The St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers (dba SLC3) held its Annual Best Practice & Inclusion Awards Gala at the Hilton Frontenac Hotel in Frontenac, MO on August 18, 2021.
Kelly Jackson, Executive Director and Mark Winschel, Director of Project Management at The Opus Group and current President of the Board at the SLC3 emceed the evening. Several special awards were presented including a Legacy Award presented to Greg Kanteres, former Chairman of the Board of the SLC3 from 2015-2017. Greg was honored for his many years of dedication to the SLC3 in various leadership roles as an officer, board member and Chair of the Training and Education and Best Practice Awards Committees.
Kevin Studer, PE, Principal with Northstar Management was honored with a 2021 Leadership Award. Kevin is immediate Past President of the Board (formerly a Chair titled position) still serving on the Executive Committee and Training and Education Committee. The former President assumed his role in early September 2018 just a week after the new Executive Director, Kelly Jackson, began her new role and Bob Conte, now retired from Bayer, resigned as Chairman of the Board. He helped with transition and through a pandemic earning his award tonight.
The last special award is to David Kehm, whom recently joined HDA Architects after a long run at Christner Architects. David has served on committees for over 20 years for the SLC3. In the past three of those years he joined the Membership committee, the Strategic Planning Committee where he was called to serve, and as Co-Chair of the Golf Tournament Committee. In past years including the last few years he also provides a design update in December after he has researched a number of design firms to provide a glimpse into how design firms faired in the year and the outlook for the following year.
The SLC3 had a number of finalists and winners as they combined 2020 and 2021 winners and finalists due to the pandemic. The 2020 winners for four CII Best Practices included the Clayco Team for the Pfizer Research & Development Facility -Partnering for Pfizer; icon Mechanical for the Pfizer BioPlace or Research & Development Facility – Planning for Modularization for Pfizer; L. Keeley for the PSC Metals-Car Shredder Relocation – Team Building for PSC Metals; and Madison Industrial 2019 Aromatics Turnaround – Advanced Work Packaging for the Phillips 66-Refinery.
The 2021 winner also for four CII Best Practices included Tarlton Corporation for the Primate Canopy Trails Project – Quality Management for the Saint Louis Zoo; Alberici Constructors for the Saint Louis University Hospital Medical Campus Renewal – Planning for Modularization for SSM Health in partnership with Northstar Management; Castle Contracting for the Saint Louis University Utility System Upgrade – Front End Planning for Saint Louis University; and Clayco for 100 Above the Park – Constructability for Mac Mac Properties.
The 2021 winners of the diversity awards included Inclusion Champion, Charles Henson, Diversity Manage at BJC HealthCare. The Organizational Excellence for Inclusion Award went to Paric and the M/W/DBE of the Year Award went to Luzco Technologies. Luzco is the first Hispanic company to receive this award. The first Woman in Construction award went to Cory Elliot with CMT, LLC. Mark Winschel also noted a woman hire as the executive director being another notable first as he congratulated Cory and this first Woman in Construction award. Mark said, “we’ve had four Executive Directors for the Council, Col. Ed Decker was first selected but died in 1973. Woody Zenfell was selected in 1973. Woody and Dennis LaVallee worked together and Dennis assumed the role in 1991 and now Kelly Jackson, our first woman leader.” NAWIC sponsored and presented the award to Cory Elliot.
The 2020 winners for the diversity awards included Monica Bailey for Inclusion Champion and recently retired from McCarthy Building Companies. Two winners were chosen for Organizational Excellence for Inclusion, Building Futures and Ameren. The M/W/DBE of the Year went to Sledroc Construction.
The Best Practice Awards honors the Construction Industry Institute’s (CII) 17 Best Practices. A CII Best Practice is a process or method that, when executed effectively, leads to enhanced project performance. CII Best Practices have been proven through extensive industry use and/or validation. Link to CII BP: https://www.construction-institute.org/resources/knowledgebase/best-practices. The SLC3 Owner Members determined the CII 17 Best Practices represented the best of the best in project delivery methods. To qualify to become a finalist, a team must achieve a 6 out of 10 score. Winners typically score at least an 8 by the collective judges. The rigid criteria is very difficult to meet and the submitting team must provide proof they have met the criteria for a single best practice. Because of this difficulty, the SLC3 is not based on much subjectivity and more on specific and measurable criteria which must be presented for the judges. Because of this only about 15 nominations are submitted yearly and about four winners selected. The honor for these teams is to be recognized by the owners or clients in the region as well as their peers.
SLC3 Best Practices Judges included: Barb Cox, Mercy; Art Buckowitz, Madison Industrial; Stephen Bannes, Washington University; Pat Guichet, SSM Health; Stephanie Jeffries, Paric; Kevin Studer, Northstar Management; and Mark Winschel, The Opus Group.
Diversity judges included: Lonny Boring, Great Rivers Greenway; Jeanie Brewster, Certify Now; Tom Finan, Construction Forum; Pat Guichet, SSM Health; Angelica Gutierrez, Great Rivers Greenway; Dennis Lavallee, SLC3 retired; Dan Lester, Clayco; Geralyn Lynch, Mercy; Henry Woods, Armanino; and Fran Wiggins, Lambert International Airport.
About the SLC3: We are the Greater St. Louis Region’s All-Inclusive AEC Community for Innovation, Education, Equity Empowerment, and Collaboration. Our mission is to build a better future for uniting the greater St. Louis region’s design and construction community in achieving innovation, offering advanced education, through equity empowerment, and fostering collaboration among ALL stakeholders. The SLC3 is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. It was originally founded by some of the largest companies in town such as Union Electric, Monsanto, AB, Emerson, and others, concerned for workforce issues specifically labor disputes in 1971 as well as improving construction practices. Although focuses have evolved and needs change throughout the years, the SLC3 remains unlike any other organization in the construction industry due to the membership and leadership of owner members or consumers of construction.
Click for Portfolio of photos from event:
2021 Best Practice and Diversity Awards
Links to video presentations:
Charles Henson – Inclusion Champion 2021
Monica Bailey – Inclusion Champion 2020
Luzco Technologies – M/W/DBE of the Year 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsT_eB4jKso&t=2s
Sledroc – M/W/DBE of the Year 2020
Building Futures – Organizational Excellence Award 2020
Paric – Organizational Excellence Award 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3ZxVAQxTug
Cory Elliott – Woman in Construction 2021
Kevin Studer – Leadership Award 2021
Best Practice Winner Summaries:
Winner: Alberici Constructors Saint Louis University Hospital Medical Campus Renewal / Owner: SSM Health (Planning for Modularization)
Reasons:
- Early Team Decision that a Pre-Fabrication Strategy Would Be Beneficial to the Project
- Utilizing Offsite Shop Labor Would Improve Schedule
- By Using Shop Labor in a Controlled Environment Improved Safety
- Pre-Fabricated Bathroom Pods Improved Job Site Coordination
- Coordinated Pre-Fabrication with Local City Code Inspection Process and Labor Agreements
- Pre-Fabrication Allowed for Less Onsite Labor, Improved Productivity, Minimized Construction Debris, Improved Schedule Compliance and Improved Site Safety
- Applied Previous Project Lessons Learned to Improved Pre-Fabrication Plan
Winner: Tarlton Primate Canopy Trails / Owner: Saint Louis Zoo (Quality Management)
Reasons:
- Pre-Planning Ensured Productivity, Safety and Quality on the Project
- Quality Management Program Expectations Communicated to all Partners
- Special considerations were integrated into Complex Construction planning to maintain “Animals Always Concept” Protecting Health and Welfare
- Quality Management Helped Ensure Zero Accidents and Injuries
- 3D Scanning Utilized to Determine Existing Tree Interferences & Modifications
- Quality Audits Conducted to Track Compliance
- Post Project Review Process Identified Improvement Opportunities for Future work
Winner: Castle Contracting Saint Louis University Utility System Upgrade Owner: Saint Louis University (Front End Planning)
Reasons:
- Established Leadership Team Including all Partners
- Pre-Project Plan Defined Overall Project Risks
- Utilized Multiple Technology Platforms to Streamline Project Execution
- Utilized Directional Boring to Avoid Open Trenches on Open Campus
- Subsurface Utility Mapping Used to locate Underground Obstacles
- BIM 360 ED Model Utilized for Accurate Visual Perspective of Project
- Pre-Planning Equipped Team Members with an Effective Strategy to Address Key Project Challenges
Winner Clayco 100 Above the Park / Owner: Mac Properties (Constructability)
Reasons:
- Use of BIM and GPS Technology to Construct a Complex Structure
- Coordinated Construction on Multiple Floors to Speed up Critical Activities
- Teamwork helped Coordinate Between Various Subcontractors
- Pre-Constructed Formwork Installed with Tower Crane
- Utilized an abundance of laser scanning, 3D modeling and offsite pre-assembly.
- Pre-Manufactured Curtain Walls
- Utilized Life-Sized Mockup To Improve Construction Techniques
- Online Delivery Scheduling to Coordinate and Streamline Material Flow
- Green Globe Certified Project
