The general contractor Balfour Beatty has been working with the San Diego Unified School District for 13 years. Over the past five years alone, the firm has completed five projects for the District, with number six currently under construction.
On all improvement and construction projects, the District has a mandatory goal of 50% participation by emerging business enterprises, or EBEs. That goal includes 5% for disabled veteran business enterprises (DVBEs).
For the District’s recent $38 million project that modernized its Innovations Academy, a K-8 charter school with nearly 400 students, Balfour Beatty delivered more than 62,000 sf of educational space within a tight five-month schedule. The contractor awarded $5 million in contracts, nearly 13%, to local DVBE firms, a portion that more than doubled the District’s participation goal for DVBEs. “That was outstanding,” says Tim Berry, senior vice president and one of Balfour Beatty’s K-12 market leads in California, whom BD+C interviewed earlier this week.
In total, Balfour Beatty has awarded contracts to five San Diego-area DVBE firms—Audio Associates of San Diego, IO Environmental & Infrastructure, Penn Air Control, PN Supply, and Veterans Engineering Services—that have worked on 22 projects for the District.
A SKILLED LABOR POOL
At a time when the construction industry has struggled with shortages of skilled labor, tapping the veterans’ community for workers can fill gaps for firms like Balfour Beatty. These partnerships, the firm has stated, “bring a pool of talent that is rich in leadership and complex problem-solving skillsets.”
Berry notes that over the past two decades Balfour Beatty has done a lot of work for the federal government and the military. On such projects, the vast majority of the construction is typically performed by small-business enterprises. Over this period, Balfour Beatty itself has also hired lots of vets, and continues to have a proactive outreach and networking program, particularly in southern California where there’s a large military population.
Programs that encourage, or even mandate, the hiring of veteran-owned businesses “open the door for us,” says Mike Bilodeau, CEO of IO Environmental & Infrastructure, which he started in 2007. With four offices and 50 employees, the company has grown to where it is performing jobs nationally (it currently has projects underway in North Carolina, Utah, and at Fort Dix in New Jersey.)
The San Diego Unified School District is one of IO’s long-standing clients. Ever since the District moved its properties into lease-leaseback agreements, many of its building upgrades have been whole-school remodels. “It’s almost like a design-build situation,” says Bilodeau, who served in the Coast Guard, and was also an environmental specialist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
CONSISTENT CASHFLOW A MAJOR BENEFIT
The modernization of the Innovations Academy included 27 classrooms, the gym, exterior play area and parking facilities, according to ABBA Project Management.
For the Innovations Academy project, the scope of IO’s work consisted of landscaping, irrigation, and decomposed granite resurfacing. Dan Parker, IO’s operations manager (and a U.S. Air Force vet), lauds John Atherton, MEng, CCM, DBIA, LEED AP, Balfour Beatty’s project executive, for keeping the Innovations Academy job moving forward smoothly. (Berry notes that this project required modifying the existing building’s structural component with 30- to 50-ft-deep shoring.)
To achieve dynamic DVBE participation on a hard-bid project like this one, Balfour Beatty develops targeted bid packages during preconstruction. Oftentimes, DVBEs come in as second-tier trade partners, so it’s important for the contractor to establish clear participation goals for the entire supply chain.
As consistent cashflow is of critical importance to small businesses, Balfour Beatty makes a point of paying the DVBEs it hires on time and in full. It also works with these subs to expedite the hiring process. “It’s essential that the paperwork be filled out properly, especially when financing is an issue,” explains Berry.
Balfour Beatty’s involvement with DVBEs may be about giving back to the community, and providing equal opportunities to all subcontractor companies. But the firm’s motives aren’t entirely altruistic: Berry says these partnerships help the firm grow. And the presence of vets on the jobsite can lift up the entire team. “There’s no entitlement mentality with vets, no ‘I can’t.’ ”
Related Stories
Contractors | Mar 23, 2022
Hiring Construction Workers in a Frantic Post-Covid Job Market
McCarthy Building Companies' Director of Talent Acquisition, Ben Craigs, discusses the construction giant's recruitment and training strategies in a hyper-competitive market. Craigs sits down with BD+C Senior Editor John Caulfield.
Architects | Mar 16, 2022
James Hoban: Designer and builder of the White House
Stewart D. McLaurin, President of the White House Historical Association, chats with BD+C Executive Editor Robert Cassidy about James Hoban, the Irish draftsman and builder who convinced George Washington to let him design and build the White House.
AEC Tech Innovation | Mar 9, 2022
Meet Emerge: WSP USA's new AEC tech incubator
Pooja Jain, WSP’s VP-Strategic Innovation, discusses the pilot programs her firm’s new incubator, Emerge, has initiated with four tech startup companies. Jain speaks with BD+C's John Caulfield about the four AEC tech firms to join Cohort 1 of the firm’s incubator.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 24, 2022
First new, mixed-use high-rise in Detroit’s central business district in nearly 30 years opens
City Club Apartments completed two multifamily projects in 2021 in downtown Detroit including the first new, mixed-use high-rise in Detroit’s central business district in nearly 30 years.
Office Buildings | Feb 23, 2022
The Beam on Farmer, Arizona’s first mass timber, multi-story office building tops out
The Beam on Farmer, Arizona’s first mass timber, multi-story office building, topped out on Feb. 10, 2022.
Codes and Standards | Feb 21, 2022
More bad news on sea level rise for U.S. coastal areas
A new government report predicts sea levels in the U.S. of 10 to 12 inches higher by 2050, with some major cities on the East and Gulf coasts experiencing damaging floods even on sunny days.
Wood | Feb 18, 2022
$2 million mass timber design competition: Building to Net-Zero Carbon (entries due March 30!)
To promote construction of tall mass timber buildings in the U.S., the Softwood Lumber Board (SLB) and USDA Forest Service (USDA) have joined forces on a competition to showcase mass timber’s application, commercial viability, and role as a natural climate solution.
University Buildings | Feb 17, 2022
A vacated school in St. Louis is turned into a center where suppliers exchange ideas
In 1871, The Carondelet School, designed by Frederick William Raeder, opened to educate more than 400 children of laborers and manufacturers in St. Louis. The building is getting a second lease on life, as it has undergone a $2 million renovation by goBRANDgo!, a marketing firm for the manufacturing and industrial sectors.
Sponsored | BD+C University Course | Feb 17, 2022
Metal roofing trends
New ideas in design and constructability are radically changing how metal systems are used as roofing for commercial and institutional buildings. Behind the investment in these new kinds of expressions and construction approaches is a growing interest in improved performance and reduced environmental impact. Metal roofing systems can cut cooling and heating loads significantly, according to the EPA.
Data Centers | Feb 15, 2022
Data center boom: How two AEC firms plan to meet unprecedented demand for data center facilities
Ramboll's Jim Fox and EYP Mission Critical Facilities' Rick Einhorn discuss the recent joining of their companies at a time of unprecedented data center demand. BD+C's John Caulfield leads the discussion with Fox, Ramboll's Managing Director for the Americas, and Einhorn, EYP Mission Critical Facilities' Managing Director.