Masonry Façade? No Problem!

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WS offers expanded expertise in building enclosures of all types, including both contemporary and historic masonry structures. This includes 

• Condition assessment and repair design

• Peer review services

•   Construction observation

• Water infiltration investigation and mitigation

• Evaluation of thermal performance and condensation potential

Kathryn Jaworski, PE, has extensive condition assessment experience for historic and contemporary masonry façade types due in large part to her rope access certification. She was involved with repair recommendations on a number of high profile structures and performed condition assessments, as well as providing construction phase observation site visits including stone repair and stabilization, masonry repointing, cleaning, and testing.

 

 Masonry experience ( a sampling of work, not all inclusive)

Assessment, repair recommendations, and construction phase services of granite façade repairs and sealant installation.

Weld inspection of connections

Post-seismic condition assessment:

Construction phase observation of concrete façade and balcony repairs

Observation of precast concrete façade panel, garage slab, and double tee beam repairs.

Façade municipal ordinance critical examination and condition assessment,

Testing of older brick masonry facades including

• shear testing,

• compression testing,

• anchor pull-out testing, and

• removal of masonry prisms for laboratory testing

Fall hazard removal

Water intrusion assessment,

GPR scanning of wall for reinforcement,

Damage Investigation & repair recommendations

Condition assessment of the historic & modern terra cotta façade using industrial rope access techniques and repair recommendations.

Selected Project Examples

Mass masonry walls:

Washington Monument – Washington D.C

National Cathedral – Washington D.C.

 Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial – Put-in-Bay, Ohio

Salt Lake Temple – Salt Lake City, Utah

Stone cladding and panel systems:

Chase Tower – Chicago, Illinois  

Obama Presidential Library – Chicago, Illinois  

303 West Madison – Chicago, Illinois

Brick masonry façade:

General Electric Headquarters – Boston, Massachusetts

Loyola Lewis Towers – Chicago, Illinois    

Cardinal Health Corporate Headquarters – Dublin, Ohio  

National Terminal Warehouse Apartments – Cleveland, Ohio

Terra Cotta Facade

Joseph Smith Memorial Building – Salt Lake City, Utah  

Deseret Bank Building – Salt Lake City, Utah  

Randolph Tower – Chicago, Illinois

For further inquiries regarding these or other additional consulting services,  please contact Katie at kjaworski@wheatonsprague.com or office@wheatonsprague.com

New Consultants Join the Wheaton Sprague Team!

Our Building Envelope Consulting division is pleased to be expanding our ability to serve our clients not only with our existing services, but providing additional historic specialties and experience in restoration and masonry facades with the addition of two new consultants.

Katie Jaworski, PE, Building Envelope Consultant, joined WS earlier this year. Previously with WJE, Katie has an impressive list of certifications including SPRAT and welding inspection credentials, as well as being a member of several ASTM technical committees on sealants, forensic engineering, and specifications. Katie is the lead Building Envelope Consultant (BEC) in WS’s Ohio office  supporting work regionally and nationally.

Katie’s scope of experience includes both building envelope and structural assessments of existing structures, corresponding development of construction drawings and specifications, and construction phase services to confirm compliance with design drawings. Katie has significant experience in structures with stone, masonry, and concrete façade types as well as various curtain wall and storefront systems. She has experience with forensic evaluation, “post hurricane,” and in roofing/ waterproofing.  A few notable projects she has worked on include: The Washington Monument, Washington DC, Chase Tower in Chicago and Houston, General Electric Headquarters, Boston MA.  Katie’s expertise  helps to facilitate continued advancement of our BEC team serve a wide range of clients. Katie can be reached at kjaworski@wheatonsprague.com

Wheaton Sprague also welcomes David Kent, LEED AP, Building Envelope Consultant, who recently joined us in our Northeast US / New England Region. David has almost twenty years of professional experience as a building envelope consultant and project manager.  His projects include work on modern high rises, social housing and historic landmarks in both New York City and London.

David has worked in the US on façade projects for CANY, Kamen Tall Architects, and Platt Byard Dovell White Architects prior to WS.

Originally from the UK, where he also worked as a Building Surveyor for George Trollope & Sons, London, and as a Graduate Building Surveyor, at Tuffin Ferraby & Taylor, Kingston-Upon-Thames, He has a degree in Building Surveying, from Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh.

In 2010 David secured the LEED, AP accreditation.

Mr. Kent’s wide-ranging experience includes NY Local law 11/98, Façade restoration ranging from traditional masonry to modern curtain wall systems, forensic investigations, roof replacements of all kinds, window and storefront replacement, cladding systems, Garage structure repair, historic renovation, and more

David works from WS’s Connecticut office location, and supports WS BEC work in the region and at large. He brings additional capability to WS in roofing, horizontal surfaces, and masonry evaluation. David will also help facilitate further growth of WS’s BEC work.. David can be reached at dkent@wheatonsprague.com

WEC to expand offerings for clients in New York State.

We are pleased to announce further support and improved capabilities for our clients working in the State of New York through our new affiliate, Wheaton Engineering & Consulting of NY, LLC (WEC)   WEC is a New York authorized professional services firm, specializing in Building Envelope Design, Engineering, and Consulting.

As one of the affiliated companies within the Wheaton Sprague Building Envelope brand, WEC provides professional services in Consulting and Delegated Design/Engineering, in each of our market segments.

For Building Envelope Consulting Services in New York, contact Paul Griese, BECx, Senior Design Consultant in our Connecticut office ( pgriese at wheatonsprague.com) or John L. Wheaton, PE, LEED AP, President of WS and Principal of WEC. John can also be contacted for Delegated Design and Engineering work RFP’s or questions.

Our goal is always about Creating Structure® - collaborating with clients to bring value through creative and practical problem-solving skills and a focus on maximizing client success. We stand ready to support essential construction activities nationwide during this uncertain time.

THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES PERSPECTIVE: PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATION

Originally Published by John Wheaton, Feb 17, 2020, for Glass Magazine ( link here)

Hello Glass Nation! Welcome to blog No.1, 2020. I hope you are all well and the year is progressing in a positive manner. It’s been a very busy start for me and for Wheaton Sprague, with a lot of meaningful project work and new opportunities as well. I hope you can say the same.

I just have to say, before I go further here; can anything be more interesting and creative than the curtain wall/façade work that we do? I sat back in the middle of a design review meeting with a client and our team in December, and said, “Can anything be more interesting, and fascinating, than this?” We were looking at unitized curtain wall configurations, intermediate mullion layouts, transitions, what framing should “run through,” or not, talking through internal joineries, intersections, seal lines and structural items. I just couldn’t contain myself. One of the client leaders sat back and said, ‘Yeah. I agree with you.” That’s even more meaningful; sharing a common interest with others. Collaborating around curtain wall design still fascinates and motivates me after 35 years. It’s not gotten boring yet, so I think it’s going to continue in that manner.

Let’s continue from my last blog on project management and talk about communication.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT SPECIFICS: COMMUNICATION

As I stated last time, all companies bigger than the ability or availability of an individual owner, or group of owners, to manage at the project level, is dependent on project management to determine the success of their projects, their profits, quality, and ultimately, the success of failure of their client relationships. Let’s dive a little deeper into the communication topic.

• Timeliness: Clients, staff, stakeholders, vendors, and more, need responses in real time. Relevant, timely, communication provides value. For me, that usually means either the same business day, or no later than one business day. I often reply within each morning and afternoon work session within the same day. Even if we don’t have an answer, at least we can acknowledge, let them know we are listening, and tell them when we will reply more fully.
  
  Much communication is by email, so responding in kind can be quick and succinct. It’s also best to return phone calls the same day and at least leave a voice mail.

• Email: Watch out! We just finished an in-house seminar on “The Seven Deadly Sins of Email” (With credit to XL Caitlin and Paula Selvaggio.) They include:

  • Self-criticism—"I messed up.”

  • Blaming—“You messed up.”

  • Complaining—Eeverything is hard and unfair!”

  • Colloquialism—“I sort of write the way I talk.”

  • Thoughtlessness—"I’m lazy.”

  • Self-indulgence—"I’m a know-it-all.”

  • TMI—"I write more than I need to.”
     

• All of us can point to tendencies or failures along these topics. They key is to avoid and minimize these types of communications in our email correspondence. Remember, everything we write is discoverable and could be read by other parties. Keep it clean, document solutions, don’t blame, stick to the facts, keep words that serve a purpose, and delete the rest.
  
  Read the wording two or three times before pushing “send.” Also, confirm that we understood what was said, seek to edit out speculation and exaggeration, provide only the necessary facts, and don’t vent in email. It’s easy to vent behind an email or the wheel of a car. The problem with email is that it’s maintained forever. And when you delete it, there’s still a recoverable record of it.

• Forms and contexts: There’s more forms of communication than ever before: Microsoft Teams, email, phone, letters, instant messaging, texting, DM’s, WebEx, Skype, face-to-face, Slack, and others. We’ve got to define the form, the context, and put the appropriate definitions, limits and boundaries in place to make them effective.

• Value (or not): We know effective communication when we see it and experience it. No one teaches much about communication during our educations, unless we think that one “Speech and Communications” class is really going to make a difference. Communication, effective communication, is a value-adder and a differentiator. It can positively influence outcomes in all categories, including design, risk management, repeat business, project quality and more. It can also lead to the opposite outcome.

BEC NASHVILLE

• Energy is building for this event and I’m excited for the new venue in Nashville. It’s a town with a lot of energy and should be a great experience. NGA/GANA is doing a great job of trying new formats and programs. I’m looking forward to reconnecting with many of you in the BEC community!

Project Management: Keys to Clarifying a Critical Role- John Wheaton

This article previously appeared on Glass Magazine’s website here

Project management is many things. The term project management is a broad category. It can be defined and manifested in many ways. There are key aspects and processes to the role of project management that need to be executed in order to achieve success. Project management in one company differs from that of another, yet there should be some common ground, some similarities, across all of project management in the AEC industry. 

All companies bigger than the ability or availability of an individual owner, or group of owners, to manage at the project level, are dependent on project management to determine the success of their projects, their profits, quality, and ultimately, the success of failure of their client relationships. That’s right; everything intersects at the project manager level and in the project operational domain. The success of project management determines the future growth, size, scalability, and health of the organization.

Project managers are the gatekeepers of each company’s clients, values, projects, profits and quality. This should produce a sober reality on making clear their roles and responsibilities. This is easy to say, and difficult to do.

Project management involves both quantitative and qualitative skills and attributes. This includes “hard” skills and “soft” skills. The things we are trained for in school, the operational tools we learn to support project management tasks like scheduling, budgeting, accounting systems, CRM platforms, and more, ultimately do not determine  successful project management. Tools help support and define the work. But the success of project management, is produced from a proper mindset, knowledge of the work, a solution orientation, solid discipline and accountability, and the tools to support.

Here's a high-level view of some key aspects to project management. This is not an exhaustive list, but a few basic areas of impact.

COMMUNICATION 

This is one differentiator. Clear, concise, timely, polite, professional, appropriate communication. The means of communication is contextual to the need or client preference; email, phone, letters, instant messaging, texting, DM’s, WebEx, Skype, face-to-face, and other. All forms; and it must be timely; concurrent; “real time”. Tools and platforms used in our companies should support communication in the best manner possible.

SCOPE AND CONTRACT MANAGEMENT

We’ve got to remember the project scope and make sure to benchmark to it. Knowing when to shift and when to draw the line on scope creep is key to maintaining profitability while building a strong client relationship. Trust is the key. Build trust.

DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT

Keeping track of documents, timing, logging documents, updating our teams, etc.; this includes things like ASI’s, CSK’s, bulletins, addendums, BIM updates, owner changes, and on and on.

EARNED VALUE TRACKING (EVT)

EVT is about measuring the real progress of our work as it relates to the budget. The goal of EVT is to estimate as accurately as possible, the percent complete on the project—the spent amount—vs. the budget we must work with.

SCHEDULE MANAGEMENT, MILESTONES, SUBMITTALS

If we don’t establish a schedule, we won’t succeed. The schedule typically drives everything. Creating benchmarks and milestones along the way, allows us to stay on track. Schedules never appear to be realistic in the delegated design space by the time the project gets released, but we must start somewhere. I’ve yet to see a single schedule maintained exactly, except perhaps the “turnkey” moment when the owner is handed the keys to open and occupy the building.

MEETINGS

Project meetings, design-review meetings, huddles, post-project review meetings and kick-off meetings all serve to create collaboration. We must share in each other’s reality—ours and our client’s—to drive awareness, stay aligned, and maintain milestones. We’ve got to be aware of business and people dynamics and manage them, business to business and human to human items and H2H items.

As we approach the end of the year, we should all ask ourselves how we can improve project management in 2020 and beyond.

P.S.: I was in Nashville Nov. 8, 9 and 10. Book your trip to the BEC as soon as you can. It’s going to be EPIC. Bring the energy.

John Wheaton on Delegated Design and Engineering

Here we go with Topic #1; Delegated Design

Delegated design is the process where the design professional of record, the architect or engineer (AOR or EOR), defers detailed design and engineering responsibilities for certain building elements or systems, usually to a constructor or subcontractor, and their “delegated design” professional, typically a professional engineer. It includes for example, things like pre-fabricated stairs, steel connections, tilt-up precast panels, railings, and our favorite in the context of this blog, the Curtain wall and Exterior Cladding systems. Building permitting is provided by the authority having jurisdiction, contingent upon the delegated entities providing PE sealed documents, shop drawings, calculation reports, etc., prior to occupancy and completion of construction. These are usually called “deferred submittals.”  Let’s confine this discussion to curtain wall systems as a category.

 Custom and monumental curtainwall systems are getting increasingly complex. Simultaneously, standard curtain wall systems are getting increasingly well defined, or at least accessible. There’s a bit of a dichotomy in this. On the one hand, the presence of online resources provides access to standard system typologies in increasing clarity, even though the applications to the particular building are still very specific. At the same time, available technologies, computer and modeling tools, the increase in performance requirements, owner demand, and more, are making custom systems increasingly complex. Remember too, that compliance needs rarely decrease with code cycles and as building science evolves, so the scope of documentation and the components being documented continue to get more rigorous.

 There’s a slight problem though; a trend that continues to reveal itself. It has been happening for quite some time. While delegated design requirements and responsibilities are increasing, in general, the quality of documentation in contract documents (architectural drawings and specifications) is decreasing. This is not to say all projects are in this category, but it’s generally what we see more often than not. More work is being required to be done by the delegated design professional and their team to get dimensions, details, missing information, secure answers to RFI’s, coordinate around conflicts, and to drive the curtain wall design and engineering to conclusion. Submittal reviews also tend to take more time than in the past, and often lack clarity in the response and commentary. The conclusion of this process is expressed in a set or sets of shop drawings and engineering calculations, with other support documents, from which the system can be fabricated and installed.

If technologies and tools defined the quality of work products, then we would be seeing increasing clarity as a trend. While specific projects and AOR teams do achieve a high level of clarity, this is generally not the case as a whole. More often than not, there’s a lack of information and over-reliance on technologies, as if a building model or image will overcome a lack of clarity in thought and application.

 In the meantime we work to develop means, methods, tools, deliverables, RFI logs, formats, contexts, and pricing strategies to accomplish the work. We propose approaches to projects using pre-construction design-assist collaboration, frequent team huddles, clarity in the scope of deliverables, and better front-end scrubbing or analysis of the contract documents. Collaboration is a key, as well as overall project communication. (Communication problems are the largest single factor in risk claims in the AEC industry by the way.)

 When architects, subcontractors, delegated design professionals, and other stakeholders work together, this process can be quite fruitful and productive. When they do not, it’s a challenging process. We need to do a better job, together, of defining the project plan, what each entity is accountable for, and to stick to it. The work always seems to get done, but sometimes there’s too much collateral damage left behind. I believe the industry, those of us working together, are mature enough to lead in this regard and to drive to improved results. Who’s with me?