On any given day, more than 1,000 construction trade workers are on site at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Add to that the management staff, design staff and other construction support staff and the number easily doubles.
It’s become probably one of the most well-known commercial construction projects in Atlanta. Currently, two main areas are either under construction or in the final stages of completion: the Consolidated Rental Car Facility and the Maynard H. Jackson Jr. International Terminal. As of press time, CONRAC’s grand opening was scheduled for December 7, while the international terminal is set for completion in April 2012.
While the projects have moved along fairly smoothly, there have been some adjustments along the way. When construction first began on CONRAC, a new project delivery method was put in place – a construction manager at risk.
“When you talk about a project it’s all about understanding the project delivery method,” said Dan Molloy, assistant general manager of planning and development. “It was the first time we applied a construction manager-at-risk process and we had a little bit of a learning curve. But we got a handle on it and it’s been running well ever since. Of course, we’re using that same project delivery method to construct the international terminal and it’s going very well on that project.”
While most of the construction aspects were fairly straightforward, there were a few tough components – mainly the bridges and roads spanning the freeway complex.
“At times [we were] in Fulton County, at times in Clayton County, at times in the City of College Park,” Molloy said. “[We were] spanning an interstate, state highway, local roads – a little bit of everything. That coordination had to be detailed.”
The success of managing a project that overlaps different counties, cities and roads lies in the details.
“You have to make sure you envision all of the issues that could arise and manage the project appropriately. By that, [I mean] the right people keeping their eyes on the right things,” he said. “It’s kind of a risk management process – what are the things that could go wrong and are you paying attention to those and actively managing them? Cost and schedule control.”
The construction team at Hartsfield-Jackson rigorously applies those principles across the board. They’ve been able to keep the international terminal on track, albeit on a tighter schedule than anticipated, due to the delays caused by September’s deluge and subsequent flooding.
“We’re almost done with the structural concrete pours; moving right along extending the existing train tunnel; the structural steel that frames the upper level and roof is going on – there’s a lot of work happening,” Molloy said. “Roughly $30 million a month [is] being spent constructing that facility which will continue through pretty much to the end.
“We just bid out the last couple packages of work – the interior finishing and fit out… everything, walls, drywall, flooring, ceiling, lighting, all that sort of thing. In November we completed all the design work.”
Along with delays due to natural causes, construction at Hartsfield-Jackson has also been affected by the economy. But while there is a downside, there’s also a silver lining.
“From a purely financial perspective and available money, passenger traffic is down; airline revenues are clearly down as the airline industry in general is hurting. As an airport community it’s tougher to spend money on projects right now when you don’t really have a clear view of the future,” Molloy said. “Certainly airlines don’t want to commit to paying for things right now when they don’t know when they’re going to come out of this.
“From a pure planning of new projects perspective everybody’s kind of taking a step back and thinking twice about a lot of projects, including us. We’re downsizing our plan of spending significantly from what it was two years ago. That’s not to say we’re stopping completely, we still do a significant amount of work but not nearly what we had originally thought.”
But, having said that, Molloy also sees an upside.
“Looking at it from another angle though, with the lack of work going on regionally and nationally, the work we have is attracting a lot of interest from the contracting community,” he said. “We’re getting better competition, getting very strong bids and we’re able to hold our budgets a lot better. The best [in construction] is available and on the market so we’re getting good, quality work.”
Diversity focus a major part of construction efforts
When it comes to attracting top-quality contractors and workers, part of Hartsfield-Jackson’s appeal is their commitment to diversity. Working in tandem with the City of Atlanta, which has been a leader in developing and growing the minority and female contracting community, Hartsfield-Jackson has purposefully developed programs to ensure diversity across the board.
One of the biggest proponents of diversity is Joe Jackson, director of the airport’s supplier diversity program and president and CEO of the Greater Atlanta Economic Alliance. Since he started in 2002, Jackson has led the airport’s efforts to build their minority and female contracting base.
He and his team keep a diversity scorecard, allowing them to track how well they’re meeting their diversity goals. As of September 2009, total achievement was 37.18 percent, above the commitment goal of 34.21 percent.
According to Jackson, of the $2.9 billion that has been procured through the capital projects, $922 million has been paid to date to female and minority contractors. Out of that, $244 million has been paid to female firms and $679 million to minority business enterprises.
“The United States averages a 6-to-7 percent rate of females in construction. Ours is presently trending at 10 percent,” Jackson said. “Also, the City of Atlanta operates under an ordinance that requires for the architect, engineering and construction industry [to have a certain percentage of] equal business opportunity participation. The Atlanta average is about 25-26 EBO participation, where the country’s aspirations for EBO participation is 10 percent.”
When Jackson and his team first started running the supplier diversity program, they began investigating why companies were not meeting minority/female participation goals. They quickly realized the companies were waiting until the actual pre-bid or when the contracts were advertised.
“Shirley Franklin and Ben DeCosta wanted a very transparent procurement process and outreach process so they encouraged us to develop a model where we would communicate early and often [with contractors],” Jackson said. “Now, during the planning and design stage when the architects, engineers and designers are meeting, there’s a new chair available for myself or a member of my team. This allows us to begin to identify how we’re going to meet and exceed the female/minority participation.
“From there, we plan outreaching sessions and conferences to get the contractors prepared and ready for the upcoming contract. Once the contract has been awarded we scorecard the contractor’s commitment and follow those commitments on a monthly basis to ensure that they are incompliance under the office of contracts.”
Jackson’s efforts to help minority/female businesses have proven successful. In 2006, his office’s first major project was completed – Runway 1028.
“With that project we had substantial participation and a lot of companies really began to grow,” he said. “And those companies that completed those projects are now working on other roadway and runway projects, not only in Atlanta but also throughout the state.”
One of those companies is Steel King, a steel erector company that worked with Archer Western on the 285 bridge structures for the 285 tunnels where the runway goes over the interstate. Now Steel King works with Archer Western throughout Georgia.
“If a contractor starts at the airport, and if they’re really sincere and if they do a great job and grow their business the smart way, they can have a sustainable plan,” Jackson said.
“As we complete the CONRAC facility, our huge focus of attention over the next two-and-a-half years is the international terminal. We are achieving right now substantial EBO participation on that project as well.
“As we continue to complete one phase of an element and begin to go into other projects it’s our wish that contractors would be able to just pick up their tool box and get prepared to go to the next project,” he said. “That’s important to the airport because we want to be competitive and we want to make sure our projects finish on time and in budget. By identifying a pool of qualified candidates and contractors of all sizes it helps the airport receive competitive bids and maintain our pool of contractors.”
