A New Market for Suitt?

Suitt Construction Design-Building Its First Federal Project at Pope AFB

Suitt Construction was a pioneer in the development of the design-build process and is now using its skills in that area to tackle its first federal contract: a $14-million corrosion-control facility for C-130 cargo planes at Pope Air Force Base.

by Bea Quirk

Greenville, S.C.-based Suitt Construction Co.'s ability to move into new areas to adjust to changing market conditions is apparent in one of its latest projects: a $14 million corrosion-control facility for C-130 cargo planes at Pope Air Fore Base in Fayetteville, N.C.

It is the company's first federal contract and the first hangar facility it has built. And as it has in more than half its projects, the firm is using the design-build process.

Suitt is a national leader in design-build and was a founding member of the Design-Build Institute of America.

Suitt has always outsources design on its projects, and for the corrosion-control facility it chose BRPH of Melbourne, Fla., for all engineering and design work.

Kenny Anderson, Suitt's project manager for the Pope facility, said the firm went after a federal contract because "after Sept. 11, and with the economy the way it is, you can't be choosey about the work. The federal government does a lot of work all over the place. It's a tremendous market we haven't tapped into."

Even before it was officially awarded the contract, Suitt had to deal with the differences between working in the private sector and for the federal government. For example, the bidding process was in two phases - the first one a selection process to determine who was qualified, and the second, the actual bid.

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Also, Anderson said that a bid is about 30-40 pages long, but the one for the Pope hangar filled six spiral-bound notebooks.

"It's a big upfront expense when you bid on a government job," he added. "It's a time- and labor-intensive process, and if you don't get the job, you're out the money you invested."

The design process was also intense and time-consuming. Once Suitt was awarded the contract on Dec. 9, 2002, it and engineers from BRPH had 60 days to complete 60 percent of the design work. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the owner, took 30 days to review the plan and comment. Then Suitt and BRPH had another 60 days to finish the design.

The Corps then reviewed it for another 30 days, the designers had 15 days to tweak it and then the Corps got back to them in another five before the final details were approved. BRPH engineers remain involved as construction continues.

But Suitt was able to get a head start on the construction by getting sitework design approved after the first 60 days. Construction began April 9, 2003, with an expected completion date in June.

Anderson said the military has its own way of doing things, and, "We had some growing pains learning how the military works."

For example, on a typical job, if work needs to be done somewhere, crew members just pick up their tools and go where they are needed. On a military base, work crews must get permission first, a process that takes about two weeks. And when a work area is located in a restricted zone, workers have to be escorted by military personnel at all times.

Anderson visits the site about twice a week, and Suitt has about a dozen staffers onsite. The work crew is made up of about 70. The Corps has a quality-assurance supervisor in the field every day, and the Corps' project engineer, Sayed Hossien Kamalbake, also visits the site once or twice a week.

Kamalbake said the Corps often uses the design-build approach because it facilitates the faster resolution of problems and keeps projects on a fast-track schedule.

Pope AFB is part of Fort Bragg, an Army base from where soldiers and supplies are shipped out to wherever there is a need. The C-130 is large transport aircraft used for such purposes.

The 68,000-sq.-ft. corrosion-control facility is a conventional steel building with insulated metal siding. It has 50-ft.-high ceilings and is made up of two hangar bays - one for washing the C-130s and one for painting them with a chemical that helps prevent corrosion.

The need to precisely control air flow in the paint bay is extremely important. It requires careful design, as well as perfect placement and alignment of its doors - six of them, each 5 ft. thick, 26 ft. wide and 40 ft. high - fans, slots, dampers, filters and valves.

"If the air flow is too slow, it won't take the toxic fumes out of the building," Anderson said "But if it's too fast, the paint won't stick to the plane. The flow must be straight and direct all over the aircraft, without any turbulence, eddies or pools. It's a matter of controlling both velocity and volume."

To paint the planes, workers stand on scaffolding and use spray guns to cover the planes with the corrosion-hindering chemical. Toxic fumes must be released through vents in the roof.

Before the building is delivered, engineers will simulate the painting process and monitor the air flow with special sensors to make sure the specifications are met.

A waste treatment system must be in place so runoff can be treated before being discharged.

Anderson said "this project is a gage" to help his firm decide" if it will pursue other federal projects in the future. "We will look for the right job and be selective in the projects we go after."