Even with a client based overseas and a project team spread across multiple states, Walbridge finished ZF Transmission’s new 950,000-square-foot Gray Court, S.C., plant in just 13 months.
As design-builder of the new ZF Transmission Gray Court, Walbridge constructed the near million-square-foot facility to accommodate a future 436,000-square-foot expansion – and also to accommodate the manufacturing of the most advanced eight- and nine-speed automotive transmissions in the world.
ZF Friedrichshafen AG is a German transportation and energy technology supplier that manufactures components for a variety of automobiles, aircraft, vessels and energy equipment. It hired Walbridge in January 2011 to build its new complex under a fast-track design-build contract. When the project team arrived at the site, they were met with a sprawling 127 acres of open terrain. The vast piece of property had to be cleared, then graded for infrastructure, and all major utilities had to be brought in from remote locations, which subsequently required the local utility company to construct a new electrical power substation onsite.
Despite all of that, just three months after signing its contract, Walbridge had the first footing for 950,000 square feet of construction in the ground.
The main attraction at ZF Transmission Gray Court is a massive, single-story manufacturing complex containing a 761,000-square-foot main assembly area; two data centers; six in-plant office facilities and break rooms; a 149,000-square-foot shipping and receiving area with 19 truck docks; and a 40,000-square-foot administration building featuring dining facilities, locker rooms, showers and several training facilities. Two guard houses, fire and transmission-oil pump houses, and a tank farm for storage of nitrogen, ammonia and acetylene were also built onsite.
Challenges and Solutions
The sheer velocity of the ZF Transmission Gray Court project was equally challenging and impressive. Following completion of the initial designs – barely two months after the contract was signed – the team broke ground and didn’t stop working until the project was complete, incorporating additional designs as they were needed. Crews worked two shifts for much of the construction, logging 565,000 hours of labor with no lost-time injuries.
With architect and mechanical/electrical designer SSOE in Ohio, structural architect Gala & Associates in Michigan, civil engineer BP Barber in South Carolina, program manager Jones Lang LaSalle in North Carolina and ZF in Germany, representatives had to be industrious in scheduling meetings and conference calls. Sharing information between different groups located in varying time zones was a challenge overcome through use of Walbridge’s web-based Prolog and Sharepoint communication tools.
“We were able to visually track and communicate construction progress through use of several of the company’s technical processes,” Walbridge Project Manager Karlos Melgar said. “Tools like V-plan, productivity curves, four-week look ahead and V-start Commissioning were extremely important in keeping the job on track, as well as in providing the owner with enough information to understand the design and construction progress.”
Maintaining an accurate schedule was one of the key elements for ensuring a successful outcome. A critical milestone date for the building’s enclosure had to be met for the installation of 46 rooftop units, which were delivered via helicopter lifts. Other items tracked in the schedule included the engineering, manufacturing, installation and commissioning of 957 pieces of mechanical and electrical equipment– all within a year’s time.
The Benefit
ZF saved roughly $6 million on the $77 million project, thanks to Walbridge’s value analysis/value engineering (VA/VE) recommendations. The new facility is recognized by the German manufacturer as the “best-of-class benchmark for ZF,” considering the cost to build it and the fast-track schedule under which walbridge.completed the project.
With its new state-of-the-art facility, ZF Transmission Gray Court has a sprawling new facility to house manufacturing genius in North America.