900 16th Street
Washington, DC
Douglas W. Watson
Construction Management Option
Project Sponsor: James G. Davis Construction Corporation
Technical Analysis I –Modular Concrete Formwork
The first technical analysis will be focused on the utilization of modular concrete formwork for the cast-in-place concrete structure. Throughout construction the team used traditional stick built formwork, which lends to longer durations between pours. This labor intensive process also requires a larger amount of man hours then its modular counterpart. Included within this analysis will be research as to how modular formwork compares to stick built, possible schedule, cost, and man hour savings associated with the implementation of modular formwork, and the transportation and storage of forms on site.
Technical Analysis II - Exterior Facade System Redesign
This second technical analysis will focus on an alternate exterior façade to the precast concrete panels that were used. Included within this analysis will be a cost and schedule comparison between the current system and the alternate system. In addition the mechanical and structural properties of the alternate façade system will be analyzed. This will lead to a structural breadth to ensure that the current design of the cast-in-place structure can support the new system and what connection changes must be made. It will also contain a mechanical breadth to analyze the thermal efficiency of the new façade system. The purpose of this analysis is to provide an alternate façade system that will increase the thermal efficiency of the exterior wall while providing similar quality to the original system an minimal impact to the project schedule. I will also conduct an analysis on to see if the overall amount of man hours can be reduced by implementing a new system.
Technical Analysis III - VE Analysis of Structural Curtainwall System
The third technical analysis will focus on value engineering the glazing for the 3D structural curtainwall based upon a risk analysis of its supply chain. Within this analysis the cost of the glazing, cost of delivery to the project, delivery distance, delivery method, delivery duration will be conducted. A comparison between the alternate product and the current product will be conducted will be completed. A risk analysis between the possible delays and changes to the above topics will be conducted as well. The main purpose of this analysis is to provide a similar product that is manufactured closer to the jobsite to reduce the risk of unforeseen costs associated with possible delays.
Technical Analysis IV - Driving Collaboration with Lean Construction
The focus of the final analysis will be a research based topic that will look into driving collaboration in the field through implementing lean construction principles. Driving collaboration is an issue that most all construction projects have. The lean construction tools of last planner and collocation create an extremely collaborative atmosphere by nature which will assist in furthering the collaboration between trades in the field day to day.
Mechanical Breadth
The second breadth analysis will have a mechanical focus and again be a part of the depth concerning the redesign of the exterior façade system. The main focus of this analysis will be to evaluate the mechanical properties and thermal efficiency of the alternate exterior façade system selected. Thermal efficiency and mechanical properties of both the alternative system and the current system will be compared. Overall the goal of this mechanical breadth is to ensure that the facade system will allow for a mechanical system that is more cost effective than the current system in place.
Structural Breadth
The first breadth study that will be conducted is within Technical Analysis II, the redesign of the exterior façade system. Upon changing the exterior façade the loads that are applied to the cast-in-place structure will change. A dead load analysis will be completed to ensure that the structure will be able to support the alternate system that is selected. Furthermore, an analysis of the effect of the wind load will be completed on the alternate system. If the analysis yields that the proposed alternate system cannot be supported by the current structural design then another façade system will have to be selected. Also, the current connection method will be analyzed to see if is able to support the alternate system. If the connection method does not meet the needs of the alternate system a new connection method will be designed.
The purpose of this report is to identify areas of the 900 16th Street project that have room for improvement or optimization. In depth analyses of the building systems as well as construction means and methods will be completed in order to determine if the proposed improvements will have a positive impact on the project. Areas of focus for this senior capstone project include schedule acceleration scenarios, value engineering, and alternate systems. The report will define the four proposed analyses and two breadth topics, which are briefly described below.
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Thesis Proposal
Technical Analyses
Breadth Analyses
