For decades, Starship military barracks in locations including Fort Benning, GA and Fort Jackson, SC have provided housing, instruction and training for recruits on their way to becoming combat-ready soldiers. To ensure the facilities measure up to their sterling reputations, the military posts needed to renovate these older barracks. With a primary goal of upgrading soldiers’ living quarters, and a secondary goal of improving energy efficiency and pursuing LEED® accreditation, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and its general contractors, architects and engineers rely on McKenney’s Building Performance Solutions team to design and install the plumbing and HVAC systems that serves the barracks. Starship barracks renovations, which fall under the military’s Training Barracks Upgrade Program (TBUP), have strict design and budget requirements. In addition, they are large, horizontal, complex renovation projects on very tight schedules. This creates the potential for contractors to spread out and work in areas out of sequence, which can, in turn, negatively impact the project. Drawing from its experience on 14 similar TBUP renovation projects, the McKenney’s team collaborates with the MATOC (Multiple Award Task Order Contract) general contractor and other trades in developing the overall project design schedule and sequence. By doing this, the team is able to create a workable schedule that meets the USACE’s goals— then focus on short-term planning, on-time deliveries and meeting milestones to direct the project. In addition, to minimize time onsite and further compress the schedule during the construction phase, McKenney’s prefabricates the plumbing and HVAC components in its shops and makes just-in-time deliveries of the components to the jobsite. McKenney’s has proven time and again that it is a valuable partner and resource when it comes to complicated TBUP barracks renovation projects. By adding value from the beginning stages of design all the way through completion, the McKenney’s team is able to avoid problems and help keep these complex projects on track. All the while supporting energy efficiency goals of consuming 30 percent less energy, putting any TBUP renovation on a firm footing to pursue LEED® Silver certification.

THE CHALLENGE

• Keeping trades and contractors sequenced and on schedule
• Achieving greater energy efficiency

THE SOLUTION

• Enlisted design/assist expertise where needed
• Pre-fabricated plumbing and HVAC components offsite
• Drove the schedule through short-term planning and on-time deliveries

RESULTS

• Reduced energy consumption
• Positioned Starship barracks for LEED® Silver certification