BUILDING TEAM GIVES COMPLEX PROJECT A HEAD START

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP86-00244R000300180001-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 24, 2001
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: August 5, 1971
• Content Type: MAGAZINE

Building gad ato1 a ~l art
Another milestone in the proliferating
use of construction managers was
reached last week with the awarding of
.the last of the major construction con-
tracts for the first phase of a new $355-
million University of Massachusetts
campus on a 90-acre site at Columbia
Point, Boston.
The last of the awards (for a .library
ildi
n`g), cat- .~,c + v
utility t~u
d
o groun
d
an
un
d
though $2 million over estimate,a
y
`
c
u
d
o
ege ,\-
brought the total of contract awards in
~ ~~..
at $1.6 million under estimate (see
table). How the bidding shaped upon the Boston project
i
-
e un
il
t
b
y t
h
u
i
e
ng
i
b
b
The project
s
versity and the state Bureau of Building
Construction (BBC), with McKee-Ber-
ger-Mansueto (MBM),' a New York City
and Boston construction management
firm, as construction manager (ENR
1/14 65). Since MBM went onto the
P
job early last year, six architects started
and completed the design of six strut-
tunes that comprise Phase I, with work
on access roads, grading and site prepa-
ration, pile driving and foundation
work for all buildings going on con-
currently.
"We feel that the successful buying-
Project
element
contractor
Bid award
Estimate
Library, Utility
Blount-Fontaine
$21,891,000
$19,600,000
Science
Blount-Fontaine
19,040,000
20,487,000
Service
Poorvu Const. Co.
2,651,300
2,778,885
Administration
Franchi Construction
4,438,000
5,133,000
College
S. Volpe & Co.
16,387,000
16,700,000
College
Dimeo Const. Co.
16,567,827
16,639,055
Piles
Raymond
4,195,415
3,932,000
Foundation
1,139,800
1,330,000
Site-Work
Gil-Bern
5,484,342
8,170,000
ue^cr o
V
Flaherty-Sand
4 F74,ono
c , c-) nix)
Excavation
DeMatteo Const.
484,264
700,000
Structural Steel
Two Colleges
Bethlehem Steel
1,493,290
1,440,000
98,446,238
102,061,940
out of this project demonstrates the via 2,000,000 -
Equipment in estimates but being bid separately
bility of phased construction and con- TOTAL 100,446,238 102,061,940?1
struction management services for large Includes 2 per cent change order contingency
or complex public projects," says MBM
president Gerald McKee. "The fore-
sight demonstrated by the university
and the commonwealth's Bureau of goal, and the target date for completion taken by the commonwealth. And with
::",building Construction in promoting is now set for mid-1973. more than 30 professional teams and
this approach has saved at least 18 The project is being watched closely over 20 prime contractors involved, it is
months and $20 million." . because it is the largest one ever under- also one of the most complex.
The budget for the building complex
(two colleges and a library-utility, sci-
ence, administration and central service
s work permit policy il
buildings), reduced to about $130 mil-
NLRB rules union
legal
'
propriation request, was maintained by The National Labor Relations Board members, Tryco and Schmelter that it
use of a variety of cost control proce- (NLRB) has ruled that a Detroit local of has no policy of requiring work permits
dures, including value engineering, bid the ironworkers' union violated federal and that it has no objection to Schmel-
packaging and the use of a central bid labor law by requiring nonunion work- ter's employment by Tryco. The NLRB
purchase arrangement. Cost elements ers to secure work permits as a condi- said the union had tried to limit its
not shown on the table include nearly tion of employment. The NLRB said the back-pay liability by writing Tryco it
$30 million for installed equipment union caused Tryco Steel Corp., De- did not object to Schmelter's employ-
that will be bid separately, professional troit, to refuse employment to a non- ment.
fees and incidental contracts. union member, Charles P. Schmelter, The same local in 1965 was found
Bids were solicited on the six strut- because he did not have a work permit guilty of criminal contempt of a court
tures as their designs were completed. issued by the union. decree in continuing to require work
The awarding of the contracts and the The NLRB directed the union to pay permits of nonmembers. The . NLRB
start of building construction has been Schmelter in whole for any loss of pay found a major factor in the union's en-
spread and phased over the last seven he suffered. Back-pay liability will ap- forcement of its illegal work permit pol-
~Nopgh ~ 0d to inform its members
months. The telelgOPO Mc1 1fga4 2 o ud*m27CJA
construction time has been a primary after the union notifies its stewar s, its at won permits were not required.
 New plans in July
4 Chg. fr. Cum. Chg.
wks. mo.t Yr.t 7 mos. '70-1
value ago ago ($ mil) '71
($ mil.) % %
Total' ................ 3,367 0 -20 33',054 -8
Hvy.censt.total ....... 987 -9 -42 14,095 +11
Weiss, use, control..... 729 +96 +27 4,002 -2
Waterworks......... 123 +66 -19 745 -12
Sewerage........... 199 -1 -4B 2,243 -22
Treatment plants.... 66 -11 -42 782 -34
Earthwork, watorwoys.. 406 +323 +968 1,015 +174
Transportation......... 97 -64 -91 6,959 +7
Highways............ 59 -11 -91 5,502 +20
Bridges ............. 9 +125 -95 646 +9
Airports ............. 29 -31 +190 519 -21
Terminals, bldgs.... 9 -65 +29 90 -73
Elec, gas, comm....... 37 -91 +37 2,474 +50
+83
Other hvy.const....... 124 +172 +184
Nonres. bldg. Iola[ ..... 1,638 0 -5 13,781 -17
Manufacturing......... 113 -33 +18 3,9914 53
96 -13
Commercial........... 518 +41 0
Offices ............. 252 +39 +39 1,664 -20
Stores, shop. ctr... ... 174 +57 -14 1,439 -7 -12
Educational........... 341 -32 -27 4,305 -27
Collegge, univ......... 106 -27 -40 1 Medical ............. 88 -46 -17 2,252 -12
Hospital............. 150 -52 -15 1824 -2
Other ................ 476 +95 +13 2,415 -18
Housing, multiunit'.... 742 +16 -3 3,800 -23
apartments.......... 587 +30 -2
*Excludes 1-2 Family houses. Minimum sizes included ores Industrial plants,
heavy and highway construction, $100,000) buildings, $500,000. t Based on
increase by about t 10,000 during this
decade, the largest absolute increase of
any construction occupation except
carpenters. In the case of carpenters,
Federal construction highlights July planning
Construction planning in July matched
June's slow trickle and extended 197l's
lag behind a year ago to 8%.
Federal construction plans re-
bounded as congressional appropria-
tion approvals mounted. Federal work's
surge pushed new plans for earthwork,
dams and waterways to a new high for
any July. Spiking up this volume is a
$150-million Bureau of Reclamation ir-
rigation project in Rio Arriba and San
Juan counties, New Mexico.
Political contributions-The American
Society of Civil Engineers' board of di-
rection has adopted more specific
guidelines for engineers solicited for po-
litical contributions. The guidelines rec-
ognize the right to make, or to refuse to
make, political contributions; require
members to report instances where they
are denied work because of a failure to
contribute; and subject to disciplinary
action, members 'whose selection for
professional work is related directly or
indirectly to political contributions.
Heavy construction plans lost some
of their six-months' gain over 1970, but
airports and utilities scored fat gains
over July, 1970.
Commercial building rose 41% over
June to match last year's figure as of-
fices and stores rose sharply in July.
While manufacturing plants backed
down again, they remained 18% ahead
of July 1970's Iow pace. Educational
and medical building plans had a poor
July showing.
BRIEFS
passes by panels of regional councils for
collective bargaining, the panels to be
composed of public members and labor
and management representatives of all
crafts. The status quo has produced
nothing but chaos in labor relations,
and it's time to innovate, he says.
Philadelphia Plan-The U. S. Supreme
Court has been asked to rule on the le-
gality of the President's equal employ-
NT 11946 and
Construction employment
Construction manpower needs are pro-
jected to increase 37% by 1980, from
3.3 million construction workers in
1970 to an estimated 4.6 million in
1980. The figures are based on con-
struction employment data of the U.S.
Department of Labor's Bureau of La-
bor Statistics (BLS).
The projected rate of growth in con-
struction employment during 1970-80
is 3.2% annually. Between 1960 and
1970, the rate of growth was 1.5% per
year. Manpower growth is based on in-
creases predicted in the volume of pub-
lic and private, primarily residential,
construction. New construction is ex-
pected to grow more than 5% a year
over the 1970-80 period, twice the rate
of the 1960s.
Demand for laborers is expected to
painters and laborers, the estimated
number of openings created by death
and retirement is expected to equal.or
exceed the number resulting from the
net growth of the industry.
Manpower needs will require ex-
panded training efforts, BLS says. Con-
tinued emphasis on higher education
may impede recruitment of nigh school
graduates and push the construction in-
dustry more in the direction of insti-
tutional training, it notes. The U.S.
must use available manpower more ef-
ficiently, BLS warns.
Unemployment compensation-AFL-
cIo President George Meany has re-
minded President Nixon that the dead-
line the President set in 1969 for states
to improve unemployment benefits ex-
pired with only four states meeting the
deadline. Nixon had urged that state
ceilings on benefits be raised so that at
least 80% of the jobless would receive
half their lost wages. Meany now wants
federal legislation to achieve that goal.
ment opportunity order o.
the government's Philadelphia antibias District 50-Over 80% of the locals in
ls for the International Union of District 50
f A
ppea
plan. The U. S. Court o
Antistrike proposal-Associated Gen- the Third Circuit upheld the order and have approved the union's proposed
eral Contractors President John Healy the plan in April (LNR 5/6 p. 9), and merger with the United Steelworkers of
II has us, =c k 1 Pennsylvania contractors who America, AF(, CIO. Formal action on
b ~ a dtBvP f ~ t e 0 i1) ~ :of'f ;fRDlp 6+24Aft@0G31001180O0 will be taken at District 50's
t l,, v ,rh
binding arbitration of bargaining im- that decision.
. (in $ millions)
Approved Fo lease 2001/05/23 : gWRQ~$6,t? oo9.W1 t$ rise 37% by 1980