Name: DPR Construction
Price range: $

Global home appliance leader LG Electronics selected DPR for the construction of the world’s most advanced washing machine factory, a one of a kind new million-square-foot facility on a 310-acre site in Clarksville, TN. This project is a prime example of LG’s commitment to America—investing hundreds of millions of dollars and creating U.S. jobs, both in the construction and building trades and in advanced manufacturing.

LG's highly-automated and vertically-integrated plant includes robotic washing machine assembly operations, sheet metal stamping, injection molding, polystyrene styrofoam production, wet paint and powder coat painting processes, and administrative spaces. In addition, the facility houses a warehouse for materials/appliances, utility support area, shipping/receiving area, hazardous material storage, recycling center and guest information center. Support areas include a main security building, wastewater facility and a central utility plant for power, steam, compressed air and utilities.

Working arm-in-arm with the LG, the DPR team collaborated with project stakeholders to plan all aspects of safety for the 800-plus workers onsite; beginning with 100-percent participation of DPR's site-specific safety orientation prior to commencing work. The team worked closely with all trade partners to ensure that daily tasks and schedules included time for additional education and hands-on training for fall protection, equipment use, confined space entry, roof access and heat awareness, to name a few.

To ensure the best construction and engineering practices, this fast-track project required consistent collaboration and workshops among DPR, LG and its architect, Gresham Smith, as well as trade partners. For example, DPR worked daily with Gresham Smith on architectural and engineering solutions related to safety and manufacturing requirements, along with federal, state and local building codes.

DPR and Gresham Smith's structural engineering team worked closely with concrete and steel trade partners to move from conceptual concrete, rebar and steel design to shop drawings, procurement and installation within days of the initial discussion. Additional successes include mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) teams collaborating to engineer and complete all under-slab utilities, MEP equipment and wastewater in time for other trades to complete a million square feet of grade beams, concrete work, and steelwork in an incredibly short timeframe—less than five months.

The team used the latest technologies to advance efficiency in quality and schedule. To ensure quality construction, DPR used geospatial laser scanning, UAV photos and 360 photos in parallel with specialized imagery software. Laser scanning allowed the project team to compare the intended design to what was installed in the field and make necessary adjustments without delay. The team also used UAV and an additional 360 imagery to illustrate the progression of the project from all perspectives for immediate stakeholder feedback.

For production management, onsite superintendents made real-time status updates to work in place hour-by-hour into the schedule and as-builts. This process compared productivity rates and planning for look-ahead schedules. With this process, other LG stakeholders at LG global headquarters in South Korea monitored the project's progress in real-time with the ability to provide input remotely and immediately.

DPR’s self-perform team successfully completed all metal studs/drywall, door frames and hardware. DPR is proud to partner with LG on this groundbreaking project that brings American consumers LG’s industry-leading, premium clothes washers assembled by American workers.