The 465,000-sq-ft Nippon Sharyo Manufacturing Facility is one of the nation's largest producers of passenger railcars. In the new facility, major parts and components for the car bodies are manufactured using U.S.-made materials. Before breaking ground on the project, team members mapped out the entire facility in virtual 3D to coordinate installation of specialty systems and to ensure that building components, including multiple floor elevations, didn't depart from specifications.

Due to a tight, fixed schedule, team members executed the project on a fast-track schedule, with sitework occurring before completion of structural and process-related designs. Early in design, the construction team helped to reconcile new and existing foundations on site. During construction, the design team coordinated requests for information in real time, greatly reducing the time required to produce workable building details while they were being developed.

The contractor implemented a broad-based safety program in the pre-bid phase and continued it through to project completion. Key components of the plan included administrative safety controls; pre-bid subcontractor safety qualifications; accident and incident reporting procedures; mandated site safety training and meetings; periodic safety inspections; safety and health training; and a site-specific safety plan.

Nippon Sharyo Manufacturing Facility, Rochelle, Ill.

Key Players

Owner Nippon Sharyo Manufacturing, Arlington Heights, Ill.

GC Kajima Building & Design Group Inc., Atlanta

Designer Kajima Associates Inc., Atlanta