In sports stadium construction, meeting deadlines is critical. Luc Pelland, president of Structal-Heavy Steel Construction, explains to Gay Sutton how the company has built an enviable reputation by finding solutions for construction issues and consistently delivering quality products and services on time.
Take one look at the iconic new stadium currently under construction for the New York Giants and Jets, and it’s obvious that these enormous sports facilities are visually stunning and complex structures. They also represent the cultural identity of large regional communities and a spiritual home for many sports fans around the world.
Over the last five years, four of these ambitious new stadium projects have been completed in the New York area alone. The New York Yankees and New York Mets have both moved into new baseball stadiums, the New York Giants and Jets will start the 2010 season in their new football stadium, and the New York Red Bulls soccer team also has a new home. In addition, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ new arena is set for completion in August. With so much riding on the efficiency and success of these high-profile building projects, it takes a very special construction team to do the job.
Structal-Heavy Steel Construction has a diversified construction portfolio that includes large-scale commercial, high-rise, industrial, utility and public buildings. Structal and its Quebec-based parent company, Canam Group, have a strong reputation for excellence in the manufacture and erection of steel structures for this demanding marketplace. To date, they have participated in the construction of no fewer than 54 stadiums across North America, 19 of them major league stadiums including the four in New York. Noteworthy among their current projects are the Florida Marlins stadium in Florida and a new retractable roof for the BC Place stadium in Vancouver, which is billed as the largest suspension roof in the world. “This is a complex project, and we picked the best people we have to ensure that we deliver a quality job on time,” explains Structal president Luc Pelland.
The number of general contractors (GCs) operating in this specialized marketplace probably only amounts to a handful, and Structal has developed a strong relationship with each of them. “We work on the principle that the customer is king,” says Pelland. “This attitude begins at the top with the chairman and the president, and, as the saying goes, we don’t just talk the walk, we walk the talk.”
Providing a full range of services, including engineering, design-assist, fabrication and erection, Structal believes that the earlier it gets involved in a project, the greater value it can deliver to the GC or architect. By bringing its expertise to the table at the design and engineering stages and becoming involved in the decision-making process at these critical stages, many problems can be avoided.
Among the many services it offers, Structal coordinates the detailing of the steel and concrete elements of projects using building information modeling (BIM) technology. In this way, any contact or connection problems can be identified and ironed out before the concrete and steel elements are manufactured, avoiding many costly and time-consuming efforts later on. This service can be expanded further to integrate the HVAC and electrical systems of the project.
In construction projects of this magnitude, no matter how well coordinated you are, difficulties are bound to arise. “We don’t spend time claiming that it’s somebody else’s problem, nor do we argue about who’s responsible for what,” Pelland adds. “We work together to find a solution, and then we move forward. Working very closely with the GCs, engineers and architects and building a relationship of trust with them are part of our modus operandi and a major reason for our success.”
The stadium industry is also unique in having to cope with immutable deadlines. For example, the New York Giants and Jets had a full schedule of games organized for their new stadium, which was scheduled to open in April, so construction could not be delayed. “Many things can happen to delay construction, and very often the delay occurs elsewhere and is beyond our control,” says Pelland. “Admittedly, we can’t prepare for every eventuality, but once we’ve been given our start date and completion date, we build alternative solutions into our schedule so that we have a backup plan and, if need be, the means at our disposal to get the work back on track.”
Structal is heavily involved in R&D, investing considerably in new construction products and processes. A patent is currently pending on a new lightweight riser that could significantly reduce the weight of stadium seating. Risers, to which the seats are secured, are traditionally built of concrete and weigh approximately 100 pounds per square foot.
The new risers are fabricated from extruded aluminum and weigh only eight pounds per square foot. “You can imagine the savings that can be made on the foundations, the steel rakes on which the risers are set, the speed of erection and even the cranes required for lifting them. I believe that in the next few years this product will be taken very seriously. It has many advantages and will deliver great cost savings.”
Structal, which employs up to 400 staff members during busy periods, is structured around two fully dedicated sales, marketing and project management teams. One is based in Point of Rocks, Maryland, for the US market, while the other, located in Boucherville, Quebec, serves the Canadian market.
As a division of Canam Group, Structal has access to a network of structural steel fabrication plants spread across North America with an overall production capacity of up to 620,000 tons per annum. In the last four years Canam Group has invested an average of $25 million per year in its manufacturing facilities to improve quality, efficiency and safety, and to deliver cost savings to the customer. “We’re constantly looking for ways to reduce delivery times, cut costs and maintain high quality,” concludes Pelland. “This is a perennial battle that all companies face. But I believe that our efforts have paid off and that we’ve achieved success as a construction solutions provider, basically because we continuously invest in our fabrication plants and administrative structure and always make sure that we have the right people. Having the right people is key.”
