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Skip Sneath, vice president of Cutting Edge Installation (CEI), used blueprints to color code different floors, access points, and systems to help create a floor installation analysis that showed when other trades needed access to CEI's work areas. Knowing this helped avoid scheduling conflicts. BY Michelle GardNer C utting Edge Installations (CEI) was about to perform a relatively rare operation. The Enfield, Connecticut-based firm typically doctors up old, worn-out floor coating systems at medical buildings. This time, they contracted to apply more than 55,000 square feet (5,109.67 m2) of coating atop fresh concrete at a large, new-build regional medical center. During the recently completed two-year project, CEI would rely on teamwork and proven project management tools to keep this job from turning into a major headache! The 374-bed, acute-care Orange Regional Medical Center in Wallkill, New York, was being built by HBE Corp of St. Louis, Missouri. HBE was the designer, architect, and general contractor all rolled into one. CEI had never worked for HBE before, so they knew they had to get this medical center flooring project done right, and on time! "We do a lot of medical facilities and HBE contacted us," says Skip Sneath, vice president of CEI. New construction poses different challenges than those found in working on existing structures, Sneath says, but he knew he could count on his team— and his trusted coatings supplier. "It's pretty rare that we got to help out at a brand new hospital facility," says Sam Sacks, senior sales representative for Dur-A-Flex. CEI typically plans its work around hospital staff and patients, says Sacks. This project took a different type of planning. Photos courtesY of dur-a-flex Yes or No aNd WhY CEI used preconstruction meetings to construct a mock-up that helped create specific area access predictions that took into account all the other trades on site. In turn, they used those predictions to create a timeline that helped them keep on track. Sneath created this "floor installation analysis" to help wrap his brain around scheduling. "We took a blueprint and color-coordinated the different floor levels and multiple systems to determine the availability of work times," Sneath says. The analysis let him understand access points, such as elevators, that he'd need to transport people, gear, and products. This clear picture helped him create time estimates. But perhaps even more importantly, the floor installation analysis showed Sneath when other trades needed access to CEI's work areas. Knowing this helped avoid scheduling conflicts. CEI's foreman Bryan Gillman underscored the benefits of Sneath's floor installation analyses. "It was important that in meetings when someone asked me if what they wanted was possible, I was able to tell them yes or no and why," Gillman says. "The preconstruction meetings set up realistic time expectations, and Skip's mock-up helped everyone know what to expect." The project called for a coating system that contained less than 100g/liter of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which was a mandate for this green project. January 2013 g www.coatingspromag.com 53