Gilbane Building Company, Lend Lease and Skanska Partner to Celebrate Safety Week 2015 at Duke Projects

DURHAM, N.C., May 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Gilbane Building Company, Lend Lease and Skanska, have joined forces on the Duke University Campus as industry leaders to bring awareness to the importance of safety on the jobsite and in the workplace.  Each of the firms is actively constructing various projects for Duke University and they are committed to promoting a strong safety culture through daily activities, training sessions and sharing best practices.

"Safety Week is an opportunity for our employees, suppliers and contractors we work with to come together and celebrate their progress toward an Incident and Injury-Free (IIF) workplace and reinforce their commitment to make safety the priority every day, both on the job and at home,"  Said Robert Crowder, Vice President Gilbane Building Company.

On Tuesday, May 5, 2015, the three firms came together starting with a group stretch and flex at the Chapel Grounds and continued with a four-hour IIF Orientation for the firm's campus leadership.  Among other activities taking place during Safety Week are trenching/excavation toolbox discussions, hosting Duke Police and Emergency Response teams on site with construction worker mock evacuation, and fall protection training.

Denis Hickey, Chief Executive Officer, Lend Lease Americas said, "We are excited to conduct joint safety training and programing with Gilbane and Skanska today at Duke University.  This is just one of the many examples of industry leaders coming together to promote the importance of safety as our number one priority."

"Construction sites can change not only every day in many ways but every hour, down to the immediate surroundings of a crew's work area," said Skanska USA President & CEO Rich Cavallaro. "Whether you've been in the field for 30 years or 30 days, the conditions and risks of a work area are unique. Safety Week gives us a platform to remind everyone on a site that we need to be constantly vigilant and to not only plan for the known, but also for the possible."

Gilbane is providing construction management at-risk services for the new three-story Health and Wellness Center. The site is located on the heaviest traveled cross campus connector and directly across the road from the Duke Basketball Venue, Cameron Indoor Stadium. The 70,000 square foot building will integrate facilities and services for the advancing of the physical, emotional, and spiritual health of the university community members, specifically the current services and programs offered by the Student Health Center (SHC), Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), and the Student Wellness Center (SWC) as well as other related programs that may be included in the new facility.

Lend Lease is serving as the Construction Manager for Duke University's David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.  This project will renovate the original West Campus Library building and consists of an 115,000 square-foot demolition and upfit of the cornerstone building of Duke's gothic campus.  The challenging portions of the project include removal of the interior stack system and subsequent structure pour back, very tight logistics planning and high end finishes.  The adjacent facilities are also occupied, adding to the complexity of the project.  Two major legacy spaces – the Gothic Reading Room and the Mary Duke Biddle Rare Book Room -- are receiving complete renovations while maintaining their historic character.  Upon completion, the facility will be a state-of-the-art research facility.

Skanska is serving as the Construction Manager for Duke University's West Campus Union renovation. The 115,000-square-foot renovation will encompass student dining by providing   (11) eleven food venues including a pub, café, bakery, sushi bar along with other unique venues, casual common spaces, faculty common areas, meeting rooms, food preparation facilities and kitchens, storage and mechanical rooms.  The work also includes two new elevated concrete walkways and connector bridges with glass railings and decorative glass inserts in the walkway, and an outdoor seating and eating area with new outdoor social spaces. In addition, the building will house the precinct steam to hot water conversion plant that will provide heating hot water to adjacent buildings. The building updates will create a more vibrant and energetic campus union that will greatly enhance the student and faculty experience.

About Gilbane Building Company
Gilbane, a global leader in construction services, provides a full slate of management and facilities-related services – from pre-construction planning and integrated consulting capabilities to comprehensive construction management, close-out and facility management services – for clients across various markets. Founded in 1873 and still a privately held, family-owned company, Gilbane has more than 50 office locations around the world. For more information, visit www.gilbaneco.com.

About Lend Lease:
Lend Lease is a leading international property and infrastructure group. Listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and with circa 13,200 employees worldwide the firm's capabilities span the property and infrastructure spectrum.

The Americas region, headquartered in New York, offers project management & construction, public partnerships, development, asset and property management. Expertise covers multiple sectors including arts & culture, commercial office, education, government, healthcare, hotels & resorts, industrial, military housing communities, mixed-use, multi-site, pharmaceutical, senior living, solar, transportation and aviation.

Lend Lease is committed to operating Incident & Injury Free wherever we have a presence, safely creating innovative and sustainable property solutions while forging partnerships and delivering maximum benefits to clients, investors and communities.  www.lendlease.com

About Skanska:
Skanska USA is one of the largest, most financially sound construction and development companies in the U.S., serving a broad range of clients including those in transportation, power, industrial, water/wastewater, healthcare, education, sports, data centers, government, aviation and commercial. 

Headquartered in New York with offices in 33 metro areas, we have more than 10,000 employees committed to being leaders in safety, project execution, sustainability, ethics and people development. In 2014, our work in building construction, civil and power/industrial construction, commercial development and infrastructure development (public-private partnerships) generated $7.3 billion in revenue.  Global revenue of parent company Skanska AB, headquartered in Stockholm and listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, totaled $21 billion in 2014. Skanska shares are publicly traded in the U.S. on the OTC market under the symbol SKBSY through a Level I American Depository Receipt program. 

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SOURCE Gilbane Building Company