Newtown Creek is the largest of New York City's fourteen Wastewater Treatment Plants, processing up to 310 MGD and up to 720 MGD during wet weather. The "South Battery" process tanks provide grit removal, aerobic processing, and biological settling for one third of the Plant’s wastewater flow. This upgrade included the complete reconstruction of the tanks, construction of a new control building to house process pump equipment, and construction of three new electrical buildings. This project was challenging for its size relative to the location. The CM team had to work closely with contractors to demolish and rebuild 8 acres of process tanks at an active plant in an urban environment. With no lay down areas available, daily coordination was required to deliver and install over 40,000 feet of pipe, 1,800 structural piles, 50,000 cubic yards of concrete, and 725 tons of structural steel. To meet a major milestone for placing half of the process tanks in service, it required completing all work in the control building that housed process pump and control equipment. This achievement involved complex coordination of the four prime contractors. Weekly coordination meetings were held at both field and management levels for the duration of the project in order to coordinate the installation of major equipment simultaneously.
The CM team performed detailed trend analysis of the project controls data for cash flow, manpower, and physical work in place (WIP) on a monthly basis to keep the project on track and meet milestones. The trending was tracked weekly for critical items. This hands-on analysis was instrumental, as it allowed the CM team to advise contractors if their CPM schedule was not being realized. A critical example of this occurred for the electrical contractor during the wire pulling phase. The CM tracked installation of over 800,000 linear feet of power / control cable, and over 30,000 terminations. The weekly trending showed the project moving in a highly negative direction. The contractor was notified, and recovery was made utilizing a 30% increase in manpower, extensive overtime, and more in-depth daily coordination of concurrent work. This early discovery using trending analysis gave the contractor time to recover and complete a major milestone 60 days ahead of schedule. Another key to project success was scheduling regular Partnering Sessions that included DEP, CM, Design Engineer, and the four prime contractors. These multiple sessions enabled stakeholders with varied objectives to come together on the same path to achieve all project milestones ahead of schedule.
“The CM critical communication and coordination driven by frequent & effective meetings was the key to the NC-47 project’s success.”
Claude Oriol, PE
ACCOUNTABLE MANAGER
NYC Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Engineering Design and Construction