State Farm Insurance Renovation

Putting a new twist in State Farm‘s marketing tag line, Monsen Engineering Company

was the —good neighbor“ when the insurance company decided to consolidate their

outlying offices at their regional headquarters site in Wayne, New Jersey. Monsen

was selected to provide the design package and Construction Management for the

project, which involved major relocations of people and changes and renovation for

the 100,000 square foot facility. The selection of Monsen Engineering Company was

based on State Farm‘s positive experience on a prior assignment

.

Project Responsibilities

Monsen‘s responsibilities included completing

the design for building permits, coordinating

all personnel moves, which were comprised

of nine separate relocations. Monsen was an

early part of the project team, working as

partners with the client‘s corporate engineer-

ing department in Illinois, ensuring them a

local presence and continuity in meeting their

critical deadlines.

Once building permits were carried out, Monsen went to work coordinating equipment

procurement, most of which was handled by the client‘s central purchasing, and with

the selection of local vendors.

A Fast Track

Monsen‘s primary role as CM required fast track coordination of architectural and inte-

rior design professionals, electrical, telecommunications and data installation contrac-

tors, and the layout and installation of Dow Craft modular wall systems and Steelcase

wall partitions. The project schedule was short - 180 days from concept to comple-

tion, and had to be completed with minimal disruption to ongoing operations in the

building. These constraints meant scheduling work around the business day, as well

as minimizing environmental impact on workers in the facility from fumes and con-

struction materials.

Cost Savings

I

n order to establish benchmarks for accurate cost estimates and to identify any

potential problems, the Monsen team recommended that the work on the first area be

done on a time and material basis. Once completed, Monsen established benchmark-

ing objectives, not to exceed costs and timelines for the balance of the phased proj-

ect.

Throughout the project, the Monsen team proactively offered and delivered time and

cost saving options and suggestions, and worked in an open cost forum, ensuring

proper value for the job. This approach resulted in a 10% savings from the original

GMAX price, and completion ahead of schedule.

The Partnership

This project exemplifies the strength of client/contractor partnership. State Farm

engineers provided the concepts, and Monsen delivered on the detailed engineering.

The client provided equipment purchasing, and Monsen ensured that it was installed

and performing properly. State Farm Insurance and Monsen Engineering

Company were able to create a synergistic unit to focus on the project at hand,

and developed a cost partnership that ensured the right value for the job.