Serving as the owner’s representative/construction manager-as-agent, Hill provided construction management services for the first major renovation of the 335,000 SF United States Supreme Court Building, originally constructed in 1935. Hill’s specific responsibilities encompassed construction management; commissioning management; project, quality, schedule, cost, and safety management; contract administration; and claims support.
The project included construction of a new 42,000 SF underground annex and, within the main building, replacement of all mechanical, fire protection, and electrical systems. The project team performed all work while the building was fully operational for Supreme Court operations and accessible for hundreds of thousands of annual visitors.
Quality management for this historic and sensitive project required a zero-defects mindset, with no tolerance for substandard results. Hill’s quality management approach focused on facilitating communications among the owner, design team, prime contractor, and subcontractors to confirm all parties understood and accepted all quality requirements.
Hill worked directly with the Supreme Court curator for care and protection of historic elements, including light fixtures, clocks, marble, bronze gates, and more. The Hill team managed a chain of custody process that included photo documentation for the refurbishment of historic and protected items.
Due to special security requirements, Hill implemented a customized, stand-alone version of Prolog for document management and progress reporting. Security requirements precluded the use of the web-based version of Prolog, so we adapted the system for use within the project site, enabling all team members to have full visibility for collaboration while blocking access from outside of the project perimeter.
Hill also helped establish the initial project budget prior to construction by providing cost estimate reviews and a review of the independent government estimate. Faced with significant under-bidding, Hill worked to establish contingency management plans and cost controls to avoid depletion of contingency funds early in the project.
With much of the contract work taking place behind walls and above ceilings, the project was faced with nearly 1,500 change orders and a change order rate close to 25%. Hill refined our already meticulous project controls approach to streamline processes and help prevent change orders from delaying the project or becoming claims.
Given the complex nature of the work, Hill provided an on-site scheduler and used Primavera P3 and SureTrak for scheduling and analysis along with Claim Digger software. Our analysis exposed inappropriate schedule logic and helped protect the owner from exposure to many potential claims. Hill also prepared a detailed move management CPM schedule to integrate the latest room-by-room completion projections from the contractor with constraint dates and projected third-party installation dates for the Court, resulting in a smooth transition for the owner.
Additionally, Hill managed the commissioning process in coordination with the Architect of the Capitol’s commissioning agent. The Hill team helped establish the primary commissioning factors, including proactive commissioning planning, pre-commissioning testing, functional performance tests, owner training, and final commissioning acceptance. Hill also engaged early and aggressively in the commissioning process, helping the contractor’s commissioning plan receive approval and focusing the entire team on commissioning-related requirements well in advance of the acceptance phase. This approach resolved many issues before they could impact the project.
“With meticulous attention to detail you identified and rectified countless quality discrepancies and helped the contractor improve its overall quality management program. Through your involvement with the project you helped maintain a quality level commensurate with the importance and significance of this national landmark facility.”
– James Yellman, Facilities Manager, AOC
