Monthly Update from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Chapter, CSI, November 2003

10 November Meeting: Building Codes

Location: Landmark Center, 75 West Fifth Street, St. Paul

Cost: No charge for members, $35 for non-members.

• 11:15 a.m. - Registration

• 11:45 a.m. - Lunch

• 12:30 p.m. - Presentation: "Intent Behind the Codes; Significant Fires That Have Influenced Code Development", Gail Manning, RA, CSI, CDT, Plan Reviewer, City of Minneapolis

Directions: Text at http://snurl.com/2thw ; map at http://snurl.com/2tp8 .
Parking map: www.saintpaulparking.com/

Call 763-744-1424 to register

10 November: Building Code Seminars

Following the chapter meeting, also at the Landmark Center, there will be a two-part continuing education seminar. Cost: $15 per session, both sessions for $25, no discounts.

"Top Ten Issues Found in Plan Review", Jerry Norman, Building Code Official, Minnesota Building Codes & Standards Division, 2:00-3:15 p.m.

"Future of Code Development"; Issues Behind Revisions, Performance Based Codes", Gordon Bates, fire protection specialist, City of Minneapolis Fire Department, 3:30-4:45 p.m.

Call 763-744-1424 to register

8 December Meeting: Target Development Process

The December program will be about the Target Corporation development processes. A  panel, representing real estate, architecture, design, and construction will address the nature of retail history, and Target's role in our economy. We will explore how Target's store construction projects incorporate new development concepts, the procurement processes, brand-extension design, benefits of prototype plans, recycling, reducing waste, and being environmentally friendly.

This program will give you an opportunity to see inside the Target headquarters, but due to tight security, all guests must pre-register by Friday, December 5, 2003, and must be escorted. Walk-ins will not be accepted, and IDs will be required.

October Meeting Report:
Precast/Prestressed Concrete Plant tour, County Concrete

On the afternoon of October 13, 2003 County Materials Corporation graciously hosted our CSI tourists at their Roberts, Wisconsin Precast and Prestress Concrete Plant.

Dividing us into three separate, manageable tour groups, guides explained the processes being demonstrated all around us. The three primary types of products manufactured at their plant are 1) precast hollow core planks, beams, and columns, 2) concrete pipes and manholes, and 3) prestressed bridge beams.

Imagine a Playdough® extrusion machine, and you've envisioned the high-tech, automated, precast hollowcore plank producer. With strands of steel cable held taut on each end, the concrete is poured from a hopper above into the extrusion machine, and as it moves forward, it leaves behind a finished, 300lb/foot, hollow core plank that is dry enough to hold its shape. After it firms up during the first shift, the second shift can cut the plank into exact lengths with computer guided technology. Forms with reinforcing steel displayed the process for prestressed columns and beams. Leaning in for the view, but avoiding a fall into the forms, gave me a new respect for concrete members (preferably not concrete-encrusted arms and legs).

The innovative process of the dry cast concrete pipes and structures for manholes and catch basins demonstrated how quickly (around 10 minutes) these, too, can be made. After 8 hours of steam curing they are ready to ship. Even though some members of our group were familiar with being in the doghouse, here the doghouse had a whole new meaning (meaning a removal of the mud down to the reinforcing, which would be cut on site to create a hole to accept a connecting pipe). Tolerances are exact; the angles the pipes come into a manhole must be known and cast correctly in advance, and the concrete pipes fit together like a bell and a spigot (female and male connectors).

By far the most massive and memorable moment was our introduction to the prestressed bridge beams. These are so large they are cast outdoors, on-site, on top of a slab of concrete that extends 11 feet into the ground in order to withstand the pull of the prestressing strands at the ends of each beam. Unlike the first two processes, this requires a lot of hand labor to tie the strands. Amazingly, these beams cure to 9,000 PSI in 24 to30 hours. As the work is done outside, they can produce beams up to 200 feet long in temperatures down to 10 degrees F, when it finally gets too cold for the fingers of the laborers.

The transportation of materials and finished products was as interesting as the production itself. The concrete for the precast planks traveled overhead on a light rail system to the hopper, replicating some of those rollercoaster rides of our youth, minus the concrete dump at the end. The bridge beam loaders were like something out of Star Wars. And the separate, two-piece, remote control tail-end trucks were really cool, too! (If you've never seen a 140' concrete bridge girder maneuver, it really is quite a sight.)

Which leads us to the second portion of the Program.

At the evening session, following a regal dinner at the Stoneridge Golf Course, Dave Reneson of County Materials took on the challenge of educating us on their role in the Light Rail project, as well as keeping us awake after such a meal, and rose to both occasions.

Enduring many challenges during construction of the light rail tunnels, County Materials provided 21,000 precast concrete tunnel segments, including arched wall and ceiling panels, for the Lindbergh LRT Station beneath the Minneapolis/Saint Paul International Airport. As if precision production of 18'-10" diameter high performance precast was not enough, the installation was tricky too. Following the tunnel boring machine, the 3 miles of segmentally connected tunnel pieces were completed, to a tolerance measured by micrometers, and installed ahead of schedule, with zero rejects, using molds similar to those used for the Chunnel (the under-ocean tunnel between Britain and France.

This has been a brief description of our October Program, but a picture is worth a thousand words. Even better, if you ever get the opportunity to stop by, I highly recommend taking the tour. Once again, our thanks go to County Materials and especially to Bruce Saline for all his efforts.

CSI Business

Chapter Meeting Schedule

09/15 - Construction Education
10/13 - County Concrete Prestressed Concrete Plant Tour
11/10 - Fire/Life Safety Code Seminar; Gail Manning, City of Minneapolis
12/08 - Retail Marketing, at new Target headquarters
01/12 - Pantages Theater Tour
02/10 - Construction and Facility Showcase
03/08 - Cutting Edge Technology and Building Design
04/12 - Hands-On Masonry, St. Paul Technical Center
05/10 - Awards Banquet
06/07 - Golf Outing

Membership Drive

Sponsor a new CSI member to the Minneapolis - St. Paul Chapter during September, October and November, and receive a $25.00 gift certificate for each new member sponsored, and a chance to win Grand Prizes. more...

Advanced Education Classes Begin In January

Courses begin Tuesday, 6 January 2004. The number of sessions will be six, however this my be altered by consent of the instructor and the participants. Classroom location will be Hallmark Building Supplies, 640 Taft St. NE, Minneapolis. Fee is $100.00 for CSI members and $200.00 for nonmembers. It is required that you be a CDT or have successfully taken the MOP/GC course. Exceptions may be granted on an individual basis by the facilitator. You should have a current MOP module for the course you are enrolling for. more...

2004 Region Conference

J. Gerard Capell, CSI, CCS, AIA

After much discussion and a few tense moments the North Central Region has agreed to hold the 2004 Region Conference 29 July through 1 August 2004. The location will be at The Abbey on the western end of Lake Geneva, in Wisconsin.

This will be a unique Region Conference in that instead of a single chapter hosting the event, this will be collaborative effort by the Chicago, Northern Illinois, Madison, and Milwaukee Chapters. By taking advantage of electronic communications and conference calls we hope to bring the best people and best ideas from multiple sources to provide a rich and enjoyable experience to learn more about chapter leadership, organization, and even general educational sessions to support CSI's goal to provide continuing education to members and non alike.

The Abbey is a great resort with marvelous restaurants and spa, great on-site recreational facilities and fabulous lake and golf course activities. A golf outing is currently planned as an opening event and hopefully we hope to add something for those who don't believe that hitting a silly little ball into a sillier little hole is a true recreational event.

The search is on for committee members to help pull this together, particularly for sponsorships, publicity, and arranging speakers and events. So if asked to assist, please say yes. It would be a great way to contribute something to your chapter and the organization, and make new contacts from around the region. Or better yet, just volunteer without being asked because you know you will get more out of it than you put into the effort.

From the President

The president has no comments this month.

Harold Dean Kiewel, CSI, CCS, AIA, NCARB
President, Minneapolis-St. Paul Chapter, CSI
Harold_Kiewel@ellerbebecket.com 

Educational Roundup

Not all of the following are co-sponsored by CSI, but many of them are worthy additions to your continuing education portfolio. Please take advantage of those you find interesting and accessible, and let us know your comments (at specifics lite) so that we continue to carry information from those institutions that do a good job of providing service to the construction community.

AIA Minnesota Convention - Programs of Interest to the Construction Specification Institute

The 69^th AIA Minnesota Convention & Exhibition Hall will take place from Tuesday, November 18 through Friday November 21. The theme of the convention, "Essential Architecture," reflects the idea that architecture is essential to so many facets of life: from preserving our history to sustaining our planet for the future, from ensuring our welfare to fostering economic vitality. Please visit our web site at www.aia-mn.org for a complete listing of seminars and speakers. Convention programs of special interest to CSI members:

Tuesday, November 18

Event 13 - The Revolution of Glass in Design, 8-9:30 a.m. This program is designed to provide an in-depth analysis of current glass technology and will explain how architectural glass products are brought to market.

Event 19 - Masonry Variations: Re-thinking Stone, 8:45-11 a.m. This program will look at new directions for the use of masonry and materials. The presentation of this stone project will demonstrate the process of finding, testing and utilizing the material in new ways and will include a discussion of extensive inter and extra-professional collaborations necessary to foster discovery in architectural design and in practice. Co-sponsored by the International Masonry Institute

Wednesday, November 19

Event 27 - Finish Hardware, 2-3:15 p.m. This program will review a typical CSI three-part format finish hardware specification. Factors included in the discussion will be types, materials, grades, codes and the need to interface with access control systems.

Thursday, November 20

Event 35 - For the Love of Cast Stone, 7:30-8:30 a.m. This program will review cast stone and other similar building products that are often specified under the Cast Stone section (04720).  Attendees will learn about the production methods of these products and compare and contrast their physical properties such as strength, durability, finishes and applications.

Event 42 - The Path to Greater Architectural Freedom with Today’s Structural Steel, 10:30 a.m.-noon The program will focus on architectural detailing and fire protection and steel coating systems in the use of structural steel in the safest and most cost-effective manner.

Event 44 - Materials ConneXion, 2-3:30 p.m. Materials, and the manner in which they are assembled, are essential to the understanding of architecture. Material ConneXion is the world's largest resource for advanced materials and processes. This program will focus on the potential of materials influencing design. Attend and observe the possibilities Material ConneXion could bring to your next project.

Event 48 - Total Precast Structures, 2-3:30 p.m. This program will expose the significant design challenges working with Total Precast systems, followed by practical solutions with explicit guidelines to help architects achieve high quality design objectives efficiently. Co-sponsored by the Minnesota Prestress Association

CEU's From CALA Continuing Professional Studies (CPS) Program

Construction Estimating: Methods of Cost Delivery Early in the Design Process

Tues, Nov 11, 8:30am-4:30pm

$200, $150 (discount for CALA alumni, donors, faculty)

Registration deadline: Nov 6

Location: CALA, 89 Church St SE, Rm 225

The greatest challenge to many architects is the need to provide reliable cost estimates for clients often when design has not yet begun. This seminar will focus on methods of developing reliable estimates with little information at the conceptual, schematic, and design development stages. Qualifying the estimate, variables in estimates, concepts of costs, and how contractors bid projects will be discussed. Examples and exercises will be developed in class. Bring a calculator.

A. Peter Hilger, AIA, President, Portfolio Design Services and Rosewood Construction; an architect by trade and a builder by profession with more than 20 years of experience in the design and construction industry.

Engineering Seminars

Fundamentals of Engineering Review (E.I.T. Review)

For engineering graduates who are preparing for the Engineering-in-Training exam.

January 20-March 24, 2003 (Tuesdays)

www.cce.umn.edu/engineering/civil_review.shtml

Masonry Design and Construction Fundamentals Seminar Series

This six-session series provides the most current information available about sound masonry practices.

November 12, December 3, December 10, 2003; January 21, 28, February 4, 2004

www.cce.umn.edu/engineering/masonry.shtml

Concrete Conference

Learn how concrete construction concepts and technology are changing in response to challenges facing the industry.

December 4, 2003

www.cce.umn.edu/engineering/concrete.shtml

Refresher Course for Civil Engineers

A ten-week course to help practicing engineers get back to fundamentals.

January 20-March 23, 2003 (Tuesdays)

www.cce.umn.edu/engineering/civil_review.shtml

Structural Engineering Seminar Series

This six-session series addresses specific structural issues and concerns involved in the design and construction of buildings, bridges, and other structures, and incorporates examples of various principles involved.

February 25, March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, 2004

www.cce.umn.edu/engineering/structural.shtml

Audio Exchange and CSI University Distance Learning Sessions

6 Nov. - "Accessibility Issues," led by Harold Dean Kiewel, CSI, CCS, AIA.

18 Nov. - "Firestopping: A Life Safety Issue," led by Bill McHugh, CSI.

19 Nov. - "Tongue Fu ® : Successful Communication Through Conflict," led by Kelly Harmon

10 Dec. - "Registering Your Education Programs for Continuing Education Credits," led by Beverly Holton

More information available at www.CSINet.org

21 November Builders Exchange Workshop

Topic: "Building a Customer Service Attitude"

Location: Summerfield's Conference Center and Travel Lodge Tower, 1870 Old Hudson Road, St. Paul (I94 & White Bear Avenue)

Based on the belief that we all learn best through experiences, this will be a ½ day of experiences and interaction, building from the ground up.

Presenter: Bonnie Bakkum Amundson, a project manager for one of our members, has her own speaking and training business working with companies who want to maximize human potential within their company. Continental Breakfast served at 7:30 a.m.

Register: Call 651-224-7545 by Tuesday November 18th

by Jeff Rutz, CDT, Polysteel ICFs of Minneapolis/St. Paul

How do we define a safe structure? When considering that question, I thought about how our definition of the concept 'safe' has evolved. Throughout history, we've experienced many physical threats to our safety and have used those experiences to arrive at our current definition. That definition is prescribed by our codes and standards. In arriving at our current definition, I'd like to recall just a few of the lessons that brought us here.

I ask you to take a trip back in time with me. We will travel back through almost 3000 years, where we'll witness some of the events and the lessons learned, finishing up in modern times.

Lets start in Athens around 1000 BC. Here we find ourselves in the Athenian Acropolis. In this fortified citadel and sanctuary, located atop a 500-foot shear rock wall that dives into the sea, we feel safe. We are safe from enemy soldiers and their weapons. Huge rock walls surround us and keep the danger well away. Safety here is defined by just such monumental structures. But even they fall prey to time.

Our trip now takes us ahead a several hundred years, circa 400 AD. The Romans have made unprecedented strides in architecture. Cities, complete with streets and culverts, provide a secure environment for citizens - almost. Look yonder and see the enormous slopes of Mount Vesuvius. Vesuvius has been making a little noise lately, small hints of things to come. The major eruptions that follow will leave the powerful Empire in shambles. Throngs of people flee south to escape the physical dangers of Mount Vesuvius, while thousands left behind in the rubble are destroyed by enemies once held at bay, who now overpower previously invincible armies. Concrete palaces and guards cannot guarantee safety from Nature's monumental forces.

Traveling forward through time once again, we come to London. It is 1348 AD and perhaps the most deadly natural event in our history is unfolding - the Black Plague. Scientists and historians today still argue over the actual cause of this horrific event. But, whether from rats or water or air, almost 40% of Europe's population is decimated by the outbreak. This threat is relatively new. There is no act of god or foreign army attacking our safety. In Europe, it is the people themselves and their very environment that is threatening them. Safety now requires that we better control that environment because our structures alone cannot protect us against these invisible threats.

We travel once more. This time skipping 600 or so years ahead, to the USA in the 1970's. Proving that history does indeed repeat itself, a new idea has again come full circle. People are designing and building Bomb Shelters. Once again the idea of fortified dwellings is brought to the forefront. The Cold War is churning and Americans are filling their basements with canned goods and batteries and surrounding themselves with thick concrete walls. The 'enemy' could strike at any time.

Modern times, unfortunately, continue to produce myriad threats to our safety. Stories of terrorism and violence make headlines almost daily. Safe structures today must be strong to keep out the 'enemy' - whether it is in the form of storms, contaminants, gasses, or other humans. Safe structures need to be durable enough to survive the elements and simultaneously prevent the contamination of our environment. Safe structures must indeed be a complete system. A system that combines sound location, secure envelope, proper ventilation, and materials friendly to our natural resources.

It has taken generations for us to learn that a safe structure must be such a complex system. Safe structures combine the knowledge and experience of designers, architects and engineers, as well as contractors and suppliers. These professionals have the benefit of experiences from past generations and the ever-present desire to keep ourselves and our families 'safe.'

Like terrible fires, natural disasters, and insidious invaders, acts of terrorism will teach us new lessons for building 'safer' in the future.

In last month's column we looked at a few highlights of the history of technical activities, from the grass roots proposals that eventually became important technical standards, to the termination of the SpecGUIDE program that resulted in the present lack of technical spirit. Many of the common complaints in the past few years have to do with the apparent death of the chapter technical committee, and what appears to be a lack of technical focus throughout the organization. As a result, one of TechCom's charges is to help revitalize the technical activity that has been such an important part of CSI. To meet this charge, TechCom set a few basic goals:

• To help chapters and regions engage in worthwhile technical activities on their own initiative, rather than rely on direction from Institute.

• To actively involve chapters and regions in the development and review of updates to CSI documents.

• To expand the definition of "technical" from its traditional meaning of constructing and organizing text documents, to include the organizing and processing of electronic information, thereby opening a wide range of new possible technical activities.

The outcome was a list of "Ideas and Challenges" for region and chapter technical committees. It is important to note that these are not make-work pastimes; they are serious proposals that can have an impact beyond the chapter. In this and following columns we'll look at some of the items from that list.

Ideas and Challenges

The first group of suggestions comes from the expanded definition of "technical". By including the organization and use of electronic data, we remove the barrier that seemed to limit previous work to text-based documents.

1. Encourage regions and chapters to investigate needs related to processing electronic information, to develop solutions for those problems, and to share their results with other chapters and regions.

2. Ask members how they have solved computer and data processing problems. Examples include styles and templates for word processing, sophisticated macros or utilities for word processing or CAD, and electronic forms.

3. Anticipate the consequences of the growing power of CAD programs. How will the construction industry change if drawings can automatically produce material quantities, cost estimates, and specifications? What will the role of the specifier be?

Has anyone in your chapter come up with ways to make it easier to process or use information, in either text or electronic format? Have you created a form that works? Do you have ways to improve coordination of documents? Have you found a way to increase productivity or reduce errors? If it's useful to you, it will probably be useful to other members, as well, so don't keep it a secret - tell your chapter and region technical chairs what you have done.

© 2003 Sheldon Wolfe, RA, FCSI, CCS, CCCA
on the web at www.CSI-MSP.org 

In the News

Knutson Construction Project Manager Earns Certification

David Carr, Senior Project Manager with Knutson Construction Services, has earned the prestigious designations of Certified Construction Manager (CCM) and Certified Healthcare Contractor. These awards are sponsored by The Construction Management Association of America and The American Society of Healthcare Engineering (ASHE), respectively. Carr is the first person in Minnesota to earn both awards.