Case Studies
The Exotic/Aquatic Plant Quarantine Facility for the University of Florida will make Elkins the preferred contractor for this type of building for many years to come. Several other contractors have attempted to build this highly intricate and detailed building, but have not had similar success.
At three times the cost of a normal building with the same square footage, this was a difficult and highly complex job.
Completing the job successfully was the result of several levels of smaller accomplishments — directing the many people involved in the process, including state and federal inspectors; managing subcontractors effectively; discovering and solving finished system problems before any foundation was poured or walls were erected; and conducting critical testing as the construction progressed rather than at the end of the job.
Ultimately, maintaining control at every step of the construction process was the key to getting this “bugger” of a job completed.
About the facility
The quarantine facility's primary mission is to use natural enemies to combat the growing number of exotic, invasive plants and arthropods that have been identified throughout Florida. Plants such as the Brazilian pepper-tree and insects such as the Mexican bromeliad weevil have had a negative impact on the state's crops and natural habitats.
At the facility, federal scientists will evaluate extensively all biological control organisms before they consider releasing them into Florida's environment. The research will ensure that insects, mites and nematodes being used for control will not feed on unintended plants or other living matter.
Biological control will improve the state's environment and economy by combating invasive plants and arthropods.
Not an easy building to build
From the outside, this two-story, 19,710-square-foot building looks like a rather unassuming block-and-brick structure with an aluminum standing seam roof. On the inside, it is a highly complex facility designed to be airtight and climate controlled, with 13 separate mechanical systems for each area of the building.
Not only is the interior of the building completely sealed, but each room is quarantined from the next room. There are 12,380 square feet of laboratory spaces for the study of plants and insects, as well as other research-related facilities, such as hood rooms. In addition to the laboratories, this facility has six large greenhouses and office areas.
All of it is served by mechanical systems designed to keep a completely sanitary environment. No organism, flower or fauna, can get in or out without the approval of the botanists and entomologists who work at the facility.
The two main doors have three other doors beyond them. As you pass through each door, it is sealed off. This complex lock-and-seal door system prevents any harmful critters from getting in or out.
Everything brought in from the outside immediately is sent to a fumigation room. In this sealed room, all items are purged of foreign pollens and insects.
Bug windows were installed in four of the labs. Designed like an electric bug zapper, these windows act to attract and trap bugs. They are located in the greenhouse, vestibule, security room and fumigation rooms to ensnare bugs that might try to escape into the environment or infiltrate the facility.
If you are going to take items out of the research center, those items also will get a thorough cleaning. A medical-grade autoclave about the size of a bathtub disinfects equipment. All items leaving the facility must be sterilized by this massive through-wall autoclave. If it isn’t sterilized, it is incinerated or sanitized through a super-heated sanitary facility.
To handle waste, a regular bathroom in the non-quarantined area is connected to a regular gravity-fed sewer system. In the sterile areas, an incinerator toilet allows workers to use the bathroom without the tedious task of debugging. All waste from the quarantine area first is fed into a superheated holding tank that, once filled, is heated to 200 degrees via the boiler system. Once heated, the slush is agitated. This process destroys all living organisms. The remnants are cooled and flushed into the main sewer system.
Excellence in Project Management
Elkins had to be assertive in our approach to managing this extremely complex prototype project. The intricate nature of the quarantine facility, where potentially dangerous plants and insects are studied, made this a highly technical job. Every room in the building had to be completely airtight and climate controlled. If the team discovered problems once the building was complete, repairs would be costly, if not impossible. Ongoing constructability reviews early in the job allowed Elkins to identify potential problems before they arose.
During constructability reviews, Project Superintendent Mike Stauffer discovered that the many mechanical systems were not going to fit into the allotted ceiling space. The Elkins team assembled the engineers, designers and subcontractors, recognized the problem and revamped the design to fit the mechanical systems. After consulting with the team members, the decision was made to reroute the HVAC to fit all of the systems in the space.
It is very common for contractors to begin a project without conducting constructability reviews. Buildings often are constructed only to find out later that certain aspects of the design will not work — a costly mistake.
Elkins routinely uses constructability reviews to head off potential problems. In this project, Elkins was able to finish the quarantine project under budget and on time because we identified critical issues long before the site was constructed.
A Pleasant Surprise
Early planning for the budget and the schedule not only avoided constructability problems, it saved the University of Florida so much money that they were able to add a classroom addition they didn’t originally think they could afford.
Because Elkins worked diligently to get the best available pricing and to identify true cost during the early phases of the project, the university could afford to add a 3,000-square-foot addition with four offices, two labs and a hood room.
These items were never originally planned for the project, but were very much needed in the facility. Rather than building the addition at a later date, which would not have been cost effective, Elkins scheduled and coordinated the construction to include the addition, a measure that realized more savings for the university. Despite the last-minute addition, Elkins still kept the project within budget and met the schedule.
Quality Assurance
This was an unusual project that not many contractors have the opportunity to build. The nature of the quarantine facility required exacting design and construction to meet all the usage demands for this facility. To ensure quality, Elkins checked for quality as we went through each stage of the preconstruction and construction.
Elkins initially had many conversations and coordination meetings with the university staff and officials to determine the function of each section of the facility.
As Elkin completed each phase of construction, we addressed the punch list. Normally contractors wait until the end of a job, but the end of the job would be too late to find out about problems, so we punched out and tested for quality as we went — room by room.
Correcting problems as they arose proved to satisfy the owner, but it also provided Elkins and the subcontractors with a means to identify areas of improvement to incorporate into the next phase of construction.
Reporting Methods
The University of Florida has a particular reporting method that they preferred to use. They provided Elkins with a sample and explained that they would like the company to report cost using their methods. Elkins obliged them. Not only did the company use the university’s methods, Elkins expanded the system. The officials at the university were so pleased with the hybrid reporting method that we now use it on all of their projects as their best practice.
Subcontractor Management
Given the complexity of the project, the Elkins team was put in a position where they had to deal with subcontractors and suppliers who may have never worked on this caliber of project. To allay any concerns about subcontractor experience, the Elkins team kept in extremely close communications with the subcontractors to ensure that all possible issues were resolved. Elkins also communicated and coordinated regularly with a tribunal of officials — the staff of the two researchers, quarantine officers and University of Florida project manager, the research center project manager and maintenance officers — to verify how systems were used and what their needs were.
According to Kevin Heinicka, associate director of Facilities Planning and Operations for the University of Florida, this level of surety went far above and beyond the requests of the owner, but it gave them a higher level of confidence that the project would be of the utmost quality and value.
Rigorous Construction Methods
Zero-tolerance caulking and other airtight construction methods were used on the building. This method of caulking requires that all sheetrock is cut to fit tightly around all spaces. Then it is slathered with flexible caulk to prevent air from passing from room to room. Sheetrock is sealed at ducts and conduit. The ceilings and floors are preserved with a protective sealant.
Electrical conduit going from room to room was sealed with a special conduit system. The heating and cooling system was self-contained for each quarantined area. The HVAC contained separate HEPA filters with 80-micron mesh over grills, so bugs could not pass through the vents. The greenhouses, half of the building and laboratories were sealed with this method.
To guarantee the quality of the rooms, the Elkins team would caulk a room and then test it, rather than testing the entire building at once. To certify that rooms were successfully sealed, federal inspectors would verify the quality of each quarantined room with air-pressure testing.
According to Jeff Hawkins, project manager at Elkins Constructors, finding out at the end of the job that the rooms were not sealed correctly would be too late. Advance testing allowed for quality improvements throughout the building.
A special air-pressure system was installed to create low pressure throughout building. Like an invisible shield, this system can draw negative pressure from room to room to protect those rooms from a potential breach. Engineers spent almost a month testing the building to make sure it was properly calibrated for negative airflow.