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BUSINESS NEWS NEW CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE MAKES SCHOOLS SAFER IN OKLAHOMA To help keep Oklahomans safe, Hennessey Public Schools and South Industries have teamed up to construct a multipurpose school gymnasium and storm shelter in Hennessey, Oklahoma. The choice to use a monolithic dome design was an easy one due to the inherent advantages of the dome shape. These FEMA certified buildings are rated to withstand winds in excess of 245 mile per hour, allowing survival and safety during the most intense tornadoes. The superior wind resistance and lower construction and maintenance costs are key reasons why Mike Woods, superintendent of Hennessey Public Schools chose the dome shape and South Industries. Another key benefit of the monolithic dome is the flexibility of interior space. As the needs of the district evolve the interior floor plan can easily and cheaply be changed to meet the needs of the district. The gymnasium is being constructed on the current Hennessey High School site. This multi-use dome will be used as the high school gymnasium and when needed as a community storm shelter. Randy South, an owner at South Industries, said, “Domes are very energy efficient, and very strong. They’ll take a direct hit from an EF5 tornado. They make a great school because it protects the kids. These buildings are elegant and especially for the price a school district will pay. The school administrators will find the costs to heat and cool these dome buildings is far less than what they would have to pay if they were using conventional structures. The
school board and superintendent had great vision when they designed this building and presented it to the public because it saved the community a tremendous amount of money.” The Hennessey multipurpose facility began construction in November 2018 and should be completed prior to the start of the coming school year. Inflation of the dome was a site to see: The huge, soft form is blown up much like a balloon. It was inflated in two hours and the campus had the beginnings of a new building. Of course, much more work will go into the building to transform it from a soft billowy dome to a hard concrete shell that can withstand tornadoes. After inflation, the inside of the Airform was sprayed with a polyurethane foam creating an insulated and hardened dome shape. Once the foam is set, rebar is placed creating a strong metal framework for shotcrete to be applied. As the dome walls are smoothed and many layers of the shotcrete applied the dome shell is completed. The general contractor of the project is Wynn Construction Co., the architect of record is Michael McCoy , and South Industries is building the dome. Upon completion of the dome, the public will be invited to tour the amazing new gymnasium and community storm shelter. South Industries is a design and build contractor of monolithic domes. Descending from the inventors of the monolithic dome, South Industries has built domes across the world and in nearly every state. Through
continuous innovation, South Industries has constructed structures that satisfy, amaze, and move the industry forward. NEW FOOD INGREDIENTS PLANT TO BE DESIGNED AND CONSTRUCTED BY THE AUSTIN COMPANY An international food ingredients producer has selected The Austin Company as its engineering, procurement, and construction/ design-build partner for the delivery of a new plant-based protein isolates manufacturing plant investment. The plant is part of an investment program by the producer to advance core strategic high-growth and high- value product platforms. “Austin has a long history serving the food industry and over the past several years has built a strong business in the delivery of process and facilities engineering and construction for the ingredients industry, specifically,” said Brandon Davis, vice president operations at Austin. “This is a great partnership and we look forward to continuing to advance our expertise in the delivery of these important projects that feed our nation and world.” The Austin Company offers a comprehensive portfolio of services, including planning, architectural design, engineering, design-build, construction management, construction, and facility maintenance, as well as site location and operations improvement consulting for commercial and industrial companies throughout North America. Austin was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1878 and its headquarters remain in Cleveland, with regional offices in Atlanta, Georgia; Irvine, California; Kalamazoo, Michigan; and Mexico City, Mexico.
NAVEEN KHAMMAMPATI, from page 9
on and what to expect next in the approval/review process, eliminating any confusion or misunderstanding and increas- ing client satisfaction. High client satisfaction means more business. “Get your client involved in every step of the process. This way your client knows exactly what is going on and what to expect next in the approval/review process, eliminating any confusion or misunderstanding and increasing client satisfaction.” These are the practices I follow every day, and they’ve worked for our firm. To sum it up: Make your clients happy and get them talking. Client satisfaction is the key to the success of any business. NAVEEN KHAMMAMPATI, P.E., CFM is a senior project manager at Greg Edwards Engineering Services, Inc. Contact him at naveen@gees. us.
2)Sharing is caring. This practice works best for business de- velopment. What I mean by sharing is to give some compo- nents of a project your firm doesn’t handle to another firm. For example, we are a civil engineering firm. When I’m on a project, I’ll share tasks such as survey, architectural design, geotech, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, landscape, struc- tural and traffic analysis, construction management, and construction work with outside firms. This grows my network and in turn, we get the favor returned with new referrals from these firms. Don’t be afraid to share. 3)Response time. I know you’re busy with designing, answer- ing reviewers, mentoring, managing your accounting team, attending meetings, and so many other things. Despite all this, make a habit of responding to clients as soon as possible. Remember, time is money. In the early stages of my project manager career, I was work- ing on a small project for a client. An issue came up, and the client needed an immediate answer, but I couldn’t get back to him until the next day. Unfortunately, I learned that he re- solved the issue by hiring another project manager. 4)Transparency. Get your client involved in every step of the process. This way your client knows exactly what is going
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THE ZWEIG LETTER April 1, 2019, ISSUE 1290
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