L.R. Kimball

Project of the Week: L.R. Kimball Converts Rail Bridge to Pedestrian Trail, Providing Missing Link in Great Allegheny Passage

For many years, communities have been building an interconnected system of pedestrian and cycling trails stretching from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C.

A critical segment of this 320-mile route through highlands and river valleys is the Great Allegheny Passage, extending 150 miles from Duquesne, Pa., to Cumberland, Md. As the City of Pittsburgh neared the celebration of its 250th anniversary in 2008, leaders in Allegheny County set a goal of helping celebrate the event by completing the passage, building a connection between McKeesport, on the south side of the Monongahela River, and Duquesne on the opposite shore.

The Riverton Bridge became the focal point for reaching this objective.

Owned by U.S. Steel Corporation, the 118-year-old bridge was carrying heavy Union Railroad train traffic on a regular schedule across the river. Officials had looked at other options in evaluating where to make the connection; but, for example, a proposal to use the sidewalks adjacent to the McKeesport-Duquesne Bridge was determined to be undesirable because the sidewalks were too narrow.

Read about how L.R. Kimball created a critical link in this system in our case study, L.R. Kimball Converts Rail Bridge to Pedestrian Trail, Providing Missing Link in Great Allegheny Passage

Construction Specification: Five Things You Should Know About the Intent of Construction Documents

Blog post by Dennis Buirge on June 6, 2011

As a general rule, a typical Owner/Architect agreement divides the project design work scope into 5 phases with the following corresponding percentages as part of the total remuneration: schematic design (SD) - 15%; design development (DD) - 20%; construction documentation (CD) - 40%; bidding - 5%; and construction administration (CA) - 20%. 

It is in the construction documentation phase that various project documents are synthesized and finalized for bidding. Most documents used by the Contractor fall in the bidding and construction work phases; documents used in these two phases, in most cases, are not the same. Understanding the various documents for technical accuracy and related nomenclature are therefore important when preparing a deliverable to the Owner.

Project of the Week: Supporting P25 Interoperability in the State of Texas

If you're working to advance your long-term public safety communications efforts, a capabilities study is a great starting point, especially when it relates to Project 25 radio communications interoperability.

An example of this in action is our work with the Texas Department of Public Safety (TXDPS) and 11 of the state’s Regional Councils of Government (COG) to support Phases 2 - 4 of the Regional Interoperability Communications Planning (RICP) “Round Two.”  

“Texas is really ahead of the curve when it comes to documenting statewide capabilities and assessments for every single radio system,” explained Nicholas Falgiatore, M.S.E.E., a telecommunications specialist for our firm. “Typically, assessment projects like these are limited to a single agency or a single radio system.  But the multi-agency data we’re collecting will give the COGs and the Statewide Interoperability Commission, which is led by TXDPS, a solid understanding of their strengths, weaknesses and funding needs as they move forward with P25 interoperability.”

The project included completing a comprehensive regional and statewide interoperability communications survey and assessment of public safety communications capabilities. The information gathered from the assessment is being used as the foundation for developing each Region’s migration plans to support P25 interoperability by 2015.

Data is being collecting data from local public safety agencies in 11 of the state’s 24 COGs and providing reports that align with the Texas RICP Round Two Roadmap. 

How Will Social Media Change the Architecture and Engineering Industry?

by Mike Pappas on May 16, 2011

I have a problem. I am standing in the middle of a construction site and I need to talk to my structural and electrical designers right NOW regarding a conflict between the pile cap and the desired path of the main electrical conduit running sub-grade through the building. The contractor has an army of workers waiting for an answer and time is money. The owner’s rep is standing nearby and wants to know what I am going to do.

The typical solution to this common occurrence is to tell the contractor that you need to communicate with the structural engineer and using photos and a personal description you will be able to answer in a couple days. If you’re Building-Modeling savvy, you could consult the model on your laptop to help form the question to the team, but the model is being built right in front of you and the team has a problem. Standing there you know that the electrical designer would be gone by the time you got back to the office and won’t be returning for 3 days.

How about this for a solution? Take a photo of the offending pile cap and from your 4G phone, upload to Twitter and send a Tweet to your team that the photo is there with “we have a conflict please call my company cell to discuss ASAP.”

Meet Mike: Architecture and Technology Visionary

Meet Mike Pappas, a Senior Project Architect in our downtown Pittsburgh office who we're adding to our expanding list of staff blog authors.

Mike has an eye for transforming an architect’s design from the vision stage to the documentation and modeling stage.

One of our in-house REVIT experts, he coordinates with our entire architecture team from interior designers, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical designers and structural engineers. 

Mike’s passion is finding efficiencies in his profession, and his blog entries focuses on technology and the role it plays in architect’s future.  Blogging is a great hobby for Mike because he enjoys hearing about the experiences of others and sharing his in return.  (Readers – bring on the comments!) 

Outside of work, he says that the most cherished part of his day is spending meaningful time with his family, searching for the miracle of the day and appreciating all of life’s great moments.

One of L.R. Kimball’s many employees that is an alumni of Penn State University, Mike describes his ideal project as one like the Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Training Facility where he had the chance to participate in an incredibly meaningful project: a site where military personnel are trained to save the lives of civilians in trouble and other servicemen and women.

Email Mike and tell us what you would like him to explore in his blog posts.

Welcome to the Corner of the Blog Spec Den by Denny Buirge

Blog post by Denny Buirge, RA, CSI, CCS, CCCA, Specification Writer

We employ a number of individuals involved in writing and using project manuals on a daily basis. Anyone involved with such activities should be aware of proper writing methodologies and interpretation protocol. 

After preparing almost 40 internal blogs for the company on specification related issues, this is my first venture into the external blogosphere. This initial entry is my introduction to the Blog Spec Den and summarizes goals and intents to be discussed in future editions regarding specification and drawing related issues.

Denny Buirge’s (DB’s) Corner of the Blog Spec Den will be the tag for my entries. 

The length of each blog will depend on the topic. One hope is for others to occupy additional ‘Corners’ in the ‘Den’ with a unified goal of increasing our knowledge base regarding construction related documentation. With that goal, L.R. Kimball will continue to improve the quality of final products to the owner and the construction community at large.

INTENT:  Offer Information.  Attempt to offer information, principles, and protocols primarily recommended by The Construction Specification Institute (CSI) related to the creation and usage of the various document types occurring within the construction industry.

INTENT: Review Concepts.  Attempt to select one concept or topic, define it, and show proper and improper examples of its use.  Current methodologies used by some companies and individuals do not follow recommended procedures.

INTENT: Define Terms.  Attempt to define A/E related vocabulary. Proper communication, both by the design team and by those performing Construction Administration (CA), is paramount to a successful project. Do you know what it means to ‘provide’ a material and do you correctly use that term in your documents?

INTENT: Introduce Developments.  Attempt to introduce new specification developments as they are introduced to the architectural community. With new project delivery methods and implementation of BIM philosophies in document production, specification preparation may require change; it is already happening in some architectural offices, via E-Specs and in-house creation. Are you familiar with Preliminary Project Description (PPD) concepts?

INTENT: Input Regularity.  Attempt to submit a blog entry on a regular basis, in a time frame yet to be determined.

INTENT: Offer a Dialog Forum.  Attempt to be a location where others can create a ‘Corner” and submit their own comments relating to specifications and drawings; there are no limitations as to the number of corners in the LRK Blog Spec Den floor plan.  

Besides architectural input, it would be encouraging to have representation by mechanical, electrical, civil, landscape, geotechnical, environmental, and others in the construction industry who are interested in sharing. My goal is to be moderator, not professor.

Project of the Week: Plaquemines Parish Correctional Facility

When Hurricane Katrina pushed across the Gulf in 2005, it struck particularly hard at Plaquemines Parish, caused major damage and destroyed the jail.  Congress quickly appropriated supplemental help for the region, allocating funds through the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the design and construction of a new jail.

L.R. Kimball helped the Plaquemines Parish Sherriff’s Office, who is managing to reconstruction, complete the required paperwork to quickly move the project through the FEMA funding application, review and approval process and kept it moving forward. 

The building design and engineering demanded solid and creative thinking – an innovative permanent structure built on a platform well-situated above the flood plain to mitigate any future impacts resulting from high water events. 

As a result of their efforts, L.R. Kimball played a vital role in helping to secure a FEMA allocation of more than $111 million for the project according to the most recent Project Worksheet.

Other achievements included designing and engineering a facility to meet the Sheriff’s needs and offer protection against future weather-related events, incorporating money-saving design and construction techniques, assisting the project team and FEMA fund a single, permanent jail and reducing future maintenance and repairs costs for the jail.

Let us know what you think of the before and after images!

L.R. Kimball Selected to Help State of California Move Forward with Next Generation 9-1-1 Planning

This morning, we announced that we recently completed a strategic Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) roadmap for the State of California's 9-1-1 Emergency Communications Division.

The proposed roadmap identifies the tasks, high-level timelines, key decision points, critical dependencies and work products necessary to implement a NG9-1-1 system throughout California.

The State's efforts to assess, plan, design and implement NG9-1-1 statewide places it at the forefront of next generation emergency communications. NG9-1-1 will enable California to accept new forms of multimedia such as text, video and photos. In addition, NG9-1-1 will improve interoperability, call routing, PSAP call overflow and location accuracy.

L.R. Kimball is also providing project management services for the CA Enhanced 9-1-1 Grant Project, which includes numerous counties in northeastern California and is the state's first step towards testing improved location accuracy in a NG9-1-1 network.  This project entails the creation of an Internet Protocol (IP)-enabled network used to identify the location of wireless 9-1-1 callers based on geographic coordinates of latitude and longitude (commonly referred to as "X-Y" routing). The IP-enabled network will be able to route wireless calls to the appropriate PSAP.

"We are pleased to be working with the State of California as they embark on the NG9-1-1 journey," said Joel McCamley, Senior Vice President, L.R. Kimball. "Not only will California's citizens and visitors benefit from this effort, but California's leadership and guidance will bring further credence and clarity to the national conversation about NG9-1-1."

L.R. Kimball Rises in ENR Power Rankings

Last week, Engineering News Record released their annual "Top 500 Design Firms" list.  We had a strong showing in a number of markets, many of which are new as a result of the 2010 acquisition by our parent company CDI Engineering Solutions.

Top 500 Design Firms
2010 CDI Ranking - 31.
2010 L.R. Kimball Ranking - 155.
2011 Combined Ranking - 28.

Top 20 Telecommunications
2010 L.R. Kimball Ranking - 9.
2011 Combined Ranking - 3.

CDI Engineering Solutions also appeared in additional market sector lists including the Top 100 Pure Design Firms (12), the Top 50 in International Markets (27), the Top 20 Industrial Process/Petro (17) and the Top 20 Manufacturing (7) lists.

Play Ball! Dedication Held at Penn State University’s New Softball Stadium

On April 8, L.R. Kimball staff joined approximately 300 guests to help the Pennsylvania State University formally dedicate its newly-designed, state-of-the-art softball stadium on their main campus located in State College, Pa.

The new facility is being used by the women’s softball team for practice and games.

The $7.7 million facility is located adjacent to the existing playing field and provides many new amenities, including a natural grass playing field with subsurface drainage system, lighting, seating for 1,000, concessions, players’ locker rooms with support spaces, press box and coaches’ offices for the softball program. 

Penn State President Dr. Graham Spanier, Director of Athletics Tim Curley, Board of Trustees Chairman Steve Garban, Softball Coach Robin Petrini and lead benefactors Lee and Bill Beard all attended the dedication.  The Director of Athletics cited the day as a “special day for Intercollegiate Athletics and a dream come true for many people.”

The 41,000 square feet stadium was completed in March. L.R. Kimball was the lead architect and designer, provided landscape architecture services, mechanical, structural, electrical, plumbing, civil, environmental, traffic, geotechnical engineering and surveying work for the project.

See more pictures by visiting our Facebook album.