Winter 2006 Newsletter

“Without BIM we wouldn’t have been able to deliver this level of certainty.”

— Bob Knochenhauer, McCarthy project director

Greatly reduced re-work. Less finger pointing. A better “team” environment. These are just a few of the many benefits McCarthy has experienced as it increasingly uses BIM (Building Information Modeling) technology.

At the Lake Pleasant water treatment plant in Phoenix, BIM has proven to be a major time saver and has helped to virtually eliminate “clashes” in the project’s maze of piping. Started in July 2004, the $215 million, 80 mgd plant utilized ACAD and NavisWorks from the beginning. A key to success was formal weekly meetings attended by HVAC, sprinkler, MEP and process mechanical subcontractors at which any and all discrepancies were clarified and signed off on by each trade before work was begun in the field.

“We’re self-performing a large part of the concrete work at Lake Pleasant, and we’ve seen a significant increase in labor productivity because we’ve had little, if any, re-work needed in the field,” commented McCarthy Project Director Bob Knochenhauer. “When you look at what we drew in the computer and then see what was actually built in the field, they are exactly alike. Without BIM we wouldn’t have been able to deliver that level of certainty.”

The same type of weekly meeting system is in place at McCarthy’s $114 million Gateway Medical Center project for Banner Health. Also using ACAD and NavisWorks, McCarthy had all appropriate trades (electrical, mechanical, plumbing, fire protection and pneumatic tube) draw their own plans in 3D and then compiled them all into one master document.

“This is a 19-month, very fast-track project, so it’s been critical that we get everyone together to hash out the issues ‘clash by clash’,” said McCarthy Project Director Jeff Clarkson. One benefit seen is that subcontractors have been able to prefab items in advance rather than building them in the field, which has helped save time and increase the quality of the product delivered.

“Trying to keep all of the GC’s and subs on this project on track is daunting, and McCarthy has stepped up to the plate.”

— Robert Kerwin, president, Vestar Development Co.

A high-end shopping and entertainment destination will be the result of McCarthy’s work at the $39 million open-air Tempe Marketplace pedestrian mall. The 1.3 million-square-foot site includes four elaborate water features, two outdoor fireplaces and one stage. Decorative pavers are being used liberally throughout the complex, which will feature 11 main stucco-clad buildings (the majority of them multi-tenant). Three other general contractors are working on various stages of the project, making continual communication and coordination critical. August 2007 is the project’s scheduled completion. McCarthy previously built the successful Desert Ridge Marketplace in north Scottsdale for the Tempe project’s developer, Vestar Development Co. Architect: Butler Design Group LLC, Phoenix.

“My experience to date with McCarthy has been top notch. Your mobilization efforts and assessment and cultivation of the Boise subcontractor market were very impressive.”

— Darrell Fugate, director, facility services, St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center

Sandwiched between two existing fully operational hospital towers, the $103 million, 400,000-square-foot Center for Advanced Healing at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center is moving full steam ahead toward a September 2007 completion. The 10-story facility will house 16 operating rooms, a 32-bed ICU and 128 private patient rooms. The project includes renovating 60,000 square feet of existing hospital space to integrate the new building. In addition to the new Center, McCarthy is building a new 40,000-square-foot, $11 million, two-story Family Maternity Center and a $2 million Cancer Care Center expansion. When the Center for Advanced Healing started in fall 2004, McCarthy was relatively unknown in Boise and had to quickly overcome being the stranger in town. McCarthy worked quickly to develop important relationships with the local subcontractor community and enjoyed an enthusiastic response to bid package solicitations. In the next nine months, inside work will continue at a fever pitch in anticipation of opening the doors to the public this fall. Architect: HDR, Omaha, Neb. Owner’s Representative: CH2MHill, Boise, Idaho.

“McCarthy always provides value for money. We design our facilities for long life – 30-50 years, and we expect the product McCarthy gives us is up to that challenge.”

— Tom Kornegay, executive director, Port of Houston Authority

This winter McCarthy will complete two projects totaling more than $42 million for the Port of Houston Authority (PHA), the sixth largest port in the world. For the $27.4 million PHA Bayport Phase I Marine Terminal Gate project, McCarthy conducted site preparation, grading, concrete paving and striping of approximately 24 acres for a container truck gate and adjacent yard container. “The current two PHA projects use a collaboration system that is used to transmit and archive documents, coordinate activities, and better ensure all members of the team are aware of what is going on.  The Port thinks that has gone very well,” commented the Port’s Tom Kornegay. The $14.8 million PHA Port Road project called for the relocation of over one mile of the Port Road, which included asphalting an overlay to an existing portion of the road, constructing a sound berm and a storm water detention pond as environmental features and moving and enlarging a city water main. McCarthy has worked with the PHA for the past 15 years with its work to date totaling more than $132.7 million. Architect: Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc., Dallas.

“Strong yet respectful defines McCarthy’s approach. They’ve been very helpful in ensuring we make timely decisions.”

— Jim Bostic, assistant vice president of construction, St. Joseph Health System, Orange

McCarthy is embarking on an ambitious and complicated expansion of the St. Joseph campus – an expansion that includes three different building types: a $14.2 million, 7-level, 354,400-square-foot, 1085-car parking structure; a $20.7 million, 7-story, 127,589-square-foot, medical office building and a $41.1 million, 3-story, 89,000-square-foot Cancer Center. All three will be built simultaneously on a very tight site – all without disrupting the adjacent main hospital. “Halfway through the design phase of the project we decided to switch to the design-build contracting model. McCarthy has worked very hard to keep all of our stakeholders involved while helping fill the gaps between the DD and CD documents,” said SJHS’s Jim Bostic. In addition, McCarthy is continuing work on a $124 million, 4-story patient care tower on the same campus. Architects: Taylor, Newport Beach (Cancer Center and MOB); Innovative Design Group, Irvine (parking structure).

“McCarthy’s flexibility, willingness to work with an extremely tight budget, and their commitment to our desired end result made them a leading reason for the project’s success.”

— Wendell DePhillips, business manager, St. John Vianney High School

With a $5 million budget to renovate some existing spaces and build a 12,000-square-foot field house addition, a new grand entrance and common area, St. John Vianney High School relied on McCarthy to stretch construction dollars as far as they could. Through diligent value analysis, McCarthy delivered cost-effective alternatives for the building’s mechanical, electrical and structural systems without sacrificing aesthetics. For instance, rather than sheet metal ductwork, a fabric air dispersion system was installed in the gym’s open ceiling as an attractive alternative that was less expensive to install, operate and maintain. Other cost savings were found in the gym’s roof truss design. Originally a special order item, McCarthy suggested modifying the shape of the trusses to maintain the bowstring effect but eliminate the expense of custom fabrication. “Our original plan was to construct a new field house and entrance and develop a master plan for future expansion,” explained Vianney’s Wendell DePhillips. “Since Phase I came in on time and under budget, thanks in large part to McCarthy, we were able to continue the second phase of an aggressive master plan.” Architect: Mackey Mitchell Associates, St. Louis.

“It’s almost unheard of for school construction to be under budget, but McCarthy’s plan made it happen.”

— Steve Ritter, assistant superintendent – business services, Huntington Beach Union High School District

Modernization and new construction are the key words as work on Huntington Beach Union’s $238 million Measure C effort continues. A multi-phased, 5-year project, modernization includes addressing mandatory code, ADA compliance, fire and life safety and air quality issues, while new construction is taking place at four of the district’s seven schools. One of the first to complete was a 12-classroom structure at Fountain Valley High School, with three facilities at other schools in various stages of construction. While the challenges vary greatly at each school, one is consistent at all – keeping students, staff and visitors safe in an active (and constantly changing) construction environment. “Quite frankly, I can’t imagine trying to manage this type of construction project without McCarthy,” said the district’s Steve Ritter. McCarthy has completed more than $1.5 billion in K-12 education in the last 15 years and is now one of California’s leading education builders.
Architect: LPA, Inc., Irvine, Calif.

“Given the project’s large size, and the need for coordinating with the existing plant’s operations, McCarthy/Sundt has done a remarkable job.”

— Peter Knutsen, assistant city engineer,
city of Mesa

Spread out over 40 acres and 15 buildings (each being built simultaneously) and with a labryinth of process mechanical components 30 feet underground, coordination has been key at the city of Mesa’s $143 million sewage treatment plant expansion. When completed in April 2007, the expansion will add treatment capacity of 16 mgd of liquids and 24 mgd of equivalent solids, a necessary improvement given the city’s rapid population growth. A joint venture with Sundt, the project is in final testing for the liquid train with testing beginning soon on the solids component. As with all five water/wastewater plants being built or in preconstruction by McCarthy in the Phoenix area, self-performance of each plant’s large amount of concrete work has allowed for cost savings and stricter schedule adherence. Engineers: Carollo Engineers, Phoenix; Brown and Caldwell, Phoenix.

“The project team is proceeding on schedule and is diligent in working with the client to overcome any sensitivities of cost due to the current market.”

— Garret Horimoto, project manager/architect, Architects Hawaii

McCarthy, in a joint venture with Honolulu-based Kiewit Building Group, is currently expanding and renovating the Kaiser Permanente Hawaii Moanalua Medical Center. The project includes a new five-story tower that will add approximately 135,000 square feet of building area. The project also includes expanding the existing ancillary facility by roughly 28,000 square feet with the addition of a new sixth floor and renovating an additional 83,000 square feet located on five floor levels. Upon completion of the new tower in spring 2008, work on the ancillary facility renovation continues with a scheduled completion in summer 2009. When all work is finished, the efforts will have added 107 hospital beds, eight new operating rooms, and new expanded building spaces for emergency, labor and delivery, neonatal ICU and other state-of-the-art hospital departments. The renovation marks the medical center’s first major improvements since being built more than 20 years ago. Executive Architect: Architects Hawaii Ltd., Honolulu. Design Architect: CO Architects, Los Angeles.