Working In Occupied Facilities

Imagine arriving at a friend’s house for dinner in a 6-ton backhoe, followed by two dump trucks and a dozen construction workers. Announce you are planning to stay for six months, and that your friend will need to move out of his bedroom for two of those months.

Now keep that friend.

Working in occupied spaces is a challenge, and Berghammer Construction embraces it with the right expertise and just the right touch.

“People are living there so you’re working in their home every day,” says Dale Streitenberger, Senior Design Specialist.

Logistical hurdles inherent in any construction project increase exponentially when you add considerations of security and comfort for patients, residents and visitors. On top of that, contractors must be mindful of working conditions for staff members. Berghammer succeeds with a proactive approach based on collaboration and communication. Here are just some of the steps that have ensured residents and staff would keep Berghammer Construction as a friend:

• A “barrier maintenance” program to ensure that any penetration of existing walls was secured.
• A mandatory sign-in program for all visitors.
• A dress code for Berghammer staff and subcontractors.
• Updates on the project via intranet, bulletin boards, newsletters, fliers and face-to-face meetings.
• A monthly ice cream social for residents and staff.

Berghammer also takes care to put the right people into place when working in occupied spaces, knowing that it requires a unique mentality.

“What we know is, it takes a different personality to build a big distribution facility out in the middle of a big field than to work in and around someone’s residence,” says Martin Chapa, Vice President – Construction. “Those two personalities do not mix, and you can’t take that guy from a big field and stick him in a hospital.”

When you need a general contractor to care for your space and your people as if they were their own, Berghammer Construction is the right call.