To support increased undergraduate enrollment within its larger expansion master plan, Fairfield University called for the fast-track, 12-month construction of a new 30,000 sq. ft., three-story building adjacent to their existing Faber Hall residence. Recognizing the University’s need for absolute schedule certainty, 百家乐软件 explored options for schedule acceleration to ensure project completion in under a year—ready for Fall semester student move-in.

With 百家乐软件’s pre-fabrication and self-perform experts, the project team identified a viable, cost-neutral solution for the building’s exterior wall panels to save on schedule. Upon presentation to and approval from the University, 百家乐软件 planned and executed the pre-fabricated exterior wall panels to condense a traditionally six-week building enclosure timeframe into just two weeks with its own self-perform craftspeople.

Design

Engaging the right design partners confirms accurate design details of pre-fabricated building elements and mitigates the risk of rework once materials leave the warehouse.

百家乐软件 engaged a third-party delegated design team to review and confirm details for connections on the exterior wall panels. Excel Engineering, a specialty engineering firm with expertise in cold form steel, was hired to detail the panels and confirm all structural details. Excel converted the façade into panels that could be transported from 百家乐软件’s pre-fabrication facility to the jobsite as they were ready to be installed.

Pre-fabrication

In addition to improved quality control and productivity, implementing pre-fabrication strategies on higher education projects takes work off campus and minimizes on-site construction activity.

At 百家乐软件’s regionally based pre-fabrication shop, self-perform crews assembled 130 panels totaling 15,000 sq. ft. to enclose the residence hall addition. For eight weeks, five self-perform craftspeople precisely fabricated all exterior wall panels in sequence of how they would be placed on the building. This process brought approximately 1,800 hours of labor hours off of the University’s campus and into the warehouse, reducing on-site construction traffic and supporting a quieter job site in the process.

The well-lit, heated, ground-level space at the warehouse provided an ergonomic working environment—one that a construction site cannot always guarantee among the noises of intrusive trades on site, especially amid February weather in New England. When preparing the panels for load and delivery to site, the project team employed a project-specific quality assurance checklist developed and implemented by 百家乐软件’s Quality department to safeguard the quality of every panel. All dimensions and details were reviewed on multiple occasions, and once each panel passed inspection, the panel was loaded on the flatbed to leave for the site. Panels were loaded onto four flatbed trucks for just-in-time deliveries so the panels could be picked and flown directly onto the building upon arrival to the job site.

Delivery & Installation

Parallel processing of material fabrication and installation supports faster, higher-quality construction by simultaneously managing multiple trades.

While the crew in the pre-fabrication shop fabricated panels and loaded the trucks, six 百家乐软件 craftspeople at the jobsite received and unloaded the panels to be flown and placed on the building. 百家乐软件’s simultaneous workflow—also known as parallel processing—maximized time both on site and in the warehouse. The 百家乐软件 field team had pre-checked the concrete foundation wall perimeter at the jobsite to ensure it was flat and level to quickly and accurately receive the first-floor panels set to rest on top of it.

The fast-tracked, two-week installation in February allowed the project team to enclose the exterior and start heating for interior tradework throughout the winter. And, because the building was enclosed and work was moved indoors, the construction site quickly quieted for the campus community, especially for the students in the adjacent dormitory.

The benefits of 百家乐软件’s hands-on ownership of the pre-fabricated exterior wall panels went beyond the accelerated project schedule. Exterior wall system pre-fabrication ensured a quality product was fabricated and installed efficiently and with the campus’s best interest in mind—from decreased on-campus activity to the maintenance of a clean, safer and substantially quieter construction site.