Special Insert - The Military Engineer

SPECIAL REPORT: SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN DOD PROGRAMS

Design and Construction

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Nov.-Dec. 2008 • Volume 100, Number 656

Celebrating our 100th year in print

www.same.org/TME

Main Theme:Design & Construction

61 Mentor-Protégé RelationshipsOne company’s success using the U.S. Small Business Administra-tion’s Mentor-Protégé Program

63 Reduced Cost through Constructability ReviewIntegrated design-build team mitigates contractor risk

Special Report:Small Business Participation in DOD Programs

On the Cover:A new, dedicated two-bay hangar was com-pleted earlier this year at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., the stateside home of the Global Hawk, the largest unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the U.S. fleet. The hangar was designed and built specifically to house two of the UAVs. Read the story on page 53.

Photo by Paul Cockrell for HDR

Special Insert: 35-40A historical look at TME as we celebrate its 100th year in print

Contents

Leader Profile:43 Joseph E. Gott, P.E., SES

46 Utilizing DBOM Operations and maintenance rolled into a design-build project

49 Integrated Design-Bid-BuildExpedited delivery of more than $7 billion of BRAC-related projects

51 Joint Program Management for BRAC Tri-service cooperation at installa-tions throughout San Antonio

53 A New Home for the Global Hawk Housing the largest unmanned aerial vehicle in the Air Force fleet

55 Mitigating Ice Hazards Design-phase testing to prevent

falling ice and snow

57 Specialized DOD Facilities A new child development center for the families of the Pentagon and Fort Myer, Va.

59 Tilt-up Construction Designing and building facilities

faster, safer, “greener” and more economically

Design & Construction: 46-60

4 The Military Engineer l November-December l 2008

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The Military Engineer (ISSN 0026-3982) is published bi-monthly by the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME), 607 Prince St., Alexandria, VA 22314-3117; Tel: 703-549-3800; editorial, ext. 141; advertising, ext. 144. © 2007 The Society of American Military Engineers. All rights reserved; reproduction of articles prohibited without written permission. Periodicals postage paid at Alexandria, Va., and at additional mailing offices. Rates: Single copy: Member, $3; Non-member (U.S.), $15; foreign, $30. One-year subscription $78 in the United States and Canada; $148 elsewhere. Two-year subscription $148 in the United States and Canada; $286 elsewhere. Three-year subscription $196 in the United States and Canada; $419 elsewhere. Agency discount available; Air Mail extra. For details go to www.same.org/subscribe. Annual subscription rate for SAME members is $15 and is included in dues. Address Changes: Send mailing label with changes to The Military Engineer Circulation Department, 607 Prince St., Alexandria, VA 22314-3117; allow 60 days for change to take affect. Article Submittals: We invite and encourage manuscript submissions for possible inclusion in The Military Engineer. TME editors consider each manuscript on the basis of technical accuracy, usefulness to readers, timeliness and quality of writing. SAME reserves the right to edit all manuscripts. Before submitting an article, please read the Writers’ Guidelines at www.same.org/tme. Submission of an article does not guarantee publication; unsolicited manuscripts will not be returned. Disclaimer: Statements and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not reflect official SAME or TME policy unless so stated. Publication of ad-vertisements does not constitute official SAME endorsement of products or services. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Military Engineer Circulation, 607 Prince St., Alexandria, VA 22314-3117.

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Asset Management 65 Activity Management Plans Maximizing mission support

Engineers in Action68 Responding to Natural Disasters

6 Government & Industry News

18 Military News

30 Technology News

34 Environment & Energy News

70 Society News

72 Professional Cards

74 New Products & Services

Focus Features: Departments

Exclusively in The Military Engineer Online• Learn about the ahead-of-schedule delivery of a major reconstruction project

at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., in “Design-Build for Runway Reconstruc-tion,” by David Bird, P.E., M.SAME.

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Government & Industry NewsCompiled by John M. Nank, M.SAME

Army Partners with State of Louisiana

John Paul Woodley Jr., Assistant Sec-retary of the Army for Civil Works, and Garret Graves, Director of Coastal Pro-tection and Restoration for the Gov-ernor of Louisiana, signed on Sept. 22 the first project partnership agreement (PPA) related to cost-shared work on the new 100-year Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (HS-DRRS) for the New Orleans, La., metro-politan area.

The PPA, which covers the Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity project por-tion of the new system, enables the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to move forward with preparing project description documents and issuing contracts for work that is being cost-shared by the federal government and the state of Louisiana.

“Today’s agreement highlights the teamwork and collaboration of the state of Louisiana, the federal govern-ment and all the local stakeholders and partners,” said Woodley. “This is an important step toward completing a new HSDRRS that is truly designed, built and operated as a single system. It was important to get this agreement signed so that the Corps’ very aggres-sive construction schedule can be maintained.”

The current estimated total cost of new work covered by this PPA is $3.85 billion. Of that total, an estimated $1.59 billion is work to be fully funded at fed-eral expense and $2.25 billion is to be cost shared by the federal government and state of Louisiana.

This PPA also smoothes the way for future PPAs, including the West Bank and Vicinity project, the permanent

pumps on the Lake Pontchartrain out-fall canals, and for other HSDRRS fea-tures.

The administration and the state of Louisiana remain committed to the safety of citizens in the greater New Or-leans area. The new 100-year system, scheduled to be complete in 2011, will provide far greater hurricane and storm damage risk reduction than New Or-leans has ever had. (Contributed by Eugene Pawlik, USACE Public Affairs)

Researchers Receive Grants to Study Engineering Education

A team of researchers at Bucknell University recently was awarded about $322,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for three separate grants targeting engineering education: Role of Faculty in Supporting Lifelong

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NSF last year awarded Michael Prince, Professor of Chemical Engi-neering at Bucknell, and a team of col-leagues $500,000 for a four-year study

to examine student misconceptions in engineering. The three latest grants expand that research to examine other questions that focus on how to teach engineering more effectively.

As part of their research on lifelong learning, Prince and his colleagues will examine the relationship between the classroom environment and how well

students become self-directed learn-ers. Newer accreditation guidelines for engineering programs require that stu-dents be capable of lifelong learning so they are prepared for careers in engi-neering. There has, however, been little classroom research on how to achieve this goal.

Research suggests that while engi-neering faculty draw heavily on their own experiences in the classroom to make decisions about their teaching, professors seldom look to the educa-tional literature to inform their deci-sions about teaching. This grant ex-amines the issue, with an eye towards understanding how to encourage en-gineering faculty to use the existing re-search on teaching and learning more effectively.

The grant to develop research ca-pacity for engineering education is in response to calls from the National Academy of Engineering and NSF en-couraging universities to support re-search in engineering education by en-gineering faculty. NSF awards grants to about 28 percent of applicants, though competition for funding varies by field and discipline, according to foundation representatives.(Contributed by Julia Ferrante, Bucknell University)

New Standard Developed for Building in High-Wind Areas

New construction guidelines devel-oped by the International Code Council (ICC), a membership association dedi-cated to building safety and fire preven-tion, will increase public safety in hurri-cane-prone areas and other high-wind regions. The Standard for Residential Construction in High Wind Regions (ICC-600) provides wind-resistant de-sign and construction details for resi-dential buildings. The standard applies to areas where wind speeds reach 100-mph to 150-mph, including the hurri-cane-prone regions of the East Coast, Gulf Coast, coastal Alaska and the spe-cial wind region of the Columbia River Gorge in Washington and Oregon.

“Communities that adopt this new standard will have a tool based on

Government & Industry News (continued)

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sound science to help them save lives and protect property,” said Rick Wei-land, ICC CEO. “It’s necessary if we are to reduce the billions of dollars in wind-related damage this country faces year after year.”

ICC-600, approved by the Ameri-can National Standards Institute as an American National Standard, uses

the latest engineering knowledge to improve the structural integrity and performance of homes. The standard includes new provisions such as pre-scriptive designs for wind speeds up to 150-mph with 3-sec gusts, designs for cold-formed steel framing and exterior wall coverings for high wind.

“The standard will help first pre-

venters protect the communities they serve,” said Weiland. “First preventers, those many unheralded and mostly unknown code officials who check and double-check code compliance and administer building safety codes, play a major role in saving lives, protecting property and reducing recovery costs often paid for by taxpayer dollars.”(Contributed by Gretchen Hesbacher)

Engineers Comment on Fire Protection Systems

Because of industry-wide concerns over the inconsistencies in state and local engineering regulations regarding the qualifications for individuals who design fire protection systems, the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) has joined the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) and the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET) to develop a unified position statement titled The Engineer and the Technician – Designing Fire Protection Systems.

The position statement describes reasonable and prudent roles and responsibilities of licensed professional engineers and certified engineering technicians when designing fire protection systems.

“In the United States, the design requirements for fire protection systems are governed by state and local regulations. As a result, the required qualifications for professionals who design these systems differ from state to state,” said Chris Jelenewicz, Engineering Program Manager with SFPE. “In fact, some state and local authorities do not require a licensed engineer to take part in the design of these important life safety systems.”

Normally, structures and systems that impact the public’s safety are required to be designed by licensed engineers. For example, bridges, roads, electrical systems, drinking water systems and building structures are all required by state engineering laws to be designed by licensed engineers.

“The position statement stresses the point that both engineers and technicians play an essential role in

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G&I News (continued)

the process as long as both practice within their areas of competence,” said Jelenewicz. “Moreover, it establishes basic rules for the relationships between design, code compliance and construction entities. As a result, the general public, firefighters, property and the environment will be better protected from fire.”(Contributed by Chris Jelenewicz, SFPE)

PeopleAllen Chin, P.E., was named VP, Installations

& Environment Division, Parsons, in support of the Guam Program Support Contract for the U.S. Navy.

Mark Fletcher has been named Program Manager for Munitions Ser-

vices, Huntsville, Ala., office, ARCADIS.Brig. Gen. (P) Gregg F. Martin,

Ph.D., USA, has been assigned to Com-manding General, U.S. Army Maneuver Support Center and Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.

Col. Michael McCormick, USA, assumed command of the USACE Hurricane Protection

Office on Sept. 26 at a change of command ceremony at the headquarters of the USACE-New Orleans District. Col. Mc-Cormick takes over from Col. Jeffrey A. Bedey, USA, who is retiring from the Army.

Maj. Gen. William H. McCoy Jr., USA, has been assigned as Deputy to the Inspector General, Office of the Secretary of the U.S. Army.

John Moossazadeh, P.E., has been elected Di-rector-at-Large, The Kleinfelder Group Inc.

Edward Piekarczyk was named Director of Federal Programs, Mar-keting, LEO A DALY.

Mark Swallow, P.E., was named President, Golder Assoc.

Col. (P) Bryan G. Watson, USA, has been assigned to Commandant, U.S. Army En-gineer School, and Deputy Commanding Gen-eral, Concepts, Doctrine and Organizations, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.

Awards, Acquisitions and Recognition

AMEC has been awarded a $20 million remedial design and action task order for a site at Alameda Point, Calif., by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southwest.

BAE Systems has been awarded two U.S. Army contracts totaling $71 million for armored cabs and armor protection for Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV). More than 48,000 FMTV trucks and trailers are in service today with the Army.

e2M was awarded a five-year, $20 million contract to negotiate a new Department of the Navy, NAVFAC Atlantic

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contract for environmental planning and engineering services for the National Environmental Policy Act and Executive Order 12114, Environmental Effects Abroad of Major Federal Actions.

Hensel Phelps Construction Co. was awarded a $312.5 million design-build contract by NAVFAC Washington to collocate military department investigative agencies at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., as part of 2005 Base Realignment and Closure initiatives.

HNTB Federal Services Corp. has been awarded a five-year, $12 million indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity (IDIQ) civil works planning and design contract by USACE-Kansas City District to provide a range of planning, feasibility studies, technology, design and construction services to reduce flood risk, restore ecosystems and improve water resources.

Moffatt & Nichol Blaylock has been awarded a $7.5 million firm fixed-price IDIQ contract for waterfront facilities projects by NAVFAC Southwest.

The O’Brien & Gere/Crowder Joint Venture was awarded a $23.5 million design-build contract by the USACE-Mobile District for design and construction of the Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant at Anniston Army Depot, Ala.

Perini Corp. was awarded new task orders and additions to existing task orders worth approximately $170 million from


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TBE Group, headquartered in Clearwater, Fla., has opened a new office in Sarasota, Fla.

Tug Hill Inc. was awarded a $28 million firm fixed-price contract for materials, equipment and labor for the construction of the Combat Aviation Brigade airfield apron at Fort Bliss, Texas.

URS Corp. is one of 11 firms selected for an IDIQ contract by the Department of Defense Contract Field Team program to provide depot- and organizational-level inspection, maintenance, modification and repair at operational government locations worldwide.

Western Air Maps Inc. has been awarded an $8 million contract by USACE-Kansas City District for aerial photography, photogrammetry, remote sensing, light detection and ranging, topographic mapping, boundary surveying, hydrographic surveying, and computer-aided design and drafting and geographic information systems services.

Submit Government & Industry News items, with high-resolu-tion (300-dpi) electronic images, to John M. Nank, M.SAME, at [email protected].



Military NewsCompiled by Meighan Altwies, M.SAME

Engineers Partner With Infantry Soldiers to Clear Caches

Locating weapons caches continues to be instrumental to the success of Op-eration Iraqi Freedom. Multi National Division-Baghdad soldiers conducted a weapons cache search on the east bank of the Tigris River near Camp Taji, north-west of Baghdad, Iraq, on Sept. 14.

The mission was conducted by a pla-toon with the 66th Engineer Company along with a squad of infantry soldiers

assigned to the 52nd Infantry Regiment. Joining them were two canine teams from the 34th Military Police Detach-ment, based out of Fort Knox, Ky. This mission was not typical for a platoon from an engineer company whose ma-jor responsibility is extracting impro-vised explosive devices and other ord-nances from tactical routes.

“Normally, we’ll assign a squad to do a cache search with infantry battalions,” said 1st Lt. Darell Coffey, USA, Platoon Leader with the 66th Engineer Company. “They would serve as subject matter experts and bring their mine detectors and have an assigned section to search. But this time, we took our whole platoon out there to do the cache search ourselves.”

The engineer company has incorpo-rated these search missions for a change in mission to avoid complacency and help the infantry battalions.

“Our primary role as engineers is route clearance,” said Staff Sgt. Mat-thew Best, Platoon Sergeant with the 66th Engineer Company. “Every day we clear roads for eight to 10 hours. Our guys need a change of pace, and it also helps the infantry clear more of their battle space of any weapons.”

The engineer soldiers took the cache-clearance mission head-on, overcame many obstacles and learned lessons to apply for future operations.

“You have limited access because of buildings and houses,” Lt. Coffey said. “A lot of vegetation gets in the way, which limits your advance. You have canals you need to cross and dusty weather limits your air assets. But be-cause this was the first mission of its type, we can assess all of these factors and know more fully how to deal with them for next time.”(By Sgt. Whitney Houston, USA, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th In-fantry Division)

Underwater Construction Team Dives into the Arctic

U.S. Navy Seabee divers from Under-water Construction Team (UCT) Two, Air Detachment Alfa in mid-September completed successful diving operations at Thule Air Base, Greenland, the north-ernmost deepwater port in the world.

For 600 military and civilian Thule residents, the work of the UCT in main-taining the port was essential to survival. The port, which is open for only 30 days every year, is a critical supply route for the base and supports its space-supe-riority missions, which include bal-listic missile early warning as well as space surveillance. This year, more than 14-million-gal of fuel was offloaded from two tankers as well as supplies from five cargo ships.

With a timeline of two weeks to set up, complete the mission and pack out, UCT Two divers removed 102 pieces of debris from Thule’s Delong Pier in preparation for the second phase of the project, during which local contractors would dredge the port.

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“The harbor is ice-locked for most of the year, and we knew we had to remove this debris so contractors could start the dredging phase,” said Construction Me-chanic 3rd Class (DV) John K. Monahan.

Above the surface the detachment faced temperatures of -30oF and adapted to 24-hr of daylight; those below the surface faced colder temperatures,

low visibility and responsibility for the removal of debris ranging from large truck tires to 17,000-lb boulders. During the dive, warm water was pumped into each diver’s suit to prevent hypothermia.(Contributed by Mass Communication Specialist Ernesto Hernandez Fonte, USN, 30th Naval Construction Regiment Public Affairs)

Water Purification Projects Save Money and Lives

The leading cause of death for Af-ghan children less than five years of age is diarrhea, often called the “wasting away disease,” which can be linked di-rectly to contaminated water. To make water safe for consumption, two major purification systems are currently be-ing used by the Afghan National Army (ANA).

“Camp Zafar in Herat Province be-came the first camp to use the nano-filtration system, which will serve more than 3,000 troops,” said Capt. Frank Tedeschi, USA, Combined Secu-rity Transition Command-Afghanistan’s (CSTC-A) Installation Operations and Maintenance Director and ANA Advisor. “Before the nano-filter was installed, their water was undrinkable due to sa-linity and high nitrate content.”

The nano-filtration system screens impurities and other harmful organ-isms from the water. The new supply of potable well water eliminates the need for bottled water at Camp Zafar, result-ing in savings of more than $27,000 per month for the ANA. According to Capt. Tedeschi, five other ANA camps are slated to receive the new system.

“The system at Camp Zafar can filter up to 100,000-gal of water daily,” Capt. Tedeschi explained. “With proper treat-ment, we can provide a mix that is ca-pable of doubling the daily base supply to 200,000-gal.”

The other water purification system most often used is the reverse osmo-sis water purification unit (ROWPU). According to Maj. Gregory Anderson, USAF, CSTC-A Program Manager for ANA Garrisons, some ROWPUs have the advantage of going where they are needed most—and fast.

“Mobile ROWPUs are the most ver-satile,” Maj. Anderson said. “We can use them with deployed units out in the field, and they can be set up in a matter of hours.”

In addition to providing safe drink-ing water, Maj. Anderson explained the importance of adequate wastewater treatment. Gravity-fed sewage treat-ment centers utilize a series of cleans-

Military News (continued)

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“For smaller encampments, sep-tic tank containment systems are ad-equate,” Maj. Anderson said. “For larger populations, more sophisticated sys-tems become necessary.” (Contributed by PO1 Douglas Mappin, CSTC-A Public Affairs)

Local Citizens Assist USACE in Afghanistan

Afghanistan’s low road density, mountainous terrain, harsh winters and the presence of enemy forces make it extremely difficult for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) personnel to inspect construction projects and provide quality assurance. With hun-dreds of projects underway in some of the most austere and dangerous locations in the country, USACE must rely on transportation and security

from coalition maneuver units, aerial photographs, or trained local Afghan residents known as Quality Assurance Representatives (QAR) to monitor progress and ensure quality construc-tion on the projects.

In late April, weeks before U.S. Ma-rines and British forces launched an attack on the Taliban in the Village of Garmsir in the Helmand Province, two USACE personnel, Lt. Col. William Jones, USA, and Sgt. Barry Wilson, USA, climbed aboard a Chinook helicopter and flew into the area to inspect an Af-ghan National Police compound that was under construction. After arriving at Forward Operating Base Delhi, the two linked up with British forces for a convoy to the project.

“Garmsir is surrounded by poppy fields and is a stronghold for the Tali-ban,” said Col. Jones. “No one from the Corps of Engineers had ever laid eyes on this project before, so we wanted to

check it out.” The two rode with British forces to the jobsite. During the inspec-tion, they found numerous deficiencies on the project. “There’s an old adage, ‘What’s not inspected is neglected,’ and that was the case here.”

USACE personnel take aerial pho-tographs of remote projects, but one of the best ways to ensure quality on the jobs is to hire QARs to inspect the work and report back.

“The QARs can go into many areas that we cannot,” said Col. Miroslav P. Kurka, USA, Afghanistan Engineer Dis-trict (AED) Commander. “However, they still need to be careful, because the Tali-ban will not hesitate to harm them if they know they are helping the Americans.”

Each QAR is hand-picked and must meet strict criteria to work for USACE. For instance, all QARs must hold a university- or college-level techni-cal degree or equivalent work experi-ence directly related to engineering

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technology; be able to speak and read English, Dari and/or Pashtu; and be able to interpret engineering designs and plans. In addition, each QAR must also pass a USACE-approved contract quality management course and have a computer, cell phone, digital camera and vehicle. These items are provided by an Afghan contracting agency used to recruit workers for USACE.

QARs inspect projects and provide photographs and detailed progress re-ports at least every three days and meet with USACE project engineers a mini-mum of every two weeks. Since June of last year, the QAR program has grown from 37 individuals to 168, and AED plans to have a total of 218 QARs by the end of the year. (Contributed by Bruce J. Huffman, AED Public Affairs)

NAVFAC Team Assesses Hurricane Damage to Bases

A team of 15 civilian and military experts from the Naval Facilities Engi-neering Command (NAVFAC) mobilized in September to Naval Support Activity (NSA) New Orleans and Joint Reserve Base (JRB) New Orleans to assess the effects of hurricane Gustav to Navy in-stallations on the Gulf Coast.

A Contingency Engineering Re-sponse Team (CERT) caravanned from NAVFAC Southeast headquarters in Jacksonville, Fla., and pre-positioned themselves in Pensacola, Fla., to provide rapid assistance once hurricane Gustav came ashore. NSA New Orleans and JRB New Orleans incurred only minor wind damage and no flooding; however, the bases did not reopen to military per-sonnel and their families until base util-ity services and quality-of-life services

are restored, according to Navy Region Southeast.

The team of civilian volunteers, headed by Cmdr. Charlie Willmore, CEC, USN, arrived on scene Sept. 2 and its initial report included some power outages, downed trees, and minor dam-ages to base housing and base perime-ter fencing.

“We are responsible to keep the base running or get the base running after a disaster,” said NAVFAC Southeast Op-erations Officer Capt. Darius Banaji. “Our employees are highly skilled indi-viduals. They will go in and assess the damage and write statements of work to get things back to normal as soon as possible.”

In recent years, NAVFAC has de-ployed damage assessment teams (DAT) composed of structural, electri-cal and mechanical engineers, archi-tects, roofing specialists, community planners and construction contract specialists to offer professional engi-neering and contracting support to installations affected by disasters such as hurricanes. Such support could in-clude restoration of basic installation functions such as opening roadways, sanitation, water, electricity and com-munications to meet an installation’s mission readiness.

During the response to hurricane Gustav, NAVFAC Midwest and NAVFAC Southwest also had CERTs on standby, prepared to respond and provide sup-port with 48-hr notice.(Contributed by Sue Brink, NAVFAC Southeast Public Affairs)

AFMC Receives $50 million for Energy Projects

U.S. Air Force officials recently awarded more than $50 million to Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) offi-cials at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, to fund energy projects under the Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century (AFSO21) initiative.

In response, members of the AFMC Communications, Installations and Mission Support Directorate submitted 80 project proposals for which the new funding could be used.


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“The projects are a combination of initiatives from within AFMC and those from coordination with other energy of-fices,” said Maj. Jack Wheeldon, USAF, the AFMC Infrastructure and Facilities Chief.

Of the 80 project ideas, 30 were sub-mitted for AFSO21 funding and 26 were approved. Another 26 projects were approved under FY10 Energy Program Objective Memorandum funding.

The majority of the approved AFSO21 funding will be used to buy out 15 Energy Savings Performance Con-tracts in which Air Force officials have contracted out a project with the intent to pay off the contractor’s capital invest-ment with that project’s energy savings. However, older or lengthy contracts can carry high interest rates. By buying out these contracts, Air Force officials can avoid further interest costs.

The remaining 11 AFSO21 projects are considered fast payback items, a key requirement to receive AFSO21 funds. To be considered, the projects must be construction with savings that will pay back initial investment costs in less than seven years.

The approved projects range from installing simple money-saving upgrades to the total replacement of conventional systems. For example, one project is to install infrared devices on vending machines. These devices will control the lighted fronts of the machines so they will not turn on until someone steps within their set range of motion. This project’s energy savings will pay off its capital investment in little more than two years, and continue to save the Air Force money thereafter.

Another more complex project involves replacing antiquated steam heating systems with more efficient electric heat pumps that use the earth’s natural thermal properties. This project not only consumes less energy, but also avoids the associated cost of maintaining an older system.

These and the rest of the AFSO21-funded projects will begin to see savings upon the completion of their contracts and construction during FY10. (Contributed by Michelle Eviston, AFMC Public Affairs)

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‘Dirt Boys’ Rock in Deployed Environment

The 380th Air Expeditionary Wing’s “Dirt Boys” rolled out the heavy equip-ment as they received the first of a se-ries of truckloads carrying 10,850 met-ric tons of base course gravel in late September. The 380th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron’s (ECES) heavy repair element would be busy over the following weeks laying the foundation for several construction sites, including a war readiness material (WRM) pad.

Coarse stone is a construction mate-rial used to stabilize the ground beneath concrete or asphalt. It is gradient sand up to 1-in rock. “The rock is angular, so when you roll it with the heavy machinery, it locks into place, unlike round stone,” said Master Sgt. Todd Pallas, USAF, 380th ECES/CEOH Superintendent.

“The WRM pad will be a parking lot for storage trailers containing items we would need in the event we were attacked,” said Sgt. Pallas. The WRM could include any-thing from flak vests and helmets, to shel-ters. “If we were subjected to a chemical attack, we would need new tents to set up a chemical-free environment.”

The WRM pad took about two weeks and 850 metric tons of stone to com-plete. The fraction of coarse stone was put to use for both the pad and a road-way leading to it. The additional 10,000 metric tons will be used for new build-ing sites, roads and repair work to things such as runways and taxiways.(Contributed by Tech Sgt. Denise John-son, 380th Air Expeditionary Wing)

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Technology NewsCompiled by Maj. Paul E. Patterson, P.E., M.SAME, USA

Simulating a HurricaneResearchers in the Department of

Civil and Coastal Engineering at the University of Florida have developed a portable hurricane simulator that allows tests of 1:18-scale models. The simulator uses four 700-horsepower engines to spin eight hydraulic-actuated fans to produce hurricane-force winds. Custom-shaped airfoils discharge water to simulate a wind-driven rain. To control all of the variables in creating hurricane-like conditions, a computer control system is used. The control system handles the wind speed, directionality and water flow to create the proper hurricane-like conditions for a specific test.

The hurricane conditions created by the simulator are modeled from actual analysis of surface data collected by the

Florida Coastal Monitoring Program during tropical storm landfalls. The system can simulate the conditions of a hurricane up to a category 3.

One of the goals of this research is to determine how wind-driven rain pen-etrates structures by getting around doors, windows and other openings in homes even when they remain struc-turally intact.

Based upon the information obtained in the studies, there may be recommen-dations to change building codes as well as materials to prevent large-scale dam-age such as that following hurricane Katrina in 2005. The research program is funded by the National Science Foun-dation Partnership for Advancing Tech-nologies in Housing.

For more information, visit www.ce.ufl.edu.

The U.S. Army Centrifuge Research Center

Researchers at the U.S. Army Centri-fuge Research Center (CRC), located at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Geotech-nical and Structures Laboratory, are using one of the world’s largest centri-fuges to conduct a variety of testing on physical models.

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problems using instrumented physical models. During the period November 2005 through May 2006, CRC was heav-ily involved with efforts pertaining to evaluation of the levees in New Orleans, La., as a consequence of damage suf-fered during hurricane Katrina. This work was part of the overall evaluation effort by the Interagency Performance Evaluation Team (IPET) formed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Physical centrifuge modeling of the failed levee sections at 17th Street Canal, London Avenue Canal and intact sections of Or-leans Canal were modeled.

CRC also significantly enhances the ca-pabilities of researchers to address needs in physical modeling that span the full range of engineering applications, from blast simulations to earthquake studies. The facility is available for use by both gov-ernment and non-government research-ers. For more information, visit www.wes.army.mil/centrifuge/index.html.

Self-Healing CoatingsERDC’s Construction Engineering

Research Laboratory (CERL) has de-veloped a coating capable of repairing itself when damaged.

In 2007, the Army was awarded a patent based on the coating technol-ogy, which is intended primarily for use on steel structures, though similar coat-ing technologies have also been inves-tigated for aluminum and wood struc-tures. The technology involves a liquid coating containing microcapsules. These microcapsules contain several substances; one substance repairs the damaged area while another protects the damaged area from corrosion while the repair film cures. The microcapsules can be mixed with almost any primer, making them compatible with existing coating processes.

For more information, contact Dr. Ashok Kumar, ERDC-CERL, at 217-373-7235, or [email protected].

Inexpensive, Efficient Thermoelectric Conversion

Researchers at the University of Colo-rado at Boulder and the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research have devel-oped a material that will allow electronic devices to self-regulate their temperature and convert excess heat into power. The thermoelectric effect involves the conver-sion of temperature changes to electric charges. There are a broad range of ap-plications in which such materials would have a large impact, such as self-powered sensors and very small unmanned aerial vehicles. Such devices can harvest ther-mal energy from their environment and convert it into an electric charge.

For more information, visit spot.colo-rado.edu/~yangr/.

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Information SharingLearn about existing and future USACE contract opportunities through networking with every USACE division and district.

SUSTAINABILITY • Federal government sustainability initiatives • How small businesses can make contributions • How to do business with USACE

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CONSULTING• When small businesses should use consultants

Partnership OpportunitiesThis year’s conference will feature an expanded networking hall that will enhance participants’ ability to speak directly with representatives from USACE divisions and districts throughout the country and small-, medium- and large-sized companies.

This year, each USACE division will provide a 20-minute briefing focused on small business opportunities.

Enhanced VisibilityGet noticed in the Small Business Networking Directory that will be available on-site and provided to each conference attendee. The Small Business Networking Directory will include valuable information such as:• USACE organizational chart;• Exhibitors’ profiles, which include capabilities, contact information and small business desig-

nations; and• A list of participating small business, including those who aren’t able to exhibit (separate from

the exhibitor profiles), listed in both alphabetical order and by their appropriate small business designation headings (e.g. “Women-owned,” etc.) for east in location specific companies.

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Environment & Energy NewsCompiled by David E. Ott, P.E., M.SAME

Synthetic Jet Fuels Make Progress on Multiple Fronts

The U.S. Air Force Alternative Fuels Certification office recently teamed with Robins Air Force Base, Ga., for the first airborne test of the F-15E Strike Eagle using a 50-50 mix of JP-8 jet fuel and a natural gas-based synthetic fuel, or synfuel. Engineers from the 830th Aircraft Sustainment Group, maintainers with the 561st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and pilots from the 339th Flight Test Squadron all joined in the successful test effort. Air Force engineers said the test demonstrated that the fuel is safe for operational use and does not decrease performance of a high-performance aircraft. The engineers expect the jet to be certified on the synfuel as a result of the test flights, which were performed as part of a directive from the Secretary of the Air Force to certify the entire Air Force fleet on synthetic fuel by 2011. This follows the successful certification earlier this year of the B-52 to use synfuel.

Working in the same renewable energy area, the Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) at the University of North Dakota has achieved a major technical milestone in creating a 100 percent renewable fuel that meets the JP-8 aviation fuel screening criteria. EERC fuel samples created from multiple renewable feedstocks were tested at a U.S.

government facility to evaluate key specification parameters for JP-8, which include parameters such as freeze point, density, flash point and energy content. The EERC fuel was produced under contract with the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD) Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Production is now underway to produce a large fuel sample for engine testing this fall. If successful, the EERC synfuel would provide drop-in-compatible JP-8 fuel from both fossil and renewable feedstocks. (Contributed by U.S. Air Force and EERC)

UCSD Installs Solar Trees in Parking AreaThe University of California at San Diego (UCSD) has

undertaken the installation of “solar trees” on the roof of two of its parking garages. Steel components have already taken shape, forming the framework for solar trees, manufactured by Envision, that will soon be fitted with a canopy of photovoltaic modules to provide clean energy for the campus, shade for vehicle parking, and future infrastructure for electric vehicles.

The UCSD solar grove follows closely the design of the award-winning Kyocera Solar Grove in Kearny Mesa, Calif. The groves are based on the principles of bio-mimicry, the discipline that takes concepts from nature and employs them in architecture. The design of the solar tree is based on natural trees, with trunks and branches supporting a shade canopy. Each solar tree at UCSD will generate more than 17,000-kWh of electricity annually, as well as the option for an outlet for electric vehicle charging. (Contributed by Envision)

Corn Hybrid Polymer Safely Strips PaintDOD facilities could save money when stripping coatings

from delicate surfaces using an environmentally-friendly technique demonstrated recently at the Corpus Christi Army Depot, Texas. Corn hybrid polymer (CHP) dry abrasive blasting safely stripped paint from delicate aircraft parts that

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The Military Engineer l No. 656 35

The Military EngineerRich in Tradition, Right for Today


On Sept. 3, 1901, U.S. War Department General Or-der 117 called for the Army Engineer Bureau’s En-gineer School to move from Willets Point, N.Y., to

the just-named Washington Barracks in the District of Co-lumbia. The school, and the newly-established Army War College, would occupy the former swampland between the Anacostia and Potomac rivers. The school taught engineer-ing subjects, but also photography and printing, and the on-site printing press was used to produce instructional literature as well as the faculty and student publication.

In time, that same press would produce a magazine that for more than a century would keep uniformed and civilian engineers current on the latest news and trends in the field of military engineering.

Professional MemoirsThe Engineer Bureau’s School Board distributed its first

collection of engineering articles on Jan. 18, 1909, under the title Professional Memoirs. The first edition contained five articles covering such topics as light and power switch-boards, demolitions, dredging and an article about the mil-itary resources of the U.S. The edition comprised 74 pages within a heavy paper cover and measured 8-1/2-in by 6-in. This typical book format was selected because it matched the size of Occasional Papers, the school’s faculty and stu-dent publication.

An editorial note included in the first issue stated the purpose of Professional Memoirs:

“This magazine is intended to assist every engineer in the service, to enable him to learn the work and ideas of oth-ers and to present his own… Another purpose is to describe in detail the various engineering problems which are daily being solved around us. No one man can in a lifetime solve

more than a few of the problems confronting us, but by availing ourselves of the solutions made by others who have perhaps been more favored by opportunity or inspiration, we may vastly increase our powers and efficiency.”

Initially, Professional Memoirs was published quarterly, with annual subscriptions available for $5.00 and single copies available for $1.25. Advertising rates were “available on application.” During the next three years, issues contin-ued to encompass a variety of engineering fields, and con-tained more articles per issue and slightly more advertising. The increasing acceptance of the magazine, signaled by the growth in its circulation to 400, prompted the School Board to announce in 1912 that Professional Memoirs would thenceforth be published every two months, that advertis-ing rates would not change and that the subscription price would go down to $3.00 a year.

Professional Memoirs grew considerably during the mid-teen years. Its contents represented most fields of engineer-ing and reflected the broad interests of its readers, in both the U.S. and abroad. The publication’s international reach was due undoubtedly to increasing interaction among military and civilian engineers prompted first by the talk of war and later by the common experiences of military and civilian engineers in Europe.

Following President Woodrow Wilson’s request for a dec-laration of war against Germany in April 1917, Professional Memoirs contained articles centered on building ports, railroads, roads, depots, hospitals and encampments in France, where some 17,000 barracks were erected for troops, stevedores and prisoners, and the hospitals could accommodate 141,000 patients. Such tales of success were plentiful; however, some articles appearing in Professional Memoirs discussed technical failures during the war.

Historical Perspective

By Col. Gordon T. Bratz, USA (Ret.)

TME Celebrates 100th Year in Print

Maj. Paul Stanley Bond, USA

1920 - 1921 1922 1922 - 1929 1929 - 1931 1931 1931 - 1939 1939 1940 1940 - 1947 1947 - 1965 1965 - 1978 1978 - 1990 1990 - 1991 1991 - 2004 2004 - Current

Maj. W.H. Lanagan, USA Capt. Lenox R. Lohr, USA Lt. Col. John N. Hodges, USA

Lt. Col. Harrison Brand, Jr., USA

37

A New SocietyAt war’s end in November 1918, thousands of the some

11,000 officer and 285,000 enlisted engineers who served “over there” began mustering out of the Army.

The 1919 issues of Professional Memoirs continued to cover wartime engineering topics and had considerable support of advertisers. Some articles addressed failures of organization, poor applications of practical and technical knowledge, and generally expressed alarm that the loss of the “technical resources of the country, in both men and material” would have devastating effects on the nation in event of another war.

An editorial in the November-December 1919 issue sig-naled both a lament—“We had a war. We were not ready for it”—and, calling for unity among all branches of the ser-vice, a hope:

“An effort was made to fight the great war…with the ser-vice divided—the Regular Army, the National Guard and the National Army…. They never had a chance at team-play. If these forces drift apart, if advantage is not taken of the cohe-sive spirit that has developed in the services generally, it will be increasingly difficult as time goes on to develop a really national force in times of emergency.

In order to promote esprit de corps and solidarity amongst professional engineers who are interested in the national de-fense, we are endeavoring at this time to form an Association or Society to which all such engineers will be eligible in some grade of membership. Such an organization appears also to be necessary if Professional Memoirs, our only regular me-dium for the exchange of ideas, is to continue to exist.”

On Nov. 1, 1919, Maj. Gen. William M. Black, the acting Chief of Engineers, appointed a nine-member board of of-ficers to examine the formation of an association of engi-neers. After a series of meetings spanning several months, a constitution and bylaws were drafted for a new organi-zation called The Society of American Military Engineers (SAME).

After concluding that neither the title nor the substance of Professional Memoirs adequately informed civilian engi-neers about military engineering, the board authorized the new association to publish a bimonthly periodical called The Military Engineer. The printing press and assets of Pro-fessional Memoirs, valued at about $12,000, were donated to SAME for the newly-created magazine.

The Military Engineer: The Early YearsThe Military Engineer debuted in 1920 with its January-

February issue. Subtitled “The Journal of The Society of American Military Engineers,” the editors announced the magazine thusly:

“With this issue Professional Memoirs in a new form and under a new name enters a new era, on the occasion of its twelfth birthday. It must be an era of greater usefulness than that which has past. We have a more important mission to perform, a larger clientele to whom we must appeal… The aim of this journal is to promote the practical efficiency, the solidarity and the enthusiasm of the engineering profession, in the service of the country. It is not a mere recital of tech-nical methods but a bond of union, sympathy and under-standing between all engineers in civil or military life…”

The first issue of The Military Engineer, printed at Wash-ington Barracks, contained 112 pages and was supported by 13 advertisers. Its masthead carried the motto “Dedi-cated to the National Defense,” and listed an editorial staff, on loan from the Bureau, of three officers led by Managing Editor Maj. Paul. S. Bond, formerly of the staff of Profes-sional Memoirs. The magazine appeared bimonthly, and a one-year subscription, with membership in SAME, was $4.50.

Throughout the 1920s, The Military Engineer carried articles about post-war military and civilian engineering methods and projects, new materials, and government-civil relations written by an increasing array of uniformed and ci-vilian engineers, most of them veterans of World War I who wrote instructive first-hand accounts. The Military Engi-neer also championed membership in the young organiza-tion as both SAME and the magazine reached across the nation. Frequent editorials kept readers abreast of SAME developments.

The magazine’s early success waned with the onset of the Depression. Circulation fluctuated between about 3,800 and 6,500 in the ’30s. Prior to the outbreak of World War II, less than 10 percent of subscribers were in the federal services. However, the war brought a renewed interest in military engineering and military-industry associations, so much so that from September 1941 to January 1949, The Military Engineer was published monthly. By 1944, the magazine boasted more than 26,000 member subscribers and roughly 1,600 non-member subscribers.

1920 - 1921 1922 1922 - 1929 1929 - 1931 1931 1931 - 1939 1939 1940 1940 - 1947 1947 - 1965 1965 - 1978 1978 - 1990 1990 - 1991 1991 - 2004 2004 - Current

Col. William Preston Wooten, USA

Col. William A. Mitchell, USA

Maj. William Bowie Col. J. Franklin Bell Col. Fabius Henry Kohless

The Military Engineer Editors in Chief


Growing UpThe ’50s and ’60s saw articles discussing wartime mili-

tary engineering and weapons development, such as the Manhattan Project, and significantly more articles by ci-vilian engineers. Possibly spurred by SAME’s adoption in 1954 of its Sustaining Member category for private-sector firms, the articles penned by civilians addressed water projects, the housing and land-development boom, bridge and interstate highway construction, and topics related to the nation’s emerging space program. The magazine’s 1958 issues averaged 113 pages, two dozen advertisers and a cir-culation that mirrored that of the 1940s. With the run-up to conflict in Vietnam, circulation reached nearly 31,000 in the early ’60s.

Three years after SAME marked its golden anniversary in 1970, The Military Engineer faced serious publishing prob-lems. Two different press runs were redone due to substan-dard work by the printer, which eventually filed for bank-ruptcy and abruptly stopped the presses mid-production. Still, the magazine averaged 90 pages, circulation held at around 20,000 per issue, and advertising averaged just less than seven pages during the year. Furthermore, none of the problems diminished the quality of the magazine’s articles. During the decade, most themes dealt with combat and military-related engineering in Vietnam and civilian engi-neering and emerging engineering technologies at home. The first four-color cover was published in 1975.

Since its initial press run at Washington Barracks, The Military Engineer and SAME made their home in several locations in Washington, D.C., before settling in 1980 into their current home at historic Century House in Alexan-dria, Va. Throughout the ’80s, the magazine’s circulation hovered between 20,000 and 22,000 and its ad pages in-creased steadily, due principally to gradual growth in Sus-taining Memberships, which numbered nearly 600 in 1980 and rose to 2,635 by Dec. 31, 1989.

Around this time, The Military Engineer began dedicat-ing issues to specific topics. The annual “Red Book” fea-tured articles by the leaders of six military engineering organizations of the federal government. The yearly “Gold Book” contained short profiles of SAME’s Sustaining Mem-ber firms. The annual “White Book” focused on new and emerging technologies and technology transfer programs written by members of the military’s engineering research

and development laboratories. These and the other is-sues were re-titled in the early ’90s to correspond directly to their contents. Most issues focused on a specific theme such as readiness, the environment, etc., and included a column by the Executive Director aimed at the leaders of SAME Posts and their committees.

Changing with the TimesThe ’90s and early years of the 21st century brought sig-

nificant changes for SAME and The Military Engineer. Mili-tary downsizing, base realignments, reduced military bud-gets, new environmental remediation and the economic downturn of the ’90s negatively impacted membership and circulation. These challenges called for swift solutions, and SAME’s four-person Editorial Department reshaped itself into a Communications and Marketing Department. In 1992, the department transitioned from composing the magazine via word processing, which required untimely and costly contracted pre-press services, to in-house desk-top publishing. As a result, articles and ad materials were submitted closer to deadline, opportunities for design and layout creativity were enhanced, greater editorial control and processing speed was realized, and, ultimately, the en-tire magazine was submitted directly to the printer by elec-tronic means.

The staff also encouraged broadening the membership of SAME, acquiring more demographic data about its in-dividual, government and industry members, ascertaining the interests of The Military Engineer readers and modern-izing the SAME database.

The wealth of information available from Sustaining Member firms and government agencies and the improved database resulted in the replacement of The Military Engi-neer’s earlier “Gold Book” issue with the annual Directory of Member Firms and Public Agencies, which first appeared in 1993. The SAME Houston Post’s growing membership among the city’s agencies prompted SAME to formally adopt in 1997 the Public Agency member category, further enlarging the Directory. The profiles of member organiza-tions were enhanced with the addition of NAICS codes, re-vised emergency response codes, additional federal busi-ness categories and other business and contracting data relevant to private- and public-sector contacts. The Direc-tory was posted on the SAME Web site in 2003. Following

1920 - 1921 1922 1922 - 1929 1929 - 1931 1931 1931 - 1939 1939 1940 1940 - 1947 1947 - 1965 1965 - 1978 1978 - 1990 1990 - 1991 1991 - 2004 2004 - Current

Brig. Gen. William C. Hall, USA

John Jerome Kern Lewis H. Blakey, Ph.D. Col. Gordon T. Bratz L. Eileen Erickson


the addition of non-profit organizations to the SAME mem-bership, the publication was ultimately renamed the Direc-tory of Member Companies and Organizations in 2008. The latest edition comprises more than 1,000 corporate profiles and 392 pages.

The Military Engineer’s technology transfer issue, the “White Book,” was found to have the lowest appeal among readers, principally because they wanted technology infor-mation repeatedly. The issue was discontinued in favor of a technology department in every issue of the magazine. Similarly, the addition of public agency members led to replacing The Military Engineer’s annual “Red Book” with two issues: one devoted to the engineering programs of the military services and the other to the engineering programs of the various federal agencies such as the departments of Energy and State as well as the Environmental Protection Agency.

The changes prompted The Military Engineer staff to ask themselves these questions: Who is our reader? What value is the magazine to him or her? A nationwide survey of read-ers by an independent agency in 2001 showed 86 percent of respondents made contracting, budget, or purchasing de-cisions, selected products or services, or established speci-fications. Thirty-four percent rated the magazine in the top two of five categories that gauged its usefulness compared to similar periodicals. Additionally, 75 percent of respon-dents read or looked carefully through three of the latest four issues.

During the past 20 years, the magazine averaged 80 pages in length. In the ’90s, circulation fluctuated between 21,000 and 23,000 while ad sales rose at one point to near $500,000 before dropping to just more than $400,000 in

2001. In 2003, circulation was just short of 22,000 and ad sales closed at $163,000. Since 2004, ad sales have risen steadily each of the following four years to close at more than $1 million in 2008.

Beginning with the 2005 issues, The Military Engineer was available online at www.same.org/TME. Displayed in simple HTML format, the online version contained all the articles from the print version as well as several “on-line only” exclusive features. The Military Engineer Online was open to SAME Members only, although the magazine’s table of contents and the ad index, which featured live links to advertiser’s Web site, were open to the public.

Moving ForwardIn January 2008, in celebration of The Military Engineer’s

100th year in print, a redesigned magazine appeared, both in print and online. The print version was redesigned to present a more open appearance and the title, which served throughout its 100-year history, was reconfigured into the acronym TME.

TME Online, previously formatted in HTML, was re-tooled into an interactive PDF layout that showcases all the articles and advertisements from the print version in their original format. Live links to Web sites and e-mail addresses included in the articles and advertisements are provided for easy access. Most importantly, the site—www.same.org/tme—is open to the general public.

Col. Gordon T. Bratz, USA (Ret.), is former SAME Director of Communications and Marketing and Editor in Chief of The Military Engineer August 1991-March 2004); 434-239-4530, or [email protected].

As TME celebrates its 100th year in print, it is only fitting that we acknowledge the individuals who have made TME a strong, sound and enjoyable

publication. The Editorial Board of the magazine, initi-ated in 2004 and comprised of members of the public and private sectors, has played an instrumental role in the recent success of the magazine by suggesting top-ics and themes for each issue. The Contributing Editors who provide topic-specific news items have been an in-tegral part of TME and its mission to include timely, in-formational news items in an easy-to-read format. The Advertising Sales Representatives who work diligently on behalf of TME have helped make it a million-dollar publication. The SAME Sustaining Member Companies and non-member companies—both large and small businesses—that have found value in advertising in

TME have provided continued financial support. And the SAME staff members of today and yesteryear who worked tirelessly to grow, shape, define and publish TME have been the stewards of the magazine’s evolution.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, our thanks go out to those individuals who have contributed their time and expertise as authors of the myriad articles that have appeared in TME over the years. Without their thoughts, comments and expertise, TME would not exist. These au-thors truly are the backbone of this amazing magazine.

Thank you all for making TME a magazine that is rich in traditon and right for today.

L. Eileen EricksonEditor in Chief

2004-Present

In Retrospect

40The Military Engineer l No. 656

“Being a professional means being an active member of one’s professional organizations. By active I mean reading their publications and attending their meetings and events. From the time I was a lieutenant through

my tenure as Chief of Engineers and Commander of the Corps of Engineers, I’ve used TME to stay abreast of the activities of other military engineering organizations and to impart practical engineering lessons. The

magazine is the most important national communications vehicle for American military engineers.” Lt. Gen. Hank Hatch, P.E., F.SAME, USA (Ret.), former SAME President

“The Military Engineer was—and is—the prime educational tool of military engineering. While it has changed dramatically over the years to accommodate the changing techniques and technological

developments that have occurred in nearly all aspects of military and civil-sector engineering, it hasn’t wavered from serving our members and supporting our motto, ‘Dedicated to the National Defense.’”

Brig. Gen. Walt Bachus, P.E., F.SAME, USA (Ret.), former SAME Executive Director

“As a former president of SAME, The Military Engineer was the means by which I could communicate the strategic plan and annual goals of my tenure and learn more about the latest engineering capabilities

and the names of key personnel in our Sustaining Member firms. Now, in my role in higher education, I pass my copies of The Military Engineer around to our staff. It doesn’t surprise me that they routinely comment

positively on its contents.” Rear Adm. Michael Johnson, P.E., CEC, F.SAME, USN (Ret.),

Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities, University of Arkansas, former SAME President

“TME was instrumental in helping me transition from the Navy to the private sector. It has since given me a better understanding of the roles of the different DOD engineering entities that my company serves.”

Matt Metcalf, Program Manager, AMEC, SAME Young Member

“I wrote an article for TME because I believe we professionals should share our experience and knowledge, and because the subject was important but not yet fully understood in the DOD community. I was honored

to receive SAME’s Toulmin Award for the article; it is one more way that SAME acknowledges the work of volunteer members.”

Larry D. Walker, Group Vice President, The Louis Berger Group Inc.

“TME is the best publication to get a sense of the pulse of the industry and military community. We at Burns & McDonnell have a long-standing relationship of advertising in TME because it is the most effective and

efficient method of communicating with our military clients and potential clients.”Randy Pope, Associate Vice President, Burns & McDonnell

Praise forThe Military Engineer

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previously required hand sanding or chemical removal. CHP is a crystallized cornstarch that is organic, nontoxic and biodegradable. It removes coatings much faster and is safer for users than traditional stripping methods, according to tests. CHP, propelled by low-pressure air (20-psi to 35-psi), flows like plastic bead media and can directly replace plastic beads in commercially available blast systems.

CHP also is environmentally safe and can be reused numerous times. When spent CHP no longer works as an abrasive, it can be separated from the removed coating and classified for reuse or disposal. In addition, CHP can be reprocessed into a hazardous material absorbent for spill cleanup and reused before disposal. (Contributed by U.S. Army Environmen-tal Command Technology Branch)

Robins AFB Tests Fuel Cells for Forklifts

The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) recently kicked off a forklift fuel cell pilot project at the Defense Depot Warner Robins, Ga., as part of an effort to find alternative energy sources and reduce America’s growing dependence on energy imports. The pilot will demonstrate the use of hydrogen fuel cells in forklifts that move vital supplies daily in support of the warfighter.

Concurrent Technologies Corp. (CTC) is the lead contractor for the two-year demonstration program, which includes the retrofitting of 20 forklifts. A mobile refueling station using natural gas will refuel the forklifts for daily warehouse operations. Air Products and Chemicals Inc. and Hydrogenics are assisting in the retrofit process, which will replace the traditional batteries with hydrogen fuel cells.

One immediate operational benefit will be the elimination of the need to recharge batteries. The natural gas reformer, hydrogen fueling station system and dispensing module is 15-ft by 18-ft and will produce up to 2,000-ft3/hr of hydrogen.(Contributed by Lanorris Askew, 78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs, Robins AFB)

Highways and Parking Lots Researched for Solar Collection

A research team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Mass., has found a way to use the heat-soaking property of asphalt as an alternative energy source. Through asphalt, researchers are developing a solar collector that could turn roads and parking lots into ubiquitous, inexpensive sources of electricity and hot water.

The study looked at how well asphalt can collect solar energy, and examined the best way to construct roads and parking lots to maximize their heat-absorbing qualities. The research team studied the energy-generating poten-tial of asphalt using computer models and by conducting small- and large-scale tests.

The tests were conducted on slabs of asphalt in which thermocouples and copper pipes were imbedded to measure heat penetration and gauge how well heat could be transferred to flowing water. Small slabs were exposed to halogen lamps in the lab, simulating sunlight. Larger slabs were set up outdoors and exposed to more realistic environmental conditions, including direct sunlight and wind. The tests showed that asphalt absorbs a considerable amount of heat and that the highest temperatures are found a few centimeters below the surface, where a heat exchanger would be located to extract the maximum amount of energy.

Experimenting with various asphalt compositions, researchers found that the addition of highly-conductive aggregates, like quartzite, can significantly increase heat absorption, as can the application of a special paint that reduces reflection. Finally, the team concluded that the key to successfully turning asphalt into an effective energy generator is replacing the copper pipes used in the tests with a specially-designed, highly-efficient heat exchanger that soaks up the maximum amount of the heat absorbed by asphalt. (Contributed by WPI)

Environment & Energy News (continued)

ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT PROJECT CONTROLS

Program/Construction ManagementProject Controls (Cost/Schedule)Engineering DesignConstructibility ReviewDisputes Resolution

ALPHACORPORATIONENGINEERING EXCELLENCE CONSTRUCTION QUALITY PROFESSIONAL INTEGRITY

Serving the Departments of the Army, Navy and Air Force, the Marine Corps and the United

States Coast Guard since 1979.

Washington DC Post 2008 Sustaining Member of the Year

www.alphacorporation.com


EPA Issues Advance Notice to Regulate Greenhouse Gases

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued an advance no-tice of proposed rulemaking addressing regulation of greenhouse gases (GHG) under the Clean Air Act. The advance notice is one step EPA has taken in re-sponse to the Supreme Court decision Massachusetts v. EPA.

EPA is requesting comments to gather information and to determine how to proceed. In addition, EPA is requesting comments on regulating GHG emis-sions from ships, aircraft and non-road vehicles such as farm and construction equipment. Comments are due Nov. 28, 2008. The Clean Air Act Services Steer-ing Committee will be submitting com-ments on behalf of DOD.

For more information, contact Larry Webber, U.S. Army Environmental Cen-ter, at 410-436-1231. An EPA fact sheet on the advance notice is available at www.epa.gov/epahome/anprfs.htm. The notice is available at www.epa.gov/epahome/pdf/anpr20080711.pdf.

Mining Techniques Used to Clean Shooting Range

In a landmark project, the Oregon National Guard is relying on gold min-ing technology to restore the land at a century-old shooting range on Camp Withycombe, Ore., one of the oldest DOD rifle ranges in the western United States. Until the late 1990s, the range had been used as a training site for hun-dreds of troops and police officers from around the area. Nearly 300-T of bullets containing lead ended up in the land, creating a potential environmental con-cern that needed to be addressed.

The Oregon Military Department contracted with AMEC Earth and En-vironmental and coordinated with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to perform the soil remedia-tion. During the soil washing process, contaminated soil is taken through a machine that screens the bullets out of the soil. The soil is then washed through another machine and the bullets are dropped into a bag, making a piles of bagged bullets and clean soil. All ord-nance was safely disposed of on site.

Throughout the process, nearly 14,000-T of soil has been cleaned and about 300-T of bullets were recovered. The bullets will be recycled and the soil will be reused.(Contributed by Kim Lippert, Oregon National Guard)

Submit Environment & Energy News items, with high-resolution (300-dpi) electronic images to David E. Ott, P.E., M.SAME, at [email protected].

Environment & Energy News (continued)

Mark your calendar

Joint Engineer Training Conference & Expo

May 12-15 , 2009 • Salt Lake City, Utah

Sponsorships and exhibit registration is now open! Hurry...Prime opportunities are going fast.

www.same.org/JETC

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The Navy will experience both enormous challenges and great opportunities in the next few years. Today, NAVFAC must be innovative, responsive and sufficiently agile to stay ahead of an ever-changing environment.

Leader Profile

Joseph E. Gott, P.E., SES

Q: What do you see as your primary goals as the NAVFAC Chief Engineer and Director of Capital Improvements?

The U.S. Navy will experience both enormous challenges and great oppor-tunities in the next few years. As our Chief of Naval Operations said recently in discussing the new Maritime Strategy, the demand for the Navy is high and we will work to service the nation’s interests, from maritime security and humanitar-ian assistance to power projection and deterrence. As such, NAVFAC’s current pace and volume of work are unprece-dented. Today, NAVFAC must be innova-tive, responsive and sufficiently agile to stay ahead of an ever-changing environ-ment.

As an engineering systems command, the NAVFAC engineering community serves as the Navy’s engineering and technical experts. Our mission is to de-liver timely, innovative and technology-leveraged solutions and advice that, through professional and lifecycle man-agement, meet our clients’ operational and quality-of-service requirements.

I have made engineering community management one of my primary goals. As we face new global challenges, it is imperative that we improve our talents and capabilities, ensuring design and en-gineering competencies in order to con-tribute to the Navy and U.S. Marine Corps mission. We have established policy for professional licensing of engineers and

architects in support of the Navy in all matters related to planning, engineer-ing, design, construction, maintenance and operation of shore-based facilities.

In addition to community manage-ment, I have identified several other essential areas vital to success of the Chief Engineer’s office and the Capital Improvements (CI) business line. Facili-ties engineering and construction is our business, and being able to monitor the success of design and construction is critical. I am resolute about metrics that allow NAVFAC to make management de-cisions to improve where needed.

Further, a thoughtful and planned ac-quisition strategy that will facilitate and ensure successful completion of proj-ects is vital for NAVFAC. In the simplest terms, an acquisition strategy delineates the means and methods that the project team develops in order to successfully navigate from an initial need to a com-pleted facility. This includes a facility project that is fully planned, budgeted, programmed, designed, constructed and equipped, ready for immediate oc-cupancy by the military customer or user.

Many challenges face a project team in the development of an acquisition strategy. The biggest and most consis-tent challenge is budgetary. In February 2007, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy chartered a team to produce an improved process that results in less variation between Funds Required (FR) and Funds Available (FA), while deliver-

The Chief Engineer and Director of Capital Improvements of the Naval Facilities Engineering

Command (NAVFAC) discusses the future of project delivery, building information modeling and

environmental design in the U.S. Navy.

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ing 100 percent of the required and ap-proved scope of our military construc-tion projects. The multi-service Facility Pricing Team used the Lean Six Sigma methodology and identified the prob-lems associated with the FR/FA ratio. The team found the Department of Defense Facility Pricing Guide (i.e. guidance unit costs) did not significantly contribute to pricing problems and identified fluctua-tion in market conditions and regional costs as the real contributing factors. The final report was issued in December 2007 and makes several recommenda-tions currently being considered by the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

I intend to issue an acquisition strat-egy document in the near future that will consistently support the delivery of NAVFAC’s CI business line products and services by our Facilities Engineering Commands and Public Works Depart-ments.

Q: NAVFAC has stated that design-build is a preferred delivery method for military construction projects. How do you feel about the progress NAVFAC and industry have made in using design-build?

Design-build has been NAVFAC’s pre-ferred construction project delivery sys-tem for a number of years. Our current design-build policy is to accomplish 75 percent of our military construction workload through design-build and 25 percent by design-bid-build. Our 2008 design-build rate exceeds our 75 per-cent goal by 8 percent, for a total of 83 percent. This is due to the significant execution challenge that NAVFAC has faced with a robust military construc-tion and Base Realignment and Closure program combined with the Marine Corps Grow the Force initiatives. This trend may continue into 2009 due to the heavy workload, though we plan to bring this breakout closer to the 75 per-cent/25 percent goal in the future.

NAVFAC, with support from industry, has made significant progress in improv-

ing our design-build delivery vehicle. To enable consistent processes across the enterprise, NAVFAC has developed several outstanding Web-based design-build tools, such as the NAVFAC Design-Build Master (NDBM), which can be found at www.wbdg.org/ndbm on the Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG).

The NDBM and WBDG provide de-sign-build information and useful links to assist NAVFAC professionals and our business partners to best leverage de-sign-build delivery. The NDBM Web site will be updated in spring 2009 to offer more information in a user-friendly for-mat. In addition to NDBM, NAVFAC has an internal Web-based tool to provide the steps in the NAVFAC processes. The Business Management System includes guidance for the application of perfor-mance-based design-build acquisi-tion, and is updated frequently to keep pace consistent with industry, lessons learned and process improvements.

NAVFAC uses four design-build pro-cesses to develop, award and admin-ister design-build construction con-tracts: standard design-build, which is typically used in standalone contracts; multiple award construction contract (MACC), typically used for MACC task orders; single-source, negotiated-scope design-build, used for single-source contracts; and small project processes, which use a scaled-down template to efficiently and economically deliver small, simple projects.

One example of our process improve-ment initiatives allows for construction to proceed concurrently with govern-ment’s review and approval of the sub-mitted final design. The final design submission must have been signed and sealed by the contractor’s Designer-of-Record. In addition, our solicitation strongly encourages shop drawing type information be provided on the design drawing, thereby eliminating the need for some construction submittals. We are continuing to explore new ways to make the NAVFAC design-build process more efficient and effective.

Q: There is growing support for building information modeling (BIM) systems among architects, engineers and construction companies. What is NAVFAC’s interest in BIM for its construction programs? What are some impediments to adopting BIM?

Delivering the right information to fa-cilities’ operations, maintenance and as-set management functions, which com-prise a majority of the cost to owners, is critical. NAVFAC is currently developing a roadmap for implementing BIM with support from the tri-service CAD/BIM Technology Center at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center. This roadmap will provide guid-ance in the development and use of BIM across the lifecycle of our facilities, with a focus on operations and maintenance, facility management, and asset manage-ment. Our BIM solution will facilitate process improvements in the exchange of information throughout the lifecycle. This will include planning and program-ming requirements, design of facilities with complex energy and building sys-tems integration, ability to detect sys-tems conflicts before construction, and precision and optimization of resources. Our concept for BIM will provide read-ily-usable data on systems operations embedded in management software. It also will provide optimal energy and ser-vices management information.

Of course there are impediments we must overcome. Change is difficult, and it takes time and resources. BIM tech-nology is relatively new, and the major-ity of our contractors are not yet using it. Training is an issue. What designers and engineers know about CAD does not transfer readily to BIM development. In addition, competing software prod-ucts are frequently not interoperable, so choosing one may not integrate with the software of a chosen contractor. We are certainly looking to our industry and professional association partners to ad-dress these concerns and impediments with us.


Q: The military services are lean-ing forward to adopt best practices for sustainable design and construc-tion. What is NAVFAC doing to incorporate sustainable design in its programs?

We can significantly improve energy and environmental management to save taxpayer dollars while reducing waste, emissions and environmental impacts that contribute to pollution. NAVFAC is committed to designing, constructing and operating facilities that are energy and water efficient, and to promoting healthful, productive environments in which sailors, marines, civilians and contractors can live and work. The adoption of sustainable design and de-velopment practices will ensure the low-est facility lifecycle cost to our nation’s taxpayers, and promote greater energy security.

I have signed several “Engineering and Construction Bulletins” requiring new construction and major renovation projects to meet improved energy and environmental goals. All 2010 projects

are required to achieve certification at the silver level of performance as de-fined by the U.S. Green Building Coun-cil’s Leadership in Energy and Environ-mental Design standards. In addition, all projects for FY09 for new buildings and major renovations in which the work ex-ceeds 50 percent of the building’s plant replacement value must comply with the Energy Policy Act of 2005 require-ments, regardless of fund source, build-ing size, location, or temporary nature.

We are currently developing policy on implementation of the Energy Inde-pendence and Security Act of 2007. An Engineering and Construction Bulletin should be issued this spring with the new requirements.

Q: What do you see as the role of professional societies, such as SAME, in supporting the professional development of NAVFAC personnel, both military and civilian?

Professional societies provide strong professional ties for our facilities engi-neers and act as a sounding board for

us on engineering innovation. We look to professional societies to provide edu-cation on new and innovative methods for providing our NAVFAC products and services. We strive to maintain a well-trained workforce with the technical competencies to provide the best pos-sible facilities to the Navy and Marine Corps, and we rely on professional or-ganizations to provide non-government related training.

These organizations are our bench-marking partners. In affiliation with our benchmarking partners, we can learn from members in the organizations, enabling us to minimize expense as we share innovative best practices and les-sons learned. The forums and confer-ences these organizations host allow our engineering professionals to learn through presentations and lectures, re-turning to their government positions with new knowledge. Such professional societies can provide quality partner-ships to solve specific problems, to im-prove the facilities engineering commu-nity and to improve how we do business in government.


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FAC

Joseph E. Gott, P.E., SES, serves as the Naval Facilities Engineering Command’s (NAVFAC) Chief Engineer and Director of Capital Improvements. As the Chief Engineer, he is the senior technical ad-visor for the Commander, NAVFAC, with respect to all engineering issues. As the Director of Capital Improvements, he is responsible for design and construction services for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and other federal agencies, over-seeing a $5 billion annual budget. Dur-ing his 27-year civil service career, Gott has served NAVFAC as well as the Na-tional Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. He entered the Senior Executive Service in April 2008.

Joseph E. Gott, P.E., SES


Anyone who has driven on Inter-state 5 between San Diego and Los Angeles, Calif., has seen a

remarkable stretch of 17 undeveloped miles along the Pacific Coast. The stew-ard of this pristine coastline and rugged mountain interior of more than 125,000 acres is Marine Corps Base Camp Pend-leton. In addition to being the home of the First Marine Expeditionary Force, the base contains breathtaking scenery, abundant plants and wildlife, and frag-ile ecosystems.

With an average daytime population of 60,000 and a permanent population of nearly 41,000 service members and their dependants, this unique military environment provides the backdrop for an innovative and successful Department of Defense (DOD) contract tool, the Design-Build-Operate-Main-tain (DBOM) method.

In recent years, Camp Pendleton has been shaped by rapid population growth and increasing urbanization

and development in surrounding areas. Consequences of these trends include a decrease and displacement of agricultural acreage and open spaces, an increase in habitat fragmentation and isolation, an increase in the number of native and endemic species and habitats that are becoming threatened, and increased stresses on utilities. The base is responsible for 7,300 housing units, more than 2,600 buildings and structures, and utility systems comprising seven sewage treatment plants, 150-mi of sewer mainlines, 24 water wells, 375-mi of water mainlines, 23 reservoirs, 145-mi of natural gas lines, 335-mi of electrical lines, 215 electric substations and two landfills.

In the late 1990s, base leaders realized that to accomplish realistic training and base support missions in harmony with the natural environment, a comprehen-sive plan was needed to ensure future utility needs and stringent federal and state regulatory requirements could be

met. In partnership with the Southwest Region of the Naval Facilities Engi-neering Command (NAVFAC), regional groups and other federal agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Marine Fisheries Service, Camp Pendleton leaders developed a wide variety of management initiatives. These included the rapid determina-tion of specific requirements for im-provements in water, wastewater and environmental facilities and infrastruc-ture. This action formed the nexus of NAVFAC’s first-ever $260 million capac-ity DBOM indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract, awarded in 2004, for these activities.

The DBOM Acquisition MethodThe DBOM acquisition method as-

signs the facility design, construction, operations and maintenance to a single team for a specified period of time. At the end of that time period, the facility

By Col. Bob Davis, P.E., F.SAME, USA (Ret.)

Utilizing DBOM

The design-build construction at Camp Pendleton included numerous buildings, such as the Southern Region Tertiary Treatment Plant, as well as storage facilities, in-ground process equipment and a new comprehensive supervisory control and data acquisition system.


is returned to the owner. Utility facili-ties and infrastructure projects are ideal for DBOM, as the owner may not have the resources to take responsibility for follow-on operations and maintenance immediately after construction is com-pleted.

Combining design-build construc-tion with the operations and mainte-nance tail is an increasingly popular method of project delivery, especially for public projects such as mass transit, high-technology transportation, water production and wastewater treatment, and power generation. In contrast to turnkey construction, the DBOM contractor is involved throughout the project lifecycle, beyond the initial commissioning. During the operations and maintenance phases of a project, DBOM firms are often paid revenues (such as user fees) generated by the project.

Within the federal government, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Ef-

ficiency Act of 1991 introduced DBOM to the transit industry as a program to determine if the process could save time, reduce costs and introduce new technologies. (Results are documented in the October 1998 report to Congress, Turnkey Experience in American Public Transit.)

Interest in DBOM is now growing at the federal, state and local levels be-cause it allows public entities to deliver large infrastructure projects that could not previously be programmed and funded. It appeals to public authorities because it allows the procurement of large-scale projects without an imme-diate requirement for public funds.

A DBOM team often comprises vari-ous firms that plan, design, engineer, finance, build, operate and maintain a project. The DBOM team takes on these broad, long-term responsibilities for the project in return for compensation that is based on the “payback period.” In many instances, the duration of the

contract period is that period of time that the owner requires in order to com-pensate the DBOM contractor accord-ing to an affordable payment schedule.

Public entities also perceive DBOM as a way to manage the risks of developing large and complex infrastructure proj-ects. Many of these risks, particularly cost overruns, are shifted to the DBOM contractor by the public owner. The risks of operating and maintaining the proj-ect also are minimized for the owner be-cause the DBOM team must operate the project that they constructed. In an era of highly constrained DOD funding for operations and maintenance, DBOM contracts also can serve as an interme-diate step prior to full privatization of utilities, either to the DBOM contractor or other entities.

DBOM at Camp PendletonIn concert with Camp Pendleton’s

comprehensive plan, base leaders em-barked on a DBOM pilot program with

Photos courtesy CDM

The Design-Build-Operate-Maintain (DBOM) acquisition method offers a unique opportunity for recapitalizing federal facilities and infrastructure.



NAVFAC Southwest to enhance overall operability and reliability of the base water and wastewater infrastructure. Thanks to a unique government and industry partnership among NAVFAC, Camp Pendleton and CDM, this land-mark five-year, $260 million program is delivering flexible, reliable, safe and easy-to-operate facilities that are help-ing create a cleaner coastal environ-ment and helping Camp Pendleton achieve the rigorous federal and state compliance standards.

The range of DBOM services in the contract includes feasibility and con-cept studies; development of designs, plans, specifications and cost estimates; self-performed construction and con-struction management; environmen-tal compliance support; and follow-on operations and maintenance support. The scope of work includes numerous buildings, roads, parking areas, land-scaped features, utilities and process equipment.

The significant aspects of the con-tract include:• fast-track design and rapid mobi-

lization on simultaneous projects from notice to proceed to same-day project start;

• early-start and fast-track schedule coordination on multiple projects ranging from $500,000 to $48.8 mil-lion each;

• accommodation of unique cultural resources and environmental chal-lenges, including endangered spe-cies and American Indian artifacts;

• close coordination with base and

NAVFAC Southwest leaders to avoid construction impacts on military training; and

• inclusion of low-maintenance com-ponents and appurtenances in each project to minimize lifecycle costs.

The cornerstone project of the DBOM contract is the 5-million-gal/day South-ern Region Tertiary Treatment Plant (SRTTP), which consolidates five out-dated sewage treatment facilities. Deliv-ered through a fast-track design-build process, this state-of-the-art plant uses sequencing batch reactor technology, uniquely combining performance and flexibility in a space-constrained parcel of land to meet flow variations; applies best technologies for nutrient removal; and reclaims effluent for base reuse.

The DBOM contract also allows CDM to rehabilitate related facilities and infrastructure through program management and hands-on design, construction and operations services. These additional tasks include more than a dozen other projects, including new water supply facilities, wastewater conveyance systems and a distribu-tion network that will ultimately sup-ply reclaimed water for irrigation and groundwater recharge in late 2008 and early 2009.

External appearance and aesthet-ics were important components of the SRTTP project due to the high visibility of many of the facilities on the project. Interstate 5 runs less than a mile west of the plant and is at an elevation that gives passersby a bird’s-eye view of the Camp Pendleton facilities. CDM’s de-

sign addressed the aesthetic concerns with simple and cost-effective solu-tions resulting in low-profile buildings oriented to create minimal visual dis-ruption.

Eighteen threatened or endangered species are either found on Camp Pend-leton or transit the base, and the pres-ence of the gnatcatcher, a federally-pro-tected endangered species, impacted the allowable period for the SRTTP con-struction. CDM mitigated this chal-lenge by conducting a noise survey in the immediate area of the construction. Survey results confirmed that the deci-bel level from traffic on the main ac-cess road presented more noise impact than the actual construction. CDM and NAVFAC Southwest teamed with U.S. Fish and Wildlife leaders and estab-lished an exclusion zone around the gnatcatcher nesting area to reduce im-pacts. This resulted in the production of healthy offspring with no adverse im-pact to the construction schedule.

Unqualified SuccessUse of the DBOM acquisition method

has been an unqualified success at Camp Pendleton. Using creative collaboration and communication approaches that integrated multidisciplinary stakeholder interests with CDM’s technical exper-tise, pre-design, design and initial con-struction occurred concurrently with site work beginning just seven months following contract award.

As an integrated design-build firm, CDM has continuously completed fast-track DBOM delivery orders on time and within budget. In addition to the $43.5 million SRTTP task order awarded in July 2004, a $48.8 million wastewater conveyance system project was awarded in February 2006. The “operate-main-tain” portion of the DBOM contract has enabled Camp Pendleton to transfer op-eration and maintenance of these sys-tems to CDM and has helped the base accommodate its continued growth without significant impact to base mili-tary operations or the area’s abundant wildlife and natural resources.

Col. Bob Davis, P.E., F.SAME, USA (Ret.), is DOD Strategy Leader, CDM Federal Programs Corp.; 703-814-7338, or [email protected].

Pre-design, design and initial construction at the Southern Region Tertiary Treatment Plant at Camp Pendleton, Calif., occurred concurrently with site work, beginning just seven months following contract award. There were no lost-time incidents during more than 220,000 labor hours.



Integrated Design-Bid-Build

By Christopher Augsburger

The road to meeting the challenges of an unprecedented $7.1 billion military construction program

weaves through fields of innovation, ingenuity and cooperation. Paving the way is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Baltimore District—the geopo-litical capital of the 2005 Base Realign-ment and Closure (BRAC) mission.

Within Baltimore District’s area of re-sponsibility sits Fort Belvoir, Va., owner of more than $3.4 billion of BRAC and legacy military construction projects. Just north of Fort Belvoir, across the Potomac River, is an additional $3.7 bil-lion in military construction and BRAC projects shared among Maryland’s Fort Detrick, Fort Meade and Aberdeen Prov-ing Ground, as well as an assortment of smaller projects within the Baltimore District boundaries.

Fort Belvoir missions include the construction of a $1.7 billion home for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), a new $806 million community hospital, a $1 billion Wash-ington Headquarters Service facility, approximately $192 million worth of infrastructure projects and $55 million in other legacy military construction projects.

With these challenges in size, cost and timeline (each project must be completed by Sept. 15, 2011), USACE was required to develop and execute a comprehensive and revolutionary battle plan. In July 2006, Jim Jones, Bal-timore District’s Deputy for Program Management, asked his counterparts for more resources that would enable the Baltimore District to effectively per-form all necessary command, control and management functions critical to the success of these projects.

Guidance and support came from Baltimore District’s higher headquar-ters, USACE North Atlantic Division. The cooperative solution entailed assigning some of the largest projects within the Baltimore District footprint to other districts in the region. USACE New York, Norfolk, New England and Philadelphia districts each were assigned complete responsibility for a major project either at Fort Belvoir or at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., while the Europe District was charged with providing valuable ongoing BRAC project support.

USACE-Baltimore District is using teamwork, innovation and ingenuity to meet its considerable BRAC 2005 requirements.

The main office building at the new National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency campus at Fort Belvoir, Va., is a 2-million-ft2, 1,000-ft-long, eight-story structure oriented around a large central atrium space.

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Unique Contracting and Construction

At the epicenter of the USACE BRAC 2005 mission is the design and con-struction of the NGA campus at Fort Belvoir’s Engineering Proving Grounds. Named by NGA the New Campus East (NCE), this 2.4-million-ft2 facility repre-sents one of the largest military design and construction programs ever under-taken by USACE.

The master plan for NCE features a 2-million-ft2, 1,000-ft-long, eight-story main office building oriented around a large central atrium space. Other com-ponents of the campus include a tech-nology center, central utilities plant, visitor control center and remote in-spection facility. Support facilities in-clude structured and surface parking for 5,100 vehicles. Site infrastructure improvements will include connecting roads, bridges, utility infrastructure, landscape and hardscape. When com-plete, the NCE facility will support ap-proximately 8,500 NGA employees.

USACE awarded a design contract to the joint venture RTKL/Kling Stub-bins in March 2006, and construction was awarded to the joint venture Clark/Balfour Beatty-NGA in August 2007 with construction beginning November 2007.

In the case of NGA, USACE is execut-ing a unique contracting and construc-tion method called Integrated Design-Bid-Build (IDBB) specifically approved as a pilot for this project. IDBB facili-tates more input from the constructor during the design process, allowing the team to adapt to market conditions and the constructor’s expertise with means and methods. IDBB also accommo-dates fast-tracking, and it was deemed the only way the project could hope to meet the BRAC-mandated completion date. After a year, the project design is about 70 percent complete and con-struction is more than 10 percent fin-ished.

Building From the Bottom UpBaltimore District began placing

concrete into the first of hundreds of 6-ft- to 8-ft-diameter, 25-ft-deep drilled piers in January 2008, marking the be-ginning of significant construction ac-

tivities on the NGA project. As crews initiated earthwork operations with multiple teams of excavators and haul-ing trucks to prepare 130 acres of Fort Belvoir’s Engineering Proving Grounds (EPG), USACE officials began execut-ing logistics plans to accommodate the construction workforce and equipment required to complete the campus by September 2011. The logistics plan in-cludes management of increased traf-fic in and around EPG and Fort Belvoir during construction activities as well as working with the garrison to manage traffic around road closures.

Aside from the vertical construction components of the mission, USACE also has addressed hazardous mate-rial and other environmental concerns on EPG, such as removing subsurface ordnance and explosives left from sol-dier training missions once executed on the tract of land. Additionally, USACE worked closely with the garrison, the community and local governments to meet National Environmental Protec-tion Act requirements, develop wetland mitigation plans and work to protect the sensitive riparian corridor along Ac-cotink Creek. Baltimore District contin-ues to work closely with the installation and other districts responsible for other BRAC projects to mitigate impacts to traffic by tractors, cranes and other construction equipment.

Building for TomorrowIn 1998, the U.S. Army embraced

Leadership in Energy and Environmen-tal Design (LEED), developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), as its new standard in environmental stewardship. Due to the reorganizing of many military installations as part of BRAC—including the $7.1 billion worth of work for the North Atlantic Di-vision—the LEED concept is becoming more important with increasing oppor-tunities throughout the region.

LEED is being implemented for new NGA facilities at Fort Belvoir through the use of low-emitting materials such as paint and carpet and the reduc-tion of water use through the inclu-sion of low-flow, low-flush features in the design. Additionally, the new Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, a BRAC

project managed by USACE-Norfolk District, is embracing the LEED concept by using construction practices that promote environmental sustainability, including recycling construction waste and specifying building materials that are regional, contain recycled content and comply with volatile organic com-pounds limits established by USGBC.

“Sustainable design and construc-tion practices will contribute not only to improved building performance, but will also promote a healthy indoor en-vironment so crucial in healthcare fa-cilities,” said Lidia Berger, Sustainable Project Manager with HDR/Dewberry Joint Venture, the design team for the hospital. “Sustainable features such as access to natural light and views, low-emitting products, improved thermal control and high-performance lighting will benefit the building’s occupants by creating a comfortable and safer work-ing environment.”

USACE-Philadelphia District is de-signing the Command, Control, Com-munications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) Center of Excellence at Ab-erdeen Proving Ground. This project is a series of technological research and development facilities that will imple-ment several LEED features, such as geothermal renewable resources, green roofing and preferred parking for fuel-efficient vehicles and carpools.

LEED has become the premier de-sign concept for military construction projects worldwide. Beginning in FY08, USACE required all vertical construc-tion projects with climate-controlled facilities to achieve a LEED Silver rating for new construction (NC). Several dis-tricts currently use LEED-NC for many of their projects. The Fort Belvoir Com-munity Hospital is using LEED-NC and major renovations version as an inte-grated design approach while creating a workplace that is environmentally friendly and energy-efficient.

Christopher Augsburger is Public Affairs Specialist, Baltimore District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; 410-962-7522, or [email protected].



Joint Program Management for BRAC

By Brian Dwyer

The mission of the San Antonio BRAC Program is unique in many ways—including extensive collaboration of the Army, Navy and Air Force.

The San Antonio Base Realign-ment and Closure (BRAC) Pro-gram will produce several un-

precedented facilities by the time it concludes, including the largest medi-cal education and training institution of its kind in the world; the largest in-patient medical facility and ambulatory outpatient clinic in the Department of Defense (DOD); and an 80,000-ft2 din-ing hall that is larger than any similar structure in the U.S. Army’s inventory. These facilities represent the corner-stones of a massive construction and renovation effort that encompasses more than $3 billion of BRAC and re-lated military construction projects. They include roughly 180 major and minor structures that amount to ap-proximately 10-million-ft2 of space.

Beyond its size and scope, the program presents other unusual challenges. Sev-eral projects are related to the consoli-dation of medical training and research missions associated with the Army, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy. Coordination among all three branches is essential

to completing the projects and gaining access to contracting tools and funding resources that typically are associated only with a particular service. Substan-tial construction and renovation work also must be completed at existing medical facilities, while maintaining delivery of a full range of healthcare services. Additionally, all BRAC projects face a legislative completion deadline of September 2011.

Strength in NumbersThese special circumstances prompted

DOD to establish a new organization to supervise the design and construction efforts of the San Antonio BRAC Pro-gram. The Joint Program Management Office (JPMO) facilitates tri-service col-laboration to ensure efficient project execution. The organization, formed by agreement of the Engineer Service Chief of each branch, includes repre-sentatives of the U.S. Army Corps of En-gineers (USACE), the Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment (AFCEE), the Naval Facilities Engineer-

The San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMMC) North project involves expansion and renovation of the existing Brooke Army Medical Center on Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

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ing Command (NAVFAC) and private-sector contractors. JPMO will ultimately include as many as 200 individuals and is supported by more than 400 person-nel from various USACE districts and AFCEE and NAVFAC offices, as well as several architectural and engineering firms.

To help manage the construction surge and tri-service integration, the military brought Parsons Corp. on board as an Architect-Engineer Integra-tor (AEI). The AEI arrangement allows DOD to meet critical, comparatively short-term staffing demands without having to hire additional employees.

“Our private-sector partners provide the support leverage during this surge that we might not have been able to get any other way,” said David Thomas, JPMO Director. “They are paired with top professionals from the engineering and management ranks of the Army, Air Force and Navy, allowing us to utilize the best practices of the military and private sector and be a true force mul-tiplier for DOD.”

One year into the five-year AEI con-tract, Parsons is providing program management and integration support; project management support to several of the large medical programs; multiple design development tasks, from new medical training facilities to renovation of historic buildings into administrative space; technical review services; con-struction support and oversight; and public affairs and community outreach support.

BRAC construction and renovation work is scheduled to take place across San Antonio, on Fort Sam Houston, Camp Bullis, Lackland Air Force Base (AFB) and Randolph AFB. The cost of the BRAC and related construction projects is being financed by three sources, including BRAC, Military Con-struction and Sustainment, Restora-tion and Modernization funds, and is spread across FY06 through FY11. The major structures being built or remod-eled include living quarters, clinics, hospital facilities, a bridge, classrooms, laboratories, field training areas, a han-gar, dining facilities, a fitness center, historic buildings, a parking garage and administrative space.

A Larger ToolboxThe San Antonio BRAC Program’s vol-

ume of work and its aggressive timetable have necessitated finding ways to expe-dite implementation and keep costs in check. To shorten project durations, a de-sign-build approach was implemented for about 90 percent of the projects. Con-tractors also have been given more lati-tude in choosing building techniques than they would normally receive on military projects. Options such as cast-in-place and modular construction are available, depending upon the type of project and project schedule.

Execution is further being acceler-ated through the use of a wide range of acquisition vehicles provided by the three services. The Army offers Mul-tiple Award Task Order Contracts, for example, which are available only to specific groups of companies chosen through a source selection process to find the most qualified firms. In a simi-lar way, the Air Force’s Heavy Engineer-ing Repair and Construction contracts provide a further means of streamlining the contract awards process.

As construction progresses, the booming non-residential market in San Antonio is placing pressure on the supplies of skilled labor and materials. To offset price escalations, computer modeling software is being used to help forecast the program’s needs and future market pricing. These data provide the basis for incorporating cost and sched-ule controls throughout the program.

Making Room While FY08 represented the heaviest

period of contracting for the San An-tonio BRAC Program, FY09 will mark the peak of construction activity. As many as 2,200 workers are expected to be spread across the various job sites by the middle of next summer. At that time, it is anticipated that two to three tower cranes and as many as 25 boom cranes could be in use, as well as cranes for loading and unloading materials.

Given this expected influx of laborers and heavy equipment, safety concerns are being proactively addressed, espe-cially in light of several crane accidents across the United States in 2008. A stringent safety plan requires all cranes

to be inspected on site to assess their intended loads before they begin oper-ating. Cranes also will be re-inspected if they leave a worksite and return, or if they will lift heavier loads.

The largest BRAC project involves additions and renovations to Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) on Fort Sam Houston. More than 760,000-ft2

of new space will be added to BAMC. A multi-story addition will house a Level 1 trauma center, operating rooms, clini-cal and administrative space, and an extension of the hospital’s internation-ally-acclaimed burn center. As much as 288,000-ft2 of the existing BAMC facili-ties will be renovated.

Upon completion of the project, BAMC will be re-designated as the north campus of the San Antonio Mili-tary Medical Center (SAMMC). Like-wise, Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland AFB will become the largest ambulatory outpatient clinic in DOD and be re-designated SAMMC South.

Another pillar of the San Antonio BRAC Program is construction of the Medical Education and Training Cam-pus (METC) on Fort Sam Houston. Ultimately, METC will consolidate the enlisted medical training programs of all branches of the U.S. military. The com-plex will have more than 1.9-million-ft2 of facilities, including dorms, classrooms, laboratories, a physical fitness center and a 4,800-person, 80,000-ft2 dining facility. With an average daily student enrollment of more than 9,000, METC will be the largest institution of its kind in the world.

The facilities built and renovated during the San Antonio BRAC Program are expected to make way for more than 12,000 additional military personnel and federal employees. This increase will enhance the already substantial contribution to San Antonio’s economy by the military sector, which, accord-ing to the city’s Economic Development Department, directly and indirectly supports the employment of nearly 200,000 people.

Brian Dwyer is Public Affairs Specialist, Par-sons Corp., in support of the Joint Program Management Office; 210-627-8439, or [email protected].



A New Home for the Global Hawk

By Rick Andrew, AIA, Jeff Labenz-Hough, RA, and Ken Wing, P.E.

A few days before Thanksgiving 2006, a group of airmen gath-ered at Beale Air Force Base

(AFB), Calif., to coordinate a flight. Though flight operations had been a significant part of base operations since the transfer of Camp Beale to the U.S. Air Force in 1948, the flight that day was anything but routine.

As the aircraft’s nose lifted skyward, the pilot sat inside a metal building near the Beale AFB flightline. From there, the pilot monitored the flight, waiting as the launch and recovery team passed the flight to his control. The flight that day marked the first operational Air Combat Command flight of the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from its new stateside home base.

First-Class AccommodationsThe Global Hawk is not the first UAV

flown by the Department of Defense, but it is by far the largest. It is also the first UAV authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration to fly in the National Airspace System. As such, the Global Hawk can file its own flight plans and use civilian air corridors, marking a huge leap forward in the utility of un-manned flight operations.

When the first Global Hawk arrived at Beale AFB in October 2004, it was kept in an existing renovated hangar. With only two Global Hawks stationed at Beale AFB through 2007, accommo-dating the aircraft—and its 116-ft wing-span—was not a significant challenge. Between the arrival of the first Global

After Beale AFB was selected as the stateside home of the largest unmanned aerial vehicle flown by the U.S., a unique new hangar was delivered on time and within budget to house the new vehicle.

The Global Hawk B model is larger than the A model, and can carry an additional 2-T of equipment.

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Hawk and 2007, three Beale AFB han-gars were renovated to support this new mission.

As the first-generation Global Hawk, referred to as the A model, proved its value in early deployments in the Global War on Terror (GWOT), the next-gener-ation B model moved rapidly through the procurement and production pro-cess. The approaching arrival at Beale AFB of the B model, with its 15-ft-wider wingspan and advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capa-bilities, prompted the decision to de-sign a new two-bay dedicated hangar facility that would house two of the air-craft and support critical pre- and post-flight operations.

Overcoming ObstaclesThe timing of the emergence of the

Global Hawk as a viable long-distance UAV able to fly for more than 30-hr gave the Air Force an invaluable tool in the early years of GWOT. The Air Force de-cision to deploy the UAV in late 2001 when it was still an advanced concept technology proved a success.

On the other hand, the decision to build a dedicated hangar for the Global Hawk came in what can be character-ized only as a difficult bidding and cost-control environment. When the project was initiated in 2004, costs for essential components from steel to gas and oil were on the rise; at the same time, the need to control construction costs was essential.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) initially envisioned the new hangar as a single-bay facility large enough to accommodate two B model Global Hawks. With a wingspan of 130-ft each, such a facility would require about 400-ft of frontage along the existing concrete apron. USACE also wanted an adaptable design, with the large open bay area able to be easily altered to meet future mission require-ments.

As the project moved through the initial 10 percent design phase in 2004, a major impediment to designing the project as planned within existing bud-get restrictions emerged. The Global Hawk hangar was programmed to sit adjacent to several U-2 aircraft docks

around the main flightline apron. The programmed cost was based on an as-sumption that the frontage area for the new hangar was level.

The frontage for the Global Hawk hangar, it turned out, sloped 4-ft over the planned 400-ft length. This seem-ingly insignificant drop was problem-atic because the huge hangar doors had to sit on level ground. The only way to achieve this under the original design concept would have required tearing out and replacing the entire concrete apron along the hangar frontage. The $3 million estimated cost to replace and level approximately two acres of apron pavement put the project nearly 25 per-cent above its original budget of $12 million.

The design team suggested several al-ternatives to bring the project back un-der the programmed budget limit. Each key stakeholder—Beale AFB, the Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC) and USACE—expressed concerns about the viability of changes to the original plan. Meanwhile, the anticipated arrival of the B model Global Hawk in less than two years meant the team needed to get the hangar built.

To keep the project moving forward, USACE authorized the design team to move to a 35 percent design stage, with a directive to the team architect and project manager to bring the costs down. With USACE approval, the design team focused on the one alterative that appeared to have the greatest potential to be built within budget restraints.

The team returned to the drawing boards to refine an alternative that avoided major repaving expense. Basi-cally starting over, the team focused on a new concept that required flexibility and innovation from all sides. Build-ing a single-bay hangar large enough to house two Global Hawks appeared un-tenable, but the 400-ft frontage space was still available. The project architect devised a new plan that would divide the hangar into two distinct bays, plac-ing the maintenance and administrative space between the two hangar spaces.

It was determined that each bay could be built on level ground with the 4-ft drop accommodated within the central two-story administrative space

with a few steps from one hangar level to the next. Each hangar door could thus close level with the surface pave-ment, leaving a minimal area of existing apron to repave and carving at least $2 million from project costs.

A New Home for the HawkThe design team completed the

35 percent design by March 2005, but even with the major design change, es-timated construction costs remained above the programmed budget. Un-daunted, USACE directed the design team to undertake a value engineering effort and create a second 35 percent design based solely on minimum proj-ect requirements.

The second 35 percent design sub-mittal, completed in September 2005, hit the mark. The cost estimate for the second effort met programmed budget requirements while retaining the criti-cal functionality of the two-bay hangar and the adaptability features desired by USACE.

With the path cleared for construction in 2007, the two-bay hangar opened for business in March 2008. Despite going through two 35 percent design submis-sions, the project was completed on schedule and within the original pro-grammed budget. Beyond providing shelter for two B model Global Hawks, the hangar provides a dedicated loca-tion where all pre-flight operations are conducted for each Global Hawk mis-sion flown from Beale AFB.

The completion of the dedicated two-bay hangar to support Global Hawk op-erations came as three of the UAVs were busy flying missions in Southwest Asia in support of GWOT. With more than 15,000 combat hours logged at 95 per-cent effectiveness, the Global Hawk has earned its place as the “eyes in the sky” for the Air Force.

Rick Andrew, AIA, is Senior Project Manager, and Jeff Labenz-Hough, RA, is Federal Mar-keting Manager, HDR. They can be reached at 210-841-2800, or [email protected] and 210-841-2815, or jeff.labenz-hough@

hdrinc.com, respectively.

Ken Wing, P.E., is Senior Project Manager, Sacramento District, U.S. Army Corps of En-gineers; 916-557-6963, or [email protected].



Mitigating Ice HazardsBy William G. Kontess, AIA, LEED AP, F.SAME, and Leonard Zabilansky, P.E.

According to a recent Engineer-ing News-Record article, ice buildup and falling ice are

growing issues for facilities in northern climates. On the East Coast, pedestrians have been pelted by ice showers falling from façades of downtown buildings. With falling ice chunks more than 2-ft long, sidewalk closures were required to protect public safety.

The public appreciates building aes-thetics but expects buildings to con-serve natural resources. This may result in structures with very intricate exteri-ors and glazing treatments that create areas for snow and ice to accumulate. To optimize a building’s cost, the design industry is incorporating new building products that are untested in northern climates and that can collect snow and ice. Often members of design teams come from milder climates and do not fully appreciate the appropriate design strategies and techniques to mitigate snow and ice accumulation.

The design-build team of kpb archi-tects, Davis Constructors and Venture Development faced the same challenge when designing a new 10-story, 850-car parking garage in downtown Anchor-age, Alaska. The municipal and state leadership sought a garage that would suitably fit ongoing downtown redevel-opment. The design concept for inte-grating the garage into the urban setting was to veil the pre-stressed, concrete frame structure with a skin of metal louver and mesh systems. The design provided transparency, air flow and a dynamic, attractive skin; however, such skin assemblies for parking garages are susceptible to potential ice buildup be-cause of exposure of unheated surface areas to precipitous winter climate.

A Challenging ClimateAnchorage typically experiences its

heaviest, wettest snows at the begin-ning and end of winter, when temper-atures are milder and the air tends to carry the most moisture. Mid-winter, temperatures dip towards zero and be-low, causing the buildup of hoar frost, the white ice crystals, loosely depos-ited on the ground or exposed objects, that form on cold clear nights when ra-diation losses into the open skies cause objects to become colder than the sur-rounding air. Near the end of winter, when daylight increases, glaciation and hazardous icicles become a factor due to freeze-thaw cycles.

Because of the climate, the design team understood the need to cold test the performance capabilities of the pro-posed mesh and louver systems. Perfor-mance data were not available for the

Using a modeling and testing process to simulate winter conditions, a design-build team in Alaska reduced the risk of potentially dangerous falling ice and snow.

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systems, and the products had typically been installed in temperate climates. To investigate possible techniques to miti-gate snow and ice hazards, the design team funded a cooperative research program with the U.S. Army Cold Re-gions Research and Engineering Labo-ratory (CRREL).

The mission of CRREL, located in Hanover, N.H., is to gain knowledge of cold regions through scientific and engineering research. In past studies, researchers have investigated, within their highly-specialized facilities, the accumulation of ice and snow on mili-tary buildings and equipment.

In agreement with the product man-ufacturers, researchers tested four de-signs of the proposed mesh and louver materials to explore the snow-accumu-lation and snow-shedding properties of each. During testing, a camera con-nected to the Internet provided digital photos to visually document the snow accumulation and shedding while re-searchers monitored the room temper-ature and relative humidity. The images were posted on a secure Web site to al-low the test team to monitor the ice ac-cumulation on the materials. The quick information exchange allowed the team to adjust the testing procedure and evaluate various mitigation options as they became apparent.

Cold TestingWhile testing, fabricated panels were

exposed to historically-based extreme conditions similar to those of Anchor-age. The testing environment included: • blowing snow for 24-hr at 15°F; • blowing snow at -10°F for 72-hr; and• freeze-thaw cycling of snow accu-

mulations with temperatures be-tween 15°F and 45°F for a minimum of 4-hr.

The first louver profile consisted of a series of fins spaced 4-3/4-in apart. Testing showed accumulation on both faces of the fins. During warm up, snow accumulation would slide off en masse or form icicles in a freeze-thaw environ-ment. These fins also acted like a snow fence, encouraging drifting behind the louvers.

The second louver profile consisted of V-shaped elements oriented parallel

with the frame, spaced 4-in apart. The snow-laden wind was slowed and the snow deposited on all surfaces of the louver system. In the thawing environ-ment, the snow slid off the surfaces.

The third louver profile consisted of V-shaped elements oriented perpendic-ular to the frame, spaced 8-in apart. The taper opening had a tendency to direct the snow past the louvers, minimizing the volume of snow deposited on the surfaces. This was unlike the previous two profiles, where the wind was slowed as it passed between the louvers. With the snow generally perpendicular to the louvers, all surfaces were exposed and consequently little snow accumulated on the exposed surfaces. The interior of the V shape was sheltered and did not accumulate any appreciable amount of snow. Snow that accumulated on the louvers slid off during warm up without forming icicles.

Metal fabric was the final product tested. The blowing snow completely encased the metal rods, blocking them within the first hour, and raised serious questions regarding code compliance with natural ventilation requirements for open garages. Additionally, when the room was thermally cycled, the melt water would cascade down the rods, and refreeze when the temperature dropped below freezing.

The anchoring of the fabric to the structure also was of concern, as ice ac-cumulated at anchor points and melt water formed icicles. Ultimately, this product was the first to be eliminated from consideration.

The best-performing profile was the V shape oriented perpendicular to the frame. The team recognized that widening the spacing between the profiles would likely mitigate snow accumulation. The team also recognized a value engineering opportunity to simplify the number of profiles used in the panels while maintaining the intended aesthetic variety. Therefore, the team elected to have more panels fabricated with the perpendicularly-oriented V shapes, but with the size of the V shape varying between two standard depths.

Test procedures were modified a second time to confirm that both size

profiles would perform as predicted as well as determine the optimal spacing for the profiles—in essence, fine-tuning the design. Further testing confirmed both sizes performed as predicted, and the team elected to space the two pro-files at 7-in between the smaller louver profiles, and 13-in between the deeper louver profiles.

Mitigating RiskDespite these measures, circum-

stances remain in which snow and ice could build up and create a hazardous situation at street level. The design team mitigated the remaining risk by adding an 8-ft canopy directly below the louvers that extends over heated sidewalks. The canopy consists of a tubular steel frame with impact-resistant, translucent fiberglass panels and provides a safe path of travel along the sidewalks.

Original Research in Design-Build

The garage was completed in August 2008. The design team has confidence in its decisions, and no ice accumula-tion was observed on any of the louver panels over the course of last winter.

Original research is an effective risk mitigation strategy—in this case, selecting building systems and assemblies that may not have a proven track record in northern climates. Further, original research can be done rapidly and at reasonable cost in a design-build environment.

The success attained is an example of a proactive alliance between the public and private sectors, teaming a world-class, federal test laboratory with a superb track record in testing facilities, ships and equipment in the harshest settings, with the rapid-fire needs of design-build community of clients, architects, engineers, contractors and developers.

William G. Kontess, AIA, LEED AP, F. SAME, is Project Manager and Project Architect, kpb architects; 907-274-7443, or [email protected].

Leonard J. Zabilansky, P.E., is Research Civil Engineer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research and Engineering Labora-tory; 603-646-4100, or [email protected].



Specialized DOD Facilities

By Tracy Hill

A new, state-of-the-art child development center for the families working at the Pentagon and nearby Fort Myer, Va., is the largest such Army facility in the country.

Due to security issues following Sept. 11, 2001, the Pentagon Day Care Center, which pro-

vided childcare services for families of Department of Defense (DOD) person-nel, was closed in July 2004. A new cen-ter was promised by 2007.

At the same time, officials at Fort Myer, Va., were investigating the po-tential for building a new child devel-opment center (CDC) on the base. The existing Fort Myer CDC, a converted school, did not meet contemporary DOD guidelines for such a facility. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) decided that a new CDC at Fort Myer could be built to serve families working at the Pentagon as well as those at Fort Myer. A temporary modular facility was established at Fort Myer to accommo-date these families until the new CDC could be built.

A new site for the CDC was selected at the southern end of Fort Myer. The site consisted of a long, narrow piece of land that had existed as a landfill burn-pit but was being used as an access road to the base commissary. Force-protec-tion considerations required that the building be set back 82-ft from existing roadways. Due to the requirement, any building would have to be long and nar-

row. Several designs for the new CDC were submitted to USACE for consid-eration before an initial design concept created by The Lukmire Partnership was chosen.

CDC FeaturesThe new CDC, at approximately

51,000-ft2, was designed to hold almost 440 children. The concept was based on an enlarged standard CDC module design for infants, toddlers, pre-school children and a modified center for school-aged children. The CDC consists of eight infant modules, three toddler modules and three pre-school modules. In the school-aged area, rooms were created for a computer lab, activities and homework, performing arts, and arts and crafts. These rooms juxtapose around a two-story atrium area.

Adjacent to the school-aged area is a large multi-purpose room. Each age group has its own age-appropriate out-door playground. There are two com-mercial kitchens: one main kitchen in the CDC area and a second smaller kitchen with demonstration area in the school-aged wing. Two administrative areas were designed for both the CDC and the school-age center. Each has its own entrances and administrative

The new child development center at Fort Myer, Va., will serve as a model for 66 other such U.S. Army facilities to come in the next two years.

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areas. The new center also houses the central registration offices for the con-venience of parents.

The original design consisted of a sin-gle-story structure with multiple roof lines. The central areas of the building had a raised roof area, creating a two-story, interior multi-purpose room and atrium in the school-aged area. The structure was a full structural steel building with light-gauge structural steel framing (LGSSF) exterior walls with a brick façade. The roof framing consisted of steel joists spanning struc-tural steel beams along the exterior column grid to those along the central corridor. The mechanical rooms and multipurpose room are concrete ma-sonry unit cavity walls.

Architecturally, the interior consisted of gypsum board on steel stud walls and acoustical ceiling tiles. Flooring consisted of heat-welded sheet vinyl in the care modules, carpeting in the administrative offices and training room, pour-in-place athletic flooring in the multipurpose room and vinyl composition tile through-out the remainder of the building.

Design-Build After the original cost proposal was

evaluated, the project was determined to be approximately $1 million over budget. When the project was re-bid based on the design-build concept, Grunley Construc-tion and its team of engineers redesigned the project to include structural steel support for the high roof areas, but with LGSSF throughout the remainder of the building. All walls and roof trusses were redesigned for LGSSF.

Additional value engineering studies were conducted, resulting in changes in-cluding:• reducing the studs from 8-in to 6-in; • using chain link fencing;• revising the electrical from switch-

board to a main distribution panel; • converting the school-age center

kitchen to electric in lieu of natural gas; and

• reusing the playground equipment from the existing buildings, most of which was less than two years old.

Due to the redesign of the structure and value engineering, a cost proposal within the USACE budget was achieved.

Project DeliveryOnce it was determined that the proj-

ect could be built within budget, the process of finalizing design documents got underway. The entire team was en-gaged to prepare the contract drawings and specifications. Grunley contracted with mechanical, electrical and struc-tural specialists as design-build sub-contractors that would be responsible for the construction and the design of their specific trade. Other major sub-contractors were contracted as design-assist subcontractors.

All parties were included during the balance of the design phase. Design co-ordination meetings were attended by representatives from USACE, Grunley, the architecture-engineering firms, the design-build subcontractors and from the CDC. This provided a building de-sign that could be built within budget and to the user’s requirements and ex-pectations.

As construction progressed, weekly progress meetings were held to review the construction status and schedule and coordinate activities on the base that may have interfered with construc-tion or access to the site. The weekly progress meetings were attended by Grunley and USACE representatives as well as by CDC representatives, whose attendance increased from monthly to weekly as construction progressed. The CDC representatives were thus able to monitor the progress of construction and ensure the building was meeting their expectations.

The progress meetings also were used to review and discuss any changes or ad-ditional information that may have been

required to interpret the intentions of drawings. Due to the nature of design-build and the open communication among all parties to the construction, this project resulted in a low number of requests for information (RFI) and few change orders. There were only 32 RFIs by Grunley to USACE. Also, Grunley only had 57 issues with USACE, of which just 36 became change orders. Several of the change orders were actually requested by USACE for additional work, including the installation of an additional 1,200-ft of telecom ductbank that would run through the site to accommodate com-munications and data lines for the sur-rounding buildings on the base.

Project CompletionChildren have occupied the new fa-

cility since July 8, 2008. On July 15, Col. Laura Richardson, USA, Garrison Com-mander of Fort Myer Military Commu-nity, welcomed a group of distinguished Army leaders as well as guests, friends, family and the children of the CDC to a grand opening and ribbon-cutting cer-emony. Attending and speaking at the event were Maj. Gen. Richard Rowe Jr., USA, Commanding General, Military District of Washington, Gen. Richard Cody, USA, Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, and the Hon. Nelson M. Ford, Act-ing Under Secretary of the Army.

The new facility is the largest Army CDC in America and will serve as a model for 66 other facilities to come in the next two years.

Tracy Hill is Project Manager, Grunley Con-struction Co. Inc.; 202-399-2000, or [email protected].

In the school-aged area of the Fort Myer, Va., child development center, rooms were created for a computer lab, activities and homework, performing arts, and arts and crafts. These rooms juxtapose around a two-story atrium area.



Tilt-Up Construction

By David Tomasula, P.E., M.SAME, and Kimberly Messer

Tilt-up construction can provide high-quality, durable facilities with cost and time savings consistent with the goals of the MILCON Transformation program.

For decades, the private sector has tapped into the benefits of tilt-up construction to design and build

facilities faster, safer, “greener” and more economically. Today, as the U.S. govern-ment continues to leverage technology and concepts from the commercial con-struction industry to meet the building challenges of the Military Construction (MILCON) Transformation program, tilt-up construction has become a solu-tion in many circumstances.

The tilt-up method of construction provides key benefits of speed and economy up front, and delivers long-term value for the government’s build-ing investment. The strengths of the tilt-up method work directly in support of the stated goals of MILCON Trans-formation—15 percent cost savings, 30 percent time savings and quality facili-ties with 50-year lifecycles.

The ProcessIn tilt-up construction, reinforced

concrete wall panels are constructed completely on the building site. The floor slab is placed first, with wall pan-els being subsequently formed and cast directly on the floor. After curing, the panels are carefully tilted into place.

To begin a tilt-up project, traditional site work is done to prepare the site for construction. Simplified building foun-dations are then constructed, as tilt-up allows buildings to be designed without perimeter columns. Unlike conventional construction, the floor slab is placed immediately after foundation work and serves as the casting surface for the wall panels. Having a completed building slab also gives the building trades a du-rable working surface for the remainder of the job, allowing construction to stay

on schedule even during harsh weather. Reinforcing steel, the hardware nec-

essary for lifting and architectural fin-ishes are placed into panels as they are formed on the floor slab. Doing this work while the panels are on the ground is safer and more efficient. Next, using locally-produced and sustainable building materials, entire wall panels are cast simultaneously for maximum productivity.

The drama and excitement of the tilt-up process comes to life as the concrete wall panels are lifted off the floor slab and temporarily braced. Immediately after panels are tilted, the combined economics of concrete and steel come together. Steel joists, joist girders and beams bear directly on the wall panels, limiting interior columns and allowing for maximum floor utilization, as well as window and door locations.

The Defense Medical Logistics Center, recently completed at Fort Detrick, Md., used tilt-up construction to generate cost and schedule savings over conventional block and brick veneer method.

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Initial BenefitsBecause tilt-up construction uses

locally-produced materials, buildings can typically be completed significantly quicker than using conventional con-struction. Detailed engineering and assembly-line productivity offer sav-ings in labor, materials and time. And, because panels are placed and cured on site, many stages of construction can occur simultaneously, allowing tilt-up projects to meet aggressive schedules.

The use of naturally-occurring ma-terials found in the local environment also lends itself to the government’s sustainability goals. Not only are the materials themselves more environ-mentally-friendly than many building products, they also require minimal transportation, further conserving nat-ural resources.

Because concrete arrives on the build-ing site in liquid form, tilt-up construc-tion offers considerable design flexibil-ity and versatility. With structural steel joists resting on the load-bearing wall panels in tilt-up buildings, perimeter columns can be virtually eliminated. This allows for unrestricted window and door locations, as well as maximum interior floor utilization. Similarly, every building can be custom-designed to meet unique needs—both in func-tion and appearance. Available panel

finishes include cast-in thin brick and cast-in thin block, allowing tilt-up to match existing buildings of conven-tional brick and block construction. Similarly, tilt-up buildings can also take advantage of the economies of scale that come from repetitive design char-acteristics.

Joint Medical Logistics Center at Fort Detrick

Successful projects are creating addi-tional momentum for the growth of tilt-up in the military market. One example is the Defense Medical Logistics Center, which was recently completed at Fort Detrick, Md. Although the 128,000-ft2 project was originally designed with conventional block and brick veneer, the general contractor for the project, Mascaro Construction Co., suggested a tilt-up alternative. When the Mascaro team evaluated the project, it recog-nized that tilt-up could provide both cost and schedule savings over the con-ventional method. Working with tilt-up subcontractor M-K Concrete, the team was able to deliver the project with a reduced budget and schedule, while meeting the rest of the project’s goals.

In addition, the desired masonry ap-pearance of the building was achieved using cast-in thin bricks. This method not only delivered schedule savings,

but also provided the additional benefit of safer installation procedures, as the thin bricks are installed on the ground, before the wall panels are tilted into final position.

Besides the inherent strength and durability that concrete construction provides, the tilt-up method also ex-ceeded the anti-terrorism and force protection (AT/FP) standards required of the structure. In addition to the secu-rity achieved with a concrete building shell, the structure was also designed with progressive collapse prevention measures.

Long-Term BenefitsThe economies of tilt-up construc-

tion are evident during the construc-tion phase, and are manifested in the long-term value that tilt-up buildings provide. For instance, the natural heat-sink properties of concrete allow tilt-up buildings to deliver optimum thermal performance. These properties com-bined with a variety of insulation sys-tems further minimize energy costs.

The commercial market has long valued tilt-up buildings for their dura-bility, minimal exterior maintenance, and resulting deterrence to vandalism and illegal entry. For MILCON Trans-formation, tilt-up also can be designed to achieve AT/FP goals. Researchers are currently testing an additional re-sidual benefit in blast absorption that thermally composite tilt-up panels may provide through the cushioning layer of insulation.

Because tilt-up construction is a natu-ral vehicle for completing projects with the design-build system, it has worked well in the current MILCON model. As the model evolves into the adapt-build delivery method, this modular form of construction will continue to meet the government’s needs. Tilt-up has proven to be a commercially viable, off-the-shelf technology, and it can do the same for MILCON Transformation.

David Tomasula, P.E., M.SAME, is Principal and Kimberly Messer is Sales and Marketing Coordinator, LJB Inc. They can be reached at 314-436-8930, or [email protected], and 937-259-5020, or [email protected], respectively.

Concrete tilt-up panels with integral insulation provide optimum durability and thermal efficiency.


Small Business

Mentor-Protégé Relationships

By David R. Leadenham, M.SAME

Two hundred miles north of the Arctic Circle and 4,359-mi from Washington, D.C., Point Hope,

Alaska, is the oldest continuously-settled Native American site in North America. This community of approxi-mately 900 residents is home to the Tikigaq people, who in 1971, under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, es-tablished the Tikigaq Corp. With 1,000 Inupiaq shareholders, the corporation provides arctic construction, rural and urban environmental expertise, and lo-gistics services experience.

AGVIQ LLC, which was later created as an environmental subsidiary of Tiki-gaq Corp. and qualifies as a minority-owned (Native American) small busi-ness through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) Program, partners with clients to provide a wide variety of environmental services with a commitment to proven technical solutions, health and safety, and qual-ity. However, as a small, Native Alaskan Village Corporation, AGVIQ’s ability to develop business outside of Alaska was limited.

That changed in 2002, when Tikigaq Corp. formalized an SBA-approved mentor-protégé relationship with CH2M HILL.

Mentor-Protégé RelationshipThe mentor-protégé relationship

was approved by SBA on July 25, 2002, marking the start of a successful six-year partnership between AGVIQ and CH2M HILL. The business elements and supporting structure of the relation-ship became the foundation for three SBA-approved joint ventures between AGVIQ (as the 8(a) concern) and CH2M HILL (as the joint venture partner). Each

joint venture was strategically developed over the past five years for its unique contracting opportunity, and each has benefited both firms as well as their U.S. Navy clients.

“This partnership between AGVIQ and CH2M HILL has been very success-ful, delivering more than $191 million of high-quality work for our clients,” says Ray Tyler, Director of Navy Programs, CH2M HILL. The completed projects include 120 individual work orders to date and more than 400,000-hr of work with impressive safety statistics.

Improving CompetitivenessThrough the formal SBA mentor-

protégé program, CH2M HILL men-tors AGVIQ in the areas of financial management, business development,

The U.S. Small Business Administration Mentor-Protégé Program has led to increased efficiency and competitiveness for a Native American-owned environmental services provider.

This single-span bridge was built over a dredged channel by AGVIQ–CH2M HILL Joint Venture I, a U.S. Small Business Administration-approved partnership that has enabled AGVIQ to success-fully pursue large government contracts in a competitive environment.

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business planning, project delivery and technology transfer. The program is intended to improve AGVIQ’s over-all efficiency and competitiveness by reducing operational costs, enhanc-ing the performance of environmental engineering and remediation services, developing marketing programs, ex-panding AGVIQ’s federal and commer-cial markets and transferring selected CH2M HILL technologies.

Accounting and financial manage-ment assistance. In 2002, CH2M HILL performed a review of AGVIQ’s financial statements, operating budgets, estimat-ing policies and procedures, cost pro-jections, job cost accounting reviews, reviews and audits. CH2M HILL con-tinues to provide ongoing assistance in these areas to increase AGVIQ’s knowl-edge and understanding, particularly of accounting and financial management approaches that meet government specifications. Working together to de-velop and manage the systems neces-sary to support U.S. government work has helped AGVIQ develop its business in the government client sector.

Marketing and business develop-ment. As an emerging small business, AGVIQ has benefited from marketing and business development assistance and strategy development to pursue specific contracting opportunities. Through the connections made avail-able through CH2M HILL, AGVIQ has been introduced to new clients and teaming partners, allowing the firm to engage in meaningful work for its shareholders while diversifying its portfolio.

Business planning. As graduation from the 8(a) program nears, AGVIQ is prepared for continued growth result-ing from the expertise and client con-nections it has gained by teaming with a larger partner. CH2M HILL has been instrumental in establishing AGVIQ’s business plan and providing guidance on diversification and growth strate-gies.

Technical assistance and technology transfer. Perhaps the most meaningful and lasting benefit of this partnership has been AGVIQ’s access to a larger and broader talent pool. Throughout the partnership, AGVIQ and its employees

have accessed the technical expertise and technology at CH2M HILL. These continued opportunities for profes-sional development have strengthened AGVIQ’s resume as well as provided meaningful experiences to help recruit, develop and retain AGVIQ employees.

AGVIQ submits an annual progress report to SBA summarizing overall prog-ress of the mentor-protégé program and establishes goals for the upcoming year. The formal mentor-protégé rela-tionship, reinstated annually at SBA’s discretion, is based on the outcome of this report.

Joint Venture OpportunitiesOnce AGVIQ and CH2M HILL estab-

lished a formal mentor-protégé rela-tionship through SBA, the firms were eligible to form a joint-venture partner-ship to pursue specific contracting op-portunities.

In November 2002, the SBA approved the AGVIQ–CH2M HILL Joint Venture I (JVI) with AGVIQ as the managing part-ner. JVI was awarded its first sole-source contract in March 2003 by Naval Facili-ties Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Atlantic. The Navy has since awarded JVI two additional contracts for archi-tecture and engineering services and environmental remediation in support of Navy programs.

In March 2008, JVI received its first competitive-bid, small business con-tract from NAVFAC Atlantic. The five-year, $100-million contract is the largest contract awarded to the joint venture to date. Under this contract, the team will perform environmental remediation of contaminated Navy and U.S. Marine Corps installations at various Depart-ment of Defense sites throughout the United States. The contract also covers work anywhere in the NAVFAC Atlantic area of responsibility, which includes all of the continental United States, the Caribbean, Europe and Southwest Asia. The mentor-protégé relationship and established joint-venture partnership directly supported the ability of both firms to pursue a contract of this size and scope.

The award of the competitive con-tract is significant, as it helps solidify AGVIQ’s transition from an 8(a) firm to

a small business. As a result of the men-toring program, AGVIQ has been able to establish the processes, procedures and skill set to successfully pursue large government contracts in a competitive environment. AGVIQ has gained confi-dence to succeed in the small business realm without needing to rely on the benefits granted to an 8(a)-status busi-ness.

Benefits Today and TomorrowThe formalized partnership has been

instrumental for both firms, and each firm looks after the well-being of the other. For example, rather than engag-ing in a proprietary struggle, there is open sharing of information and re-sources that are in the best interests of both the business partnership and mentoring relationship, which ulti-mately serves the best interests of the client. This approach enables the team to deliver client work seamlessly while meeting client needs in an efficient way from a cohesive team.

In addition, through the mentoring and joint-venture relationships, the AGVIQ-CH2M HILL team can self-per-form work by drawing on a large pool of resources available to both partners. To date, more than 70 percent of the avail-able labor efforts have been self per-formed.

AGVIQ has also benefited in all areas of the mentoring relationship. Receiving guidance on establishing the policies, processes and procedures necessary to compete for government contracts has been instrumental in AGVIQ’s success. With a staff of 35 employees, AGVIQ has enriched its skills and professional-development opportunities through its exposure to CH2M HILL technology and experts. Health and safety contin-ues to be a primary focus for both firms, and the mentoring relationship sup-ports this by leveraging CH2M HILL’s Target Zero safety commitment culture and training programs.

David R. Leadenham, M.SAME, is General Manager, AGVIQ LLC; 757-318-9420, ext. 19, or [email protected].


Small Business

Reduced Cost through Constructability Review

By Capt. Steven Bosiljevac, P.E., MSCE, M.SAME, USPHS

The Pacific West Region (PWR) of the National Park Service (NPS) has looked for ways to address

the rising cost of construction. While much of the cost of construction mate-rials and fuel is the result of global fac-tors beyond any single entity’s control, the cost that contractors assign to job-specific risk is potentially reducible. To address how construction costs associ-ated to this risk could be reduced, the facility management staff of PWR de-cided to determine how such risk fac-tors impact projects in its Repair and Rehabilitation (R&R) program.

The R&R program funds projects to address deferred maintenance of facili-ties and utilities in the parks with gross construction costs of up to $1 million. The R&R program is key to keeping fa-cilities and utilities in the national parks properly maintained and it is critical that this funding be efficiently utilized.

Similarly to the NPS R&R program, a substantial amount of government construction projects—whether at the federal, state, or local level—are valued at less than $1 million and are critical to keeping infrastructure functioning and safe. If NPS could find ways to reduce construction costs of R&R projects, these methods could be used across government to make more efficient use of deferred, maintenance-related con-struction program funding.

Design and Construction of R&R Projects

The PWR staff reviewed construc-tion costs on previous projects funded by the R&R program. The majority of the work had been done by contractors in the Small Business Competiveness Demonstration Program, often simply

referred to as 8(a) contractors. The re-view indicated the actual costs of the projects were 10 percent to 20 percent above the Class A construction cost es-timates completed by the firms respon-sible for project design. All reviewed projects followed the conventional design-bid-build process, with the bid proposal made under a sole-source ac-quisition procedure when an 8(a) con-tractor was used.

Initially, the lack of competition in the bidding process was assumed to be the reason the construction costs were con-sistently higher than the government

Using standard government contracting procedures, the National Park Service reduced construction costs by injecting constructability input into the project design phase.

The Pacific West Region of the National Parks Service reduced contractor risk, and thus overall project cost, by encouraging constructability input into the design phase of a waterline replacement project at the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area in Northern California.

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estimate. However, reviewing competi-tively bid R&R projects revealed that low bidders were not consistently within 10 percent of the government estimate.

Analyzing the information gathered during the negotiations with 8(a) con-tractors on numerous projects revealed high risk factors assigned to NPS condi-tions set out in Division 1 specifications. In addition, these contractors had often noted that the construction means and methods assumed by the designer were not practical or were markedly differ-ent from how the contractor preferred to effect the construction. These factors point clearly to the need to have strong constructability input during the design of a project.

Constructability ReviewFor projects in the R&R program,

PWR has traditionally used a design-bid-build project delivery method in which an architecture and engineering (A/E) firm with an indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract is issued a task order for engineering and design services. For construction, PWR generally uses contractors in one of the programs of the U.S. Small Business Ad-ministration, though at times has used full-and-open contracting.

The PWR acquisition planning pro-cess requires that an individual park unit make a request for construction contracting services early in the project. As a result, an 8(a) construction con-tractor often is identified for the project even before a task order under the A/E IDIQ engineering and design services contract has been issued. Given that an 8(a) contractor often is identified before the designer, it seemed logical to bring the 8(a) contractor into the de-sign process. PWR accomplished this using a services contract to hire the 8(a) contractor during the design phase as a constructability consultant.

The arrangement allows NPS to manage project design through a task order to an A/E firm under an existing IDIQ engineering and design services contract and concurrently manage a constructability review of the design by the 8(a) contractor from whom the government intends to request a cost proposal for the

construction. NPS provides direction to the A/E firm regarding what items from the constructability review will be incorporated into the design. There is no cost information exchanged between the A/E firm and the 8(a) contractor; both are limited to sharing information based on materials and construction means and methods.

The Whiskeytown Waterline Replacement Project

PWR used an 8(a) contractor as a constructability consultant for the first time after the facility management division at the Whiskeytown unit of the Shasta-Trinity-Whiskeytown National Recreation Area in Northern California identified replacement of its aging water and wastewater infrastruc-ture as a priority. One proposed project included replacement of approximately 2,200-ft of 6-in-diameter and smaller water and service lines along with re-quired appurtenances. The park es-timated the cost of the project at less than $500,000.

The preliminary design was com-pleted by Richard P. Arber Assoc., which was issued a task order in August 2006 under an existing IDIQ contract. For the preliminary design, which was submit-ted in early April 2007, the design firm worked with park staff to identify alter-native routings of replacement water-lines and provide Class C construction cost estimates for several alternatives.

Parking areas and access roads throughout the project area presented challenges as designers sought a route for the replacement waterlines that would minimize cost and disruption to park work activities. Equally chal-lenging was finding an alignment that ensured oak trees in the project area would not be damaged, existing utilities were avoided and rock excavation was kept to a minimum.

NPS believed that gathering detailed constructability input during schematic design would produce optimal results. Using a services contract, Erick Ammon Inc., the 8(a) contractor already identi-fied as the contractor from which NPS intended to request a cost proposal for the waterlines replacement, was brought on to the project as a construc-

tability consultant at the start of sche-matic design.

The constructability consultant was tasked with four work items:• review and comment on the 50 per-

cent draft schematic design;• attend the plan-in-hand site review

of the 50 percent draft schematic de-sign;

• provide comments from the plan-in-hand site review; and

• review and comment on the 90 per-cent draft final construction docu-ments.

The participation of the constructa-bility consultant at the plan-in-hand site review proved to be the most ben-eficial aspect of constructability review. All work items contributed positively to the process, but the interaction among all key project personnel at the project site was something that could not have been otherwise duplicated.

The constructability outcomes of the plan-in-hand site review defined pipe materials to be used, ascertained how best to determine existing utilities’ actu-al configuration and materials, and laid out detailed water line alignments that would avoid oak trees, paving cuts and excessive rock excavation. Construction phasing, material and equipment stor-age areas, and contractor project site access concerns were also addressed such that risk associated with these is-sues was significantly reduced.

The A/E firm started work on sche-matic design in April 2007 and submit-ted the completed 100 percent final construction documents the second week of June 2007. The constructability review was key to the schematic design and construction documents being completed in six weeks.

The 8(a) contractor subsequently was requested by NPS to submit a fee proposal for the construction of the project. The accepted fee was below the government estimate, and construction was carried out in spring 2008 without any significant change orders and with-in the performance period.

Capt. Steven Bosiljevac, P.E., MSCE, M.SAME, USPHS, is Regional Civil Engineer, Pacific West Region, National Park Service; 510-817-1374, or [email protected].


Asset Management

Activity Management Plans

By Col. Liesel Golden, USAF

Whether they are prioritizing a list of projects within fund-ing constraints, address-

ing aging infrastructure, preparing for changes in an installation’s mission, optimizing the lifecycle of assets, or identifying out-year funding require-ments, civil engineers share common concerns regardless of which service they support.

Civil engineers in the U.S. Air Force have begun moving towards an asset management approach that will help manage these occupational realities more effectively.

Asset management is an internation-ally-proven, structured approach that will help the Air Force maximize the value of its assets, standardize levels of service and allocate resources to meet its most urgent priorities.

“We’re trying to optimize not only the lifecycle of assets, but also the impact those assets have on the warfighting mis-sion and the actual activities they sup-port,” said Maj. Gen. Del Eulberg, P.E., F.SAME, USAF, the Air Force Civil Engi-neer. “Asset management is a proactive, systematic approach to analyze data and allocate resources.”

Asset management relies on stan-dardizing the way data are collected and assessed. Air Force civil engineers are working to standardize levels of ser-vice and key performance measures—qualitatively and quantitatively—for core activities.

Activity Managment PlansOne of the biggest initiatives in the

asset management paradigm is activ-ity management. This past summer, a cross-functional, multi-level team con-ducted a proof-of-concept beta test that

addressed selected core activities, such as providing water, facilities manage-ment, and flight and space operations infrastructure.

Standardized data for each activity are compiled into Activity Management Plan (AMP) templates. Air Force civil en-gineers developed AMP templates for 11 core activities prior to beta testing. These activities focus on sustainment, restora-tion and modernization, and they in-clude provision of water; transportation network services; grounds maintenance services; integrated solid waste; facilities management; housing management; energy; custodial services; land man-agement; collection and disposal of stormwater and wastewater; and flight and space operations infrastructure.

The AMP templates have various data fields, such as mission criticality; asset information regarding condition, capacity and depreciation; financial re-

Air Force civil engineers are optimizing the cradle-to-grave performance and value of the service’s assets to maximize mission support.

As part of the Air Force’s continued adoption of an asset management approach, civil engineers developed Activity Management Plan templates for 11 core activities, which will help base civil engineers develop an investment strategy roadmap.

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quirements for sustainment, repair and capitalization; assumptions and risk; and environmental issues.

Collectively, all AMPs compose a Base Activity Management Plan (BAMP), which will provide the base civil engi-neer (BCE) with an integrated view of installation assets and activities. This broader visibility will enable the BCE to more easily and effectively weigh risk, cost and benefits so he or she can pro-actively manage day-to-day operations, identify assets needing the most atten-tion and strengthen long-term plan-ning.

To that end, the BAMP will make it easier to identify and prioritize projects needing sustainment funding and res-toration and modernization funding, as well as identify which projects should be considered for transfer, privatiza-tion, demolition, or disposal. As a re-sult, the BCE will have an investment strategy roadmap to optimize the use of an installation’s built and natural infra-structure.

The BAMP for every installation will “roll up” to its Major Command (MA-JCOM), where funding requirements will be validated to ensure command mission priorities are fully addressed. The roll-up process is repeated at the MAJCOM level such that leadership at Headquarters Air Force will be cogni-zant where funding is needed most and can distribute it accordingly.

Requirements-Based FundingRequirements-based funding, the fu-

ture of Air Force civil engineering, will help wring maximum value out of every funding dollar.

The traditional method of equally distributing funds across the Air Force based on a percentage of plant replace-ment value may have allowed MAJCOMs and bases to prioritize their projects ac-cording to their fair share. However, the level of need at each base is never the same. For instance, the infrastructure at Langley Air Force Base (AFB), Va., continuously active since 1916, is quite different from that of Schriever AFB, Colo., which was originally designated as Falcon AFB in 1988. As the oldest and newest bases, respectively, Langley and Schriever are at different ends of the

spectrum when it comes to needing in-frastructure improvements.

Additionally, when funding has been tight, Air Force bases have taken their fair share and funded a few projects, used any remaining funds on lower cost, lower priority items, and deferred needed projects and maintenance to out-years. This fix-it-when-it-breaks ap-proach is a costly, high-risk method of managing facilities and infrastructure assets.

Asset management requires a new way of thinking, and Air Force civil en-gineers are working on multiple initia-tives to optimize their support to the mission.

Planning for Success: The AMP Beta Test

When Air Force civil engineers beta tested the use of AMPs, test participants were charged with these objectives: en-sure AMP templates capture the right information; test the process of gather-ing data; locate gaps where fields need to be populated from outside legacy in-formation technology (IT) systems; and determine the level of effort needed to implement and sustain the AMP pro-cess across the Air Force.

Two groups were selected as beta test sites: the 92nd Civil Engineering Squad-ron (CES) at Fairchild AFB, Wash., and the 1st CES at Langley AFB. Functional expertise for the various civil engineer activities was provided by technical advisors, the majority of whom had al-ready served as program managers for their respective areas and, as such, pro-vided Air Force guidance to base-level personnel.

The AMP beta test team comprised the technical advisors, representatives from the Office of the Air Force Civil Engineer, the respective base and MA-JCOM personnel, the Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency, the Air Force Center for Engineering and the Envi-ronment, and the Air Education and Training Command. Personnel from engineering shops, resource manage-ment, information technology and contracting partners also were in atten-dance and provided cross-functional perspectives.

The beta test was divided into phases.

The time between base visits and the activities covered provided opportuni-ties to integrate the data collected, fine-tune the beta test processes and cap-ture lessons learned. Among the lessons learned are the following points:• It is important to map data to the

appropriate AMP. For example, if a drainage ditch only exists to pro-vide stormwater runoff for a nearby facility, the associated maintenance costs of that drainage ditch should be mapped to the facilities AMP and not the wastewater AMP.

• AMPs need to allow for activities to dovetail—for example, custodial services and facilities management, or grounds maintenance with land management.

• Everyone in civil engineering plays a part in activity management. A sys-tems upgrade clearly impacts level of service, but so does the shop work-er’s activities.

Next StepsWithout exception, corporations, cit-

ies and federal agencies that have ad-opted asset management capabilities have significantly reduced their costs and dramatically improved their effec-tiveness and efficiency.

The results of the beta test are being thoroughly evaluated. Recommenda-tions for a proposed Air Force-wide rollout will be presented to Gen. Eul-berg, the Air Force Civil Engineer, who will decide whether a full-scale AMP implementation will proceed, and at what pace.

“Air Force civil engineers have prac-ticed asset management to some de-gree in years past,” said Gen. Eulberg, “and our transformation to a fully-real-ized asset management culture will en-hance our support to the warfighter. By returning dollars to the mission while efficiently providing required infra-structure and support, we are deliver-ing on our promise to take care of our airmen.”

Col. Liesel Golden, USAF, is Chief, Asset Man-agement & Operations Division, HQ Air Force.Col. Golden can be reached through Maj. Chuck Roberts, USAF, Chief, Asset Manage-ment Integration, HQ Air Force, at 703-604-4010, or [email protected].

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Responding to Natural Disasters

T he threat of natural disaster has taken a place alongside terrorist events as a top priority for U.S. first responders. Among those brave individuals who provide immediate support following

these tragedies is a community of engineers, both uniformed and ci-vilian, who put their own lives at risk in an effort to minimize the loss of life and property suffered by our nation.

Already 2008 has been a busy season for the disaster-response com-munity, particularly during the month of September, when hurricanes Gustav and Ike tore a path through cities and communities along the Gulf Coast. As always, engineers were on the scene both to prepare for the storms’ arrivals and to restore normalcy in their wakes.

Louisiana Army National Guardsmen from the 2225th Panel Bridge Company, prepare to launch a bridge erecting boat in Cameron Parish, La., after landfall of hurricane Ike. The boats, which are manufactured to erect tactical floating bridges and rafts, can also be utilized in search-and-rescue missions.

Louisiana National Guard’s 926th Engineer Mobility Augmentee Company (MAC), 769th Engineer Battalion, clear public roads in Baton Rouge, La., of fallen trees in the aftermath of hurricane Gustav.

Mike Lowe (right), Chief of Readiness for USACE-New Orleans District goes over a map of Louisiana on Sept. 12 with Gen. Walsh. The Regional Field Office was established to coordinate the USACE response to hurricane Gustav and to conduct the recovery missions as assigned by FEMA.

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The Military Engineer l November-December l 200868

Brig. Gen. Michael Walsh, USA, Commander, USACE Mississippi Valley Division, and Danny Brandon of USACE-Mobile District review the setup of a Deployable Tactical Operations Center on Sept. 8 at the USACE Carville Staging Area in Carville, La. The Carville facility distributed emergency power generators for the region in the wake of hurricane Gustav. Nearly 100 generators were distributed through Sept. 10, mostly to municipalities, first-responder stations and nursing homes.

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Engineers in Action

Private 1st Class Lloyd Thomas of the 921st Horizontal Engineer Company, 528th Engineer Battalion, Louisiana National Guard in Winnsboro, La., walks through flood wa-ters to help a citizen evacuate his family during a search and rescue mission in the Lake Charles, La., area following hurricane Ike.

Hurricane recovery efforts continue in Na-poleonville, La., as soldiers of the 928th Sapper Company, 769th Engineer Bat-talion shift their efforts from supply distri-bution sites to debris removal around the community. On Sept. 18, a soldier places roadside debris into a military dump truck to ensure roads are accessible to the resi-dents.

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Louisiana Army National Guardsmen of the 205th Engineer Battalion work to clear a highway in Sulfur, La., on Sept. 14. In re-sponse to hurricane Ike, the Louisiana Na-tional Guard provided support for security, search-and-rescue efforts, and commod-ity distribution. Below, guardsmen of the 205th unload Zodiac boats in preparation for a search-and-rescue mission.

U.S. Navy Seabees from Amphibious Construction Battalion Two clear a path to the main road off Galveston Beach in Galveston, Texas, on Sept. 18 after departing the amphibious assault ship USS Nassau to aid civilian authorities. Nassau was anchored off the coast of Galveston to render disaster response and aid in the wake of hurricane Ike.

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Photos by Senior Airman Jeffrey Barone, Louisiana Army and Air National Guard

PO2 John Lowman, USCG, Sector Hous-ton-Galveston Pollution Investigator, documents damaged and sunken boats in Balfour Harbor in Clear Lake, Texas, on Sept. 19. At least 153 pollution cases and hazardous material spills were reported in the region in the wake of hurricane Ike.

USACE workers cover a house in Houston, Texas, damaged by hurricane Ike as part of the FEMA Operation Blue Roof. The pro-gram aims to protect damaged structures from further damage until more permanent reconstruction can be done.

In MemoriamWe honor the brave engineers

who have given their lives while sup-porting Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

Spc. Carlo E. Alfonso, 23, of Spo-kane, Wash., was assigned to the 40th Engineer Battalion, 2d Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany.

Spc. Seteria L. Brown, 22, of Or-lando, Fla., was assigned to the 62nd Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.

Pfc. Jamel A. Bryant, 22, of Bel-leville, Ill., was assigned to the 40th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany.

Pfc. Leonard J. Gulczynski, 19, of Carol Stream, Ill., was assigned to the 610th Engineer Support Company, 14th Engineer Battalion, 555th Engi-neer Brigade, Fort Lewis, Wash.

Pvt. Timothy J. Hutton, 21, of Dil-lon, Mont., was assigned to the 54th Engineer Battalion, 18th Engineer Brigade, Bamberg, Germany.

Maj. Rodolfo “Rod” I. Rodriguez, 34, of El Paso, Texas, was assigned to the 86th Construction & Training Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, Ger-many.

Sgt. 1st Class George Stanciel, 40, of Greenwood, Miss., was assigned to the 370th Engineer Company, 54th Engineer Battalion, 18th Engi-neer Brigade, Bamberg, Germany.

Capt. Darrick D. Wright, 37, of Nashville, Tenn., was assigned to the 926th Engineer Brigade, Montgom-ery, Ala.


Register Today for SAME Design-Build Workshops

The next SAME Design-Build Work-shop for DOD Projects will take place Nov. 12-14 in St. Louis, Mo. The work-shop will have a special focus on im-proving communications with design-build end users, construction agents, architects/engineers and contractors to better facilitate the solicitation and ex-ecution of DOD design-build projects. Best practices applicable to DOD proj-ects will be discussed, with examples provided of current design-build suc-cess stories and lessons learned.

This topic-specific, two-and-one-half day workshop will be presented by Leandra Thompson, DBIA, Northstar

Project Management. The workshop format includes both lectures and prac-tical exercises.

To register or for more information, go to www.same.org/designbuild.

Be sure to mark your calendar for future Design-Build Workshops:

• Nov. 12-14, 2008: St. Louis, Mo.• Jan. 21-23, 2009: Pensacola, Fla.

USACE Small Business Conference Registration Open

Registration is open for the 12th An-nual USACE Small Business Conference, slated for Dec. 8-10 at the Memphis Cook Convention Center in Memphis, Tenn. The conference is a key annual event for small businesses to learn best practices for securing and enacting contracts with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

This premier annual event brings to-gether small business leaders and key USACE decision makers—the top-level

commanders in the field in charge of acquisitions. It provides a forum for di-rect exchange of information and ideas among senior USACE officials and small business leaders.

Registration is open to all individuals and companies at www.usacesbconf.org.

Registration Fees:Industry – Large Business $350Industry – Small Business $300USACE or Government Employees $300Networking Hall Pass (Additional Staff Only) Member $275 Non-Member $300

Conference registration includes access to training sessions and the networking hall and keynote speaker luncheon on Tuesday, and networking reception on Monday.

To register, go to www.usacesbconf.org.

Society News

Management of TISP Transitions to SAME

SAME has been named Secretariat for The Infrastructure Security Part-nership (TISP), a position previously held by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The move, which was approved by the SAME Board of Direction on Aug. 18, will further sup-port the parallel missions of SAME and TISP to improve the nation’s homeland security and disaster preparedness.

As Secretariat, SAME will provide logistical support to the organization; however, TISP will retain its own iden-tity, branding and mission.

“Having SAME serve as TISP Sec-retariat is a good fit for both organi-zations and we are looking forward to a smooth transition,” said SAME Executive Director Robert D. Wolff, Ph.D., P.E., F.SAME. “SAME applauds

the support that ASCE provided dur-ing TISP’s inception and growth over the past seven years, and we plan to build on this model of partnership and excellence in continuing to make TISP relevant and vocal on issues facing our nation’s infrastructure security.”

TISP Forum on the Security of Water and Wastewater Critical Infrastructure

TISP will hold a Forum on the Security of Water and Wastewater Critical Infrastructure, on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008, from 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., at the Army and Navy Club in Washington, D.C.

The forum is designed to create networking opportunities for TISP members interested in issues facing the water infrastructure sector. Spon-sored by TISP and held in support of the Department of Homeland Securi-ty’s National Infrastructure Protection Plan and the Water Sector of the Criti-cal Infrastructure Advisory Panel, the forum will provide a panel of subject-

matter and policy experts who will en-gage in a discussion on water-sector security issues among and between federal, state and local agencies, wa-ter and wastewater service providers, and the private sector. Invited panel-ists include Rear Adm. Richard Bar-ror, Ph.D., P.E., DEE, F.SAME, USPHS; John Laws, Department of Homeland Security; Kevin Morley, American Wa-ter Works Association; Billy Turner, Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council, Department of Homeland Security; and Deborah Newberry, Office of Ground Water & Drinking Water, Environmental Pro-tection Agency.

Registration cost for the Forum is:• Government & Academia: $45 TISP

Members; $60 Non-Members• Non-Profit Organizations and Pri-

vate Sector: $60 TISP Members; $80 Non-MembersSAME Members are considered

members of TISP and, as such, may at-tend the Forum at the reduced mem-ber price.


Plan Now to Attend the 2009 Peninsula Engineer Conference

The Combined Forces Command (CFC) and U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) will hold its annual Peninsula Engineer Conference Feb. 4-6, 2009, in Seoul, South Korea.

Hosted by SAME, the conference will highlight the latest information on the transformation of the U.S. Korea Command and the Korea Relocation Plan (KRP). Networking opportunities for industry and the public sector, and updates on the USFK theater master plan, KRP construction and combat engineering will be provided throughout the conference. A tour of the future site of the U.S. Korea Command Headquarters and a visit to the Humphreys Hub near Pyeongtaek also are planned.

Registration fees for the event are:Military and Government Civilians not on TDY $45Military and Government Civilians on TDY $150Industry $350To register, or for more information, go to www.same.org/

PEC.

Get News Now through RSS Keep current on the latest breaking news from the A/E/C

fields and SAME education, training, networking and special events information—all through RSS!

SAME has added Really Simple Syndication (RSS) to its Member services line-up. To take advantage of this service, go to the SAME Web site at www.same.org and click on the icon with the text that reads “Subscribe to the SAME RSS Feed!” Instructions are included on how to link to an RSS reader through current e-mail systems.

Statement of Ownership

Society News (continued)

SAME Calendar of Events

2008Nov. 6 LEED for DOD Projects Workshop Alexandria, Va.

Nov. 12-14 Design Build Workshop St. Louis, Mo.

Dec. 8-10 USACE Small Business Conference Memphis, Tenn.

2009Jan. 21-23 Design Build Workshop Pensacola, Fla.

Jan. 22-23 SAME Transition Workshop & Job Fair Grapevine, Texas

Feb. 4-6 Penninsula Engineer Conference Seoul, South Korea

Feb. 24-26 Pacific and Northwest Regional Conference Honolulu, Hawaii

March 26 Business Forum and Federal Agency FY10 Program Briefings Arlington, Va.

March 27 DOD FY10 Program Briefings Arlington, Va.

March 27 SAME Academy of Fellows Golden Eagle Awards Dinner Arlington, Va.

April 13 SAME USAFA Engineer Dinner Colorado Springs, Colo.

April 14 2009 SAME / AEA / USMA Engineer Dinner West Point, N.Y.

April 30 SAME / U.S. Coast Guard Engineer Dinner New London, Conn.

May 12-15 SAME Joint Engineer Training Conference & Expo Salt Lake City, Utah

www.same.org/calendar


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New Products & Services

Lighted Bollards for Added SafetyIdeal Shield has added

the Lighted Metro Bollard to its Bumper Post Sleeve line. The Ideal Shield Lighted Metro Bollard fits over exist-ing 6-in diameter posts and stands 57-in high or can be cut to custom heights and is available in a variety of colors. Powered by UV LED technology and made from LDPE thermoplastic mate-rial, the Lighted Metro Bol-lard is a cost-effective way to provide accent lighting for your walkways and en-trances with minimal installation cost—no wires, electricity, or certification approvals required. The LED light provides 100 percent energy savings and has a three-year warranty. 313-842-7290; www.idealshield.com.

SaniGLAZE Restores Tile & Grout to NewThe SaniGLAZE

restorative bonding technology returns old, contaminated tile and grout to a “like new” appear-ance and prevents the problems from

returning. SaniGLAZE also makes tile and grout surfaces very easy to maintain. SaniGLAZE was ranked the #1 Product by Facility Care Magazine in 2004 and 2007. 800-874-5554; www.saniglaze.com.

Vacuum Lifter Eases the LoadAnver VP-Series

Vacuum Lifters for handling heavy discs and large plates feature a beam equipped with three mount assemblies for re-placeable vacuum pads, which are easily changed using clevis pins and quick-connect cou-plers. Designed for either one center vacuum pad or two pads along the beam, this lifter includes pendant controls, a vacuum reservoir, audible and visual alarms, and automati-cally shuts off above a preset vacuum level. Developed for heavy-duty applications, rugged Anver VP-Series Vacuum

Lifters incorporate all welded steel frames and are available in electric, air-powered and self-contained mechanical ver-sions that need no external power. They can be supplied with capacities up to 19,200-lb and can be equipped with a choice of vacuum suction cup types and materials. Scott Dillon, Group Manager, 800-654-3500, or [email protected]; www.anver.com.Fire Control Panels

Foam Insulation Keeps Military Vehicles Cooler3M, which developed Performance Coating 2300, and Engi-

neered Materials Technology (EMTECH), have joined with BAE Systems to develop a field-applied insulation kit that helps keep the crew compartments of combat vehicles cooler. EMTECH manufactures Desert-Guard™ Insulation, a proprietary, custom-fit foam insulation that is over sprayed with 3M Per-formance Coating 2300. 3M’s coating provides enhanced durability and is bonded with 3M Adhesive Transfer Tape 6035. The easily-deployable kits permit peel-and-stick field installation to CARC-coated surfaces on military vehicles. 3M Performance Coating 2300 is a durable, highly flexible, polyurea-based composition. The spray-on coating offers excellent resistance to abrasion, impact and wear. It has low water absorption and is resistant to contaminants.

For more information about 3M Performance Coating 2300, visit www.3m.com/paintsandcoatings.

Bobcat Releases Compact Tractor LineBobcat of North-

ern Virginia carries the first three mod-els released in the new Bobcat com-pact tractor line: the Bobcat CT120, CT225 and CT230. These compact trac-tors are designed to help users tackle a variety of tasks. The machines can be used with Bobcat implements, including an angle blade, box blade, finish mower, post-hole digger, seeder and tine rake, as well as a front-end loader and at-tachments. All of the Bobcat compact tractors feature four-wheel drive for traveling over and working in rough terrain, and they also come with hydrostatic transmissions for easy operation. The CT120 features two travel speed ranges, while the CT225 and CT230 come with three-speed travel. The two larger compact tractor models are also equipped with a pre-mium three-point hitch design for easy implement changes. www.bobcat.com.

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Special Insert - The Military Engineer