SLCCC Awards Highlight Construction Magic
Date Posted: December 19, 2014
Posted In: News, Organizations,
by Tom Finan, Executive Director, Construction Forum STL
If the holiday season hasn’t convinced you of the presence of magic in the world perhaps watching a four-minute video of Nooter Corporation installing replacement coker drums at a Chevron Refinery in El Segundo, CA will do the trick.
The El Segundo (CA) coke drum replacement project. Click here to view the stop-action video.
The project was presented with a St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers Best Practices Award for zero accident techniques Thursday morning. Nooter’s work included removing and replacing six, 760-ton coke drums, which cook the volatiles and the distillates out of petroleum to produce coke for uses such as steel making and power. Prep work for the project involved working near operating coke drums, which generate heat of up to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The removal and installation work was completed in 19 days. Nooter completed 250,000 man hours without a lost time accident.
Other acts of construction prestidigitation recognized at SLCCC’s annual best practices and inclusion advocacy awards included:
- • The MICDS Technology and Engineering Mathematics Center for Community was honored for front end planning. The team was comprised of representatives of Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School; Northstar Management; BSI Constructors; and Centerbrook Architects and Planners. The award recognized the participatory process, which resulted in project modifications to better fit the needs of those using the campus and the goal of promoting learning and constructability analysis of items like the installation of a 109-foot, 28-ton truss; a unique curved, sculptural ceiling installed beneath a skylight; and engineering for the after-the-fact addition of solar panels on a sloped roof.
- • St. Mary’s Health Center Replacement Hospital, located in Jefferson City, was honored for its efforts at partnering. Team members on the project were St. Mary’s Hospital – SSM; Alberici; Northstar Management; and Lawrence Group. Alberici’s Tim Gunn told Thursday’s audience that partnership included a “a collaborative project charter, signed by all members of the project team. Those of us charged with the day-to-day operation functioned as a core group responsible to live up to the goals and expectations of the project.” But Gunn said the partnering also included the core team representatives – who were from St. Louis but spent their weeks in Jefferson City – meeting once a week for a drink and for pickup basketball at a high school gym.
- • Olin School of Business – Washington University in St. Louis was recognized for material management. Team members were Washington University; Tarlton; Moore Ruble Yudell Architects and Planners; Mackey Mitchell Architects; BurroHappold Engineering; William Tao & Associates; KPFF Engineers; and Cole. Switches to precast from poured in place to fight a winter time frame; pre-assembly of the building’s centerpieces – a 90-foot-by-90-foot unsupported skylight— in the fabricator’s yard to avoid on-site glitches; and prefabrication of mechanical systems, saving 90 days out of the schedule allowed the 22-month project to finish on time.
Recipients of the SLCCC diversity awards included MODOT and Stifel Bank & Trust for organizational excellence; Simms Building Group, M/W/DBE of the year; and Beth Barton of Tarlton Corp./MO Women in Trades; Dennis Lower of Cortex; and Ron Unterreiner of Rhodey as diversity champions.
SLCCC Diversity Committee Chair Sandra Marks quoted a Tarlton operations manager regarding Beth Barton, who is a veteran carpenter for Tarlton and president of MOTWIT: “Beth Barton gives everyone a chance because she got a chance.” In accepting the award, Barton noted the well-dressed crowd in the audience and said, “It’s different in the trenches. Anything you do to help women and minorities will be appreciated. This is America and everyone should have a chance.”