Suffolk Construction to Present "Think Lean: Build Smart" at the Design-Build Institute of America Federal Sector Conference

FALLS CHURCH, Va., Aug. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Suffolk Construction, one of the most successful, privately held building contractors in the country, announces today that Michael DiNapoli, Vice President and General Manager for Suffolk Construction Mid-Atlantic, will lead a panel discussion at the Design-Build Institute of America Federal Sector Conference on August 21 – 23, 2012 in Arlington, Virginia. Panel representatives from Perkins + Will, BCRA Design, M.C. Dean and Southland Industries will join Suffolk Construction. The topic of the presentation will be "Think Lean: Build Smart" and will profile Suffolk Construction's success with the U.S. Army Legal Services Agency (USALSA) BRAC 132 project located in Ft. Belvoir, Virginia.

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This 97,000 square foot design-build project was given a congressionally mandated completion date of one year. In order to meet this accelerated schedule, Suffolk Construction incorporated Lean design and construction management processes including fully integrating all project team members and utilizing Building Information Modeling (BIM) during all stages of the project. Suffolk Construction employed four key Lean principles that ensured schedule reliability throughout the process:

1. Reverse Phase Scheduling: This allows subcontractors to plan the project starting with the last work activity, and then work backwards to the start of the schedule.
2. Rolling Six-Week-Look-Ahead Schedule: Activities that are dropped from the reverse phase schedule are moved to this schedule and expanded to identify possible constraints.
3. Weekly Work Plans: These meetings include all sub-contractors, so the construction manager can make sure they are on track for that week.
4. Percent Complete Calculations: These calculations illustrate what each subcontractor actually accomplished against its weekly work plans.

Suffolk Construction is one of the first to revolutionize construction management through employing Lean methods on several projects throughout the nation. In 2011, Suffolk Construction Mid-Atlantic received the first-ever Best Lean Construction Award from the Associated General Contractors (AGC) in Washington, DC.

Suffolk Construction Mid-Atlantic is located at 3190 Fairview Park Drive, Falls Church, Virginia 22042. For more information about Suffolk Construction Mid-Atlantic, please call 703.286.3200 or email at [email protected].

Suffolk Construction Company:

Suffolk Construction is one of the most successful privately-held building contractors in the country, providing preconstruction, construction management, design-build, and general contracting services to clients in the healthcare, science and technology, education, federal government, and commercial sectors. Suffolk is based in Boston, Massachusetts and has a strong national presence with main offices throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and West Coast. Suffolk is committed to delivering its "build smart" approach to construction management on every project. The company's teams provide clients comprehensive planning services, innovative solutions and technologies, and proven processes such as Building Information Modeling (BIM) that allow Suffolk to deliver the most complex building construction projects on schedule and on budget, with minimal risk. Suffolk is a community-conscious organization dedicated to environmentally-friendly and sustainable business practices, and is committed to making a positive impact in its local communities through strong leadership, proactive involvement, and grassroots volunteering. For more information about Suffolk, visit the official website at www.suffolkconstruction.com.

SOURCE Suffolk Construction