ProCM Services LLC

In 2012 on a project in Indianapolis, Indiana we helped a client with a significant constructability challenge involving an existing 70,000 SF building positioned on a filed site with questionable soil conditions.  The designer’s initial effort involved a two-way concrete slab system supported on 93 auger cast piles. This would involve removing the roof system and portions of the structure to install the auger cast piles. This was quickly determined to be cost and time prohibitive for the Owner and we quickly proposed to pursue other options available.  We met with the design team on site and at the hotel and over the course of an day and evening proposed an alternative solution involving helical piles in lieu of auger cast and a post tension slab system in lieu of the expensive two-way slab design. The redesign which was quickly implemented by the engineers proved to save the Owner nearly $1.2 million in savings on a $7 million dollar project.

 Cast-in-Place/CMU/Hollow Core versus Structural Steel 

In 2006 on a project in St. Augustine, FL we helped a client with a multi-faceted condominium building design and reviewed alternative solutions.  The original design consisted of CMU, Cast-in-Place Concrete, Hollow Core Planks, Engineered Metal Framing and Wood Framing. Since time was of the essence, we were unable to redesign all of the systems and focused on the getting the project out of the ground quickly.  We eliminated the Cast-In-Place Concrete, Hollow Core Plank, and Engineered Metal Framing from the first two floors and replaced it with structural steel with a composite metal deck. This design allowed for the quick construction of the first two floors, thus getting the building out of the ground and focused on the upper floor construction that was more time consuming and specific to the condominium units.  This change late in the design process (3 weeks before permitting) was implemented quickly and resulted in $745,000 in saving to the Owner.