Cahill Contractors

Balancing actBeing a construction project manager means juggling a routine with shifting priorities, Matt Irwin explains to Gary Toushek. Matt Irwin has just come from the job site of the project heÔÇÖs working on at the moment, adjacent towers of residential housingÔÇöa 12-story, 136-unit, design-build, low-income family building (designed by architects Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz) and an 11-story, 107-unit seniors building (designed by KMD Associates, local architecture firm Kodama Diseno)ÔÇöin downtown San Francisco.  The owner/developer is Mercy Housing of California, and the major source of funding is the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency. The ground floor space is planned for retail use and a youth recreation center. Part of the funding for the seniors complex (from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development) took longer than expected, so it means that the family building began (August 2007) before the other (June 2008), which creates a ÔÇ£staggeringÔÇØ of construction in terms of materials and labor services and presents Irwin with challenges in the sequence of construction.ÔÇ£Right now weÔÇÖre up on the 11th floor of the family building,ÔÇØ he says, ÔÇ£and weÔÇÖre just coming up out of the ground on the seniors building. ItÔÇÖs a tight space in the middle of San Francisco, and weÔÇÖre dealing with restricted access to the job site, so sequencing concrete trucks and the delivery of supplies and people is a challenge, with tight scheduling. Both buildings are concrete structures with post-tension decks. WeÔÇÖre pouring concrete and driving piles on the seniors building and doing the exterior skin with precast panels on the other, which is a different process, and weÔÇÖre also doing concrete work there. So we have to stagger working times. We have our skin installation going in on a swing shift, for crane availability and limited space.ÔÇØ The construction is being done by local firm Cahill Contractors. Irwin joined the company in 2006 and came in as manager for this project about halfway through the design-build process. ÔÇ£IÔÇÖd worked for a large construction corporation before Cahill, and this was a nice change. I like the family atmosphere; you get to know everybody, and thereÔÇÖs an open-door policy, so your voice can be heard more. ItÔÇÖs also about being able to lean on the guys whoÔÇÖve been around for a while, benefiting from their experience and learning how the company works beyond construction.ÔÇØCahill was always based in San Francisco, first as Cahill Brothers, founded in 1915 by engineering grads John and Edward Cahill, who concentrated on building structures for the mining industry. In 1923 they incorporated as Cahill Brothers, Inc., expanding to commercial and industrial projects. In 1946 JohnÔÇÖs four sons established Cahill Construction Co. Inc., and the two firms co-existed under the leadership of chairman John, until 1964 when Cahill Brothers, Inc. was dissolved. Cahill Construction Co. Inc. continued, and in 1974, when brothers Gerald, William and Jay Cahill joined, the firm became Cahill Contractors Inc. Today it focuses on commercial, residential, educational, medical, community, and renovations (including seismic retrofitting), with Jay as chairman and CEO.On this project, Irwin saw both estimates through the bidding process. The design-build packagesÔÇöthe MEPS (mechanical, electrical and plumbing), the fire sprinkler system, the window system (which is the same on both buildings), and the GFRC (glass fiber reinforced concrete) exterior skin (a precast concrete panel, also the same on both buildings)ÔÇöwere sent out as proposals to various subcontractors, evaluated and bid on, and determined based on theme. He describes the bidding process: ÔÇ£You send your drawing packages out for bid, then you field the quotes. Sometimes you get none; other times too many. The quotes cover a wide range of whatÔÇÖs out there, in terms of quality and competition. Our job is to complete the scope of the project, essentially what weÔÇÖll be responsible for when we give the owner our final number. So we have to fill in the gaps with some quotations and exclude others. ItÔÇÖs piecing the puzzle together to identify what we have coverage on and what else weÔÇÖll need, then running the numbers to see how they line up. When weÔÇÖre comfortable that we have a complete scope from each subcontractor, we look closely at their past work experience and see how they fit this project. Obviously, subs that weÔÇÖve worked with before get preference. Then we present our choice of subcontractors to the owner. After final selection, we have separate meetings for the MEPS and the GFRC, with the owner, the contractors and the architect.ÔÇØThe electric power supply for the site is another challenge. As much as the two buildings are separate, theyÔÇÖre linked during construction, sharing a temporary power design; so when the family building, which will be completed first, is switched over to permanent power, Irwin will have to maintain the other building on temporary power. So thereÔÇÖs a sequence of work that has to be coordinated with the electrical subcontractor and the general contractor, who then take the necessary steps. Safety is always an important factor, since construction can be a dangerous endeavor, and Irwin says Cahill addresses safety at different levels, first at weekly coordination meetings with subcontractors. ÔÇ£We discuss what components of the project will be worked on during the week and various safety aspects to watch out for. We have a tower crane on site, and for the last 10 months overhead loads have been handled carefully without a hitch. And when you work 11 floors up, you have to be mindful of safety issues. So right from the start we get our contractors and subcontractors on board with our safety program, although each of them already has a safety awareness program of their own. Our superintendent walks the site every day, and if he spots something, he acts on it. But we keep our job sites as clean as possible to minimize the possibility of anything going wrong.ÔÇØIssues always come up as the project progresses, and Irwin thinks the key to getting through them is good communication, being in constant touch with all the various people involved, ÔÇ£as well as anticipating problems, attacking them early, and resolving them. If everybody has a similar approach so that no oneÔÇÖs caught by surprise, chances are good that most problems will be alleviated.ÔÇØ┬á