July 2018
The Inside Corner
TRUST NO ONE AND DENY EVERYTHING
C. J. Coakley Co., Inc. is proud to announce the completion of our work at the new International Spy Museum at L’Enfant Plaza which is scheduled to open in 2019. The new facility boasts 140,000 square feet and replaces the old museum that was located at 800 F Street. It features rotating special exhibitions, a state-of-the-art theater and lecture hall and multifunctional event spaces. From the outside, its unusual shape, created by London based architects Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, is a real eye catcher and from the inside, designed by Washington based architects Hickok Cole, it provides walkways and terraces with spectacular views of the city. The general contractor is Clark Construction led by the very capable Jeff Guy and Samantha Meyerhoff.
From the onset of the project the challenges were many. The eight story building, with a glass veil curtainwall referred to as the “black box”, required an extensive amount of stepped back staging for the installation of the exterior light gauge metal framing and sheathing. On the north and south ends of the project are plastered soffits with integral reveals. On the inside, the Lecture Hall consists of a multi-stepped light gauge stud floor system and a load -bearing ceiling suspended with stud joists, light coves, theatrical lighting and other architectural features. In the exhibit spaces, the overhead structure is blanketed with acoustical spray on insulation and features an array of complex walls and ceilings. The main lobby is very impressive with cloud ceilings and geometrical light troughs.
Visitors will discover how the work of real spies shaped world history while listening to real stories from real spies. To achieve this, the museum worked closely with former international intelligence leaders for an authentic experience. With the largest collection of international espionage artifacts ever assembled, exhibits include the James Bond Car and all the appurtenances one would need in the spy business including the lipstick pistol, gas tank pills (used to disable vehicle fuel lines), invisible writing inks and of course the transmitter shoe. With exhibit designs, audio visual programs and hands-on work stations, together, all these elements bring to life the undercover world of espionage; something Secret Agent 86, Maxwell Smart, would be proud of.
Project Manager Ana Assis, teaming up with Foreman Jorge Quezada, completed the project on time despite numerous hurdles of last minute changes and other issues that required extensive amounts of overtime. Congratulations to Ana and Jorge for another monumental project to add to the list of accomplishments for C. J. Coakley Co., Inc.
EMPLOYEES OF THE MONTH
Each month our Foremen recommend to our Superintendents employees they feel have made outstanding efforts that contribute to our company’s success. The Employees of the Month are recognized in this newsletter and at one tool box talk each month across the company. We appreciate the hard work each employee puts forth to make the company successful, and we are proud to honor those who are selected.
April
Cristela Cruz - Finisher - RTC Block 4
Fidencio Membreno - Finisher - RTC Block 4
May
Nelson Ochoa - Carpenter - Dorr Avenue
Sergio Ferrufino - Carpenter - Dorr Avenue
June
Roger W. Torrico - Carpenter - Capital One
Manuel Zapata - Finisher - 680 I St.
OFF SITE PANELIZATION
What would you say if we told you we could decrease the amount of time needed to construct walls, increase quality control, and make your project safer all at the same time? That is what we are beginning to do by investing in offsite panelization. In February we had the opportunity to obtain a substantial warehouse on Dorr Avenue in Merrifield, Virginia. It is located 1.6 miles from our current office and a block and a half from where our office was located from 1972 to 1991. We are turning the warehouse into a prefabrication facility for the company.
As buildings in our area have started getting taller and taller, we have been trying to limit our exposure to working outside the building envelope. Fraco scaffolds and swing stages are great pieces of equipment, but there are significant increases in risk, cost, and inefficiencies that go with them. With that in mind, we started trying to find ways to install exterior walls from the inside. After a lot of thought and some trial and error we came up with a workable solution. We had the opportunity to do a full-scale job at our Boathouse project in Foggy Bottom. Each floor required ninety panels. We were able to install a floor of panels in three days. We had eight days on the schedule, five days to frame and three days to hang. On eight floors we would have beat the schedule by forty days.
By building the panels in the warehouse our Prefabrication Manager, Chris Williams, can determine what size panels would be the safest to install. We can also perform quality control inspections that are far superior to what we can do when we stick build our work in place. Chris has also improved our beadless corner operation by asking simple questions about how the shapes are being installed. In some cases, instead of shipping just drywall shapes to the jobs, we can now include all the framing components that go with them.
One of the most time-consuming activities that our men perform is sub framing for rainscreen systems. The work must be very precise and is usually done while suspended from a swing stage. We are now experimenting with ways to prefab the sub framing components to reduce the amount of time the men are needed on the outside of the building. This can reduce our exposure significantly and speed up the installation of our work. In the coming weeks we will be returning to the Boathouse with 85% of the sub framing built and ready to be installed.
Please contact our office if you want to discuss the different solutions we can bring to your projects.
EMPLOYEE NEWS AND RECOGNITION
This summer we welcomed back two returning interns—Raul Medina, who helps out in project management and Paul Plawin who works in estimating.
This year the Kaiser Permanente Mobile Health Van will be at our annual picnic. They will be there from 12:00 to 4:00 providing health screenings for blood pressure, body mass index, glucose, and cholesterol. Flu shots will be available. There will also be an information table to provide general health information and answer questions about the plans and how to use the KP app. Two fifteen-minute Zumba sessions will be held the first hour of the picnic and two loterias, with prizes, will be played during the afternoon. Spanish speakers will be available at the van and the table. You do not have to be a KP member to participate. Everyone is welcome!
This newsletter is published by the management of C. J. Coakley Co., Inc. to inform our employees about important developments in our company. We reserve the sole discretion to exercise editorial control over this publication and the contents should not be reprinted without our permission.
