Design-build contractor Alberici Constructors has handed over the new Delta Township assembly plant to General Motors.
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An Alberici official, speaking at the handover ceremony, claimed the new plant has set “a bold new standard for manufacturing design excellence, which will be copied by industries throughout the world”. The firm built the body shop, general assembly, visitor centre, administration building and ancillary support buildings totalling over 1.7m square feet.
The constructors managed to work 1.2m hours by without a lost time injury amd claim that the plant went up in the shortest time of any GM assembly plant built to date – 19 months of construction time using $33m in locally-bought material.
Alberici completed over $330m of automotive projects from its Livonia, Michigan office in 2005 and recent construction included the American Axle headquarters in Detroit, the Chrysler Jefferson Road complex and the Ford Lexington and Kentucky truck assembly complex.
The firm said GM is realising such benefits from the design-build process as leaner construction with reduced cost; faster implementation and response to process changes; better overall control with a single design-builder and significantly enhanced safety control.
This design-build methodology, which compresses the construction schedule, allowed for a single-point of construction responsibility and a “more agile” construction that enabled GM to reduce the cost of manufacturing space; allow for the latest possible incorporation of new technology into the vehicle; rapidly adjust response capability for model changes; manage safety for the entire site from a single-point of control; accelerate implementation of tooling and final assembly and reduce the cost and burden on GM staff.
“The construction project team met GM’s goal of allowing for the most innovative process design changes,” according to Alberici. “The design and build teams’ processes provided early start dates for process tooling and conveyor contractors in key areas (body shop, etc). Although some work activities started late, all met or were improved upon in the critical milestones in the project’s production.”
The Delta Township facility will set new levels of “lean” in the use of resources, both during construction and in operation. Reduced power demand and water usage were at the top of GM’s list of goals for the facility’s low impact on the environment.
The construction process allowed for the latest amount of product changes, while still having built the plant faster than ever before. Fast response by the design-build team allowed for rapid client approvals and process changes.
“Our hats are off to GM for having the vision to set a new global standard for large-scale manufacturing facilities. This facility was designed and built to operate with an unprecedented concern for the environment,” said Alberici.
