During his time with JE Dunn, he provided direct management and executive oversight on projects across the country in both the non-profit and for-profit healthcare sectors, including several large hospital systems in the Charlotte and Raleigh areas. Chris joined Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta in 2016, where he led the master planning, design, and construction of the more than $2 billion North Druid Hills campus, which included the Center for Advanced Pediatrics, the Support Center for non-clinical offices and training, and Arthur M. Blank Hospital, a 2-million square foot 446-bed replacement hospital that opened last year.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome Chris back to the JE Dunn family,” said Jeff Fuller, President of Healthcare at JE Dunn. “His visionary leadership and depth of experience in healthcare have left a lasting mark. Chris’s return not only brings his national perspective and proven track record back to our team but also reflects JE Dunn’s continued investment in leading the future of healthcare construction.”

The post Chris Chelette Returns to JE Dunn to Expand Healthcare Presence first appeared on JE Dunn Construction.

Costello will join industry leaders in a panel discussion titled “Navigating Current Market Challenges to Strategically Position Life Science Development for Future Growth.” The panel will delve into critical topics, including:

• Analyzing the risk profile of labs, manufacturing facilities, and campus projects to identify potential challenges and opportunities in a fluctuating market to inform investment decisions.
• Identifying areas of increased investment and funding: aligning project priorities with current market opportunities to enhance project viability.
• Emphasizing the need for adaptive strategies to optimize resource allocation and ensure swift responsiveness to market changes.

“We are thrilled to have Terry represent JE Dunn Construction at this prestigious event,” said Richard Ceretti, Raleigh and Charlotte office leader at JE Dunn Construction. “His insights and expertise will undoubtedly contribute to a meaningful discussion on the future of life sciences development.”

The Advancing Life Sciences Construction Conference is a premier event that brings together professionals from across the industry to share knowledge, network, and explore the latest trends and innovations in life sciences construction.

For more information about the conference, please visit https://advancing-life-science-construction.com

The post JE Dunn Construction Announces Terry Costello’s Participation in Panel Discussion at Advancing Life Sciences Construction Conference 2025 first appeared on JE Dunn Construction.

The Steve Troxler ASC was built with $94 million in Connect NC bond funding approved by North Carolina taxpayers in March 2016. It consolidates and replaces multiple 40-year-old testing facilities used by five (5) divisions under North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS): Food and Drug Protection, Standards/Metrology, Structural Pest Control and Pesticides, Veterinary Diagnostics, and Motor Fuels. It allows NCDA&CS to expand state programs and better serve all North Carolinians going forward, including consumers, farmers, and agribusinesses.

WORKING WITHIN A FINITE BUDGET
Our team was presented with the unique challenge of ensuring that we could deliver a modern facility with advanced labs and testing equipment while operating with a limited, publicly-funded budget. We worked closely with HH Architecture and the Department of Agriculture during the 16-month preconstruction phase, pricing over 150 options to drive value and allow the Department of Agriculture to achieve the desired square footage without sacrificing building function. We also worked with trade partners to identify an additional 8 percent in cost savings after bid.

The post Steve Troxler Agricultural Sciences Center first appeared on JE Dunn Construction.

The post Stough Elementary School first appeared on JE Dunn Construction.

A Project in Jeopardy

As the design progressed into the Schematic Design (SD) phase and the program became more developed, it became apparent that the budget was in jeopardy. The SD estimate was over budget less than one week away from a “Go / No-Go” meeting with the school board, putting the entire project at risk. With the deadline looming, JE Dunn and the design team got to work figuring out how  to reduce cost and still maintain the client’s required program.

Working side by side with designers from architecture, interiors, and planning firm LS3P, the team worked tirelessly over the next five days amending the design and construction approach to work toward the budget. LS3P would work on the model during the day and publish a revised model to JE Dunn in the afternoon or evening. JE Dunn would work through the night and into the morning utilizing Lens to integrate the architect’s model with the estimate for Revit-based takeoff and Lens for detailed estimating to produce a revised estimate in less than 24 hours. We would evaluate the progress made and then get back to the drawing board again the same day. “Working in conjunction with JE Dunn, the design team was able to make quick edits to the Revit model so JE Dunn could then utilize the model to turn around accurate and detailed estimates. As opposed to 2-D takeoffs, Lens utilizes real building materials and components, in the Revit model, for a high degree of accuracy,” said Mary Brehler, LS3P project manager. “By modeling several options, the program could quickly provide quantity comparisons on items such as material, buildings systems, and structural systems. This was critical to the budget and the schedule because it allowed the team to make early design decisions based on factual data and present it to the school systems for review.”

Refining the Estimate

After four iterations of Designer Revit update by day and JE Dunn estimate update by night, the goal was achieved prior to the client’s board meeting. “We basically had seven days to rework the estimate that would typically take two months,” said JE Dunn’s Preconstruction Services Director Mike Hughes. “The coordination between the teams and leveraging our technology not only drastically reduced the time to turn around a new estimate, but they also delivered an estimate and budget that was in line with the owner’s intent. The 30 years of data housed in Lens allows for educated decision-making and transparency, in turn fostering innovation and creating the accountability and trust that ultimately saved the project.”

Less than a year into preconstruction, the project was paused for 18 months due to the construction of other schools in the district and logistics of shifting students from each school. When preconstruction resumed, the budget stayed in line with hard-fought SD estimate through the completion of the project. The 100% Construction Design esti­mate provided to the client by JE Dunn with minimal trade partner input ended up being within .5% of the final GMP (Guaranteed Maximum Price) that was based on “rip and read” publicly opened trade partner quotes.

In a construction climate that challenges teams to build faster while staying on budget, the accuracy and real-time information Lens provides is unmatched. Thanks to leveraging all Lens has to offer, Stough Elementary went from a project in jeopardy to completed in a shortened schedule with pinpoint accuracy in pricing. “The technology served as a great tool in the design process,” said Brehler. “At the very early stages of schematic design, the program allowed us to quickly evaluate different building systems and materials for cost comparisons. The fact that Lens allowed the designer and CM to work in conjunction with each other by integrating with Revit was critical to the overall success of the estimate and, ultimately, the completed project.”

The post Decision to Precision: A Targeted Lens Approach first appeared on JE Dunn Construction.

The results are even better when that fresh set of eyes comes with deep construction knowledge. With over 80 years of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) experience among our core team members, JE Dunn’s team has dealt with almost every construction challenge you can imagine. Everyone on our all-star team of national experts has a career’s worth of background in delivering successful life sciences construction projects. We will bring that level of industry knowledge to your project.

JE Dunn’s experts have come to us from some of the biggest names in the construction industry, all for the same reason: We provide an environment where they can thrive and do the best work possible. Our team members benefit from the latest in technology, and the latest in procedures and protocols. That makes a big difference to your success – from the very first time we walk onto your project site.

Our experience is particularly important to the life sciences industry, where new therapies and new technologies add another level of complexity to construction projects. To be successful, you need a construction partner that truly understands the industry, and can deliver results that emphasize safety, quality, and speed.

With this in mind, ask yourself three key questions:

Is your construction firm an indispensable business partner?
With JE Dunn on your team, you have a business partner that is extremely efficient, detail-oriented, and supportive of your efforts. From the day a project is visualized, we work with clients to understand the purpose and goals behind their projects. We put ourselves in your shoes. Life sciences projects revolve around research, manufacturing, and associated GMP operations, so it is essential to work with process engineers, equipment vendors, and CQV specialists in the concept design phase. JE Dunn encourages early engagement with these resources, ensuring certainty of outcome on even the most complex projects.

JE Dunn’s track record of success starts by defining expectations with clients at the outset of every project. We deliver proven transformational solutions, and we are laser-focused on an exceptional client experience. With our decades of knowledge, we can identify potential issues in advance, bringing a range of solutions specifically tailored to our client’s expectations. We anticipate project needs and the resources required to keep a job moving, and we are committed to staying on schedule. Our over-arching ambition is the highest level of engagement – exactly what you would expect from an indispensable business partner.

How are you handling your cost estimates?
At JE Dunn, we understand construction inside-out, so there is never any need to blue-sky an estimate. Before the words “data analytics” were buzzing around our industry, JE Dunn was already engaged in what is now known as Industry 4.0. We maintain an extensive national project estimating database from our history of successful projects in the science and technology sector. For both us and our clients, that is a handy reference for how we have done similar work successfully in the past.

Our methods for continuous estimating and Target Value Design (TVD) mean that even as projects roll out – from concept, to detailed design, to the construction phase – we are continually updating your detailed estimate, procurement plan, bid packages, and trade partner schedules.  As projects evolve, you arrive at optimal solutions faster by being able to draw on past experiences and by updating costs continuously. We know from practical experience that life sciences clients truly appreciate this level of commitment.

With JE Dunn’s vast repository of historical pricing information at our fingertips, no one is ever forced to reinvent the wheel every time a new project comes along.

Do you need a builder or a consultant?
To be an indispensable business partner, we need to find ways to add value to the client-builder relationship. As your builder, we are your hands-on construction partner, and are invested in your success. We are with you from design through start-up, commissioning, and turnover – unlike a consultant, who does not share those risks.

JE Dunn teams with high quality, prequalified trade partners and their capabilities, under our supervision, are a powerful workforce.  Quality construction, leveraging lean planning and construction concepts, is a jointly held core value making field resources more efficient.  Various scopes of work can be well-coordinated, and we have direct control over field and workflow. This gives us the best possible quality outcome and allows us to respond nimbly with appropriate resources as projects change over time.

Your project demands a business partner who understands the requirements of your regulated environment. JE Dunn offers a new perspective, a fresh set of eyes, and the specific experience you need to meet those requirements and, more importantly, deliver life-saving medicines.

The post Meet JE Dunn Construction, where team members thrive first appeared on JE Dunn Construction.

Delays and budget issues are unfortunately common in the world of life sciences construction. According to a January 2021 study by Turner & Townsend, approximately 70% of pharmaceutical construction projects exceed their original budget by an average of 15%. In addition, projects were found to overrun their schedule by an average of four months. Overspending and delays are usually due to a failure to accurately anticipate the time and resources needed to complete utility, mechanical, electrical, process piping, and plumbing (MEPP) installations, as well as associated commissioning, qualification, and validation (CQV).

With JE Dunn, early client collaboration confirms expectations about the final product. By “starting from the finish,” JE Dunn leverages our team of experienced personnel, using proven procedures and a blend of industry standard and proprietary tools, to anticipate, communicate, and deliver to our client’s exacting standards.

This way of working is critically important today. Pharmaceutical projects are moving faster than ever, with tighter tolerances and little room for error. Our approach of starting from the finish, moving at warp speed, is the industry’s expectation.

Consider the following questions:

1. Did the final project cost exceed the project’s planned capital budget?
2. Did the initial project schedule not meet expectations?
3. Did the project operate with complete transparency for safety, quality, cost, and schedule?
4. Were the system manuals/turnover packages finished in a timely manner?
5. Did you engage the commissioning agent and construction manager early in the project?

Here are a few things to keep in mind when starting from the finish:

Have information at your fingertips
When you are working on an accelerated timeline, our proprietary JE Dunn Dashboard is a valuable technological innovation. JE Dunn Dashboard, a web-based user interface for the project, enables clients to view safety, quality, project cost, schedule, Building Information Modeling (BIM) and critical project details in real time…from anywhere. While this innovation is impressive, the procedures in place “under the hood” truly power your project, without shaking apart under the pressure of a very aggressive timeline.

Cost and schedule controls begin with a well-defined process for managing scope, including sequence of approvals, documentation, and schedule impact. Changes can include field value engineering of unnecessary scope, constructability innovation, and risk mitigation items. The key is understanding exactly where the budget and schedule stands at any point.

For a transparent, no-surprises approach, JE Dunn provides continuous cash flow forecasting, synched with an integrated project schedule. Our schedules utilize tools such as Primavera P6 in tandem with Last Planner, TAKT planning, pull planning, and daily coordination, so everyone involved is always on the same page.

Preconstruction and continuous estimating are also essential when starting from the finish. JE Dunn’s preconstruction process utilizes continuous estimating on both JE Dunn Dashboard and our propriety Lens software. This approach invites collaboration through active engagement. For example, constructability reviews can be conducted with field resource integration, identifying opportunities for Lean Construction, prefabrication, and off-site packages. A staffing plan can then begin to tell the story quickly, allowing JE Dunn to leverage our team of construction professionals to plan and execute your project.

Identify potential risks early and be ready with turnover plans
A project’s risk register can identify the level of transparency your project team delivers. Good risk management practices require notes of all known risks to prepare for the future. Examples such as safety/quality, cost, and schedule risks, are identified early, and appropriate solutions developed and communicated.

Where required, well thought out mitigation plans are developed with trade partner collaboration, after discussing potential avenues with the project team. A complete project team includes your construction manager and commissioning agent, to allow collaboration as early as possible.

Early engagement on a commissioning and turnover plan builds a shared expectation of quality regarding project commissioning scope, activities, deliverables, and milestones for operational readiness. Items such as turnover packages and system manuals are socialized among all project stakeholders upfront, agreed to, and memorialized in the commissioning plan and project schedule.

The increasing demands of life sciences have affected every aspect of the industry, and construction is no exception. To work at warp speed, the entire team needs to move at warp speed as well. And the best way to make that happen is by starting from the finish.

The post Start from the Finish: The Warp Speed Approach to Successful Construction first appeared on JE Dunn Construction.