Cold storage development requires close coordination among developers, owners and contractors. At CREDA’s I.CON Cold Storage conference in Dallas, a panel of five experts offered their best practices for cold storage project teams. Moderator Don Tuttle, director of cold storage at Scannell Properties, is a developer who started out as a general contractor. Having worked with all five members of the panel, he hand-selected the group to discuss how they’ve worked together on successful cold storage developments.
Shaping Subcontractor Coordination
The group started by discussing best practices for subcontractors and identifying where communication breakdowns can happen. Chad Gaddes, project director at Brasfield & Gorrie, explained, “For me, a big coordination breakdown is when you have trades on site that have never worked together. And even worse is when you have a trade show up that’s never even done a cold storage project, because they just don’t know what to do.”
Gaddes reflected on past successful projects with his co-panelists Hector Castro, general manager of the cold storage division at Beldon Roofing Company, and Luke Waite, vice president of thermal at FREEZ Construction.
While Castro’s team works on the roof, Gaddes’ team works on the underfloor warming system, and Waite’s team works on the underfloor insulation system. And all these components must be built symbiotically because they combine to create the exact building envelope required for the temperature. If one component is faulty, then the building will not function as needed. That interdependence between subcontractors and tasks aligns with Gaddes’ preference for trade partners who have worked together before.
Waite said, “We’re part of an entire thermal envelope. And that means that any decision in terms of, say, a design change, ripples through four or five trades, right? Operating temperatures, moving a door, adding another penetration, it all adds up.”
The reality is that most projects will have new team members, and the panel agreed that the key is to provide education and training to ensure everyone is on the same page and at the same level. Gaddes likened this training and support to being an “easy” button for colleagues. Because if one person fails, everyone fails.
Great General Contractors Ask Questions
After discussing subcontractors, the panel continued to how general contractors support success on a cold storage project. Eric Brown, president, ALTA Refrigeration, said that he has recently seen more general contractors go through the scope of work to identify every step of the project. Going further, great general contractors identify what’s needed beyond the steps shown in the scope of work. “For me, it’s very simple. Ask a lot of questions. Because the more you put into something, the more you’re going to get out of it,” he said.
Identifying what’s needed beyond the scope of work includes considering everything that could go wrong. For example, an audience member asked what to do if insulated metal panel (IMP) walls are damaged during a project. Gaddes recommended that the best solution is to be prepared for it; mitigate potential damage by protecting the walls and proactively plan for repairs with an IMP contractor. “Because it’s going to happen. It’s inevitable,” he said.
Zach Adams, senior director of partnership development at Fricks Company, similarly shared the importance of mapping out the entire project. Knowing what lies ahead allows for early expectation-setting. In many cases, this early engagement occurs during the request for proposals, long before the general contractor is awarded. Adams concluded, “In the last several projects, we’ve been able to partner early and often. That’s when we’ve seen the most success.”
Communicate the Details
Owners have countless decisions to make, requiring many conversations that don’t include general contractors or subcontractors. But the contractors are the people who need to know the details. For example, knowing what product is going on the slabs allows the concrete contractors to better understand the function of their work and complete the job to the proper standards.
Brown said, “ALTA Refrigeration wants to know, ‘what does your business look like? How many truckloads are you doing through this facility a day? What’s the maximum number of truckloads you’re doing? Are you doing product cooling or product freezing?’” The answers provide a starting point for learning all the necessary project details.
Three Keys to Effective Communication
So how can developers, general contractors and subcontractors communicate effectively?
- Encourage engagement and involvement from all parties on day one, ideally earlier.
- Communicate the details across all channels: subcontractor to subcontractor, owner to subcontractor, subcontractor to owner, etc.
- Ensure an effective team by working with people you’ve had success with before, by training new subcontractors to align priorities.
When Something Goes Wrong, Pick Up the Phone
Adams described a recent project where there was an issue with leave outs, the sections of the building structure purposely left unsealed like the slabs, IMP and roof. The issue could have quickly turned into a situation where each person was blaming the other, but a quick check-in led to a plan to move forward. The real win according to Adams? “The general contractor was none the wiser.”
The panel agreed that this communication structure must extend to the rest of the team, with the leads and foremen exchanging contact information to build that chain of communication.
For audience members hoping to create a project team resembling the panel on stage, Tuttle shared that he was introduced to several of the panel members by industry leaders sitting in the audience. Finding the best trade partners will serve professionals well in the specialized cold storage industry, and communication and networking are sure methods to make those connections.
This post is brought to you by JLL, the social media and conference blog sponsor of CREDA’s I.CON Cold Storage. Learn more about JLL at www.us.jll.com or www.jll.ca.
