“Big box. Small box.
Get out of your box.”
Looks can be deceiving. There was a time when you might have dismissed a “big box” retail store as a simple and unsophisticated construction project. After all, it’s just a big, wide-open box stuck in the middle of a parking lot, filled with merchandise. Right?
Not anymore!
Behind the familiar façade you see in this photograph (and deep beneath those walls), you will find an extremely complex project built to meet standards that are among the toughest you’ll find anywhere.
Four football fields under one roof.The enormous size of this project – combined with the monumental achievement of completing it in only 10 months – makes it a model of scheduling and coordination.
• This building measures nearly 200,000 sq.ft. under the roof. (That’s four football fields.)
• The 22-acre project includes miles of underground piping, 80,000 cubic yards of additional dirt and more than 6,000 cubic yards of concrete.
• Huge masonry walls, steel and roof decking all went up simultaneously. Over a 3-day period, 25 trucks loaded with steel cycled through the job each day and the building “grew” from west to east.
• On average, 20 subcontractors and 100 craftsmen worked on the job each day, all following a critical path managed by the Heath construction team.
• Total value of infrastructure, site work, building and equipment: $20 million+.
• Despite severe winter weather and a tornado in the spring, we finished nearly a month ahead of schedule.
There’s no such thing as “good enough” on this jobsite.The standards that Wal-Mart imposes on its builders are rigorous, and there’s absolutely no room for error. That’s why everyone on the construction team has attended intensive training provided by Wal-Mart.
But these standards should serve as inspiration for everyone in our profession. After all, who would argue with the need for total control of storm water, erosion and run-off? Who would object to the desire to construct a building that is incredibly strong, safe and energy-efficient – without sacrificing elegant design and a beautiful finish?
These goals require relentless effort and uncompromising management on the jobsite. They are worth applying to every project, because they represent standards we can all live by.
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Albert Hamill
Superintendent
Employee Owner
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