LOCATION

• Kansas City, KS

EXPERTISE

• Preconstruction

• Building Information Modeling (BIM)

• Construction Management

• General Contracting

• Commissioning

HIGHLIGHTS

• 132,000 SF

• Pull planning process utilized

This confidential client owns and operates carrier hotels (interconnected data centers and meet-me rooms in large population centers). They provide a mix of colocation, powered shell and wholesale data center solutions driven by fiber-dense, network-rich interconnection environments. In their commitment to meet user expectations to support applications with near-zero latency and interconnection from the core to the edge, they engaged Constructiv to reposition a large shell asset which they acquired for its hyper-proximity and connectivity to the carrier hotel they own in downtown Kansas City. This asset enables their existing and new clients to lease larger data center footprints in very close proximity to the extensive network aggregation and Internet peering. This project is located in Shawnee, Kansas approximately 10 miles from Kansas City.

The work included the interior and exterior demolition and construction of a 4MW data center within an existing warehouse space with a total critical capacity of 6MW. Since the project was a complex endeavor, which required extensive coordination and collaboration, BIM and pull planning were used for construction planning and execution.

We modeled the existing building, steel, and yard areas. Subcontractors modeled mechanical, electrical, fire sprinkler and HVAC systems and equipment. Weekly clash meetings using Trimble Connect were held until clashes were at zero. Trimble data was then used for system layouts. Owner reviewed near complete models and revised main mechanical yard system heights. Major design changes – bulletins one two and three were BIM integrated as well. This allowed to resolve many issues before construction commenced in specific areas. The coordinated BIM approach with the owner allowed construction to continue in resolved areas.

In addition, all subs participated in pull planning sessions. Pull planning was broken into key area and schedule segments with subs providing detailed tasks and orders of work. By using extensive subcontractor input/consensus we limited overtime work and rework. Pull planning was used for initial schedules, bulletin and RFI changes where it affected the schedule and/or approach.

By incorporating BIM and pull planning and managing the process from the outset we were able to save $915,000.00 in costly change orders. The original schedule was maintained even after major design changes were made.