Photo Courtesy of Rien van Rijthoven
The hospital project in Castro Valley is seen as a proof of concept for a risk-and-reward-sharing contract with 11 signatories.
Photo Courtesy of Novarka
The enclosure will eventually entomb the reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear powerplant destroyed in the 1986 disaster.

California Hospital a Success Story for Integrated Project Delivery 'on Steroids'

Sutter Health's first hospital built under a risk-and-reward-sharing contract with 11 signatories was completed six weeks early, within its $320-million budget and with no claims, according to DPR Construction Inc. Sutter covered all the costs incurred by the partners of Sutter Medical Center, Castro Valley, and the partners received 80% of the profit anticipated at the project's onset. Sutter's team used lean project delivery for the California project, which opened on Dec. 1.

This article was amended on May 28, 2015 to reflect updated information.

Massive Enclosure Vault For Chernobyl Hits Halfway Mark

The first half of the huge steelwork vault that will enclose the destroyed reactor at Ukraine's Chernobyl powerplant was raised 22 meters off the ground on Nov. 24. The French Novarka consortium of Paris-based Vinci S.A. and Bouygues S.A. used 40 strand jacks on ten 45-m-tall towers, raising the 5,300-tonne structure at a safe distance from the reactor building. Next, the second half will be built and joined with the first half, and then the whole assembly will be rolled over the reactor building to form a 257-m-wide, 150-m-long, 105-m-tall enclosure.

CII's Latest Benchmark Program Targets Health-Care Projects

The Construction Industry Institute, Austin, Texas, is developing a benchmarking program for health-care projects to help improve overall project execution. Information collected from participating health-care organizations will give project managers data with which to compare their metrics with those from other health-care jobs. There is no direct cost for participation, and training is free. This CII initiative is similar to benchmarking and metric programs it has set up for other sectors, including the petrochemical and oil-and-gas industries. The Dept. of Defense's TMA/Military Health System and the U.S. Dept. of Veteran Affairs are helping to fund the program.

Harbert Hits Embassy Trifecta, Wins Three Awards in 10 Days

BL Harbert International LLC, Birmingham, Ala., has won the trifecta in embassy construction, winning three large contracts in a 10-day period. On Nov. 16, the Dept. of State's Bureau of Overseas Building Operations awarded Harbert a $302-million design-build contract for a new U.S. embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia. The new 47,000-sq-meter facility will be built on the existing embassy complex and include a 10-story office tower, an attached residence for Marine security guards and a multistory parking garage. On Nov. 21, the department awarded Harbert a $126-million design-build contract for a new embassy in Cotonou, Benin. Five days later, the department awarded Harbert a $109-million design-build contract for a new embassy in Mbabane, Swaziland. All three of the projects are seeking to win a LEED Silver certification.

ConsensusDocs Updates Its Federal Subcontract Agreement