Centennial Works to Grow Design-Build with DBIA

On March 15th, Lisa Washington the executive director of the Design Build Institute of America (DBIA) met with key Centennial people. After a tour of the new offices in Reston, Virginia we sat down to talk about the industry. First, she thanked Centennial for the years of ongoing support and also for our recent agreement to be the first Diamond Level sponsor of the national meeting.

At the core of the conversation was the fact that design-build and the approaches and processes it uses needs to grow beyond just large and new construction, and can really help in renovation, repair and rehabilitation. We talked about the fact that Job Order Contracting is a form of design-build (we call it design-build light). We also discussed the need to grow the understanding and awareness of design-build within the subcontracting community as well. We agreed that Centennial, DBIA and the underlying values of design-build support the growth of performance-based construction, quality results and sustainable practices.

Remember Your First Bike?

Two weeks ago, we held our annual Leadership Conference at the Arlie Center and we had almost 100 of the company’s key operational, business and support leaders together. The theme this year was “Focusing on What Matters Most” and we covered a range of topics, including core processes, forecasting, market development, etc.

On Thursday, March 18th the afternoon session took a different twist on this theme. We were challenged to think about being legendary and what it takes to attain this, as individuals and as a company. One stage of this session asked, “What is one of those key memories from our childhood?” Most said their first pet or first bike. We all started sharing on our first bikes (mine was a small, camouflage, military looking bike with a real sounding machine gun and hand grenades) and we all realized that this was a key moment in our lives – something that stays with you for the rest of your life.

At that moment we broke up into small groups of 4 people and were challenged to build a bike. At the end of this session it was revealed that we would be presenting the bikes to kids from the local Boys & Girls Club. WOW – what an exciting moment! It was great to see the smile on the little boy that received the bike my team worked on. It was a one in a million smile.

The takeaway was, that at the facilities we as a company support everyday (schools, universities, hospitals, military bases, cities, etc.) there are end users that will benefit and enjoy the work we do. Just like these kids – we make a difference every day in the communities we serve and support. It was a powerful few hours and 24 kids in the local community and another 24 elsewhere got bikes.

I wonder what their first memory of their bikes will be when they are older?

Federal Facilities' Green Efforts Require Collaboration

On February 22nd-24th, I attended a Military Construction Summit in Vienna, VA and there were a wide range of topics covered. This well-attended summit was focused on US Military Construction efforts for all branches of the Department of Defense. One session was headed up by Melissa Gallagher-Rogers Director, Government Sector of the US Green Building Council and she went over a pretty standard LEED and USGBC presentation. The questions by the audience were focused around the standard “how do you justify costs to do green?” or “what are the costs to get a building LEED certified”? As she was talking I realized that this idea of collaboration between owner, designer, constructor, end user, subcontractors, etc. to come up with the most green and sustainable solution will not really work with a restrictive and divided contracting method like design-bid-build.

So I raised my hand and asked Melissa, “Based on the fact that sustainable building approaches – both for new and existing buildings – require tons of communications, collaboration, sharing and flexibility, what is the USGBC preferred method of contracting on federal and public funded facilities?” After a few minutes of back and forth clarification questions the response was “we have not really looked at that point, and I can’t answer it.” So I raised the fact that construction contracting methods of design-build on new buildings and Job Order Contracting on existing buildings really favors the tenets, approaches and processes of LEED.

I challenged the group to understand that for the end product to be the best, greenest, and most sustainable solution there needs to be open, two-way collaboration. Make sure your contracting method allows for this. To apply pre-World War II contracting methods to 21st Century demands might not make sense. In the end, green efforts require relationships that are structured as open, win-win-win focused.

What Are Federal Facilities Executives Doing To Hit The 30% Plus Reduction?

On Tuesday, March 16th Centennial representatives including myself attended the National Academies Of Science, Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment. This session was part of the Federal Facilities Council focused on Workforce and Management Practices. The lead presentation was given by Mr. Brian Costlow, director of the Office of Administration at the U.S. Department of Energy, on the topics of federal facilities management, customer service, and staff retention.

The presentation was very interesting and covered a lot of points on looking at building your support teams and what it takes to hire, retain and build a world class team. During his presentation a few interesting points beyond just staff development popped out:

At the Department of Energy alone there is a need to provide space for almost 2,500 new employees coming in as part of the ARRA funding efforts. These are three-year positions and as such not long term employees to the DoE. His challenge is the fact that they must utilize the existing space they have in DC today and cannot add new leased space. This spike in people has created the opportunity to think differently about the space and about how people do their jobs. They are looking at “hot seating” shared space/cubes and working from home via the internet. They are setting up cubical banks, shared conference rooms, etc. and basically people are “hoteling” where they work.

Executive Order 13423 requires all federal agencies to reduce greenhouse gases through a reduction in energy intensity at all federal facilities by 30% by the end of fiscal year 2015. Federal agencies must ensure that at least half of renewable energy comes from new renewable sources and agencies must reduce water consumption by 2% annually through fiscal year 2015. Costlow stated that this date will be here very quickly; the Department of Energy has done all the low hanging fruit efforts in the past, like replacing the lighting systems with florescent set ups and moving to Energy Star equipment; and the next stages will require more creativity, thinking and development. His goal is to surpass the 30% and shoot for a higher number.

What hit me was the need for increased creativity, flexibility and speed of change. When looking at construction methods to support these rapid changes and renovation efforts its clear that the traditional contracting methods of design-bid-build do not allow for the necessary two-way communication, sharing, collaboration to come up with the best solutions. Methods like Design-Build and Job Order Contracting are exactly what are needed at this time to help with these challenges.

While sitting at the table with the Department of the Army, the Air Force, NASA, Department of Energy, District of Columbia Capital Planning Commission and DC Government, I wondered how they can accomplish all these goals, plus deal with human resource issues, marketplace demands and economic issues? They will need different tools in their toolboxes – including a key collaboration tool, Job Order Contracting and a trusted advisor who understands how to help them succeed.

Centennial is Giving a Fish Hatchery a Facelift

Private John Allen National Fish Hatchery in Tupelo, Miss., is scheduled to get several major improvements, thanks to stimulus funds.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has awarded a contract for $976,807 to Centennial Contractors Enterprises of Reston, Va., in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, popularly known as stimulus funds. The hatchery improvements include a new office / visitor contact station, repairs to the historic manager’s residence that is used by the public, and a new well and pump to provide water to raise imperiled fish species.

Ricky Campbell, the hatchery manager said, "This multi-part project is going to make a big difference in how the fish hatchery does its job, and in the way we interact with the public. In addition, the nearly $1 million contract is going to be felt right here, benefitting the local economy. The majority of the contract will go to a new office / visitor contact station on the grounds of the hatchery. The office building now being used for visitors and school groups has suffered from structural damage and is no longer large enough or dependable enough for the hatchery’s needs."

Established in 1901, Private John Allen National Fish Hatchery is named after the local Congressman who gave a tongue-in-cheek speech in Congress arguing for funding for the hatchery, which included: “thousands and millions of unborn fish are clamoring to this Congress today for an opportunity to be hatched at the Tupelo hatchery.” It’s located in downtown Tupelo, one of the only fish hatcheries in an urban setting.

For more information: http://www.fws.gov/pvtjohnallen/

Centennial Revamps Newsletter

Centennial’s quarterly newsletter, the Centennial Connection, hasn’t changed much in 15 years—until now. The January issue kicks off 2010 with a fresh new look. Inside, this issue focuses on Centennial’s sustainability efforts and includes a recap of 2009 and forecast of 2010 efforts; the winners of the sustainability President’s Challenge; and sustainable project profiles. It also contains regular columns about safety, new business and IT tips.

This and every issue of the newsletter is printed on recycled paper using vegetable-based inks and 100% wind power. It is distributed to current and past employees and clients.

Virginia Business Interviews Centennial About ARRA

Robert Burke from Virginia Business magazine recently analyzed stimulus funds in Virginia to see where the money went and what it was used for. He interviewed Centennial and one of its subcontractors, Pool’s Window and Doors Service, about work performed in Virginia through stimulus funds. In “The Big Fix” Centennial described how its use of IDIQ (indefinite quantity/indefinite delivery) contracts is quicker than your average delivery method at getting projects started and relies on hundreds of local subcontractors.

What has been missing in the ARRA funds is the contracting methods allowing the dollars to get to the local, small businesses. This is a challenge for local communities and could be why it is hard to see the funds actually showing up in the local markets across the US. That is why Job Order Contracting (JOC) is a great fit with the ARRA funding. It allows for open, best value, competitive bidding on an umbrella program and from that point out the funds can be driven to the local communities and mainly to the local subcontracting base.

Centennial Writes Article for Commonwealth Contractor

Our very own Vice President of Human Resources, Rick Wilson wrote an article for Virginia ABC’s Commonwealth Contractor. In “Why Investing in Your Employees is a Good Business Practice…Recession or Not”, Rick provides contractors with a look at programs Centennial implemented in an effort to reduce voluntary employee turnover. The results—voluntary turnover went down 16.6% in four years.

Here are a couple of quick highlights from the article:

• The Centennial College of Excellence helps employees get career training and advance their careers at Centennial
• Managers get leadership training annually at the Leadership Conference which helps them become people managers rather than project managers
• A variety of recognition programs reward hard work and promote company initiatives, like safety and sustainability.