One reason Cornell's Lake Source Cooling (LSC) project was completed under budget and ahead of schedule was an unusual degree of cooperation between the many businesses and public agencies involved. Now the contractor who laid the pipeline for the system has received an award for the "partnering" system that made that cooperation possible.
Barnard Construction of Boseman, Mont., has been named as one of the recipients of the 2001 Marvin M. Black Excellence in Partnering Award by the Associated General Contractors. Forty-six projects were nominated for the award, and six projects were chosen. Barnard laid the 2.5-mile pipeline from the new LSC facility on the east shore of Cayuga Lake to the Cornell campus.
The LSC plant draws cold water from the depths of the lake to cool a separate water supply used for campus air conditioning, saving the cost and environmental impact of generating electricity to power conventional refrigeration.
The pipeline that carries chilled water to campus runs under city streets and across Ithaca City School District property. During the project, the city of Ithaca and several utilities took advantage of the excavation to update utility wires and pipelines.
Before the first backhoe bit into the ground, Barnard representatives set up meetings with all the parties involved in the project, including Cornell, the city of Ithaca, the town of Ithaca, the State Department of Transportation, utility companies, several subcontractors and Gryphon International Engineering Services Inc., the project engineer.
The group drew up a "partnering charter" that spelled out the responsibilities of each member of the group and set up procedures for dealing with problems. "If any issue came up, they knew who to call and the issue would be resolved ASAP and costs would be minimized," explained Lanny Joyce, project manager for Cornell.
The meetings also enabled the various parties to get to know one another and establish trust, Joyce said. "A very good relationship was established between the contractor and stakeholders, and that resulted in a much shorter timeline and much less heartache and a better quality," he said.
In at least two cases, where the pipeline crossed school district property and Department of Transportation property adjacent to Route 13, the contractor suggested different design ideas that made construction faster and less disruptive. In the case of the school district, the changes allowed an improvement to the berm between Rosemary Lane and Boynton Middle School to protect the fields from creek overflow. Decisions on these changes were made much more quickly because all those involved already knew each other, Joyce said. "It was a very effective tool," he said.
Bill Gray, city of Ithaca superintendent of public works and city engineer, also liked the partnering idea. "The coordination issues are not new; I think the concept of integrating them back into a partnership is," he said.
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