Chris Kuenzer: Milford Proving Grounds

I worked in the office doing estimating on Monday and Tuesday this week, doing takeoff on some renovations to the VEC East building, as well as the remodeling of a cafeteria and café at a Delphi building. For both of these jobs, I focused on paint, carpeting, vinyl tile, and porcelain tile. I also helped Paul with a miscellaneous steel job, by figuring out which sizes and lengths of steel would be needed. However, we also had to think about which pieces would be bolted or welded, because drilling holes and welding will require extra materials and labor, which is important to consider when estimating a job.
On Wednesday, I started working at the Milford Proving Grounds with Alex, the Project Engineer for Building 70. After getting trained on the site specific safety procedures for this job, I was given a tour of the job site, and learned a little bit about the problems that they had encountered so far. Being a remodel of an old building, they found conduit and piping in places that were not indicated in the plans, so they came up with the idea to add soffits to avoid moving the pipes, which would be a much more costly alternative.
I will be working at Milford at least through the end of the week, and I am looking forward to getting a tour of the whole facility. Unfortunately, you need special permission from GM to take pictures at the Proving Grounds, so I won’t be able to post any photos of my own this week. But I am looking forward to finally getting out in the field, and working with everyone here at Milford.