Texas Project Receives ABC Of Iowa Award

Interstates was recognized with the Award of Excellence in the Electrical – Industrial: $1M - $5M category, as well as the overall Project of the Year at the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of Iowa Excellence in Construction Awards Gala on April 14 in Des Moines. The awards were for a recently completed design-build project for a cattle feed facility in Texas. “This project is an example of the innovation and commitment to outstanding craftsmanship that embodies merit shop construction. The superior workmanship illustrates the high level of quality produced by merit shop contractors,” said Greg Spenner, ABC of Iowa President and CEO.

Project Scope

One of our clients recently expanded its operations with a greenfield cattle feed facility in Texas. Interstates provided a complete design-build package for this project, including the facility’s core shell, temp power, power distribution, lighting, process equipment connections, and more. Despite frustrating supply chain delays, Interstates championed safety and utilized innovative engineering and 3D modeling solutions to deliver the project successfully.

Unique Times & Challenges

One of the most innovative aspects of this project was Interstates' use of mobile technology for quality control. The team utilized 3D modeling, iPads, and BIM stations to ensure accurate installations and the highest quality work. Our expertise in 3D modeling allowed us to develop concrete plans and offer smart installation recommendations. They also helped model for other trades regarding their equipment placement, process piping, and tank building, which avoided coordination conflicts with other trades and costly rework down the line.

The weather was a major obstacle during this project, with hot temperatures and work conditions. Additionally, Interstates had to coordinate with and work alongside multiple representatives from BNSF to their owned rail line. We continually strived to save costs for our clients and pulled in a control engineer to assist with the control of the steam plant rail transfer pumps, which allowed for a change in control philosophy.

Interstates' visual planning process, called whiteboard scheduling, was crucial to the successful execution of this project. They saw major disruptions to the supply chain, so scheduling their activities far enough to navigate potential changes in material deliveries was a must. The whiteboard system provided their team with a detailed view of the overall schedule and project milestones.

Adam Wilson, Senior Project Manager at Interstates, gave his thoughts on the awards, “These awards are further proof that when a team of motivated, hardworking people with positive mindsets come together with a common goal in mind, no challenge is too great.” Thanks to our teams that came together during challenging times to ultimately make this project a success.