• GZA served as owners’ representative services for the new construction of a gas and electric training facility
• Successfully worked on an accelerated schedule to meet a New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission cost recovery deadline
Challenge
Liberty Utilities wanted to consolidate its gas and electric employee training into one facility located at 10 Broken Bridge in Concord, New Hampshire. The envisioned project consisted of ground-up construction of a multi-purpose training center for Liberty Utilities employees offering a variety of technical training to meet the federal and state-mandated requirements for training, certification and re-certification for both gas and electric employees in New Hampshire.
Solution
GZA, hired as the Owners Representative (OR), was responsible for the day-to-day management of the project for Liberty Utilities, including all coordination with project team members including Liberty Utilities stakeholders; Northbranch Construction (general contractor), CMK Architects (project architect); City of Concord officials, and specialty consultants) GZA was also responsible for ensuring compliance with the project schedule, budget and scope of work with additional emphasis on health and safety.
The new 6,000 square foot, two-story masonry and steel building contained two classrooms with SMART Board technology, offices for staff, and a large open bay for training with an overhead trolley lift. The open training bay included utility poles for linesmen training and also contained equipment for Liberty Utilities gas and electric employee training including, but not limited to, transformers, gas ranges, air compressors, boilers, steam systems, pallor heaters, switching modules, and power panels. The Training Center also included exterior areas dedicated to gas leak detection training and utility pole, cable and transformer training. The project also included upgrades to approximately ½ mile of public road to facilitate increased truck traffic and installation of a dedicated fire main to the facility.
Benefit
The building was the first of its kind for Liberty Utilities, allowing consolidation of all training for gas and electric into one building. The project was successfully completed with an accelerated schedule that included working extended shifts and weekends through the winter to meet a NH Public Utilities Commission cost recovery deadline.