Design & Construction Services streamlining operations

e’re now running leaner and faster and more in tune with the thinking of our clients,” said Bob Unrath, director of Design and Construction Services.

Unrath was describing changes that have occurred since the merger in late 2000 of Planning, Design & Construction’s design and construction functions for campus projects costing under $60,000, which range from simple services to the complex renovation, remodeling, and repair-and-renewal design of established facilities.

PD&C director Don Guckert that year regrouped the resources and operations involved in such projects into a single, functionally and managerially streamlined unit. Over 5,000 projects are initiated each year campus-wide by campus customers. The majority of the requests are for work costing under $10,000.

Design & Construction Services’ logo appears proudly on unit personnel head wear, work shirts and utility vehicles. The design represents the unity and common purpose of in-house project design and construction operations.

D & C S is a lower-cost option for work on campus. “We try to satisfy every client, but occasionally heavy workloads or aggressive schedules mean engaging outside services,” said Unrath. Clients generally prefer working with D & C S because of convenience and cost.

A focus on renewal

“We’re not behind the design and construction of new facilities, like Cornell Hall or the Life Sciences Center,” Unrath said. “Those are projects by off-campus consultants and contractors overseen by PD&C’s Project Management and Construction Management personnel. We’ve got our hands full with remodeling and renovating, along with inspecting and repairing departmental equipment under contract, and repairing and replacing the concrete and brick work of existing buildings.”

Unrath’s designers, tradespeople and support staff, during any given week, routinely handle a multitude of jobs in a multitude of buildings.

On the front lines of trades work, Construction Services tradespeople — from carpenters and sheet metal workers to refrigeration mechanics and electricians — perform remodeling, renovation and repair work on 162 heavily trafficked, established buildings. Some 30 jobs are ongoing daily across campus, including preventive maintenance work on department-owned equipment. D & C S has contract agreements with campus departments for the maintenance of over 600 items of equipment that require servicing three or four times yearly. Projects and contract equipment are scattered throughout campus in 13.5 million square feet of building space.

Helping departments save

An architect, Unrath’s immediate concerns are helping clients with the scope and expectations, budget-planning, and timing of a project request.

“Like all of us, campus departments have to scrimp and save on every penny spent on design and construction work,” Unrath said, “and older buildings have significant needs that require a lot of resources. We know that and, as much as anything, we want to be as efficient as possible to help them save as much as they can.”

D & C S’ management team members discuss projected jobs scheduled through summer and into fall 2002. From left: Director Bob Unrath, Sam Sullivan, Larry Elliott, Jim Sutherland and Steve Otto.

A new management core

Following preliminary conceptualization, projects pass to Design Services manager Jim Sutherland for working out mechanical, electrical and architectural aspects of the project, or directly to Construction Services manager Larry Elliott’s tradespeople for straightforward jobs and “quick hitters.”

“In the past, project designers worked independently of construction personnel,” said Sutherland. “Design personnel would take the project request form and forward a completed design to construction personnel. Only then would needed resources, materials and tradespeople be scheduled for the job, thus delaying the on-site work.” he said.

“We’ve got both sides working and thinking together as one,” said Elliott. “No more ‘us’ and ‘them.’ As issues come up, an assistant manager or construction supervisor can act on feedback from the client or design team and make decisions in the field.”

Design and construction functions today are combined and managed by a “tight core of leadership” that follows work requests from design-review meetings, through client feedback and on-site construction. Cutting across operational lines, two teams oversee projects and search for ways to save time and money.

“It’s a ‘seamless’ delivery of services for campus projects,” says Unrath. “Stronger lines of communication now exist between the client and design and construction functions, along with a freer cross-over of duties and responsibilities. Assistant manager and construction supervisor positions give more day-to-day contact with clients, regarding the project’s actual status, and more presence with and exposure to tradespeople in the field.”