By Rick Jensen

Published in: School Planning &

Management Magazine

Many school up-grades and repairs are too distracting and disruptive to be performed during the school year. Often, the best time is dur-ing the summer when the students are on break and the campus is quieter. The key to success for these so-called “summer slammers” projects – whether they are small scale renovations/additions or ac-tivities attached to a larger construction project – is thoughtful, early planning. Set-ting priorities, determining a budget, find-ing the funds, assembling a team, defining the scope, analyzing constructability, and purchasing materials take time. To ensure the desired outcome, you should begin the process as early as possible – ideally in the fall or winter before the work is to be done.

Summer slammers may require more time in pre-planning than in execution to ensure that they can be accomplished within the short time period. If your school’s wish list of campus improvements will take more than one summer, you can prioritize them into manageable pieces and present them for funding together to expedite the annual budget approval process.

You might decide to hire one architect and one construction manager for all the work rather than treating each project segment as a new effort every year. This can foster a great sense of collaboration and teamwork. You garner the benefit of your team’s exper-tise on the most cost efficient sequence for tackling your project components and let the economies of scale enhance your buy-ing power to secure the best prices. Main-taining your team also saves you the time and money it takes to request proposals, in-

terview candidates, check references, and convene a new team. Of course, your con-tract should preserve your right to change team members if you are dissatisfied in any way.

Advantages to Planning Ahead for Summer ProjectsEvery spring, schools scramble to organize summer projects in a very short period of time. Waiting until the last minute creates unnecessary stress and may result in a less than stellar work product and missed dead-lines. Architects and construction manag-ers cram months of work into just weeks and this may lead to errors or omissions. Starting early and giving your team plenty of time to plan avoids costly mistakes or unachievable project schedules, as well as disappointing results.

Clients are often surprised to learn how very long the lead times are on items needed for a small renovation. While you might expect this for elevators, HVAC units, or mechanical equipment, lead times can have a great impact on the most common types of improvement projects. One typical

summer project, for example, is upgrading restrooms with a change of fixtures and cosmetic improvements. Because light fix-tures, toilet fixtures, partitions, ceramic tile, and solid surface countertops can all have lead times of six weeks or more, starting earlier helps to ensure finishing on time.

At Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachu-setts, construction documents were 100% complete when we joined the Project Team in February to prepare for a summer reno-vation of a 22,000sf dormitory built in1922. We still needed the full four months avail-able to us to get ready. Sixty-four custom-made replacement windows were ordered in March, with a new HVAC system and electrical fixtures pre-purchased shortly thereafter. Bathrooms were being relocat-ed so (in addition to fixtures) an entire new plumbing system was required. Perhaps the most challenging part of this renovation was installing the sprinkler system – care-fully snaking the piping through existing infrastructure. Executing this retrofit was time-consuming, even with the advanced planning.

Get Ready, Get Finished, Get Out/Managing Campus Construction During Low Occupancy

Westfield State Westfield, Massachusetts

tify challenges and develop solutions and schedules 6. Take Advantage of the PreconstructionPhase – this is the time to work out the kinks in your project; collaborate with your archi-tect and CM to ensure scope is thorough,the drawings are accurate, and your bud-get is realistic; advanced planning meansyou can procure those long lead items andbe ready to hit the ground running as soonas school is out7. Invite Subcontractors into the Mix – Subs can offer great help when developing proj-ect schedules and logistics. Their thoroughunderstanding of material and manpoweravailability can keep your plans groundedin reality.

Preparing for a Bigger ProjectIt’s not just summer renovation projects that benefit from early planning. Site prepa-ration for larger planned construction often includes activities that are best handled in the summer months. At The Fenn School – an independent school for boys in grades 4 through 9 – Erland joined Imai Keller Moore Architects to construct a new 16,000sf Meeting & Performance Hall in the cen-ter of this active campus. In addition to a 458-seat theater, the building also featuresa functional basement – a foundation sys-tem that was made more complicated bythe site’s high water table just seven feetbelow grade.

Getting Summer Projects Started Here are six essential steps to take to get your next Summer Slammer project off to a good start:

1. Start Early – give yourself ample time toplan for your project; you’ll need time to or-der long lead items, resolve potential prob-lems with the drawings, and allow yourteam to build a great working relationship2. Set Your Budget – projects smaller inscope aren’t necessarily inexpensive; set-ting your budget parameters will ensurethat you don’t waste time pursuing a pro-gram that’s much more costly than you canreasonably afford3. Determine Scope – prioritize your wishlist and split it up into manageable phases;you may find that your needs will span twoor three summers in a row4. Rethink Hard Bids – hard bids don’t yieldbetter prices, but waiting for architecturaldrawings to be 100% complete may jeop-ardize the time needed to order long leaditems; the best value is derived from bring-ing a construction manager on board earlyto capitalize on their expertise and subcon-tractor relationships5. Assemble a Team – develop and sendout Requests for Proposals to architectureand construction management firms basedon factors such as experience, financialstability, and chemistry; get them work-ing together as soon as possible to iden-

The project kicked off in the summer when campus activity was somewhat scaled back, although the “Summer Fenn” pro-gram required use of the proposed site as playing fields and other campus facilities for the day camp. We used the two weeks between the end of the school year and the start of Summer Fenn to cut in a temporary road for construction vehicles to keep them off the campus’s sole access road.

Utility relocation was planned for this sum-mer period – as it often is. But here plan-ning focused on designing an elaborate dewatering plan to combat the water table. We drilled wells to lower the water table so the site was ready for excavation.

We studied how the campus was used dur-ing the school day and found that parents would need a way to enter the campus off the main road and wait in line for their children at pick-up time. We developed a layout with jersey barriers and fencing that provided parents with a dedicated lane for access while isolating the construction area from foot traffic. All was ready for the safe return of students to The Fenn School in September.

You’ll Never Regret Being PreparedWaiting until the last minute and scrambling to execute campus improvement projects can lead to disastrous results. Whether large or small, short or long, all construc-tion programs are unique and present their own challenges for the team. Start plan-ning for your summer projects as early as possible so you can take advantage of the preconstruction period to get ready. Then rest easy that your goals will be achieved on time and on budget.

About the AuthorRick Jensen is a Vice President/Group Manager at Erland. He is responsible for the independent school market.

Springfield College Tornado Repairs Springfield , Massachusetts