Whole Barracks Renewal

Whole Barracks Renewal
Fort Riley, Kansas

Partnering Lesson:

  • Partnering contract revisions saved time and money.
  • Partnering expedited occupancy.

Project Description
The $50 million project included the demolition of old barracks and the construction of new barracks, company operations facilities, soldier community buildings, and a dining hall.

Project Challenges:

  • Extremely tight schedules for building turnover as troops could only move into new barracks between scheduled training exercises.
  • Missing a move-in date could mean a delay of several months.

Issue 1:
Originally, the Army was to install the telephone and cable television wiring after the contractor completed the buildings and before the troops moved in. Because of the Partnering atmosphere and the trust and relationships that developed between the Corps, the Army and the contractor, the contractor offered to manage the installation of telephone and cable TV wiring during construction to reduce the move-in time, and the contract was revised accordingly. Installation of the wiring became both easier and cheaper, as it proceeded with the construction of the building. This, in turn, allowed old buildings to be vacated and demolished and the next phase of construction to proceed more quickly.

Issue 1:
The Corps, the Army and the contractor held a coordination meeting every two weeks to ensure all areas of construction to proceeded smoothly. The scheduling of the pre-final inspections, testing and training was coordinated closely enough so the Army was able to start moving the new furniture into buildings while the contractor was still wrapping up punchlist items. This cooperation between all of the parties allowed the troop move-in to proceed much earlier than originally anticipated.

Benefits of Partnering:

  • Awareness of each party's goals clarified for the project needs.
  • The atmosphere created by Partnering has resulted in the timely completion of the project for the owner.

Stakeholders:
Owner: U. S. Army, Fort Riley, Kansas, Prime Contractor: M. A. Mortenson, Design and Construction Agent: U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District.