Government
LANL TRP Project- Los Alamos, NM
On 8/17/09 as part of the 7-year, LANL TA-55 Reinvestment Project (TRP), JB Henderson received a task order to remove and replace a 27,000 lb, 41’ Air Cooled Chiller. The project seemed like many other projects JBH has completed throughout the years with one large exception…The 55 Factor that says to expect the unexpected! The new chiller had been delivered weeks prior in preparation for this day but was not within the work area due to a paperwork mix-up (The 55 Factor) and would have to be transported by JBH to the site from outside TA-55 just prior to installation.
The day began with our superintendent and the crew reviewing the day’s activities and capturing it all in their Pre-Task Plan. The highlight of the plan would be the six critical lifts that would take place in the next 12 hours. With pre-planning complete the crew went outside the fence to perform the first critical lift and was greeted by a LANL Quality Assurance representative who performed a surprise audit at the site of the lift. The JBH Crew and Crane Service passed this pop quiz with flying colors and the QA Auditor noted that our people were a model of safety and quality.
With the audit complete, the crew began transporting the chiller, crane, and a trailer load of rigging through the security areas to the worksite at TA-55. A few hours later the crew was set to remove the existing chiller and had identified these specific challenges: approximately 4” of clearance between a critical facility and the CUB that supports it, little room for the truck and crane to maneuver, and lastly (and most importantly) the Facility Operations Director and his entire staff were within the “cone of safety” of the pick and they would have to be evacuated each time the crane had a load in the air. With our superintendent coordinating all the variables, the pick went perfectly and the old chiller was loaded onto a truck strictly following the critical lift plan.
Crews now prepared to install the new chiller. The slab anchor bolts had to be preinstalled before setting the chiller. A dry fit was necessary, which meant the third critical lift of the day. The lift was completed and the exact anchor bolt locations were determined and piping dimensions verified. Everything was within an eighth of an inch but given The 55 Factor it was perfect.
The final placement of the chiller was ready, the crews were ready, the anchor bolts were ready…but the owner wasn’t ready. An occupant of the building was on an important phone call and could not be disturbed pushing the final install back about 2 hours. With all the extra time to plan, the lift went perfectly and the 24,000 lb unit was placed onto 24 anchor bolts without damage to a single bolt.
After six critical lifts, 12.5 hours, plenty of pre-planning, coordination, clarifications, anxious owners, and a few tense moments the project was complete and the facility received its new chiller.LANL NSSB Phase II
The Associated General Contractors NM Building Branch named the Los Alamos Site Office (LASO) Building the Best Design/Build Project of 2009.
The NSSB is a single story, 25,000 square foot office building that includes offices, conference rooms, kitchenettes, storage space and was designed to earn 26 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) points from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). To meet budget and environmental requirements the project team used a combination of recycled Concrete Masonry Units (CMU) and new CMU’s as the skin for the building. The recycled tan CMU’s make up the majority of the building, with new white and maroon CMU’s used to supplement the recycled material.
To capitalize on funding, the architect used simplicity as the theme. The building was designed to minimize wasted floor area and maximize functionality. The design of the building includes several sustainable features. The construction team installed the following energy efficient materials; structural insulation, Solex glass, double glazed windows, mechanical systems, electrical systems, and an ambient lighting system. Also included were water efficient plumbing fixtures and a long-life cycle roof system. Recycled steel, aluminum, gypsum board and carpet were also used in the building.
The design/build project delivery method allowed JBH to consult with the architects and engineers during the design phase assuring constructability of the specifications and drawings. During pre-construction, JBH helped identify several value-engineering ideas to accommodate the project budget mandated by the owner.
Department of Energy Simply Smashing Project
These photos are from an experiment conducted at Sandia National Laboratories. To test nuclear reactor containment buildings, an F-4D Phantom was slammed into a concrete wall at 480 mph. Henderson crews constructed the concrete target, which weighed 1,034,000 pounds. 5,000 psi concrete was poured into forms and reinforced with 1 7/8 inch rebar placed 7 inches on center. Originally classified this experiment has been featured nationally.
Department of Energy Weapons Integration Facility
The Weapons Integration Facility (WIF) is the final building of the MESA complex located at the southeastern edge of Sandia National Laboratories. The 400,000 square foot MESA complex consists of a Micro-fabrication Facility, a Microsystems Laboratory, and now the Weapons Integration Facility, which contains laser, electrical, visualization, and computer laboratories as well as office workspace for more than 600 scientists and engineers.
J.B. Henderson’s scope of work included the construction of 36 laboratories on three floors. The combined activity of twelve trades during a very limited timeframe was performed efficiently due to a detailed resource loaded schedule and daily coordination meetings with trade leads. Each of the 36 labs required a unique scope of work including sound abatement requirements for labs that were built as vaults to be used for high security research. Four clean room areas were also constructed utilizing 90 fan filter units.
Challenges for the crews involved construction of double sheetrock walls reaching from 20’ to 33’ high following the contours of a waffle slab deck. The project also integrated new industrial hygiene requirements implemented by the labs to protect crews from hazardous vapors and loud noises.
Department of Energy MESA Tooling Subproject
The MESA Tooling Subproject provided a complete functional and operational semi-conductor toolset for the MicroFab cleanroom facility at Sandia National Laboratories, and a limited toolset for the MicroLab facility. JBH's scope of the tooling project for the MicroFab included tools that had to be installed or relocated. These facilities contained specialized functions such as clean rooms, metallurgical process, thin films, microcircuit production, and electronic fabrication. Several specialty gasses were involved with the tool installation. JBH was required to furnish, as necessary all supervision, labor, materials, consumables, tools, equipment and vehicles to perform structural, mechanical, electrical, high purity and cleanroom modifications. This included equipment installation and/or relocation for all machining, manufacturing, production facilities and associated incidental utilities in special access areas. Work was performed on an as needed, time and material basis.
Department of Energy Z-Beamlet Backlighter Installation
This project involved the modification of a 10,000 square foot existing building for the installation of the Z-Beamlet Backlighter system at Sandia National Laboratories. The building was formerly a warehouse and it was converted into a Class 100,000 clean room with a Class 1000 clean room inside. New mechanical, electrical and controls systems were installed. JBH used its in-house resources to perform the demolition, concrete, drywall and mechanical systems work which included both labor and equipment.
Department of Energy Rapid Reactivation Project
The Rapid Reactivation project was a $15.6 million project initiated to meet the increased production requirements of limited life components to support the nuclear weapons stockpile at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) in New Mexico. Meeting the increase in capacity was accomplished by rearranging and upgrading space within existing SNL buildings, constructing approximately 18,000 sf of new space, and purchasing and installing new production equipment. Delays led to a reduction in project schedule while maintaining a final completion date. Top management oversight from program, procurement and project management during key phases of the project allowed for a three week reduction of the schedule despite a significant program change in the final three months of construction.
The Radio Shop Replacement Project
The Radio Shop Replacement Project is a design-build project of a 7,000 square foot service and support facility for Los Alamos National Laboratories. JBH was a subcontractor to B&D Industries, Inc. Our subcontract included all work other than design, electrical and controls. The facility consists of a high-bay service area that can accommodate vehicles as large as a fire truck for radio installation and maintenance, office area for technical support personnel, and a radio equipment room linked to a 70-foot high tower. The building sits on a concrete slab with turned-down footings to support the structure. Exterior finish is exposed CMU or stucco. Aluminum windows and skylights provide natural lighting. The interior finishes are drywall, carpet or VCT and acoustical ceiling tiles. The restrooms have ceramic tile floors and wainscot. Two large coiling doors provide drive-through access for trucks requiring service.
Department of Energy Isotope Production Facility
The Isotope Production Facility (IPF) is an extension to the existing linear accelerator at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The extension, 40 feet below grade, had four significant issues to be addressed: 1) Vibration from conventional excavation could disrupt beam alignment and shut down the accelerator; 2) Significant excavation next to the existing building could undermine the foundation, causing settling that could affect operations; 3) Conventional excavation would expose construction workers and lab personnel to potential radiation hazards; 4) the two 13.2 kV ductbanks powering the accelerator could not be taken out of service.
The facility was constructed using a system of drilled shafts, 42” in diameter and 65 feet deep that could be installed during brief 2-4 day accelerator outages and accelerometers and alignment points were installed to measure vibration and settling inside the beam tunnel. The results were impressive.
- The installation of the drilled shafts was completed quickly, and had no operational impact on accelerator alignment;
- The existing foundation showed no evidence of settling and
- Using the drilled shafts did not require the removal of significant quantities of soil that provided radiation shielding, eliminating the risk to lab and contractor personnel. The major excavation was completed during a complete shutdown of the accelerator and had little impact on accelerator operations;
- The drilled shafts were used to support a steel structure that was designed to have the ductbanks span the excavation during construction.
Additionally, the underground portion of the project, approximately 40 feet below finish grade, consisted of heavily reinforced 24 inch thick concrete walls, with 30 inch thick concrete ceilings and floors. It also included placement of a radiation shield block 36 feet high. High-density radiation shielding concrete consisting of a special mix design utilizing magnetite aggregates imported from out of state was placed.
Radioactive Liquid Waste Tank replacement and Radioactive Waste Treatment Facility
This project consisted of two (2) projects running simultaneously at Los Alamos National Laboratories.
Tank Replacement: The scope of the Tank Replacement was the installation of lift stations at two different locations. Both Lift Stations were in close proximity to existing structures and both were located among multiple existing utilities. Both Lift Stations required the installation of 12’ diameter corrugated pipe standing vertical at a depth of over 20’ below grade. Coordination with Facility Management was a must for location of utilities, scheduling production around line beam usage, traffic control, and staging of materials in numerous locations.
The scope of the Treatment Facility was the construction of the Treatment Facility 20’ below grade, consisting of Storage Area #3 – 150,000 radioactive resistant tanks, pump areas and aeration ponds. Utilities had to be brought to the site from over ½ mile requiring coordination with Facility Management for extensive traffic control.
