BE&K/Turner, Design-Builder for Boeing South Carolina 787 Expansion, Celebrates Safety Milestone
August 17, 2011
4 Million Labor-Hours Worked without a Lost-Time Incident
NORTH CHARLESTON, SC – August 16, 2011 – BE&K/Turner, design-builder for the Boeing South Carolina 787 Expansion, celebrated another major safety milestone last week — four million labor-hours worked without a lost-time incident. To mark the occasion, BE&K/Turner hosted an appreciation luncheon at Boeing’s South Carolina campus for its construction workers. BE&K/Turner staff thanked the 1,000 workers in attendance collectively, and again individually, as they handed each person a box lunch and specially designed commemorative items — t-shirt, hard-hat sticker and a commemorative photo. The construction workforce peaked at 2,400 earlier this year.
This most significant accomplishment was made possible because of the dedication to safety excellence of our entire project team, including Boeing and our many subcontractors,” said BE&K/Turner’s Kenny Anderson, Operations Manager. “Few projects ever reach one million work-hours, let alone four million hours. And two million of these hours were logged just this year. To maintain an injury-free work environment on a project of this size and scope is almost unheard of. We are extremely proud of everyone for this achievement.”
Jim McIntyre, Senior Safety Manager for BE&K/Turner, credits this success to the creation of a team-member driven safety culture. “We are in relentless pursuit of an injury free workplace,” said McIntyre. “Today is a tribute to the safety focus of all of the team members who have worked on this project. It is only through their commitment to working safely each and every day that this achievement was reached. We take pride in working as our brother’s keeper, and reaching this milestone is an indication of how much we care for each other. While we are proud of reaching four million hours without a lost-time accident, we are even more excited about our continuing progress towards becoming an injury-free workplace.”
On Tuesday, August 9, South Carolina Governor Nikki R. Haley and the state’s Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR) Department Director Catherine Templeton formally presented the BE&K/Turner Joint Venture with an award for working 4 million hours without a lost-time accident at a short ceremony in Columbia.
BE&K/Turner reached substantial completion of Boeing’s South Carolina final assembly facility in May 2011, just 18 months after groundbreaking. Boeing held a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony for the building on Friday, June 10. Project components completed since then include the truck inspection building and the Welcome Center. Additional components — scheduled for completion by the end of the year include the flightline, delivery center and renovation/expansion of the site cafeteria.
According to Tara Robertson, director of community affairs for BE&K/Turner, 85% of work-to-date on the project has been contracted to local South Carolina firms and nearly 25% to minority, women- and veteran-owned businesses.
The BE&K Building Group, A KBR Company, and Turner Construction Company have been partnering on select major projects in the Carolinas for nearly 20 years. This is their 12th major project together.
Background
BE&K/Turner broke ground on the Boeing South Carolina 787 Expansion in November 2009, began steel erection in April 2010, set the first steel trusses in May 2010, and formally celebrated reaching the highest point of the final assembly facility in September 2010. The project reached substantial completion, with Boeing receiving a partial certificate of occupancy from the City of North Charleston, on May 12, 2011. Boeing held a formal ribbon-cutting event on June 10, 2011.
Details | Boeing South Carolina 787 Final Assembly Building
The final assembly building has 1.2 million sf of usable space, and a building footprint of 614 feet wide by 1,037 feet long — about the size of 12 football fields. More than 18,000 tons of structural steel were used. The 11 roof trusses weigh 441 tons each. Boeing cites this facility as having the largest clear span of any building in the company’s inventory — 464 feet between support columns. Boeing’s state-of-the-art 787 final assembly and delivery facility features a number of sustainable elements. The project is expected to be certified at LEED Silver or higher.
Project | Safety Recognition Awards
Earlier this year, BE&K/Turner announced that it has received a 2010 Boeing Performance Excellence Award. The Boeing Company issues the award annually to recognize suppliers who have achieved superior performance. In March 2011, BE&K/Turner was recognized for its outstanding safety record at the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Safety Awards luncheon. In addition, BE&K/Turner was named 2010 General Contractor of the Year by the Charleston Chapter of the American Subcontractors Association of the Carolinas.
About the BE&K/Turner/BRPH Design-Build Team
All three companies comprising the BE&K/Turner/BRPH design-build team have in-depth project experience in the aerospace industry as well as strong ties to the Carolinas. Each has an extensive list of high-profile projects in the state of South Carolina and the region. The BE&K Building Group’s office in Greenville, South Carolina — which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2008 — serves as the headquarters for the BE&K/Turner/BRPH design-build team. BE&K/Turner, a joint venture, is the design-build contractor for the facility. Joint venture partners BE&K Building Group and Turner Construction Company, and BRPH, the design partner, have enjoyed a long relationship with aerospace manufacturer Boeing. All three companies worked on the original Dreamliner assembly and manufacturing facilities already in North Charleston — the former Vought Aircraft Industries plant and Global Aeronautica — which are on the same campus where the new assembly line will be located. BE&K Building Group, a KBR Company, is based in Charlotte. Turner Construction Company is headquartered in New York. BRPH is based in Melbourne, Florida.
Design-Build Team’s Ties to the Carolinas and Each Other
The BE&K Building Group has a rich history in the Carolinas with roots dating back more than 100 years. Turner Construction Company has been building in the Carolinas for 90 years — since 1920 and maintains multiple offices in the Carolinas. Formalized 18 years ago (1992) for work in the Charlotte metropolitan area, the long-standing joint venture partnership between the BE&K Building Group’s and Turner Construction’s respective Carolinas-based operations has led to an impressive list of high-visibility projects, each with an outstanding safety and diversity record, and with a total construction value of nearly $1.0 billion. The NASCAR Hall of Fame and Convention Center Expansion, a $165 million project in uptown Charlotte, was completed in May 2010. BRPH Architects-Engineers has had a presence in South Carolina for more than seven years. The firm opened an office in the Upstate region of the state in 2002 and now has an office in Charleston. The BE&K Building Group and BRPH Architects-Engineers have completed 24 projects together over the past 15 years with a total project value exceeding $1.0 billion.
The Greenville, South Carolina-based BE&K/Turner/BRPH team brings unparalleled design and construction experience and a strong commitment to the Boeing project, the community and the people of South Carolina. For more information on the member companies of the BE&K/Turner/BRPH design
-build team, visit their respective company websites at: www.bekbuildinggroup.com; www.turnerconstruction.com; and www.brph.com.
