spiritual and social support. For more information, visit www.saluteasolider.org.

About McCarthy Building Companies
Ranked among the “Best Places to Work” by The Business Journal in Phoenix, McCarthy has helped define the Arizona landscape for more than 30 years. Founded in 1864, McCarthy is one of the oldest and largest privately held construction firms in the nation.  McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned. For more information, visit www.mccarthy.com.

“One of the major challenges in renovating an existing campus is working around the schedule without disrupting the educational process,” said Rob Langhoff, vice president and director of McCarthy’s Educational Services Group in Phoenix. “We’ve mastered the process of working within the boundaries of an educational setting while maintaining a safe environment and meeting the sometimes very ambitious construction schedule – which often means completing right before the start of school.”

McCarthy is currently working toward completing new schools in Chandler and Florence, as well as major renovations for the Tempe Unified School District, Chandler Unified School District and Scottsdale Unified School District. All told, McCarthy education teams are completing more than 500,000 square feet of construction at campuses throughout Maricopa County.

McCarthy teams at Chaparral High School are working doggedly to complete the majority of the $50 million modernization of that campus – a 372,000-square-foot renovation of all but three buildings on the campus. The project includes a new gymnasium, remodeling of an existing auditorium, a new media center and several classrooms, and the remodeling of existing facilities on campus to accommodate other uses. Other site improvements include new hardscaping, landscaping, parking lots and tennis courts.

“The intrinsic value of this bond program cannot be understated – it’s helping to make our district a magnet for top quality faculty and creates a focused and energized student body,” said Scottsdale Unified School District Superintendent John Baracay.

Other projects McCarthy will complete before the beginning of the year:

• Education and maintenance facility (36,000 square feet),
  Gilbert Unified School District
• Circle Cross Ranch School (new 105,000-square-foot, K-8 school)
  Florence Unified School District
• Mensendick Elementary School Classroom addition (30,681 square feet), Glendale Elementary School District
• Scales Elementary School (64,401 square feet),
  Tempe School District No. 3
• Holdeman Elementary School (63,875 square feet),
  Tempe School District No. 3
• Thew Elementary School (63,311 square feet),
  Tempe School District No. 3
• HVAC upgrades at eight campuses within the
  Chandler Unified School District
• Adora Trails Elementary School (new 90,000-square-foot campus),
  Chandler Unified School District

McCarthy was able to parlay its partnership with the Tempe Elementary School District to benefit a new charter school in South Phoenix – Eagle College Prep Elementary school. Holdeman and Thew elementary schools were looking for a good use for their used equipment. Thanks to McCarthy’s community relationships, the gently used equipment has a new home at a very gracious start-up school.

“It’s great to facilitate relationships that benefit our communities – this happened because of great timing and the community relationships that our teams have established,” Langhoff said.

In addition to the educational projects completing in the next several weeks, McCarthy has several other school projects wrapping up in the next six to 12 months in Florence, Peoria, Maricopa and Tempe.

About McCarthy
Founded in 1864, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest privately held construction companies.  The firm provides general contracting, construction management, program management and design/build services for education, healthcare, parking, entertainment, retail, laboratory, biotechnical, microelectronic, and industrial facilities; green buildings; office buildings; tenant interiors; mixed-use; and bridges and highways.  McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned.  More information about the company is available online at www.mccarthy.com.

“An outdoor play area for hospitalized children helps promote normal growth and development,” said Michelle Winters, Banner Thunderbird director of pediatrics and NICU.  “Instead of rapidly reaching milestones and continuing normal development, children in the hospital have a tendency to take a few steps backward in their growth and development.  A variety of play opportunities can help avoid physical and emotional regression.”

McCarthy, the construction company overseeing the hospital’s major renovation, donated labor and materials to help the playground come to fruition. Healing gardens have become fixtures in many of McCarthy’s healthcare projects, including Rachel’s Courtyard at Albuquerque Presbyterian Hospital and the recently dedicated Women’s Garden at Banner Gateway Hospital in Gilbert.

“We enjoy participating in efforts on behalf of our clients that bring added value – and clearly the impact of this special place will be felt by many here at the hospital,” said McCarthy Project Director Chris Jacobson.

Research studies show the need for hospitalized patients to get out of their hospital rooms and enjoy fresh air, see the sky and feel the sun.  Access to the outdoors and to nature helps patients get better faster, need less pain medication and have a more positive outlook on their prognosis and overall medical care.

About McCarthy
Founded in 1864, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest privately held commercial construction companies and has been ranked among the top five national hospital construction companies by Modern Healthcare since the magazine began its annual ranking more than 30 years ago.  The company provides general contracting, construction management, program management and design/build services for healthcare, education, parking, entertainment, retail, laboratory, biotechnical, microelectronic, and industrial facilities; green buildings; office buildings; tenant interiors; mixed-use; and bridges and highways.  McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned.  More information about the company is available online at www.mccarthy.com.

RESIDENTIAL

“Everyone on this project was a safety inspector and every person was a quality control inspector. The results speak for themselves.”

— Gary Cheek, director of commercial central services, SunCor Development Company

The new $67 million Bridgeview at Hayden Ferry Lakeside was completed in January 2008.

Built by Residential Constructors, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of McCarthy, the 220,000-square-foot, 13-story concrete structure houses 104 luxury condominiums and a 260-car underground parking structure. To ensure the project met the owner SunCor’s high quality standards, the team created two unique programs under the project’s Site Specific Quality Plan. First, the structure was divided into 31 “pods.” Work in each pod completed in 28 weeks from start to finish, with work in the next pod beginning exactly one week later, and so on. Pre-assigning weeks to specific trades limited work occurring in each pod on any given day, resulting in improved schedule flow, productivity and quality control. In addition to the pod process, halting all construction activity in certain project areas for quality “time outs” allowed for detailed inspections to take place throughout the job. In the end, this thorough attention to quality enabled the project to achieve all quality goals, exceed all major project milestones and maintain a superior safety environment. Architect: Callison Architecture, Inc., Seattle.