National Center for Therapeutics Manufacturing, College Station, TX – Turner Construction Co.

On Thursday the Global Leaders were given a tour of the National Center for Therapeutics Manufacturing on the campus of Texas A&M University by Aubrey Harrell, project superintendent for Turner Construction. Turner’s focus on Lean construction for this project is inspired by the need to reduce waste plus add values, create better job-site flow, eliminate waste, and save money on material and labor.  Specifically for this project a “5-S” Plan was implemented: Sort, Straighten, Shine/Sweep, Standardize, Sustain/Self-Discipline formed the main body of the Lean Construction Plan. Pull planning, look ahead planning, weekly work planning, daily planning, and system improvement were also applied. The results of this planning and management were evident to all, as this was by far the cleanest jobsite that we observed during our week in Texas.

Texas A&M Memorial Student Union, College Station, TX – Vaughn Construction, Houston, TX

Later in the day we visited the renovation of the Memorial Student Union & University Complex, also at Texas A&M University. The construction manager of this project is Vaughn Construction, who instructed us about the ups and downs encountered in a large-scale remodel and rehabilitation project.  The MSC is a “sacred” spot to Texas A&M students and thus this project is highly visible.  Adding to this visibility is the fact that this complex houses the Texas A&M Board of Regents, similar to our Board of Trustees at Illinois.  We learned about the project during an extensive walking tour, ending at the ballroom, a monumental space with great views of campus and the Aggie football stadium next door.