Lean construction methods and phased coordination helped the team deliver the project under budget and ahead of schedule in November 2024, and The Martin is now one of the tallest residential buildings between San Francisco and San Jose.

Photo by George Baker

One of the project’s biggest challenges arose when subcontractors were drilling and coring through concrete slabs and inadvertently contacted or severed several post-tensioned cables. Despite X-ray scanning, misreadings and unclear markings led to multiple incidents. Initial responses included immediate disciplinary actions, safety stand-downs and comprehensive reviews of policies and training. However, when similar incidents persisted, the team took decisive and innovative action to eliminate the risk at its source.

In response, the team developed a robust permit-to-drill system that required all core drilling activities to receive prior authorization from the contractor. The system mandated dual-color marking protocols to clearly distinguish between cable locations and drill targets and included floor plan diagrams for each level that identified PT cable layout, termination points and grout pocket locations.

To directly mitigate the risk of ejected grout pockets, the contractor engineered a catch blanket safety system, consisting of a heavy-duty fireproof material fitted with rope attachments that was designed to cover slab edges and absorb or deflect any high-velocity debris.