After the completion of the Influenza Research Institute, we sat down with Mike Friedel, the site superintendent, for a re-cap of his in-depth on-site experiences.

What was the full project name?
Influenza Research Institute, University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine.

What was ACS's role in this project?
ACS's role was complete design management and construction management from demolition through commissioning of systems, working with the Architects/Engineers and Owners to ensure overall quality assurance/compliance, engineering of HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems, air leak integrity testing for (3) BSL-3 labs, assisting the owners with their own systems quality testing procedures and documentation along with preparing for Center of Disease Control and USDA certifications.

What was your role?
My role was daily onsite supervision, communication and coordination with Subcontractors, Vendors, Architects, Engineers and Inspectors while representing the Owners and ACS's interests. Safety compliance is a large concern on all sites and I represent the initial point of contact in the case of an emergency (large or small) as well as fulfilling the role as the site's Competent Person when it comes to safety specific things such as excavations, scaffolding, jobsite security, height related work, electricity, hot work, steel erection, big equipment traffic and so on. The Site Superintendent is responsible for all things that occur on site every day including the rudimentary items many people take for granted such as deliveries and storage, snow removal, temp heat, temp lights, temp enclosures, litter control, informing the neighbors of events or outages (electrical, sanitary, road closures...) in addition to the everyday coordination issues, troubleshooting and problem solving.

How was this project different from others you've worked on?
What stands out overall is the complexity of detail included with all phases of the construction and the not so often seen systems/equipment coupled with the overall high profile of the job itself.  A fine example would be the BSL-3AG lab, a concrete bunker enclosed within the building, and every detail associated with its construction including specific types of pre-tested low shrink concrete mixes and the strict adhesion to the method in which it is placed and cured, the abundance of reinforcing within the concrete, the amount of 100% fully welded stainless steel for piping and HVAC systems, along with a large amount of stainless equipment that services the lab, redundant HVAC, plumbing, steam and electrical systems to act as backups in the event of failures.  And finally, the multiple levels of security.

How many different sub contractors were there?
Somewhere between 45 and 50.

Describe the unique building safety.
The labs underwent vigorous testing on both the enclosures and the supporting systems, all pertaining to leak testing, which must be approved by government agencies before acceptance and occupancy. Three levels of security (card readers, biometric thumb readers and high security keys) before entering the secure labs; a specialized effluent decontamination system that neutralizes the sanitary before discharge; the autoclaves (2 bulk, 1 medium and 1 small) that sterilize everything coming out of the BSL-3 labs; and the large amount of HEPA filtering on the air systems ensuring air quality for workers and environment.

What did you like best about this project?
The amount of detailing required very close working relationships with the Sub Contractors, Engineers, Architects, Owners and multiple personnel from the ACS office.  All were instrumental in ensuring a successful project and it was a pleasure working with such a great group of professionals. Working so close to home was also a plus.

What did you like least about this project?
Being restricted to working within the footprint of an existing building was tough, but water has to be the biggest nemesis. Bailing water on a freezing Saturday morning from a temporary visqueen basement enclosure when the snow (lots of it) turned to water, pooled and threatened to collapse multiple times. It also creates mud.

Have you always been a site superintendent?
Since my start with ACS in 2001 I have been a Site Superintendent. Before ACS, I was a General Contractor and owned my own company.

Dealing with remote locations; how was it working closer to home?
Working close to home for over 2 years now has been great. I have been able to attend all of my daughter's athletic events, attend family events, practice my hobbies and my wife sees to it I eat right.

Would you work on a project like this on again; why, why not?
I would like to work on another project similar to IRI because it gave me the opportunity to expand and use my knowledge. The challenges were new practically everyday. The project as a whole had a great team that worked successfully together and that in itself is a simple pleasure. Not many people can genuinely say they like what they do, I can.