October 30, 2006
Meeting in the middle | The project manager for the Penobscot Narrows Bridge discusses the joint venture between two big constructors
By Taylor Smith
The Waldo-Hancock Bridge has for 75 years been one of the state's most important bridges. First opened in 1931 as Maine's first long-span bridge, it connects inland Maine to downeast regions, ferrying cars and pedestrians over the Penobscot River from Prospect to Verona Island.
But time takes its toll on everything, steel bridges included. The state in 2003 halted a costly renovation job on the bridge when it was discovered that its steel cables were too corroded to repair. The contingency plan? Spend roughly $70 million to build a new bridge.
During the state's search for a contractor to build the bridge, an unlikely contender emerged: Pittsfield-based Cianbro Corp. and Woolwich-based Reed & Reed, typically competitors for these kinds of projects, teamed to submit a joint bid for the project, figuring that the combined heft of the companies ˆ not to mention their collective experience in bridge and other heavy construction projects ˆ would set them well apart from the competition. The strategy worked. The state in late 2003 awarded the contract to Cianbro/Reed & Reed.
But it's no easy feat tackling a project the size of the Penobscot Narrows Bridge ˆ the name recently chosen for the nearly complete span. Add the difficulties of melding two workforces and two ways of approaching the job, and the project could turn to chaos. But on a recent October Saturday, the bridge was opened to the public for the first time, with pedestrians treading across the 2,120-foot span and into the observatory perched high on one of the bridge's four towers.
As the companies put the finishing touches on the bridge before it opens in December to vehicle traffic, Mainebiz sat down with Kaven Philbrook, a 26-year Cianbro veteran who is the project manager for the Cianbro/Reed & Reed venture. The conversation ranged from the challenges of merging distinct corporate cultures to the difficulties of placing an observatory 420 feet in the air. The following is an edited transcript.
You're a long-time Cianbro employee. What was your reaction when you heard Cianbro would be partnering with Reed & Reed for this project? And not only partnering, but really splitting it right down the middle?
I originally thought from day one it was a great idea. The whole concept of developing the team was a great idea. One, because neither one of us as competitors wanted to watch this bridge being built [by someone else]. Joining up was a good thing to do to strengthen the team.
It was a very non-traditional Maine [Department of Transportation] bid project, a design/ build concept where it wasn't a hard money bid in the beginning. The proposal was ranked on schedule and experience. And as non-equity partners we included [Longmont, Colo.-based] Flatiron Construction and [Meriden, Conn.-based] Lane Construction. The whole concept was to develop a team that would eliminate the other competition, you might say. It was a fabulous team.
Were you at all apprehensive about the joint venture?
I was very nervous. It was a big challenge to take two different companies for a 50/50 split. That's a very hard thing to do. And both companies were very serious about being 50/50. And they managed to keep an equal amount of employees, an equal amount of resources to be as close to 50/50 as possible.
What were you nervous about?
My responsibility was to protect the interests of both companies. My job was to everyday put on my joint venture hat. I had to look at my role as one where I did not work for Cianbro everyday. My responsibility was to report to the joint venture oversight committee. [That committee was headed by Reed & Reed CEO Jackson Parker and Cianbro Senior Vice President Malcolm "Mac" Cianchette.] I was managing an LLC, a whole separate company, and I had to run that company and report to my board of directors, you might say.
We had to blend both companies' philosophies ˆ from benefits to [workplace] policies ˆ for something that would work for both companies and would work on the project. There were things where one company would have a more stringent rule than another, and we either had to accept one's rule for the project or meet in the middle somewhere.
Have you worked on many other joint venture jobs before?
I worked on a large joint venture project in North Carolina for Cianbro, where we partnered with a company out of Texas. I can't remember the exact financial split on that project, but it seems to me that it was 60/40. Cianbro supplied the management team, and on that particular job the joint venture actually hired employees. At this job, at 50/50, the concept is that the LLC had really no employees. It basically subcontracted the work from Cianbro, from Reed & Reed and the other companies. It was more of a construction management project.
In North Carolina, what was the division of labor?
The other company really came to the table with the financial [part] and the risk and the experience, you might say. They had done similar projects. Usually, they're more financial joint ventures. There's always a reason for companies to join up with one another. It may be that one company's in that area or one company has the expertise of the workforce or the equipment.
So is it helpful if one company really knows the area?
Yeah, and has an established workforce. Here, the whole concept was that the last big bridge of this sort, both Cianbro and Reed & Reed watched it get built. It was the Sagadahoc Bridge in Bath ˆ a concrete segmental bridge ˆ and Flatiron was the contractor. So here, we all teamed up together and were very successful.
What were some of the logistical challenges in coordinating these two groups of workers?
I kind of imagine Cianbro being on one side of the bridge and Reed & Reed on the other, with the two companies meeting in the middle.
There actually weren't that many challenges. The workforce worked very well together. The biggest challenges were really company policies. One company might have different policies than another. You've got two different sized companies, and the size of Cianbro dictates different policies than the size of Reed & Reed.
We worked through everything from a work-shoe policy to policies on disciplinary issues to smoking policies. Once we had those established, it's been fairly ˆ I wouldn't say simple ˆ but it's been a very manageable project. We've had such good talent on site from both companies that we've kept it fun and we've had good success.
It's a challenging project. It would be challenging if it wasn't a joint project. If anything, the joint venture has made it simpler because we've had more resources available, from workforce to engineering backups to equipment. It's been different ideas and thought processes, and different people to bounce things off ˆ it's been a lot of support.
What about the project itself has been challenging?
The observatory has been a huge challenge because it's a public space, and it's on a bridge. Apparently, this is the only one in the United States and one of only three observatories in the world that's on a bridge. Bridges are built from specifications that the Department of Transportation puts out. And when you start introducing a public space to the bridge, there are a lot of code issues that have to be addressed. You have a building code that calls for very stringent specifications for handicapped accessibility or for fire emergency systems. There are a lot of challenges trying to blend what I call a commercial building on top of this bridge.
It sounds like this project was pretty snag free.
Talk about being design/build, we're starting work in the morning and getting a drawing in the afternoon almost. The design of the bridge was moving along with the construction. You'd think that would open us up for an awful lot of problems ˆ and behind the lines, believe me, there were a lot of issues that in the traditional world could have been big problems ˆ but with the partnership and the common goals we've all set, we stuck right to it. We've really worked together and bent over backwards to help each other to keep the project moving.
What kind of problems are you talking about?
A lot of them were constructability issues and design [issues]. In every area that we're moving, like in the stay anchorages, there were some very complex designs that were very hard to construct. And working with the designer, who was on site, and the Maine DOT, once we started working on this, we were able to change some things on the fly that made it more constructible and able to stay on schedule. It was a very good thing that the designer who designed the bridge was on site. He worked right with us everyday in the field to help solve problems.
Is a designer usually off-site, sitting behind a desk?
Yeah, he's is usually back in the office. And also, we've just had a good experience with the people on site. We're also responsible for our own quality control. Our quality control manager came from Flatiron, and he has a lot of experience. A lot of problems that jobs like these face we've been able to head off a little bit.
For example, no concrete goes in until every one of the four or five [parts of a] checklist are checked off. On every segment of the bridge section that we cast, the geometry control was set up and then double checked and signed off by all the appropriate parties.
What have been some of the lessons you've learned from this joint venture?
I can tell right now, both companies have learned a lot from each other. I've always looked at this whole thing as that the right way to run a company is always somewhere right down the middle. Both companies have excellent workforces and great resources; it's really a project manager's dream to be able to have the talent that we've been able to supply. And I don't think that either company on its own would have been able to have the same talent that we've had on this project. It's been a good marriage.
I think maybe the biggest thing on this job is that we've learned a lot about safety. This job has been a very safe project. We've had an excellent safety record. We've had zero loss time injuries and over 470,000 safe work hours.
Is that atypical?
That's a good thing. In this industry, you can always do better, but right now we're meeting our goal, which is to not hurt anybody.
Another thing we've done on this job is that we've done a very aggressive monitor of the schedule and productivity. If anything, we've learned ways to look at things a little bit differently. After being here since 2003, today we're within a day of being on schedule, which is another amazing feat for this kind of project.
Would you say this joint venture has been a good experience?
It's really been a very good experience. We've had great support from Jack Parker at Reed & Reed and Pete Vigue at Cianbro. They're the two that came up with this concept. We both wanted to make this work, and both companies have really put their best foot forward to make it work. The biggest thing was to get over the fact that this isn't a Reed & Reed job and it isn't a Cianbro job ˆ it's a joint venture.
And what about the finished project? Has it met everyone's expectations?
It's a spectacular bridge. But we've been here for so long ˆ coming here every day for three years, we've kind of lost how fascinating it looks, I guess. But it's a beautiful bridge. It's definitely a monument.
But time takes its toll on everything, steel bridges included. The state in 2003 halted a costly renovation job on the bridge when it was discovered that its steel cables were too corroded to repair. The contingency plan? Spend roughly $70 million to build a new bridge.
During the state's search for a contractor to build the bridge, an unlikely contender emerged: Pittsfield-based Cianbro Corp. and Woolwich-based Reed & Reed, typically competitors for these kinds of projects, teamed to submit a joint bid for the project, figuring that the combined heft of the companies ˆ not to mention their collective experience in bridge and other heavy construction projects ˆ would set them well apart from the competition. The strategy worked. The state in late 2003 awarded the contract to Cianbro/Reed & Reed.
But it's no easy feat tackling a project the size of the Penobscot Narrows Bridge ˆ the name recently chosen for the nearly complete span. Add the difficulties of melding two workforces and two ways of approaching the job, and the project could turn to chaos. But on a recent October Saturday, the bridge was opened to the public for the first time, with pedestrians treading across the 2,120-foot span and into the observatory perched high on one of the bridge's four towers.
As the companies put the finishing touches on the bridge before it opens in December to vehicle traffic, Mainebiz sat down with Kaven Philbrook, a 26-year Cianbro veteran who is the project manager for the Cianbro/Reed & Reed venture. The conversation ranged from the challenges of merging distinct corporate cultures to the difficulties of placing an observatory 420 feet in the air. The following is an edited transcript.
You're a long-time Cianbro employee. What was your reaction when you heard Cianbro would be partnering with Reed & Reed for this project? And not only partnering, but really splitting it right down the middle?
I originally thought from day one it was a great idea. The whole concept of developing the team was a great idea. One, because neither one of us as competitors wanted to watch this bridge being built [by someone else]. Joining up was a good thing to do to strengthen the team.
It was a very non-traditional Maine [Department of Transportation] bid project, a design/ build concept where it wasn't a hard money bid in the beginning. The proposal was ranked on schedule and experience. And as non-equity partners we included [Longmont, Colo.-based] Flatiron Construction and [Meriden, Conn.-based] Lane Construction. The whole concept was to develop a team that would eliminate the other competition, you might say. It was a fabulous team.
Were you at all apprehensive about the joint venture?
I was very nervous. It was a big challenge to take two different companies for a 50/50 split. That's a very hard thing to do. And both companies were very serious about being 50/50. And they managed to keep an equal amount of employees, an equal amount of resources to be as close to 50/50 as possible.
What were you nervous about?
My responsibility was to protect the interests of both companies. My job was to everyday put on my joint venture hat. I had to look at my role as one where I did not work for Cianbro everyday. My responsibility was to report to the joint venture oversight committee. [That committee was headed by Reed & Reed CEO Jackson Parker and Cianbro Senior Vice President Malcolm "Mac" Cianchette.] I was managing an LLC, a whole separate company, and I had to run that company and report to my board of directors, you might say.
We had to blend both companies' philosophies ˆ from benefits to [workplace] policies ˆ for something that would work for both companies and would work on the project. There were things where one company would have a more stringent rule than another, and we either had to accept one's rule for the project or meet in the middle somewhere.
Have you worked on many other joint venture jobs before?
I worked on a large joint venture project in North Carolina for Cianbro, where we partnered with a company out of Texas. I can't remember the exact financial split on that project, but it seems to me that it was 60/40. Cianbro supplied the management team, and on that particular job the joint venture actually hired employees. At this job, at 50/50, the concept is that the LLC had really no employees. It basically subcontracted the work from Cianbro, from Reed & Reed and the other companies. It was more of a construction management project.
In North Carolina, what was the division of labor?
The other company really came to the table with the financial [part] and the risk and the experience, you might say. They had done similar projects. Usually, they're more financial joint ventures. There's always a reason for companies to join up with one another. It may be that one company's in that area or one company has the expertise of the workforce or the equipment.
So is it helpful if one company really knows the area?
Yeah, and has an established workforce. Here, the whole concept was that the last big bridge of this sort, both Cianbro and Reed & Reed watched it get built. It was the Sagadahoc Bridge in Bath ˆ a concrete segmental bridge ˆ and Flatiron was the contractor. So here, we all teamed up together and were very successful.
What were some of the logistical challenges in coordinating these two groups of workers?
I kind of imagine Cianbro being on one side of the bridge and Reed & Reed on the other, with the two companies meeting in the middle.
There actually weren't that many challenges. The workforce worked very well together. The biggest challenges were really company policies. One company might have different policies than another. You've got two different sized companies, and the size of Cianbro dictates different policies than the size of Reed & Reed.
We worked through everything from a work-shoe policy to policies on disciplinary issues to smoking policies. Once we had those established, it's been fairly ˆ I wouldn't say simple ˆ but it's been a very manageable project. We've had such good talent on site from both companies that we've kept it fun and we've had good success.
It's a challenging project. It would be challenging if it wasn't a joint project. If anything, the joint venture has made it simpler because we've had more resources available, from workforce to engineering backups to equipment. It's been different ideas and thought processes, and different people to bounce things off ˆ it's been a lot of support.
What about the project itself has been challenging?
The observatory has been a huge challenge because it's a public space, and it's on a bridge. Apparently, this is the only one in the United States and one of only three observatories in the world that's on a bridge. Bridges are built from specifications that the Department of Transportation puts out. And when you start introducing a public space to the bridge, there are a lot of code issues that have to be addressed. You have a building code that calls for very stringent specifications for handicapped accessibility or for fire emergency systems. There are a lot of challenges trying to blend what I call a commercial building on top of this bridge.
It sounds like this project was pretty snag free.
Talk about being design/build, we're starting work in the morning and getting a drawing in the afternoon almost. The design of the bridge was moving along with the construction. You'd think that would open us up for an awful lot of problems ˆ and behind the lines, believe me, there were a lot of issues that in the traditional world could have been big problems ˆ but with the partnership and the common goals we've all set, we stuck right to it. We've really worked together and bent over backwards to help each other to keep the project moving.
What kind of problems are you talking about?
A lot of them were constructability issues and design [issues]. In every area that we're moving, like in the stay anchorages, there were some very complex designs that were very hard to construct. And working with the designer, who was on site, and the Maine DOT, once we started working on this, we were able to change some things on the fly that made it more constructible and able to stay on schedule. It was a very good thing that the designer who designed the bridge was on site. He worked right with us everyday in the field to help solve problems.
Is a designer usually off-site, sitting behind a desk?
Yeah, he's is usually back in the office. And also, we've just had a good experience with the people on site. We're also responsible for our own quality control. Our quality control manager came from Flatiron, and he has a lot of experience. A lot of problems that jobs like these face we've been able to head off a little bit.
For example, no concrete goes in until every one of the four or five [parts of a] checklist are checked off. On every segment of the bridge section that we cast, the geometry control was set up and then double checked and signed off by all the appropriate parties.
What have been some of the lessons you've learned from this joint venture?
I can tell right now, both companies have learned a lot from each other. I've always looked at this whole thing as that the right way to run a company is always somewhere right down the middle. Both companies have excellent workforces and great resources; it's really a project manager's dream to be able to have the talent that we've been able to supply. And I don't think that either company on its own would have been able to have the same talent that we've had on this project. It's been a good marriage.
I think maybe the biggest thing on this job is that we've learned a lot about safety. This job has been a very safe project. We've had an excellent safety record. We've had zero loss time injuries and over 470,000 safe work hours.
Is that atypical?
That's a good thing. In this industry, you can always do better, but right now we're meeting our goal, which is to not hurt anybody.
Another thing we've done on this job is that we've done a very aggressive monitor of the schedule and productivity. If anything, we've learned ways to look at things a little bit differently. After being here since 2003, today we're within a day of being on schedule, which is another amazing feat for this kind of project.
Would you say this joint venture has been a good experience?
It's really been a very good experience. We've had great support from Jack Parker at Reed & Reed and Pete Vigue at Cianbro. They're the two that came up with this concept. We both wanted to make this work, and both companies have really put their best foot forward to make it work. The biggest thing was to get over the fact that this isn't a Reed & Reed job and it isn't a Cianbro job ˆ it's a joint venture.
And what about the finished project? Has it met everyone's expectations?
It's a spectacular bridge. But we've been here for so long ˆ coming here every day for three years, we've kind of lost how fascinating it looks, I guess. But it's a beautiful bridge. It's definitely a monument.
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