COAA Announces Winners of 2015 Project Leadership Awards

Nov. 19, 2015 - PRLog -- The Project Leadership Award Program promotes leadership, professionalism and management excellence of Owners involved in the design and construction process.  An awards committee comprised of presidentially-appointed COAA members sought projects with exceptional visioning, integrity, team building, communication, fairness, problem resolution, decision-making, plan implementation, and collaboration.  The Committee recognized projects based on the Owner’s ability to achieve excellence by demonstrating exceptional leadership and project management skills. Each winning project will be profiled in an upcoming issue of Owners Perspective magazine.

Committee Chair, Dean McCormick presented the 2015 Project Leadership Awards during the Awards Luncheon, November 5, 2015.  “The review and selection process was very enlightening.  Every one of the submissions contained valuable insights and lessons-learned that validate the mission of COAA and illustrate how the lessons that COAA members take away from our organization events can be applied to make projects successful.” said Mr. McCormick after the presentation ceremony.  Committee member, Dave Cozier, Mount Carmel Health added, "The two projects selected represent excellence in innovative project management concepts, fully collaborative team development and execution, overcoming obstacles, adaptive re-use of existing buildings and inherent complexity, adherence to challenging schedules, and exceeding the end user's expectations while respecting sustainable practices. We can all learn something from their efforts."

2015 Gold Award

The Gold Award was presented to The Pennsylvania State University for the Health and Human Development Building project.  The Health and Human Development Building is the second building of a two-phase expansion of the College of Health and Human Development at Penn State's University Park campus. This building along with a sister project looks to unite several of the college's Research Centers previously located in separate buildings into new facilities located in proximity to the College's main academic departments and programs. The project serves to foster a collaborative environment that enhances the quality of all programs within the college.

Although this project was a state-funded, multiple-prime contract with seventeen primes, which precluded the use of a full Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) agreement, the University was still able to utilize many of the principles of IPD in its management. By embracing IPD principles, Penn State created an open dialog between all participants from day one, building a sense of mutual respect and trust between the design team, physical plant staff, end users, and constructors that led to a building that left all involved with a sense of pride and ownership.

As part of the University's commitment to Building Information Modeling (BIM), this project leveraged the use of technology in the project's design and construction.  The design team was tasked with delivering a fully coordinated BIM model on bid day along with traditional plans and specs. The process, while new to all parties, resulted in a BIM model that reduced construction coordination by 50% and nearly zero field clashes in the 95,000 SF new construction portion of the building.

“To win the Gold Project Leadership Award, Owners must not only achieve budget and schedule goals, but also demonstrate exceptional leadership and project management skills,” said McCormick.  “The Health and Human Development Building project showcased how the entire team went above and beyond achieving cost, schedule, and quality goals to raise the industry’s bar even higher.”

2015 Silver Award

The Silver Award was presented to Western Michigan University (WMU) for the Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine project.  When asked how Western Michigan University differentiated itself from other projects, committee member Rose Costanzo, Progressive Casualty Insurance Company, shared the following commentary, “In comparison to other submissions, they established project goals up front with a team approach that allowed their project to align target and actual dates.  They implemented BIM as a quality control, along with meeting all of the other criteria required.”

The task was to convert an outdated 330,000 square-foot structure into a unique state-of-the-art facility named after the medical technology pioneer Dr. Homer Stryker. The team demolished 60% of the eight-story building's interior including the entire lower-level, first, second, and third floors to create a fresh new environment with common spaces and natural light. The new facility includes a regional simulation center that responds to curriculum and professional development needs and incorporates classrooms and lecture halls that can accommodate a problem and team-based pedagogy.

The project truly transformed the building and site and was delivered on time, within the $60M budget. With a "design-assist" approach, the project was completed on a very tight schedule and resulted in significant savings.  WMU was open to using innovative ideas that saved time and money without compromising quality.  The University decided to hire the architect, engineer, and construction manager at the project's initiation, so all budgeting was provided by the CM.  The A/E was also empowered to discard WMU facility design standards that did not add value to the project. The Owner also established a design-assist guaranteed maximum price project delivery method with mechanical and electrical subcontractors, as well as shared savings incentives that put $2.5M back into WMU's budget.

Once an inaccessible fortress-like research complex, the site now boasts a modern and inviting academic campus. The strategic downtown location of the new School of Medicine has facilitated and enabled a high level of collaboration and interaction, not only within the campus community but also within the broader medical community and the general public."