Seaside Trendwest
Salem Hospital
Seattle Justice Center
White City Schools

Customer: Seaside Trendwest

Several years ago, contacts at a long-time Benson Industries construction partner asked Benson to join the team to help build a major mixed-use retail and condominium time-share building and parking structure in Seaside, Oregon. A Benson project manager worked closely with the contractor and architectural team members on the preliminary plans, creating an architectural specification guideline to formulate a preliminary budget. The team provided the owner with multiple creative product choices and a range of quality and price levels. Once budgets were in place, the architects proceeded with construction documents. The specification writer coordinated with the Benson project manager, working together to use the budgetary specification and incorporate specific products that were required due to changes made in the construction plans. This harmony and eagerness to work closely together helped to provide an accurate specification.

Benson produced and delivered metal doors and frames, wood doors and frames as well as finish hardware. In addition, Benson provided full installation of its own products, which made issue identification and resolution quick, avoiding schedule delays.

Challenge:

Located directly on the beach, the Trendwest building's proximity to salt, wind and rain caused concern over the longevity of exposed doors and frames. Therefore, Benson used stainless steel for the exterior metal openings as well as heavy-duty, weather-resistive, water-deflecting hardware to protect the interior from water penetration. In fact, Benson and the other team members had to constantly safeguard interior products from the intense weather they faced during the building's construction.

Accommodating Murphy beds in the building's units represented another unique challenge. Benson worked with the contractor to determine specific custom sizing so that the large bi-folding doors could clear obstacles and open fully, with the least amount of space impact on the rooms. Accurate field measuring and coordination of the Benson installation crew with the contractor, architect and Benson engineers ensured that the openings were accurate in every room, despite size and configuration variations in a number of units.

Phasing such a large-scale project posed yet another challenge. Benson had to order materials and build products as they were needed in order to meet the contractor's schedule. Not surprising for a project of this magnitude, unexpected circumstances caused the schedule to change many times, and it was not unusual to be working on numerous floors simultaneously.

Storing materials was a major concern because there was little room onsite for future materials storage, but tight coordination kept this problem to a minimum. Benson used its own trucks for delivery, and its installation crew received the materials as they arrived; the contractor did not have to be involved with receiving or storing doors, frames or hardware.

The Trendwest project was completed on budget and on time. This is no small feat. Several contractor personnel changed during the project, but due to excellent communication between Benson, the contractor and the architectural group, this did not create any problems. This project truly illustrates the importance of cooperation and communication. Common goals are much easier to reach when team members have a spirit of cooperation, understanding and respect for one another.

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Customer: Salem Hospital

Recently, a building contractor asked one of the architectural hardware consultants on staff at Benson to take part in a bid to help build a new building at Salem Hospital in Salem, Oregon. Benson's consultant attended several meetings, working with the owner, architect and contractor to draw up specifications for this new, state-of-the-art building. This work consisted of coordinating the process of the total opening system, including hollow metal doors, frames, sidelites and relites, wood doors and finish hardware.

Challenge:

One interesting challenge in the maternity ward was the high priority placed on security. Benson had to plan carefully to choose hardware that was compatible with the wrist-band security system the hospital was installing to make sure babies stayed safely with their parents. The Benson consultant met with the security system representatives as well as the electricians to make sure the electrified locks, strikes, panic devices and alarms worked in conjunction with security equipment to operate all openings as the owner required.

Another situation arose when the architect selected unusual German levers to be used on all the mortice locks and latches. In order to get up to speed on the intricacies of these mortice locks, Benson met with the lock and lever manufacturer and building maintenance to learn what was necessary to install and maintain the new lever locks.

Benson knows there are special requirements that have to be taken into consideration when it comes to supplying materials for a hospital. Each area has a special need. On a project of this magnitude, proper planning and coordination are a must. While hollow metal frames are being delivered in one area, prefinished wood doors and hardware are being delivered in another. Benson was up to the task as the project was completed successfully on time and on budget.

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Customer: Seattle Justice Center

Every company strives for 100 percent customer satisfaction on every project, but it's rarely achieved. With the Seattle Justice Center project, Benson Industries succeeded.

Benson competed in the open market and won the bid to supply hollow metal frames, wood doors, finish hardware and fire-rated interior windows for the construction of the new Justice Center in downtown Seattle, Washington.

Challenge:

Benson Industries had to supply materials for over a thousand openings in the 11-floor building that would encompass nearly a full downtown block. The company also supplied finish hardware to its parent company, Benson Global, who built the curtain wall for the Justice Center. In addition, Benson Industries provided some hardware for the building's exterior glass and aluminum doors.

Benson's proposal included an effective new key system that the City of Seattle had never used before. Confident in Benson Industries' experience and expertise, the City agreed to the new system and was so pleased with the result that it has used the same system in two subsequent City buildings.

Completed both on time and on budget, the Seattle Justice Center serves as yet another example of Benson's competitive advantage and professionalism.

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Customer: White City Schools

A call went out for three schools to be built in White City, Oregon. Benson Industries was brought into the job by the contractor and took on all three jobs at once, despite the fact that the sites were 200 miles away from Benson's headquarters. For the White City schools, Benson joined the team to supply steel frames, exterior steel metal, interior pre-finished wood doors, interior sound-retardant doors and frames and all of the hardware for every door.

Challenge:

Even though all three projects were schools of about the same size, each opening into each classroom differed. This project was completed with no jobsite visits, since these would have added expense to the budget. Instead, Benson used email and the telephone to stay in close communication with all team members throughout the course of the project. Benson was able to put together its schedules based on the architectural drawings and on its considerable experience with projects of this nature.

The company ordered the steel, wood and hardware and then handled the cutting, slitting, bending, welding and painting of the materials onsite at its Portland-based Benson Industries facility. Benson's own semi truck then delivered the materials to White City on an as-needed basis.

Project timelines are almost always challenging, but missing the deadline for the White City schools would have meant hundreds of students waiting outside their doors. The team members had less than a year to complete all three schools, which made for tight schedules and little room for mistakes.

The White City schools' designs were fairly complicated as well, calling for a significant number of relights and combinations of sidelights and transom lights for 50 to 60 percent of the openings. Only Benson's expertise allowed the company to get these all right the first time, since the schedule simply could not accommodate any errors.

Benson worked with the contractor to facilitate the overall project schedule; together they determined the particular order in which the openings would be ready for their doors. Benson prioritized the production of these doors and delivered them on a rolling basis. The contractor always had exactly what was needed and was spared the necessity of storing materials on the jobsite until they could be used.

Three buildings at once, 200 miles away, a hard and fast deadline and a successful result. Regardless of the project scope or location, Benson's collaboration and attention to detail mean a job done right.

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