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Gordian Announces Job Order Contracting Merit Award Winners

July 26, 2016

Greenville, S.C. – Five organizations were honored for demonstrating best practices in Job Order Contracting projects completed in 2015 as part of the Harry H. Mellon Award of Excellence in Job Order Contracting award program.

The Award of Merit winning projects are described below:

2015 Award of Merit Winners
 
Colvin Mill Restoration
Facility Owner: Fairfax County Park Authority
Contractor: HITT Contracting, Inc.
Great Falls, Virginia
Centuries-old components for mill machinery had to be sourced, fabricated and assembled to complete the restoration of the Colvin Run Mill in Fairfax County, Virginia. Work completed last year by HITT Contracting restored full function of the mill based on plans created by Oliver Evans’ Young Millwright and Miller’s Guide. Initial restoration of the circa 1811 mill took place in the 1970s.

The $492,000 project designed, manufactured and installed a rolling screen used to clean wheat before being ground. The contractor, HITT Contracting, Inc., also had to design and install grain-cleaning equipment. The countershaft to power the French buhr stones was replaced. The flour-delivery and internal rope-hoist systems were completed and power was supplied to the grain elevator. Finally, the water wheel shaft and supporting arms were replaced.
 
Kettner Bus Rapid Transit Station
Facility Owner: San Diego Association of Governments
Contractor: HMS Construction, Inc.
San Diego, California
The first project among several to revitalize a number of San Diego-area rapid transit stations set the tone for successful renovation projects and for the massive challenge of coordinating traffic. Traffic in this case included San Diego Trolley’s orange, green and blue lines; Amtrak, Coaster and Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail lines; charter buses; regional transit buses; taxis; cars and trucks; and pedestrians.

In order to complete all the typical infrastructure improvements, the $1.6 million undertaking relied on HMS Construction, Inc.’s orchestration of extensive traffic plans, work phasing and communication with commuters. SANDAG’s public affairs office used social media to distribute notifications for traffic changes. MTS Trolley & Bus provided transportation liaison monitors to answer questions regarding transportation impacts. Law enforcement assisted with vehicle and pedestrian monitoring.

Kettner Street was shut down for 52 hours for installation of new contact wire for the trolley system. During the closure, all pavement on Kettner Street was also ground and replaced.
 
Residential Sound Improvement Program
Facility Owner: Community Development Commission of the County of Los Angeles
Contractor: Sigma Services, Inc., Pub Construction, Angeles Contractor, Inc., World Wide Construction
Los Angeles, California
With time running out to complete sound-insulation improvements for hundreds of homes in the paths of aircraft using Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles County’s Residential Sound Insulation Program (RSIP) turned to Job Order Contracting to save time and to find contractors with the needed expertise.

Improvements provided by the RSIP included sound-rated windows and doors, attic insulation, electrical service panel upgrades, wall modifications, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. Costs to insulate a home from the sound of aircraft range between $27,000 and $32,000, which are borne by the Federal Aviation Administration and Los Angeles World Airports. The contractors completed the $17.6-million program, which brought insulation improvements to 2,000 residents in 544 homes, greatly improving quality of life for the residents who participated.
 
Effluent Channel Expansion-Joint Repair
Facility Owner: New York City Department of Environmental Protection
Contractor: Sheela Inc.
New York, New York
A leaky expansion joint ahead of the final chlorination step at a waste-water-treatment plant in New York City was causing corrosion and health and safety concerns for workers. The leak also posed a threat of discharging 10 million gallons a day of partially treated sewerage into the Hudson River. To stop the threat, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection Bureau of Wastewater Treatment and Sheela Inc. quickly designed a repair for the 5.5-inch opening in the channel.

Due to the critical nature of waste-water treatment and the fact the contractor would have only one shot to fix the problem properly, the contractor had to build a mock channel to test the proposed repair and materials before implementing the final fix.

After testing the repair and subsequent modifications, the contractor had to expedite material prior to installing the permanent fix. In order to make repairs in the $595,548-project, the plant lost half its daily capacity. As a result, the repair was completed as quickly as possible over three days, with work being performed around the clock. The repair sealed the leak completely.
 
Cook County Chiller Building Replacements
Facility Owner: Cook County
Contractor: S Mechanical, Inc.
Chicago, Illinois
Replacement of a building’s air conditioning system is always best done in the winter to avoid sweltering conditions for office workers. But installing a system in a Cook County office building in minus-5-degree temperatures presented challenges other than office worker comfort.

The three new Trane 500-ton centrifugal electrical chillers had to be installed in the subbasement of the building. An existing underground vault opening was utilized to install the chillers. Installation took place on a Sunday to minimize the disruption caused by street closures.

Frigid temperatures required using blast heaters to avoid freezing the mechanical room while the chillers were lowered. The existing proprietary Johnson Controls DDC control system was retrofitted and integrated with Trane's Tracer Summit system. S Mechanical, Inc. managed the $2.1-million project that required over 2,500 man-hours. The payback for this project is estimated to be 6.5 years. With these systems averaging a life cycle of 30-35 years, this system would pay for itself five times over the course of its life.

The overall Award of Excellence Winner and project details will be announced in August.

About the Awards

The Harry H. Mellon Award of Excellence in Job Order Contracting is an annual award recognizing excellent and innovative uses of Job Order Contracting. Judging was conducted by a panel of Job Order Contracting experts and past award winners from all facets of the industry. Projects submitted were judged on their adherence to Job Order Contracting principles, innovation, complexity, special circumstances and overall time and cost savings.

In order to be eligible, projects had to be completed during 2015. Nominations were submitted by government agency owners or contractors. The awards are sponsored by Gordian.

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.