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Innovation in Vertical and Horizontal Construction: Lessons for the Transportation Industry

2. Methodology

2.1 Steering Committee

It was essential at the outset of the project to assemble a Steering Committee of senior professionals thoroughly familiar with the horizontal and / or vertical construction industries, with experience in the public and / or the private sectors, to provide direction and guidance to the project. In order to adequately represent most if not all the stakeholders, it was necessary to include in the Steering Committee representatives of FHWA, AASHTO, major engineering and design firms, and major construction firms. The Steering Committee shown in Table 1 was appointed to guide and advise CERF in the conduct of the project.

Table 1: Project Steering Committee
Name Organization Location Representing
Charles Thornton (Chair) Thornton-Tomasetti Washington DC
New York
Vertical - Private
Ian Friedland FHWA Washington DC Horizontal-Public
Ed McSpedon HNTB Los Angeles Mixed-Private
Jim Lammie Parsons Brinckerhoff New York Horizontal-Private
David Palmer Arup New York Mixed - Private
Jim McKenna Turner Construction New York Vertical-Private
Jon Magnusson Magnusson Klemencic Seattle Vertical-Private
Bill Baker SOM Chicago Vertical-Private
Cameron Kergaye AASHTO Washington DC Horizontal - Public
Amar Chaker (staff) CERF Washington DC N/A
Mike Goode (staff) CERF Washington DC N/A

2.2 Scan Team

The Scan Team members traveled to major metropolitan areas to meet with leading members of the vertical construction world. The purpose of these meetings was to provide the opportunity for the Scan Team to listen to presentations that distill the accumulated experience and wisdom of their vertical construction colleagues, to "pick their brains" and to have a meaningful and substantive exchange with them, to observe and analyze illustrative examples of the technological and process innovations the vertical construction world has achieved and to stimulate the thoughts of the Scan Team members and the discussion among them.

A balance between representatives of the major FHWA Offices on one hand, and the State Departments of Transportation and AASHTO on the other was necessary to represent the federal and state points of view. More specifically, four members of the Scan Team were selected for their involvement in AASHTO technical units (Design, Bridges, and Construction Committees, and Technology Implementation Group). Additionally, the participation of a representative from the National Association of County Engineers (NACE) was deemed necessary, as city and county engineers typically face similar problems but with different access to resources. It was also felt that the participation of industry would be beneficial to the project, and key industry organizations were invited to participate. The Prestressed/Precast Concrete Institute and Project Steering Committee member from Magnusson Klemencic participated in the three scanning trips and meetings; while representatives from the American Institute of Steel Construction and the National Steel Bridge Alliance participated in the Chicago meeting.

The list of members appointed to the Scan Team listed is shown below in Table 2. It is comprised of six members from FHWA, four from State Departments of Transportation, one from AASHTO, one from NACE, one from an industry association, one from a leading building structural design firm, and two from CERF. The biographies of the key project participants appear in Appendix A.

Table 2: Scan Team
Name Position Organization
Don Arkle Chief, Design Bureau Alabama Department of Transportation
Jerry Blanding Innovative Contracting Engineer Federal Highway Administration
Gary L. Brown Technology Coordinator Federal Highway Administration
Steve DeWitt Director, Construction North Carolina Department of Transportation
John S. Dick Structures Director Precast / Prestressed Concrete Institute
Alan Forsberg County Engineer NACE
Ian M. Friedland Bridge Technology Engineer Federal Highway Administration
David Hohmann Bridge Division Design Section Director Texas Department of Transportation
Cameron Kergaye Engineering Management Fellow AASHTO (and Utah Department of Transportation)
Bob Kogler Bridge Design & Construction R&D Team Leader Federal Highway Administration
Jon Magnusson Chairman and CEO Magnusson Klemencic Associates
M.G. Patel Chief Engineer Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
Cheryl Allen Richter* Highways for LIFE Team Federal Highway Administration
Dan Sanayi Construction & System Preservation Engineer Federal Highway Administration
Michael Goode Vice-President and Director, Industry Programs CERF
Amar Chaker Director, Engineering Applications CERF

*Charles Churilla participated in the New York City meeting on behalf of Ms. Cheryl Richter

2.3 Local Organizing Committees

CERF assembled Local Organizing Committees that provided assistance in organizing the meetings. These committees were able to identify the key players in vertical and/or horizontal construction in their regions and facilitate their participation in the meeting as presenters, discussants, moderators, or field trip guides. CERF approached senior executives of companies that are members of its Corporate Advisory Board, and was able to identify in each of the three metropolitan areas a number of them willing to provide assistance by being the Local Group Leader. In all three cities, the assistance provided was tremendous, and far more extensive than expected. Appendix B provides the list of Local Organizing Committees members.

2.4 Preparation for the trips and meetings

Prior to the scanning trips, CERF developed a questionnaire to identify the primary areas of interest of the Scan Team members. At the outset of the project, it was anticipated that advanced technologies and innovative materials would be a focus of interest. Instead, the questionnaire showed that technology innovations were secondary, and that the majority of the Scan Team members had concerns and interest in process areas such as procurement and contracting. The survey results allowed CERF and the Local Organizing Committees to adjust the agendas for the scanning trips and to select the participants in relation to the areas of interest thus identified.

The composition of the Scan Team and the results of the interest profile survey show that the Scan Team members have diverse backgrounds, experience, concerns and interests. To help focus the discussions, CERF developed a discussion framework document that defined the problem at hand and summarized the key ideas to be explored during the scan trips and associated discussions.

An initial meeting of the Scan Team was held by conference call on June 29, 2004, prior to the series of scanning trips. The purpose was to prepare the Scan Team, review the discussion framework document, and engage the team in defining amplifying questions for the scanning trips.

Since the Scan Team was a geographically distributed working group, CERF established and maintained a secure, web-based group collaboration area using "eRoom" software(Documentum, Inc.). The dedicated eRoom was a repository for project documents and a means of communication and coordination among the project team members.

The discussion framework document is provided in Appendix C.

2.5 Scan Trips Meetings

CERF planned, organized and conducted three two-day scan trips, one each to New York City (July 8-9, 2004), Chicago (August 5-6, 2004), and Los Angeles (September 22-23, 2004), as part of this project.

In New York City, David Palmer (Principal, Arup) assembled a cadre of top level professionals well aware of current issues and of major trends in construction in the area. They, together with Mr. Palmer and his senior staff, prepared and delivered presentations tailored to the concerns of the Scan Team and participated in discussions with the team. They also made arrangements for the field trip that included the Jamaica Station, Air Train, and Terminal 4 at JFK Airport. Dr. Jeremy Isenberg (President and CEO, Weidlinger Associates, Inc.) hosted the meeting in his firm's offices.

In Chicago, William Baker (Partner, SOM) and members of SOM's senior staff participated in the meeting, and enlisted the participation of key players in the design and construction industry in the area. John Viise (SOM) assisted in this and made arrangements for the field trip that included Soldier Field and the One South Street Building construction project.

In Los Angeles, Ed McSpedon (Vice-President, HNTB) and his associate, Tony Gonzales identified key players in the design and construction industry in the area, and invited them to participate in the meeting. Gerry Seelman (Vice-President AECOM DMJM+Harris) hosted the meeting at his firm's offices. The field trip included a visit to Gehry Partners Studio, and technical tours of the Los Angeles Cathedral of the Angels, CalTrans District 7 Headquarters Building, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

At all three meetings, other senior personnel of companies that are members of the CERF Corporate Advisory Board participated in and contributed to the meetings, including Thornton Tomasetti, Gehry Partners, Disney Imagineering, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Bentley Systems, and Bechtel. Altogether, the Scan Team had the opportunity to meet and have in-depth discussions with an impressive list of high-level engineers, managers, and executives, and was given access to a number of unique, cutting-edge projects and facilities.

At each of the three meetings, a well known keynote speaker was invited to address the Scan Team on topics of interest: Frank Lombardi (New York City), Dr. Henry Petroski (Chicago), and Gil Garcetti (Los Angeles). Agendas indicating discussion topics and participants at each of the three meetings are given in Appendix D.

Wrap-up discussions were held by the Scan Team at the end of each meeting to review and agree on key points discussed, and to prepare for the next project activity. At the conclusion of the last scan trip, a general discussion was held to examine the process by which the draft final report would be prepared, establish a preliminary list of topics to be discussed in the report, and discuss a draft action plan for dissemination and implementation. The outline for this report was developed and writing assignments were given to all Scan Team members.

This photo is a group picture at Soldier Field (Chicago) of the Scan Team, CERF staff, and guides for the visit.
The Scan Team at Soldier Field (Chicago)

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Updated: 06/27/2017
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