Self-Perform Crews Save Time, Money on Hammes MOB Project

Faced with tight budget constraints and a fast-track schedule, DPR didn’t have to look far when it was evaluating how to shave cost and time off the Hammes Sentara Careplex Medical Office Building (MOB) project in Hampton, VA.

The solution: use DPR’s self-perform crews to complete major portions of the project, thus enabling DPR to maintain cost and a tight rein over the critical completion schedule, slated for September 2002.

Now more than 50 percent complete with the four-story, 101,000-sq.-ft. MOB project, DPR’s self-perform crews are building everything from footing and foundation work to slab on grade, exterior structural metal studs and sheathing, rough carpentry and all interior metal studs, drywall and finish work. All totaled, DPR is completing approximately 24 percent of the total project in-house.

Representing DPR’s second project in the region for Hammes, which was recently ranked the nation’s number one healthcare developer by Modern Healthcare magazine, the Sentara MOB project is illustrative of the advantage DPR is able to provide clients as one of the few contractors in the region offering both drywall and concrete self-perform capabilities. Following the model of other DPR offices, the Richmond office has developed a thriving, highly efficient self-perform operation, which racked up an estimated 100,000 project man-hours last year, 70 percent drywall and 30 percent concrete work.

“It gives us an edge on quality, schedule and cost,” says Project Manager Mike Locher. “Our concrete and drywall crews have put a lot of good, fundamental practices in place and have just done some fantastic stuff for us here.” The self-perform groups are held accountable for their scope of work, just as DPR would hold a subcontractor accountable. “Its a balance between managing man-hours vs. quantities of work completed while ensuring that the quality of work meets the owner’s expectations. Self-performing a portion of the work, like we are for Hammes, helps us set the pace and establish a rhythm and culture for the project,” Locher added.

He also noted that customers benefit from contractors who actively participate in the actual building process (as opposed to serving as a true construction manager). “We naturally have more control, as well as provide a greater positive influence on the project - from safety standards to zero defects to fun, team-building activities on the job. The end result is a better quality product for the customer.”