Engineering Inc. - September/October 2007 - (Page 15) John P. Krolicki Michael J. Garland Deputy Director Director of Facilities Development Beaumont Services Company Troy, Mich. What are your near- and long-term predictions for engineering needs in your market sector? Monroe County Department Of Environmental Services Rochester, N.Y. Are most of your projects delivered using traditional delivery methods such as design-bid-build, or are you using alternate delivery services? Have you encountered any difficulty in using your delivery method(s) of choice? H ealth care is in the midst of a major construction boom, and Beaumont Hospitals (a metro-Detroit-based health system) is no exception. The Beaumont system is one of the busiest in the country and has allocated significant capital to renovate aging facilities and build new additions to handle increasing patient volume. Beaumont also is rapidly expanding its ambulatory network to offer quality care throughout the metro Detroit area. I feel that the demand for engineering in the health care field will continue to increase over the next five years and will remain strong for an additional five years. m onroe County’s capital projects are primarily delivered using the designbid-build method in compliance with NYS General Municipal Law. The exception would include Energy Performance Contracts as defined by NYS Energy Law, whereby a municipality can hire a qualified engineer/contractor team through a competitive RFP process to provide turnkey energy-saving projects, such as lighting, HVAC, electrical and control systems. The county has successfully taken advantage of this provision on several projects, including a $9.5 million effort with Siemens under way at the Monroe Community Hospital. Design-bid-build does not offer the flexibility of teaming consultants with contractors as a single, qualified team sharing risk. Design-bid-build adds time to project schedules because it involves a separate consultant selection and construction contract award. Time is money, especially with a short construction season in New York. Rick Brown section Chief Colorado Water Conservation Board Denver What are the priorities of your project team on topics such as project safety, design, construction and operation? o ur project team is involved in a broad range of projects, and the priorities of the team shift depending on the project type. Construction and remediation projects always raise health and safety concerns. Unfortunately, liability issues often drive design elements and health and safety plans beyond what might be more practical. It is important to work with the client to find the best balance for the specific project. For projects involving water resources and the environment, it seems that social issues and public support are becoming more vital and challenging. To position themselves for success, engineering firms should retain staff with strong facilitation and public outreach skills. Community buy-in is the essential first step to a successful project. sEptEmbER / oCtobER 2007 ENGINEERING INC. 15
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.