After sitting idle for approximately six weeks, nonessential construction sites across Pennsylvania are gearing up to resume work on May 1. In doing so, project teams must adhere to new COVID-19 safety regulations released by Gov. Tom Wolf (D) on April 24. Wolf became one of the first governors in the country to shut down all but essential projects on March 19.

In the first part of the series, Rob Cottone, President and CEO is featured Philadelphia Business Journal discussing the precautionary steps IMC was making before the pandemic and how we are navigating through it currently.

Bob Liberato, Project Executive was featured in Dodge Data & Analytics: Prefabrication and Modular Construction 2020 SmartMarket Report discussing how they met labor demands to complete the Chemours Discovery Hub. IMC Construction’s case study is on pages 52 and 53 of the report.

One day after being ordered to halt all construction activity in Pennsylvania to curb COVID-19’s spread, state contractors are complying. with enforcement set to start on March 21, while remaining hopeful that certain critical projects can be restarted promptly.

Keeping people healthy and your project on track is our highest priority. As the Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak continues to create challenges for families and businesses across the country, our focus is on the health and well-being of our employees, clients, subcontractors, vendors and the community. We are closely monitoring the situation and following recommendations from the CDC as well as Federal, State and County Authorities. Our goal is to maintain our project schedules while continuing to be diligent in the global effort to contain this virus. IMC is very focused on maintaining high efficiency and production on your project site. IMC is in regular contact with our vendors and suppliers to monitor adequate manpower and proper material supplies.

As you know, government agencies have limited certain businesses and encouraged many others to temporarily cease operations. IMC is working very hard to mitigate impacts to project schedules and operations. Currently, all projects are active.

As you are aware the approach and mandates related to containment of this virus are ever evolving, but the following are a few of the steps we have taken to keep our staff working and work continuing on your project;

• All site job trailers/offices are now restricted from visitors. Meetings will be held in the buildings or in open air settings to cease typical close meeting quarters.
• To create more effective social distancing, we have adjusted work locations for all IMC employees to a combination of main office, jobsite and work at home. We have discouraged changing work locations daily or weekly.
• All employees are set-up for remote access to all applications and fully supported by our IT team.
• We have discontinued all in person meetings and have migrated to tele-conferencing and Skype conferences.
• We have stopped visitor access to our main office and field offices except preplanned and essential needs.
• We have a protocol in place on all projects that require IMC staff each morning to verify through a series of questionnaires that require individuals to state they have not met any of the risk factors identified by the CDC.
• The same protocol is being used for every tradesman. IMC is requiring every company foreman to survey each of their workers prior to starting work each day to verify they have not been exposed to the risk factors utilizing the same survey form.
• Protocols have been established for the project teams to follow in the event we receive notice that personnel on the project have a presumed or confirmed case of Covid-19. Should this be the case, you would be immediately notified.
• We have increased our focus on sanitizing all the high touch surfaces on the project. Where appropriate, we have added laborer staff to each project, whose sole focus is to disinfect the high touch surfaces on our projects such as entrance doors, stair railings, bathroom facilities etc.
• We have multiple vendors lined up as a resource to perform wholesale disinfection if requested.

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have about our preparedness.

On March 9, IMC Construction joined The Chemours Company at the inauguration of The Chemours Discovery Hub, on the University of Delaware’s Science, Technology and Advanced Research (STAR) Campus in Newark, DE. The facility contains a 32-monitor, three-wall video discovery room in the lobby, and three stories of window-lined halls filled with custom labs, sculptures, and various art installations and collaboration spaces. The building has achieved a Three Globes rating from the Green Globes sustainable building rating system.

Today, the 312,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art facility is one of the largest R&D centers in Delaware, and within the chemical industry. It will be home to over 300 Chemours’ top researchers and scientists, in more than 130 individual labs.

IMC pushed innovation boundaries in modular and prefabricated methodologies and practices to successfully bring Chemours and L2’s sustainably-designed research facility to completion. Not only was this project on time and on budget, but it was also the safest project in the history of Chemours with ZERO Lost Time Incidents.

Mark Vergnano, president and chief executive officer of Chemours said, “The Chemours Discovery Hub is a living symbol of the company we are becoming – open, collaborative, imaginative, and focused on the future. We are thrilled to see what innovations our team will dream up in this building. The Discovery Hub is uniquely designed to bolster ideation and celebrate innovation.”

IMC is thankful to have had so many great team members who worked on this exciting project and went above and beyond each and every day.

 
 

Infographic courtesy of The Chemours Company

 

Mark Vernagno, CEO of The Chemours Company (third from left) pictured with IMC team members.

 

It’s only through collaboration and iterative refinement that breakthrough technologies are realized.” When Chemours set out to design its new research and development hub at the University of Delaware STAR Campus in Newark, DE, this premise became the guiding principle. Every decision and design element—from the geographic location to floor plan—was made with collaboration in mind.

IMC Construction not only collaborated but also pushed innovation boundaries in modular and prefabricated methodologies and practices to successfully bring Chemours and L2’s state-of-the-art, sustainably designed research facility to completion. Not only was this project on time and on budget, but also it was the safest project in the history of Chemours with ZERO Lost Time Incidents.  This facility contains a 32-monitor, three-wall video discovery room in the lobby and three stories of window lined halls filled with custom labs, sculptures and various art installations and collaboration spaces.  “The Discovery Hub is uniquely designed to bolster ideation and celebrate innovation.”

We are thankful to have had so many great team members who worked on this exciting project and went above and beyond each and every day.  We are thrilled to help Chemours celebrate their Grand Opening.

To get an inside peak please see read the article and video: https://www.chemours.com/en/chemistry-in-action/catalyst-for-innovation

IMC has completed the new 94,000 square-foot Women’s Specialty Health Center for Main Line Health. In collaboration with Axia Women’s Health, this is Main Line Health’s first Women’s Specialty Center. The seven-story building located in the Village at Valley Forge will offer primary care, heart health, obstetrics, gynecology, breast health, skincare, and emotional wellness. A demonstration kitchen will host classes on healthy eating. An ambulatory care center within the facility will offer services to men and women, including cardiology and cardiac testing, endocrinology, neurology, orthopedics, imaging, physical therapy, and lab services. This sustainably-built project is seeking certification of 3 Green Globes from the Green Building Initiative.

The Main Line Health King of Prussia team included construction manager IMC Construction; architect NELSON; development manager Anchor Health Properties; site/civil engineer Bohler Engineering; MEP engineer Pisarek Engineering; structural engineer O’Donnell & Naccarato; design consultant Perkins Eastman Black; and landscape architect Glackin Thomas Panzak.

So thrilled to work with, UPHS, who just won Owner of the Year by ENR MidAtlantic. The Advanced Outpatient Center in Radnor, PA is a true highlight of IMC’s portfolio and will be featured in the upcoming April issue.

IMC Construction is pleased to announce the formation of a Special Projects Division (SPD), which will give the construction firm the flexibility to meet the market demand for construction services focused on limited-scale projects within active and occupied sites in a more economical and efficient manner.

“The Special Projects Division will perform varied build-out and renovation work, along with select stand-alone structures,” Robert Cottone, President & CEO said. “Leveraging the buying power of IMC for a Special Project Division will translate to very competitive pricing for clients, while still mitigating risk. Our internal resources can be utilized at a moment’s notice, enhancing services when and if needed, ensuring quality and the highest of standards – from safety to turnover.”

IMC Construction’s experience in preplanning and building includes facilities for diverse market sectors such as commercial, academic, healthcare, science and technology, institutional hospitality, multi-family and use, industrial and retail.

IMC Construction is part of the Citadel Group, a national group of construction companies. IMC is the largest independently owned general contractor in the Greater Philadelphia Area and the 5th largest in Pennsylvania.

IMC Construction General Counsel, Michael Lloyd, testified in front of the PA Senate Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee on the economic development opportunities of the data center industry.

Watch the full testimony at: https://lnkd.in/eGRp9ei

Earlier this week, our new building’s project management team accepted the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance Building Berks Award in the Office Category. Special thanks to Mike McDermott, Juan Mones-Cazon, Binswanger, Equus Capital Partners, LTD., IMC Construction and Wulff Architects for making this project possible! https://greaterreading.org/