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CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

February 22, 2011

Splendid Savannah
Filed under: Cool Projects — Tags: — nedpelger

Your roving correspondent and The Beautiful Wife (TBW) are motoring towards warmer weather. As we drove south on Rt 95, we decided to have a walk around in Savannah, GA. The world famous urban plan used in Savannah makes for delightful strolls.

Native American Tomochichi and British General Oglethorpe founded and laid out the city in the 1730s. The over 20 squares make the plan so innovative. Each square (sized about 1/2 block by 1/2 block) functions as a park/gathering area with lots of grass and trees. Homes, churches and businesses surround each square, creating a series of unique neighborhoods in a grid.

The varied architecture is beautiful and the Spanish moss draped trees adds to the charm (as does TBW). This photo of the first square we entered gives a feel.

While these brick details provide a sense of the rich architectural variety.

As does this functional yet funky entrance.

We sat outside and ate, while listening to a folk singer strumming his guitar. Of course, any self-respecting tourist destination has lots of food, music and shopping.

Our favorite activity, though, was touring the Flannery O’Connor Childhood Home Museum. Our tour guide’s enthusiasm made the tour. Flannery O’Connor wrote some of the best short stories ever and lived an odd life, even by writer’s standards. She seemed to experience little in relationships or travel, yet wrote with ferocious insight. Perhaps this childhood photo of the Flannery scowl provides a clue.

All told, a wonderful city and an informative and fun tour. It’s good to get away from the daily grind sometimes and think about much different things.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

February 19, 2011

LEED Doesn’t
Filed under: Energy — Tags: — nedpelger

The US Green Building Council (USGBC)developed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) to certify that buildings are built Green. I’ve never been a fan of the LEED certification process and convince my customers it’s not worth the hassle and costs. Here’s why:

  1. LEED doesn’t save energy.
  2. LEED doesn’t “Just cost a few percent more” than conventional buildings.
  3. LEED doesn’t require long term utility cost reporting to verify actual energy use.
  4. LEED doesn’t provide superior buildings.

A recently filed lawsuit against the USGBC stipulates that LEED doesn’t save energy. Here’s an excerpt from that lawsuit found at Best Practices Construction Law:

3. USGBC claims that buildings certified as LEED buildings are more energy efficient than non-LEED buildings: USGBC advertises that buildings “certified under the U.S. Green Building Council’s [LEED] certification system are, on average, performing 25-30% better than non-[LEED] certified buildings in terms of energy-use.”  Similarly, USGBC’s advertisements claim that LEED “provid[es] third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings…”

4. Both claims are false. First, LEED-certified buildings are no more energy-efficient than non-LEED certified buildings. USGBC’s own study data on the subject indicate that, on average, LEED buildings use 41% more energy than non-LEED buildings. There is no objective empirical support for the claim that LEED buildings consume less energy. LEED buildings are less efficient because the criteria that USGBC purportedly uses to certify buildings do not correlate with energy efficiency.

The LEED certification points go in so many directions, energy savings can easily get lost to indoor air quality and other more subjective concepts. The lack of a standard for actual energy use over time illustrates the failing of the LEED method. USGBC requires lots of documentation, prepared by USGBC certified professionals, to certify a building is green. This costly documentation misses the most important element. How does the facility actually perform?

As we tackle the recession and higher energy costs, I hope the construction industry sees the opportunity in designing and managing buildings for energy efficiency. ASHRAE seems much more likely to lead this charge effectively than USGBC.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

February 17, 2011

Another Governor Rejects Billions in Federal Grants
Filed under: Industry outlook — Tags: — nedpelger

Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) just rejected the $2.4B federal grant to build a high speed rail link from Tampa to Orlando. The grant was supposed to cover 90% of the project costs.

Why the rejection? He believed the costs would over-run and if the project was cancelled later, FL would have to repay all the upfront costs to the Federal Government. That’s what happened in NJ with the rail tunnel to Manhattan. The Governor also felt the rider and revenue projections were too optimistic, which would lead to operating losses.

Governors in Ohio and Wisconsin also recently turned down over $1B of federal grants for high speed rail projects. As I’ve written before, the inability of our industry to deliver projects on time and budget certainly hurts us. Firms that develop contracting methods and histories of successful projects have great opportunities to prosper.

The other interesting aspect of these rejections involves the failure of the top down funding mechanism. The Federal Government wants these sexy high speed rail projects, whether the locals really need them or not. Deciding what projects should be developed is a difficult process.

I’ve worked with many commercial developers and helped them through that decision making matrix. After all the analysis, it always seems to come down to the decision maker’s gut feelings. Almost all those projects were successful for the developer/owner. I don’t know how that gut decision making, that comes partly from having some skin in the game, could be passed onto government. Any ideas?

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

February 15, 2011

US Manufacturing Boom Continues
Filed under: Industry outlook — Tags: — nedpelger

That’s right, contrary to what we typically read from those nattering nabobs of negativity (hat tip to Spiro Agnew), US continues to lead the world in manufacturing output. The numbers vary, depending on the source, but let’s use the United Nations’ comprehensive database of international economic data. The manufacturing output of America in constant 2005 dollars was $2.15T in 2009, while China was $1.48T. That’s an impressive 45% lead over China. Other sources state different numbers, but all indicate that the US still leads the world in manufacturing output and has since 1890.

Even though China’s manufacturing is growing quickly, America still produced 20% of the world’s manufacturing output in 2009. This amount fell only slightly from 21% in 1990. The fact that American manufacturers are able to continue to produce massive quantities of products while substantially cutting jobs comes from record breaking productivity gains.

This information jives with what I see in my business. I always have at least one manufacturing client planning or building some type of project. I like the manufacturing work because efficiency (one of my favorite things) generally trumps other concerns. If I can help a manufacturing customer plan a great process flow in a production line, I can add some real value. Which means I’ve created some strong customer satisfaction and loyalty. Those two items are the core of a successful small business…or large business.

As I researched this post, I was surprised to find the impressive nature of the US economy. 30% of the world’s millionaires and 40% of the world’s billionaires live in the US. America still breathes opportunity. The net worth gain of American households has been impressive over time.

So as you read the gloom in the press and wonder about the outlook for construction, remember that lots of good things are happening. You just have to dig a little to find them.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

February 14, 2011

Mama Knows Best
Filed under: Cool Projects — Tags: — nedpelger

TBW bought me a Frank Lloyd Wright book for Valentine’s Day. She probably picked it up at the Salvation Army or Goodwill, but it’s the thought that counts, right? Considering that I filled the bird-feeders at her kitchen window with sunflower seed for her Valentine’s Day present, I really am going with that thought counting thing. Since her Love Language is Acts of Service, she did appreciate my little gift.

And I am enjoying the Wright book. In 1896, he designed the Romeo and Juliet Windmill Tower for a site in Spring Green, Wisconsin. The tower consists of an octagon (with a single 4×4 on each corner) penetrated by a diamond.

Apparently Wright’s mother, Anna, had decided he would be an architect before he was born. She directed his early child education in the Friedrich Froebel method, which involved presenting the child a sequence of gifts. These gifts were geometric shapes that helped the child see and appreciate the many geometries in nature. The octagon and the diamond were two of the shapes given. Froebel also developed the concept of Kindergarten and gave it the distinctly German name.

Wright apparently appreciated this method of learning and continued to use these simple geometries throughout his career. For example, his high rise Price Tower Building was based on this little Romeo and Juliet Windmill Tower. On this Valentine’s Day, it’s good to remember that Mama really does know best.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

February 12, 2011

The Government Should Lease Buildings
Filed under: Industry outlook — Tags: — nedpelger

Twenty years ago, my boss and I devised an idea to buy land, build schools and lease them back to school districts. We designed the buildings for high energy efficiency and low operating costs and tied those costs into the lease. Even with paying state prevailing wages, we offered tremendous savings to school districts. We set up Privatization Services Inc. and signed our first project for the Warwick Elementary School. We were less than 2/3 the costs of the traditional delivery method. The cost savings came from intensely managing the land procurement, design and construction processes.

Unfortunately, then PA Governor Casey bowed to last minute union pressure and blocked the slight change we needed to make the state reimbursement system work fairly for leases. We thought the unions had been appeased by our agreement to pay PA Prevailing Wages. The only explanation we ever heard was that the unions didn’t want, “To let the camel’s nose under the tent.” I suppose they feared that one efficiency improvement would lead to others. The result was everyone in PA paying too much for schools and school taxes.

Today I read that one of the stimulus projects, a $500M new building for the Social Security Administration Data Center has agreed on a site in Urbana, MD. The 400,000 sf project was authorized in 2009 and has just found their land. They are already 11 months behind schedule. Governments are almost always terrible at real estate and construction transactions.

The costs for the SSA project also boggle my mind. The ENR article mentioned that $400M was for construction and $100M for data equipment. The arithmetic yields $1,000/sf for buildings and land. What a waste! America can’t compete well with the rest of the world with that kind of inefficiency.

Governments should be moving toward leasing buildings and equipment. Leases are so much simpler than ownership.

  1. Leases can be turnkey and include operating costs
  2. The free enterprise system will deliver at a much lower cost than the government system
  3. Bidding of leases can be fair and open (the US Postal Service has been doing it well for many years)
  4. The project delivery time will be much faster (the vendor doesn’t get paid until the project is completed, providing the best incentive)
  5. Depreciation is a value in the private sector, not in the public or non-profit sector
  6. Government should be using up-to-date buildings and equipment to be effective, not dealing with aging assets and renovation issues
  7. Well written Request for Proposals for leases will force the Government to determine the actual operational needs, rather than offloading that major decision to an architectural firm paid by a percentage fee on the total construction cost (reverse incentive for project control and cost savings)

During this transformational time of right-sizing the government, I hope this concept gets accepted. The potential savings are huge.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

February 11, 2011

Old Pipes and Big Problems
Filed under: Plumbing — Tags: — nedpelger

Yesterday at a job meeting, the facility director showed a 2″ water valve with considerable corrosion. Being able to see the valve, inside and out, made it easy to see the corroded threads and the imminent failure of the valve (see the V groove in the left threads). What amazed me, though, was that our plumber was able to determine that the valve may soon leak, just by looking closely at the threads.

The plumber recommended he change the valve while he was working nearby. The facility director agreed and prevented a major water damage problem from that valve snapping at some time in the near future. The water system was only installed 20 years ago.

This morning I read that Allentown, PA had a 93 year old 12″ cast iron gas main explode, killing 5 people and damaging 47 homes. The AP noted that Dorothy Yanett, 65, was in her living room with her husband awaiting the evening news when she heard a series of booms.

“Everything falling and crashing, glass, just a nightmare,” she said. She found glass in the shoes she was going to put on to leave the house. “There was no odor, there was no smell. Then it was like all hell broke loose.”

The fascinating part of the tragedy is that UGI (the gas utility) had just leak tested that section of piping four days ago. There were no leaks.  But when the fire department tried to extinguish the blaze, they struggled with the 12″ gas main feeding the flames like a huge Bunsen Burner. Due to a lack of valves in the old line, the fire fighters were unable to put out the blaze until workers dug to the pipe and foamed it closed. The aftermath is shown below:

Think about America’s 2.5 million miles of gas and liquid piping, much of it installed many decades ago. Along with the rest of our aging infrastructure, the underground piping will soon need lots of repair work. While a huge cost for our society, it will also be an opportunity for those in construction, especially for those who figure better ways to solve the problems.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

February 9, 2011

Action Breeds Confidence and Courage
Filed under: People Skills — Tags: — nedpelger

We all know the drill. It’s brutal times to be in construction in America. While the overall unemployment rate dropped to 9% last month, it would have dropped further if construction unemployment hadn’t risen to almost 23%. For the first time in this recession, I’m feeling the pinch of projects not getting financed and the possibility of lay-offs among our regular crews.

On the one hand, I can’t do much about it. I have lots of regular customers and if their projects aren’t proceeding at the moment, I can’t really force the issue. Trying to find new customers in these times, along with everyone else, doesn’t offer favorable odds.

So what to do, whether you are a concrete foreman, an electrical PM or a small business owner? A quote from Dale Carnegie says it well:

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit at home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”

Don’t spend too much time fretting over what you can’t do. Think expansively. Take time to ponder where this industry is going, what you like to do, dislike and where you excel. Don’t miss the opportunity afforded by challenging times. Position yourself or your firm to be at the right place when the right time comes.

As I sit here in my little office in the woods, I look out the window and see a couple of blue jays and a red-headed woodpecker sitting on the same tree branch. I previously threw some bird feed on the snow and dozens of birds are banqueting. I’m reminded of the words of Jesus:

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” and “Who of you, by worrying, can add a single hour to his life? Since you can’t do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

When considering my own course of action, I’m playing around with the idea that Building Information Modeling (BIM) really will completely change our industry in the next few years. Producing 3D drawings that actually show how the project (including all the mechanicals and electricals) get built would be an amazing change from the 2D cartoons we currently use. So many actual design decisions now get made on the jobsite, what if we required the contract drawings actually show that work? It will be a huge change for most of us.

Do I want to be leading or bringing up the end of that parade? What’s best for my customers? Is the cost and delay worth the much improved design documents at the end? Can those documents really be used to make the buildings work more efficiently over time? These are some of the questions I’ll be working on. I’ll let you know what I conclude.

But at the very least…I’m taking some action. To quote one of my early bosses, “Do something, even if it’s wrong.”

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

February 8, 2011

More Cool Stairs
Filed under: Carpentry — Tags: — nedpelger

I got my first ever email forward from The Beautiful Wife (TBW) this week with the subject, “Far be it from me to do this.” To begin to understand TBW, you need to recall Groucho’s line about not wanting to join any club that would have someone like him as a member. TBW refrains from putting herself out there, from getting into any position where she might appear ridiculous. Of course, almost everyone has a dose of this particular affliction, TBW has the full-blown disease. So when she sent me an email with a bunch of funky photos of stairs, I thought I’d better post about it. Not that she reads these posts, but still…

The curvy stair pictured below gives a kind of walking on a boat feel.

Looking across the stairs gives an even odder sensation.

The stairs below have a fun angular quality that combines with the wood grain to be beautiful. Wouldn’t it be fun to trot up these stairs to bed each night? Especially for kids.

Below are some stairs that probably shouldn’t be in a Dementia wing…probably shouldn’t be anywhere in a retirement community. In fact, maybe they just shouldn’t be anywhere.

And finally, I’m always a sucker for cantilevers. Defying gravity rocks.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

February 7, 2011

Innovation in Contracting
Filed under: Construction — Tags: — nedpelger

Here’s your problem. You have over 1 Billion people to identify (let’s call them Indians). How do you set up a system that gathers and tracks identity data? To add some fun, many of the folks can’t read or write, don’t know their birth date and lots of the laborers have worked so hard they’ve worn off their fingerprints.

The Economist recently reported that the Indian government has undertaken to positively identify and give a Social Security type number with biometric data to its 1.2B citizens. Since hundreds of millions lack documents, addresses or even surnames, the project seems even trickier. Of course, the successful completion of the project could greatly reduce corruption and improve the efficiency of financial transactions. The upside to getting this done and done right is huge.

The Indian government contracted this project in a creative manner. They chose three contractors to:

  1. Interview a person and document the name and birth date (guessing at dates when necessary)
  2. Get a face photo that also scans the iris
  3. Take fingerprints (adding moisture to the hands of those hard working types)
  4. Compare the gathered biometric info against the database and verify that the person isn’t a duplicate in the system.

The fascinating part of the contracting process involves which firm gets the most work. The firm that does the fastest and most accurate job gets 50% of the work, while the second best firm gets 30% and the worst firm gets 20%. This allocation gets reassessed often, so a firm can move up and obtain more work (and more rupees) by getting better.

Now think about how we typically award projects in construction contracting. Public bids go to the lowest cost bidder (regardless of their reputation or ability to get the job done well…other than requiring a bonding company to vouch for them). Private bids generally also focus on the lowest cost, though most of us limit our invited bid list.

I understand contracting for a building project isn’t the same as gathering biometric data, but I’m challenged to try to contract more creatively. I’m not sure where it goes, but I will contemplate how I can improve the contracting in my business. Do you have any ideas or thoughts you’d like to share?

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