Ohio Department of Transportation Receives Harry H. Mellon Award of Excellence in JOC

Greenville, S.C., May 5, 2015 – The Ohio Department of Transportation received The Harry H. Mellon Award of Excellence in Job Order Contracting for 2014 for emergency repairs to the roof of its District 4 headquarters building in Akron, OH. ODOT and Price Builders & Developers, Inc., the general contractor on the project, were honored for innovative use of Gordian ezIQC®, a leading indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity construction procurement system.

Within two hours of being notified of the roof structure’s failure, the contractor assembled a team of licensed engineers and contractors and began analyzing the problem. The bottom chord, or lowest lateral support in the structure of the roof trusses, had failed. The failure meant the roof could collapse onto floors below if it was not stabilized immediately and then replaced.

As ODOT workers were evacuated from the building’s second floor, engineers and contractors determined how to temporarily shore up the bottom of the trusses. That work in part required removal of office furniture and the ceiling grid. Shoring posts and scaffolding were installed to transfer the weight of the roof trusses to the building’s structure.

Once Price Builders & Developers secured the building for use, the contractor worked with engineers to determine how to replace the entire roof truss system. Work on the $1.4 million project to replace the roof truss system in sections began in the winter of 2014.

The ezIQC system allowed ODOT to secure qualified, local contractors in a fast-paced manner, while following state procurement laws and revised codes. It also ensured unit prices were firm.

The annual industry award program recognizes excellent and innovative uses of Job Order Contracting (JOC). Judging for the annual awards program was conducted by project managers, contractors and consultants who are considered experts in JOC. Previous winners were judges as well.

In order to be eligible, projects had to be completed during 2014. Nominations were submitted by agency owners or contractors. In addition to the National Winner, judges named five Award of Merit Winners recognized for their demonstration of best practices in Job Order Contracting. Those projects are described below:

 

Award of Merit Winners

Miami Police Helipad and Roof Replacement
Facility Owner: City of Miami
Contractor: GEC Associates Inc.
JOC System: Gordian JOC Solutions®
Miami, Florida
Timing of the roof replacement and construction of a new roof-top helipad at the Miami, FL, police headquarters coincided with rainy season, unfortunately, adding one more challenge to the $920,000 project. Among other challenges, GEC Associates, Inc. also had to connect the new helipad to the building’s structure, which necessitated removing a ten-inch-concrete roof deck, all while avoiding water penetration of the building. The contractor used Gordian JOC Solutions to manage and deliver the project despite the unique construction techniques and materials needed.

Due to the time of year and the location of the police department’s computer room for its 911 call center, the contractor had to remove the 10-inch concrete roof deck and waterproof the area the same day. Extensive coordination with material manufacturers, subcontractors, architects, engineers, and suppliers was necessary during the very weather-sensitive construction phase.

In addition, parapet walls required repairs, exterior louvers had to be replaced and all single-stage roof drains had to be converted into double-stage drains. Replacement and installation of safety systems included the lightning protection, landing lights, Federal Aviation Administration markings, handicapped accessible ramp and two stairways.

Remodel of the Cambria Library
Facility Owner: County of San Luis Obispo, General Services Agency, Capital Projects Division
Contractor: T. Simons Co. Inc.
JOC System: Gordian JOC Solutions
San Luis Obispo, California
Rather than build a new library in San Luis Obispo County, Calif., officials and residents came together to raise some of the funds needed to purchase and renovate an existing commercial property to offer expanded access to library services. The $491,974 renovation required a significant redesign of the building’s interior spaces in order to use it as a library and to meet federal regulations and county ordinances.

Outside the building, upgrades were needed to meet ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessibility requirements. Inside, systems were required to meet the county’s LEED Silver standards for lighting and water usage. Carpet was required to be 100% recyclable, while low-water-flow restroom fixtures were mandatory. Restroom water usage is now lower than at the former library even though more restroom fixtures are in place.

Using Gordian JOC Solutions, general contractor, T. Simons Company Inc., installed a sophisticated area illumination system which included new LED light fixtures, automatic dimmers and control systems, and 12 new skylights. The new lighting system covers 150% more floor space than the former library while using only 35% more electricity. The use of special windows and skylights adds 50% more natural lighting.

New York State Department of Transportation Culvert Replacement
Facility Owner: New York State Department of Transportation
Contractor: Barrett Paving Materials Inc.
JOC System: Gordian JOC Solutions
Watertown, New York
The failure of a culvert carrying a branch of the Chaumont River in Watertown, N.Y., forced officials to close NY Route 411 and implement a lengthy detour around the trouble spot. With time of the essence, Barrett Paving Materials, Inc. employed Gordian JOC Solutions to replace the culvert and return traffic to the busy roadway.

The old corrugated metal pipe of the culvert was replaced with dual six-ft. galvanized, corrugated metal pipes and cut-off walls. Ends of the pipes had to be mitered and rip-rap-end treatments installed. In addition, existing stream-bed material had to be installed in the new pipe to protect fish.

Construction began two days after the scope of work was written. The $439,154 project was completed in just 45 days.

Texas Tech University Student Union Ballroom Renovation
Facility Owner: Texas Tech University
Contractor: Teinert Commercial Building Services
JOC System: Gordian JOC Solutions
Lubbock, Texas
Renovation of Texas Tech University’s Student Union Ballroom in just four months during 2014’s summer break transformed 8,000 square feet of outdated space into a customized state-of-the-art, multi-purpose space used to give 7,000 new students their first impressions of the home of the Red Raiders.

Teinert Commercial Building Services employed Gordian JOC Solutions to complete the $1.8-million project in time for freshman orientation sessions, as planned. Renovations of the venue that can accommodate 800 people included installation of:

• custom carpet with the Texas Tech double-T logo
• a video wall
• a motorized room partition to divide the space into two rooms
• custom LED-color lighting in a coffered ceiling
• durable plastic laminate wall panels
• acoustic wall panels, and
• a fireplace, mantel and over-mantel.

University officials at the Lubbock, Texas, university report the transformed ballroom is now the most popular facility to host conferences and events, including the prestigious Chancellor’s Ball.

Middletown Boat Launch Installation
Facility Owner: City of Middletown
Contractor: Pat Munger Construction
JOC System: Gordian ezIQC
Middletown, Connecticut
Popular with canoers and kayakers, the Coginchaug River runs through Middletown, Conn., where city officials wanted to expand recreational use of the waterway. But efforts to build a boat launch had been swamped for several years until Pat Munger Construction applied Gordian ezIQC to find a solution.

The largest challenge for city officials and contractor was keeping costs within the amount of the grant from the state of Connecticut. The first estimate, which was several years old, came in at $112,936. But the contractor worked with officials and the ezIQC account manager to lower the estimate to $44,768. Contractor and the city revised the design of the ramp and substituted materials.

Just five months after submitting its proposal to build the long-awaited boat launch, Pat Munger Construction successfully completed the project the city of Middletown had begun nine years earlier.

The Harry H. Mellon Award of Excellence in Job Order Contracting program was established in 2008 and is awarded annually. It recognizes excellence in using Job Order Contracting principles and practices while identifying unique and innovative ways the process can function in construction, repair and renovation work. It is sponsored by The Gordian Group. Through its founder, JOC inventor Harry H. Mellon, the company created Job Order Contracting, ezIQC, and a number of related construction-procurement systems.

Job Order Contracting is a competitively bid procurement process that building and infrastructure owners use to save money by fast-tracking repair and alteration projects based on locally priced construction tasks and competitively awarded contracts.