Value Engineering - Design-Build for Water and Wastewater Projects - page 257

Project: Winter Haven Wastewater Treatment Plant
Owner: City of Winter Haven, Florida
Construction Management At-Risk (CMAR) Entity: Haskell
Completion Date: November 2008
Description of Project
The City of Winter Haven, Fla. (City), was interested in selling its 1,200-acre spray
field property to promote economic development, but eliminating the spray field
meant that effluent would need to be discharged directly into the adjacent surface
water, and the level of treatment at the existing wastewater treatment plant (WWTP)
had to be improved to meet strict effluent nutrient limits.
Why the Owner Chose CMAR
The City chose to use construction management at risk (CMAR) for the 7.5-mgd
(28-ML/d), $16 million facility for two main reasons. First, the spray field property
had to be available to the purchaser in a very short period of time, thus the WWTP
improvements had to be made quickly. Second, the City had a construction cost
budget that could not be exceeded. CMAR allowed the City to accelerate the proj-
ect schedule by setting the guaranteed maximum price (GMP) prior to completing
design, expediting regulatory approval and permit acquisition, and releasing long-
lead-time equipment early in the project.
Lessons Learned
Several lessons were learned on this project.
Self-Performance Enhances Safety, Quality, and Schedule
The CMAR's permanent craft employees were able to self-perform significant por-
tions of the project. Approximately 60 percent of the Winter Haven Wastewater
Treatment Plant project was self-performed by the CMAR's crews, which included
approximately 40 form carpenters, concrete finishers, pipe fitters, and laborers.
These crews performed concrete, process piping, process equipment, and miscella-
neous metals scopes of work. By using their own staff, the CMAR was better able to
monitor and control safety, quality, and the schedule.
Transparency in Accounting Creates Trust
The owner was not familiar with CMAR procedures, so it was important that the cost
of work be well-defined and conveyed frequently and openly throughout the project,
and that the manner in which costs were tracked and billed be easily understood.
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