SAN DIEGO—Strong communication and advance planning in order to keep everyone safe and business uncompromised are key to completing construction projects in occupied spaces successfully, Pacific Building Group's president Jim Roherty tells GlobeSt.com. The firm recently completed five new construction projects spanning more than 250,000 square feet countywide, including Frontera Business Park in Chula Vista, General Atomics Building A21 in Poway, Lite Machines in Carlsbad, NXP Semiconductors in Sorrento Valley and Pulse Electronics in Rancho Bernardo.

“We completed these projects in occupied environments with serious security considerations and without interrupting the workflow of our clients,” Roherty said in a prepared statement. He added that PBG's clients continued with business as usual and maintained productivity during the construction.

We spoke with Roherty about doing construction projects in occupied environments and minimizing inconveniences to tenants during these projects.

GlobeSt.com: What are the greatest challenges to doing construction projects in occupied spaces?

Roherty: The greatest challenge is understanding what the clients' fears and businesses are all about. Before beginning construction, we talk to them about what time employees start and finish work, the month-end work and other aspects that may shift their schedules. Our biggest fear is not understanding the client, so we try to overcome that fear by making sure we meet with a number of people from the user group, try to find out what their critical dates are and let them know what some of the issues are going to be in advance.

We have to be cognizant of noise, dust, smell and even vibration. If we're doing something to the structure of the building on one floor, it could vibrate on two or three floors. The tenant could be doing an experiment that would be affected by that, so we need to understand when they're doing the experiment so that if we do have vibration-type work, maybe we do that work from midnight to 8 a.m.

Part of our DNA has been working in occupied hospitals for 25 years, and you need to have a higher level of consciousness with that because a hospital is 24/7. We try to take the mentality that we've learned and apply it to other settings. You learn to meet with all the stakeholders, find out when surgery rooms are going to be in use and when certain equipment is being used. The same goes for other users.

GlobeSt.com: How do you assure that tenants are minimally disrupted by the construction process?

Roherty: It comes down to communicating exactly what we're going to be doing and listening to what their concerns are. Some tenants have concern about the smell of paint, so we'll paint on weekends or at night. Others are more concerned with electrical shut-downs, so we'll meet with the security company, IT department and employees to find out when is the best time to do that.

The only time we get in trouble is when we surprise somebody. Our goal is to minimize surprises. It's not unlike at a residence, where SDG&E lets them know they will shut down their power next week at noon—that way, they can prepare for it. If they don't know that in advance, maybe their cell phone won't be charged and they'll be unprepared. We're cognizant of that so tenants can make appropriate decisions. Some clients let employees work from home during an electrical shutdown or other events. We have to coordinate this carefully. It's all about communication in sharing our detailed plan with them and letting them know we're flexible to accommodate their needs.

Another part of our DNA is understanding that construction is not the most important thing in the world—what the client's doing is the most important thing in the world.

GlobeSt.com: What is the ideal situation or environment for these types of projects?

Roherty: If I were thinking about it as a contractor, I would never want to work in occupied space. But, we're seeing fewer new buildings constructed because more renovation is going on, so you have to understand how to work in occupied buildings and campuses. Making sure everyone is safe and minimizing disruption are the number-one goals. There's just going to be more and more renovation because developers are building less new space.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about construction projects in occupied spaces?

Roherty: Make sure you're being proactive when working on an occupied campus. Have signage up well in advance if you're closing off parking areas or entries and exits. You don't want tenants not to be able to get in to the building. You don't want tenants who are unaware to walk through a construction site to get to their office—it's a safety issue.

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