Metcon Conducts 1 st Virtual Bid Opening on NC State Construction Office Project in NC
As Covid-19 Pandemic continues its assault on the US and the world, finding ways to conduct the essential business of construction gets more and more complicated. Social distancing and “shelter in place” continue for many but construction workers are putting on their hard hats every day and heading to work. These are mothers, fathers, daughters, & sons keeping the important infrastructure of our state and country on track. New projects that have been in planning and design for the past year are coming into the que for the formal bid process. UNC Pembroke’s New School of Business and many other public projects Metcon has under contract, are caught right smack in the middle of this pandemic. The new $36M School of Business, designed by SfL+a Architects, is being delivered under the Construction Management at Risk contracting method and by traditional NC State Construction Office requirements & processes, involves a very strict and public protocol.
“We decided 3 weeks ago to roll our sleeves up and find a way to keep this project on track and under contract.”, says Aaron Thomas, President and CEO of Metcon. “On a positive note, we are blessed to have a full backlog of public projects that are fully funded and either in progress or starting soon, which is also a huge challenge given this situation. We know the importance of getting these projects bid and moving into construction. For our clients, subcontractors, and the economy,” says Thomas.
The project team, led by Metcon veteran of 16 years, Samantha Locklear, Sr. Project Manager for the project, met with State Construction Officials and UNC Pembroke Stakeholders and laid out a plan for bid day to keep safety first and foremost for all involved and still meet state requirements. Via the hottest teleconferencing gig in the marketplace – Zoom, they organized, planned and conducted the very first “Virtual Public Bid Opening” for the State of NC on Tuesday, March 31, 2020. “UNC Pembroke is one of our largest clients and the School of Business is a very important project for their campus, and the community” says Locklear. The project came in on budget, which has been a huge challenge for construction projects in NC in 2019.
“Implementing safety protocol company wide has been critical to keeping our employees and workers on our jobsites safe,” says Tonya Warren, Director of Safety and Risk Management. “Social distancing, remote and virtual meetings, hand washing stations and monitoring the number of workers in any given area on the jobsite is critical to controlling the community spread.” The company has had over 80 meetings conducted virtually via Zoom in the last two weeks for new and current projects that are typically held face to face. “We have prohibited travel between offices and limited the staff on site as well as making sure workers are well educated about the virus and the safety precautions to take while on the jobsite. We have posted posters around the site, outside office trailers and restrooms about the virus, proper hand washing guidelines and social distancing” says Warren. The company even held their annual corporate meeting via Zoom last week.
Looking at the construction industry, this pandemic will have a lasting effect for a while which brings a lot of uncertainty. With a tremendous amount of building materials manufactured in China, the concern is real. Not only will materials take longer to get, controlling costs will also be a challenge. Maintaining a realistic and critical schedule will be also be affected with the social distancing and scheduling of crews of as well. Finding new tools and ways to operate and control risks will be key. “We will push through it and do all we can, be proactive for the good of the client and the workers,” says Thomas. As far as Metcon is concerned, “we will do what we always do – keep solving problems for our clients.”
###
Metcon Buildings and Infrastructure is the largest Minority Owned Contractor [Native American Indian] in NC with 7 offices and 80 employees. For more information on Metcon and upcoming projects, visit our website www.metconus.com or contact Angela Carter, Director of Business Development & Metcon’s Community and Education Foundation at acarter@metconus.com