Construction Program Management

Lawson State Community College

As the Construction Program Manager, Robins & Morton oversees the prime contractor(s) of a given project, helping to ensure all schedule, budget, and quality goals are met. By leveraging a true construction management approach and boots-on-the-ground experience, we provide critical coordination related to supply chain and trades.

The Alabama Community College System (ACCS) encompasses 24 community and technical colleges, including the Marion Military Institute – one of five junior military college in the nation. With more than 130 campus locations serving more than 168,000 students, the ACCS’s construction program is vast. The current program, beginning in 2021, includes more than $500 million worth of new construction and renovation projects before 2026. Together, Robins & Morton and ACCS have partnered to best utilize the system’s various funds, set priorities for, and execute projects in the Central region of Alabama.

Due to the funding source, Robins & Morton and ACCS were faced with a firm deadline on the recent multi-campus renovations project at Lawson State Community College. The project boasted a host of challenges including supply chain issues and material and equipment delays.

Supply Chain Challenges and Collaborative Solutions

Our team worked to determine and prioritize long lead materials that could adversely impact the critical path of construction. One piece of equipment that was identified was the chillers. Manufactured by Trane, the project team experienced continual delays for the shipment and delivery dates of the chillers which posed great risk to the project’s schedule. Robins & Morton’s program manager coordinated directly with Trane to determine a solution, even making a visit to the manufacturing facility in Pueblo, Colorado. The site visit to Trane’s manufacturing facility provided invaluable insight into the constraints experienced by the manufacturer – there were dozens of chillers onsite assembled and awaiting parts from other vendors.

This site visit and continual coordination with Trane by Robins & Morton’s program manager created opportunity for a collaborative effort to get the needed chillers on the ground in Birmingham by the required date. This effort by Robins & Morton resulted in the chillers arriving onsite 30 days ahead of Trane’s projected ship date. The early delivery helped avoid potentially detrimental delays to an already aggressive project schedule. This was critical, as the renovations project was funded by a federal grant with a firm “spend by” date.

Fort Rucker Water Intrusion

A Builder’s Eye

A medical research laboratory at Alabama’s Fort Rucker, home of the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, had significant pre-existing water intrusion issues in its basement. The client engaged a building envelope consulting firm to determine the cause of the leakage, and Robins & Morton was hired to perform the repairs based on the consulting firm’s findings.

The original scope of work identified the cause of leakage as below-grade deficiencies in the foundation wall, which would have required expensive and high-risk work including excavating and exposing 220 feet of foundation wall, 14 feet deep, to repair the waterproofing.

Prior to beginning construction, our Building Envelope Assessment Team carefully reviewed the design and conducted an independent building envelope condition assessment. The team’s findings identified the true cause of leakage as above-grade deficiencies in the metal flashing, not the below-grade foundation wall. This finding was critical to the success of the project as it determined the original scope of work would not have resolved the facility’s water intrusion issues.

Robins & Morton’s condition assessment successfully resolved the facility’s water intrusion issues, lowered the project’s risk and resulted in $625,000 in cost savings for the client.

The Robins & Morton Building Envelope Assessment Team, part of our Construction Program Management services, is the direct result of hands-on building experience – bridging the gap between design and installation.

As Construction Program Managers, our in-house building envelope specialists participate in constructability reviews during the design and preconstruction phase to identify issues early and mitigate the need for costly repairs after the project is complete. During construction, the Building Envelope Assessment Team collaborates with the prime contractor(s) to properly install and then test the building’s envelope components, minimizing rework and, in turn, saving both time and money.