The sole clubhouse of the Boys & Girls Clubs of North San Mateo County (BGCNSM) had been critically impacted by water intrusion and compounding maintenance issues for several years. The facility, which serves hundreds of families in the Pacifica, CA area through after-school care and other programming, was facing the possibility of temporarily closing to address repairs.
Enter DPR Construction. Alerted to the repair needs by BGCNSM board member and DPR community initiatives specialist Rena Crittendon, DPR’s Bay Area office jumped in to provide volunteer construction services and to leverage local trade relationships to procure materials at a discount. Between donated time from DPR’s Self-Perform Work (SPW) team, project managers, superintendents, and valued partners, completed repairs to the 10,000-sq.-ft. facility.
DPR Construction has partnered with Boys & Girls Clubs across the country for more than 15 years, providing facility renovations and repairs, educational programming, and board service. As a partner with BGCNSM since 2017, DPR has completed multiple facility renovations ranging from enhancements to allow clubs to remain open during COVID lockdowns to this major renovation.
The project was one of many DPR has completed in support of its philanthropic vision of building possibilities for the under-resourced through skills-based volunteering. Every year, DPR volunteers provide $2 million in facility improvements for organizations that create brighter futures for economically under-resourced community members. The BGCNSM project was complicated and had a short schedule, perfectly suited to DPR’s expertise as schedulers and technical builders.
As soon as the team received permits and approval to proceed, heavy winter storms rolled in causing significant weather delays. When the skies cleared, the team began work on the exterior by waterproofing the main classroom, making extensive roof repairs and improvements, and replacing gutters and all fascia boards. Inside the building, the team replastered and replaced drywall throughout the facility. Leveraging a strong vendor relationship, most of the materials for the project were donated by Channel Lumber, significantly reducing the project’s cost.
“The improvements we made to the clubhouse will allow BGCNSM to serve families here for many, many years. Despite the challenges, I was honored to have the opportunity to dedicate time to an important part of our community,” shared Michael Brennan, a DPR senior superintendent. “The Boys & Girls Clubs are more like community partners than clients, but as clients go, they were the nicest I have ever worked with.”
With the much-needed renovations completed, BGCNSM no longer needs to worry about flooding or safety issues. Instead, they can focus on fulfilling their mission of empowering youth by fostering academic success, 21st-century skills, and post-secondary education plans.
“We are so grateful for this community partnership. DPR Construction has made a tremendous impact on our organization and community, allowing us to remain a staple for many years to come. They have made a difference in each of our lives; we will forever be thankful,” said Lipp.
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Our Be a Pillar series celebrates diverse experiences and perspectives of DPR employees and partners. Through this blog series, we reflect on how our histories and cultures have shaped us.
Hispanic Heritage Month is recognized in the U.S. from September 15 to October 15 to commemorate the rich history and vibrant culture of U.S. Latinx and Hispanic communities. DPR recognizes the influence and contributions of Hispanic and Latin Americans during Hispanic Heritage Month by spotlighting voices of employees who identify with these communities.
DPR Construction’s Asia Pacific operations received a Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Silver Performance award, its latest such recognition as the firm aims to be one of the best contractors in the near future. This is the second workplace safety award the DPR team in Asia Pacific has won this year alone, receiving a prestigious RoyalSociety for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) award in the Spring, showing the team’s commitment in providing a safe place for employees to work, both in the office and the field.
“This achievement showcases that team members have transcended the conventional norms and gone above and beyond to embed safety into every facet of their work,” said Rizal Sawari, DPR’s Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) lead in Singapore. “This accomplishment speaks volumes about the team’s commitment to ensuring that every member of the organization, including contractors on jobsites, can return home safe and sound every day.”
Members of DPR’s team in Singapore accept a Silver Performance award at the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Awards, held on Aug. 11, 2023. Photo: WSH Council Singapore
The awards are presented by the WSH Council and supported by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) of Singapore. There were more than 50 Silver Performance award recipients across industries, and this is the first time DPR has received this award.
The WSH Awards honors organizations who actively strive to create safer and healthier workplaces to protect employees. These organizations include those with an impeccable safety and health record or innovative safety and health solutions, as well as have procedures and processes in place that are considered the best in the industry. The awards also recognize safety professionals and supervisors who have gone beyond the call of duty to cultivate safe and healthy workplaces.
The WSH Council promotes the mindset of Vision Zero, where every accident is preventable, and focuses on finding solutions to workplace injury and illness before they occur.
“Winning this award elevates the team’s reputation not only within Singapore but also on the international stage,” added Rizal. “It garners respect and recognition from industry peers, stakeholders and regulatory authorities. This accolade serves as a testament to the team’s professional integrity and serves to enhance our credibility in a global marketplace.”
Singapore’s societal values, which include care for its people, innovation, and excellence, align seamlessly with a robust safety culture. Prioritizing safety upholds these values and contributes to the nation’s overall progress. A safe and healthy workforce fosters innovation and creativity, driving Singapore’s continued growth as a global hub for business and technology.
“By embracing safety as a core value, Singaporean teams ensure that the nation’s journey towards excellence is marked by resilience, integrity, and the well-being of its people. In a nation that aspires to be a world leader in various domains, safety commitment is not an option—it’s an intrinsic responsibility that aligns with Singapore’s vision of progress with compassion,” said Rizal. “Importantly, we are able to build trust with our client’s that we do have a great safety management system and we continue to provide an Injury free environment for employees.”
DPR’s team in Singapore has made a serious commitment to safety and wellbeing. Initially, it’s plan was to submit DPR for project safety awards, but upon applying, realized the company was implementing safety best practices across projects that qualified it for company-wide recognition. For the WSH awards, recipients must have had at least 50% less injury rates than the 2022 industry standard; for construction, that meant qualifying companies had to have no more than 246 reported injuries reported per 100,000 workers.
DPR Singapore joined the UN Global Compact in 2023, a voluntary leadership platform for the development, implementation and disclosure of responsible business practice in areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. Photo: Asanul Farhan Sani
Additionally, DPR Singapore joined the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) initiative—a voluntary leadership platform for the development, implementation and disclosure of responsible business practice in areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. Participation in the UNGC is open to any company that is serious about its commitment to work towards implementation of the UNGC’s principles throughout its operations and sphere of influence, and to communicate on its progress. The transparency and reporting required by these awards and initiatives sets the Singapore team up for further success in Asia Pacific.
“This is a win for the whole DPR Team and made possible by everyone in our organization from the various departments who have contributed with an Ever Forward mentality,” said Kmiel Kannan, DPR Singapore’s EHS manager. “Everyone should start each day with a safe mind set, which our team members embrace, including our trade contractors who have contributed by integrating with DPR to achieve this goal.”
DPR Construction’s Austin Boggess signs the ceremonial metal beam at the hospital’s topping-out ceremony. Photo: Matt Pranzo
DPR Construction recently marked the topping out of the Southwest Healthcare Inland Valley Hospital expansion project in Wildomar, CA.
The new seven-story, 290,000-sq.-ft patient tower will accommodate 102 beds to support Riverside County’s growing population. The campus will be equipped with leading-edge clinical technologies for minimally invasive procedures and advanced therapies, and sustainable infrastructure including energy-efficient LED fixtures and solar panels.
“Achieving topping out of the new tower brings us closer to realizing our goal of delivering leading-edge care to more patients,” said Southwest Healthcare CEO Jared Giles. “It’s inspiring to think about how this structure is going to impact local families for years to come. This will be a place of miracles and healing for the community.”
Construction workers prepare to lift the final beam at the Southwest Healthcare Inland Valley Hospital in August 2023. Photo: Matt Pranzo
As the only designated Trauma Center in Southwest Riverside County, the existing healthcare campus has remained fully operational throughout construction. The project team relocated every major utility that sat in the footprint of the new tower.
“As a resident of Inland Valley, I am honored to be celebrating this major milestone with our skilled trade workers,” said superintendent Bob Gorham. “We’ve worked closely with the Southwest Healthcare team to minimize disruption and maintain the patient experience.”
More than 600 local workers from a variety of trades have worked 173,200 hours to bring the project to this point.
HOK is the design architect. Major trade partners working on the project include SPW Concrete & Drywall, Schuff Steel, DBC, UMEC, Murray Co., Berg Electric, BAPCO, McIntyre, Neville Group and Woodbridge.
Architectural rendering of the Southwest Healthcare Inland Valley Hospital in Wildomar, CA. Photo: HOK
48X craft team members photograph the final beam before installation. Photo: Bill Michie
Amid cheers from a festive crowd, the DPR Construction and SmithGroup design-build team topped out the UC Davis Health 48X Complex, a new four-story, 268,000-sq.-ft. ambulatory surgery center in Sacramento, California.
Since breaking ground in November 2022, craft workers from various trades have worked 86,926 hours on the project. The project team’s dedication and hard work were celebrated with a luncheon, raffle prizes, and the traditional signing and placing of the last structural beam.
“We’re proud of our team out here at 48X. They have persevered through unprecedented rainfall and our typical hot summer,” said Abe Sipes, DPR Construction’s project executive leading the job. “Their hard work and team approach have put the project in a great position at this point in the schedule.”
California Erectors, the steel erection contractor on the project, used over 4,010 steel members to build the steel structure. “We’re here right now because of the incredible work of California Erectors and their ironworkers,” remarked Sipes.
The placement of the final steel beam brings the new ambulatory surgery center one step closer to serving the greater Sacramento community.
Ironworkers preparing to receive and place the final steel beam. Photo: Bill Michie
California’s capital has seen dramatic population growth over the past decade, driven by new opportunities and relative affordability compared to other California cities. This growth has increased the demand for healthcare services and facilities in the Sacramento area. 48X is a key piece of UC Davis Health’s strategy to serve the community and help address the ambulatory operating room capacity shortage at the University’s main hospital.
“The future of healthcare is fundamentally evolving, and this facility will help us provide innovative treatment and care to our growing community,” said Creed Kampa, Director of Strategic Programs for UC Davis Health. “We are thankful to the entire DPR and SmithGroup design-build team for all their accomplishments so far in bringing this building to life.”
The new ambulatory surgery center, to be located at the corner of the newly remodeled intersection of 48th and X streets will be called the “48X Complex,” reflecting its location at the corner of 48th and X Streets in Sacramento. Rendering: SmithGroup
Designed by SmithGroup, the new facility will be one of the most technically advanced ambulatory surgery centers in the United States. It will support a preliminary program of 14 operating rooms, 59 pre- and post-operative recovery bays, 14 single-occupant 23-hour recovery rooms, 96 clinical exam rooms, and 19 clinical treatment rooms.
“The new Ambulatory Surgery Center, 48X Complex, is a ‘destination’ within the UC Davis Health medical campus. The design emphasizes pedestrian accessibility through a central breezeway and incorporates natural light and views of the outdoor landscape,” said Aimee Chan, Lead Designer with SmithGroup. “It also connects to other campus resources, as well as the surrounding community, while catering to visitor needs. This approach aligns with biophilic design principles that enhance people’s physical and mental health well-being.”
The building will include public spaces, clinical support, operations space, sterilization, pharmacy, imaging space, physical therapy space, and administration support space to facilitate patient support and education.
The project team understands the demand for this facility and the benefit it will provide the community. They are dedicated to maintaining the project’s schedule but faced challenges early when they, like many projects in California, were impacted by the tremendous winter rainfall.
The project began excavation mere weeks into the extended rainy period and was at risk of turning into a mud pit. This could create significant delays that would impact all aspects of the project. At the recommendation of DPR’s SPW Concrete team, the project team elected to invest in placing a “mud slab” at the bottom of the excavation.
The “mud slab” at 48X helped prevent the site from becoming a mud pit and provided DPR’s SPW teams with a safer and more efficient work environment. Photo: Mike MacBean
A mud slab is a thin layer of non-structural concrete placed overtop a dirt floor used to create a flat, solid working surface. At 48X, the mud slab is roughly 3 inches thick and covers the 80,000-sq.-ft pad of the new building. It was poured in one day, and SPW crews were able to start working on it within 48 hours.
“Choosing SPW Concrete to execute the structural concrete work allowed us to come in early in a design-assist fashion to help design schedule and cost efficiencies for UC Davis Health,” said Mike MacBean, DPR’s Concrete Lead on 48X. “These efficiencies have helped us stay on schedule given the amount of rain we received. We have achieved substantial productivity increases from a quality standpoint by being able to work off this mud slab.”
The flat surface also allowed the team to save significant time using Dusty Robotics’ technology to complete the building layout. This is the first time the robot has been used for foundations at DPR which was completed in just two days. The team’s creativity, innovation, and investment paid off and prevented the project from losing a single day on the schedule due to rain.
The project is anticipated to be operational in 2025.
Drywall foreman Morgan Mead pairs his passion for tenant improvement projects with his expertise in coordination and pre-task planning to lead a crew of Special Services Group team members. Photo: Matt Pranzo
Nashville has long worn the badge of “Music City, USA,” and more recently has become known as a “boomtown,” with a fast-growing economy and population. DPR’s Special Services Group (SSG) is currently working at the intersection of these two labels, building out a first-generation, 30,000-sq.-ft. tenant improvement project for Capitol Christian Music Group (CCMG) in Nashville’s Hines T3 Wedgewood-Houston Mass Timber Building—one of the most environmentally friendly and sustainable developments in the city.
In 2022, DPR performed about $700 million in SSG work, with an average SSG project size of approximately $3 million, often performing five- and six-figure projects in active environments. DPR’s SSG team members, skilled interior specialists, are being tasked to use their unique skills to build out CCMG’s space that includes recording studios, office space, a live performance area and outdoor rooftop patio designed by Hastings Architecture. Among these SSG experts is drywall foreman Morgan Mead, who leans heavily into his coordination and pre-task planning expertise to lead a crew in building out this unique, first-generation space.
Q: What is your role at DPR and what path did you take to get there?
Mead: I’m a drywall foreman for SPW in Nashville. I came here from a drywall contractor in Southern California, where I went from a stocker to a foreman over a 13-year period. I ran work for seven of those 13 years, but I hit a point where I wanted something different. I had heard good things about DPR from my coworker, I researched the company, and he referred me. During the interview process, we talked about my capabilities and goals, and I was asked, “Where do you want to go?” I decided on Tennessee and started with DPR about a year ago. I have never regretted it.
Q: What types of projects do you see most often as a part of SSG?
Mead: My entire career before joining DPR consisted of tenant improvement (TI) projects. The company I came from had a great reputation and was awarded a lot of high-quality projects, so when I came to DPR, I was asked to work on TIs to draw on my experience. SSG projects typically happen inside existing structures, changing or improving them. I started off doing single floors and then progressed to managing more. Now, I typically do three-to-four-month projects.
On his current project, Mead’s team is tasked with metal framing and drywall, which necessitates robust coordination with other trades. Photo: Matt Pranzo
Q: In what ways does SSG try to minimize disruption in an occupied environment?
Mead: My projects so far have been a 50/50 split between occupied and unoccupied environments. I’ve worked on a few hospital projects that were occupied, and one challenge was start times. We would typically start earlier, around 4am, to keep the noise to a minimum during the busy times of their workday, and then change tasks at 8am when the tenant was coming in. We would handle the tasks that created the most noise first. We got ahead of framing walls by shooting the top and bottom tracks for the studs to attach to before the tenants came in, then finishing up the less noisy activities later.
Q: Tell me about your work on your current project. What challenges have you overcome?
Mead: CCMG is an example of an unoccupied SSG project in a brand-new building. We’re finishing out a first-generation office space and are the only ones in there right now, so we don’t have the challenges that exist in an occupied environment. My team is tasked with metal framing and drywall, and there is a lot of coordination with other trades. The project includes a lot of high-quality, natural finishes and open areas with exposed ceiling finishes. The decks are doweled 2’x6’ studs instead of concrete decking. It’s a very cool aesthetic—polished concrete instead of tile or carpet. Since we’re using exposed natural finishes, it’s important to make sure every detail lines up perfectly the first time because you can’t hide any minor imperfections later.
With years of experience working in occupied environments, Mead is able to adjust schedules, and to navigate and plan for challenges to create minimal disruption. Photo: Matt Pranzo
Q: What have you learned from your team members?
Mead: The environment at DPR is very supportive. I’ve seen other companies that were very dog eat dog, but here it’s different. If I’m not sure of something, I can lean on someone else for help; I don’t have to worry that I’ll be seen as incompetent. At DPR, you’re not left on your own to try to figure things out. It’s a much more comfortable environment.
The options available are pretty incredible for a company to think about its people and their abilities, offering training and unlocking doors—even down to offering English and Spanish classes to help employees communicate better. It’s tougher having that language barrier, but being able to take classes is really helpful. The more you use that muscle, the stronger it gets.
Q: What is one thing you think everyone can do to make the industry as a whole safer for everyone?
Mead: We work hard to follow best practices. Every morning, we discuss the pre-task planning we have outlined on a board and follow that. We talk about our tasks, the steps in each one, along with the potential hazards and ways to mitigate them. As a group, each of us is aware of what everyone is doing and has open eyes to different perspectives and what can cause an injury. Some companies care mainly about production and quality, putting safety last. At DPR, we think safety works along with those. Our goal is for everyone to go home the same way they came to work, if not better. As a foreman, that should be your goal for your crew.
Mead’s current project is a first-generation build out of office space that includes polished concrete and exposed natural finishes, making it even more important to get things right the first time. “The environment at DPR is very supportive. If I’m not sure of something, I can lean on someone else for help,” says Mead. Photo: Matt Pranzo
Q: What’s the most challenging part of your job?
Mead: Making sure we’re coordinating well with all the other trades and that we’re all stacked up the way we’re supposed to be to hit our marks. If we’re framing ceilings, it’s making sure everything is laid out so we only build it once with no rework. It’s coordinating the build itself, but also coordinating the materials to be on site when you need them. On our current project, we’re building out floor three of the seven. The base isn’t complete yet, so we load materials directly into the third floor via a window. If other crews are working in the area, we coordinate our work schedule with theirs so we can both get things done. It can be tough, but with experience you know what to look for. It’s about being able to adapt to your surroundings.
Q: What would your advice be for the next generation of builders entering this field?
Mead: Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty and come into it with an open mind. If you put in the hard work, you’ll see the rewards. It’s a growing field and there aren’t enough people to do job. It’s a gratifying thing to put your hands to something and create, to be physically and mentally active. There’s so much opportunity for growth in construction.
Nonprofits are the heart of communities. They provide solutions to problems within their communities and improve the lives of those they support. They rely on significant support. For DPR, to drive meaningful philanthropic change, developing and establishing long-term relationships with local nonprofit partners is key, with benefits for each organization.
When a company aligns its core business strengths with the needs of nonprofits, allowing both to do what they do best, the work can make even more of a difference. DPR’s commitment to building possibilities for the under-resourced moves forward by leveraging DPR’s skillsets as builders and industry professionals.
Hear from some of DPR’s nonprofit partners.
Philanthropy is a key pillar of DPR’s Global Social Responsibility effort. It supports community organizations, to maximize their impact through facility construction and renovation projects, career and educational guidance for youth and operational support for nonprofit partners’ staff.
In construction, innovation is often associated with the digitization of information or devices used in the field. At its core, innovation is about the combination of people, process and tools.
Composite image: Trevor Satterwhite, Matt Lagusis, Gina Piscitelli
Inflationary pressures. Volatile costs. Labor shortages. Potential economic slowdown. If necessity is the mother of invention, the construction industry is amid a super-charged evolution—one that’s seen a dramatic increase in the last five years.
“It’s really become a different landscape,” said Cheri Hanes, head of construction innovation and sustainability at AXA XL. “Where innovation was a novelty or a nice to have, now it’s become a true opportunity.”
There’s been an explosion of investment. An estimated $50 billion was invested in AEC tech between 2020 and 2022, 85% higher than the previous three years according to McKinsey. With the pandemic exacerbating cracks in the supply chain, leaders in the building products sector have taken note. About 70% said they were planning to increase investment in innovation and R&D, according to another McKinsey report from last year.
Hanes acknowledges not every solution out there meets a need that people will feel in a tangible way, but those, she says, will come and go. It’s the innovations that tie back to indicators of project success—safety, quality, time, cost and performance—that can prove valuable over time.
“Innovation has become table stakes,” Hanes said. “I really think if firms are not actively looking to leverage tech and innovation right now, they’re leaving chips on the table. Innovation has the potential to improve safety, quality, management, documentation and sustainability.”
With all the increased buzz and investment out in the market, discerning between shiny objects and real solutions requires money, expertise, discipline and a genuine connection to the field.
DPR founded its innovation team more than 10 years ago to nurture great ideas in the field and deliberately push the company’s core value of “Ever Forward.” Today, the company’s team of experts works across the business to foster advances in field innovation, robotics, internet-of-things and product incubation.
“From how we identify problems to solve, to our R&D program, to how we pilot new ideas and what we invest in, every part of our approach helps our employees drive toward more efficient construction practices,” said Tim Gaylord, who heads up DPR’s innovation team. “But we know we can’t do it alone. When we pair our people with the right partners who share common values, we have seen we can make amazing things happen.”
Since 2011, DPR has spent more than $15 million on piloting innovations in house, excluding investments in startups or partnerships. Additionally, the company engages dozens of startups a year and if/when they convert into deal flows, DPR’s venture capital arm, WND Ventures, comes into play. Since 2015, WND has invested nearly $9 million separately into 11 startups and two investment funds. Three ideas incubated through WND have spun out entities of their own, one of which was acquired by Autodesk.
“Our investment thesis of WND has always been to partner with industry entrepreneurs through strategic investments in productivity, quality, safety, supply chain and sustainability solutions,” said Kaushal Diwan, who leads WND Ventures strategic partnerships and investment efforts. “We’re establishing these partnerships as a way to promote the ideas and solutions we believe have the potential to change the way our industry builds.”
Beyond forging partnerships with external entities, DPR stays focused on identifying and cultivating innovative ideas in house. Central to that effort is providing two-way communication between innovation teams and the craft workforce.
“To innovate how we construct future projects, we need to first put ourselves in positions to hear the voices in the field,” said Tyler Williams, a former superintendent who now leads DPR’s innovation efforts centered on craft. “This idea may seem simple but to be successful, we need to build teams with individuals who have a myriad of skillsets and passion for what they do.”
DPR emphasizes problem identification as the first step to creating, developing, testing and leveraging solutions for our projects. The company tests and validates ideas at a small scale through pilots and evaluates results through lessons learned.
Our process for innovation includes:
Idea conception and validation
Realizing something could be done better
Affirm issue exists
Pilot
Prove a concept on small scale
Define metrics to track progress
Evaluation
Analyze results
Determine scalability (if applicable)
Adopt
Refine
Create scalable models in other projects/regions
Best Practices
Align implementation on projects
Iterate
Recognize areas for improvement within implementation
Over the years, DPR has supported over 2,600 ideas—many of which focus on improving the quality of life for members of DPR’s 5,000-strong self-perform workers (SPW) in the skilled trades, along with its network of trade partners.
Pilots come from a mix of partnerships and home-grown ideas from the field. Those resulting from partnerships include Hilti’s Jaibot, a semi-automated tech that uses digital plans to help alleviate the strenuous task overhead drilling, and Dusty Robotics’ Field Printer, an automated layout robot that cuts down on schedule time and rework costs by leveraging BIM to produce full-floor layouts.
Internally developed solutions include the “Scotty Sleeve,” a temporary concrete sleeve that cuts down on post-pour finishing time, and have even extended to PPE. In 2019, a team of DPR women spearheaded the creation of an adjustable vest to suit different body types—an issue routinely cited by women that impacts both their physical safety as well as confidence—that has since evolved into a larger stable of vests available to all DPR projects.
On a project in Nashville, TN, DPR is piloting new radar technology that essentially provides x-ray vision to project teams during excavation. Photo: Skyler Herring
Innovations are also being tested at all stages of the construction process. On a project in Nashville, TN, DPR is piloting new radar technology designed to help prevent underground utility strikes during excavation. The tech, which is still in early stages of development, has the potential to provide teams better predictability—and avoid a very costly mistake. Currently, there are only two companies in the U.S. working with this tech, and DPR is actively providing feedback based on real project experience to the developing company.
“Underground utility strikes are obviously a huge concern in construction, and it’s been repeatedly brought up by teams and field crews over and over,” said Bryan Adams, who serves as the superintendent on the jobsite where this tech is currently being deployed.
As this technology improves, Adams says, not only will it keep our crews safer while increasing productivity, it also gives clients peace of mind because they’re working with greater levels of certainty during a key step of the build process. “Having the radar on the machine allows the operator to effectively have x-ray vision, which gives everyone more confidence,” he said. “We’re glad to be part of the team piloting this and making recommendations for future training.”
Not too far away, DPR is supporting a Meta-led team in exploring a potentially game-changing concept that uses mushrooms to break down drywall waste. Along with Mycocycle and Rockwood Sustainable Solutions, the team is piloting a process that uses mycelium to produce a new composite material to help address the 660 million tons of construction waste that gets dumped every year in the U.S.
Khanzode points to a classic example: a design is completed to a certain level and then handed to a contractor to fabricate and build, which requires developing their own detailed shop drawings. Collaboration—coupled with detailed modeling information—is key to handoffs in many scenarios, and to identifying opportunities that can improve value and efficiency.
“The availability of BIM and other cloud-based tools makes it easier to streamline handoffs of information, but even if we have the tools the process and behavior must be there to make it happen,” said Khanzode.
Process innovation builds on itself. As they become refined and engrained, processes turn into best practices, and best practices turn into the baseline. “When you know the baseline you can raise the bar,” said DPR’s Rishard Bitbaba, who leads operations as part of DPR’s Leadership Team and drives the development of processes, practices and training to enhance overall project delivery. “Innovation allows us to reduce variability and increase predictability in project outcomes.”
Innovation is about more than testing new tools. It’s about evolving processes that result in smoother handoffs at every stage of the project lifecycle. DPR’s core value of Ever Forward is about continual self-initiated change, improvement, learning and the advancement of standards for their own sake. The company is banking on the idea that applying this to approach to processes can lead to better predictability for project outcomes.
“We work with a lot of customers who are very innovative themselves. We learn from them,” said Atul Khanzode, a member of DPR’s Leadership Team who focuses on technology and innovation. “The values that drive them, whether quality, productivity, safety or cost, it all comes back to predictability. What they want is for us to come up with ideas that can ultimately help achieve their goals.”
Traditional industry scopes, coupled with a risk transfer mentality, often lead to the creation and re-creation of information across various phases of the project lifecycle. “There is often no continuity to how information created in an earlier phase could be used later,” said Khanzode.
The real opportunity to maximize innovative thinking on projects lies in the combination of people, process and tools. One example of in-house innovation augmenting the benefits of an off-the-shelf tool was the application of prefabricated milled drywall in the buildout of Nuro AI’s office space in Tempe, AZ.
For Tim Bergen, head of real estate and workplace at Nuro AI, when it comes to evaluating emerging technology or products, time, scalability and piloting are key. He also considers whether something has been tested under pressure. Central to that, he says, is understanding how the proposed solution ties to the project’s critical path or overall success of the design.
But before he even weighs the merits of bringing in new tech, Bergen looks at the team putting the work in place. “Show me a superintendent who’s innovative and experienced, that holds both the respect of the teams in the field as well as the confidence of the local departments of buildings,” he said, adding that having a diverse team is helpful in decision-making. “A project is only going to be as successful as the team that’s involved in it. We all have to allow ourselves that space to debate the merits of what we’re doing.”
A project in Tempe, AZ, leveraged a DPR patent-pending software with drywall milling machines to produce cut sheets for drywall shapes that were fabricated offsite and then delivered and installed.Photo: Matt Pranzo
In Tempe, DPR’s Special Services Group and self-perform crews leveraged a patent-pending software developed by DPR’s Jerrud Davis in conjunction with drywall milling machines, which produces cut sheets for drywall shapes that can be fabricated offsite and then delivered and installed. Altogether, this combination of computational design and field know how can speed up drywall installation two to three times faster than the typical process of taping, beading and cutting.
The Nuro AI Tempe project was DPR’s first in the state to use prefabricated milled sheetrock, and it’s use along with Davis’ software has scaled to more than 20 projects across the U.S. On this project, the combined effort saved nearly 30 hours of installation time.
Although it starts with the data housed in the virtual model, “the innovation is in how we’re able to generate high-quality shapes that are ready for field review in a matter of minutes, no matter the scale of the job,” said Davis. What used to take weeks for foremen to physically walk about the jobsite identifying individually milled drywall shapes can now happen in the span of hours or days. For Davis, the expertise of the craft is what makes this combination powerful.
“I get excited to teach SPW teams how to run this application because their knowledge and skillset are invaluable to making this process work,” he said. “Not just because of their ability to hang and tape, but really for their ability to look at the models. To see where the shapes would best suit a job, and then mill.”
Drywall, when done well, is something that rarely gets a second glance by building occupants. But drywallers themselves know that producing a consistent, high-quality finish across an entire building takes tremendous skill and physical endurance. With new methods, the quality of the product and installation remains consistent—and worker safety and comfort are increased.
“We have the ability to create a safer jobsite by taking knives out of hands and time off of lifts, while also reducing waste and delivering a quality product,” said DPR’s Jake Dubenetzky, who leads prefabrication efforts in the Southwest and partners with Davis on supporting teams that are rolling out this approach. Moreover, he says, the opportunities for computational design only expand when combined with field expertise:
“We can build awesome projects. But we can be better builders when we combine the benefits of manufacturing with our tool bags, and software that utilizes computational design methodology helps us do that. There’s a chance for us to create a process that incorporates thousands of years of knowledge when we include our craft.”
