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B U R N S & M c D O N N E L L


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World HeadquartersBurns & McDonnell9400 Ward ParkwayKansas City, MO 64114(816) 333-9400

Global Practices Business Development Contacts

Aviation & FacilitiesRandy Pope, (816) 822-3231

Business & Technology ServicesJeff Greig, (816) 822-3392

Construction/Design-BuildDon Greenwood, (816) 822-3118

Electrical Transmission & DistributionWalt Womack, (816) 822-3056

EnergyDoug Riedel, (816) 822-3391

EnvironmentalDebbie Ballard, (816) 822-3440

Environmental Studies & PermittingBob Sholl, (816) 822-3154

Healthcare & Research FacilitiesRick Keeler, (816) 822-3244

InfrastructureJim Foil, (816) 822-3180

Process & IndustrialWarren Kennedy, (816) 822-3384

Regional Office Business Development Contacts

AtlantaArnold Olender(770) 587-4776

CincinnatiMartin Eger(513) 563-3553

HoustonJohn Lionberger(713) 622-0227

O’Fallon, Ill.Mark Everett(618) 632-0354

San FranciscoGary Messerotes(650) 871-2926

Washington, D.C.Katherine Goudreau(703) 942-5715

[email protected]

Managing Editor Joe BathkeContributing Editor Margaret PuscheckCreative Services Manager Teri StegmannGraphic Designers Beth Mackey Lee Orrison

© 2007 Burns & McDonnellMarketing & Communications

Want to receive free copies of BenchMark by mail? Visit www.burnsmcd.com/benchmark

Healthcare Facilities: Keeping Pace As the pace of research, innovation and technology increases the complexity of our lives, no industry is affected more than healthcare. Competition among providers, better-informed consumers and increasing construction costs increase the design team’s challenge. To be successful, today’s healthcare facilities must address all of these issues.

Above all, facilities must be flexible and able to adapt to constant change. Their design must be reliable, functional, sustainable and energy efficient. This degree of difficulty makes it imperative that owners select a team with broad experience and expertise.

Burns & McDonnell’s full-service team of architects, engineers, interior designers and consultants provide a range of services not available with any other firm. At Burns & McDonnell, we have the ability to make a difference in the way patients are treated and how they heal. We create environments that are safe, non-threatening and a place to feel healthy.

Our approach is to understand our client’s mission and become a valued member of the project team. We want to take the lead in providing solutions that have real value and that support our clients’ objectives.

Turn to our story on page 9 to discover how we are taking that lead.

Rick KeelerVice President, General ManagerBurns & McDonnell Healthcare & Research Facilities Group

Chattanooga, Tenn.Steve Trusler(423) 265-2996

DenverPaul Fischer(303) 721-9292

MiamiJames Kanter(305) 476-5820

PhoenixBob Schulz(602) 977-2623

St. LouisBreck Washam(314) 821-9016

ChicagoLarry Milner(630) 724-3200

Fort Worth, TexasRodney D’Spain(817) 492-7190

New YorkMartin Durney(973) 884-8701

San DiegoRoss Pritchard(858) 547-9869

Wallingford, Conn.Brett Williams(203) 284-8590

Wichita, Kan.Brian Meier(316) 941-3921

Printed on Recycled Paper


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Technical Q&A: Alternative Cleanup Option

Q: What is electric-resistive heating remediation and what are its benefits?

How it Works Blending Technology and Project Management

(DNAPL) was reduced, making it easier to pump out. Recovered DNAPL is stored in a sealed double-wall tank and periodically transported offsite to a concrete production facility where it will be recycled as fuel for a cement kiln. The cost of construction and operation of the in-situ electric-resistive heating remediation process is estimated to be about half the cost of conventional excavation and disposal. Remediation started in August 2006 and is anticipated to be completed next year.

For more information, contact Joe Chittet, (630) 724-3200.

A: Electric-resistive heating uses common power line frequency electricity to resistively heat soil, bringing the subsurface to steaming temperatures. The heat increases the volatility of contaminants while lowering their viscosity, making them easier to remove from the ground. Burns & McDonnell is using the technique at a former manufactured gas plant (MGP) site in Illinois. From 1883 to 1951, gas for lighting, heating and cooking was manufactured at the plant. Using data generated during pilot studies and site investigations, an electrode and well layout was designed. Two hundred electrodes were required to heat subsurface soils in the remediation area to between 30 and 40 degrees Celsius. At these temperatures, the viscosity of dense nonaqueous phase liquid

Large-scale projects can always benefit from tools that make project management more efficient. If those tools can also improve accountability and transparency, it’s an added bonus.

Burns & McDonnell has implemented a new Web-based GIS tool on one of its largest projects to constantly display up-to-date project information right at the user’s fingertips.

Burns & McDonnell is program manager for a $1 billion project to construct nearly 70 miles of overhead and underground transmission line for client Northeast Utilities.

The tool integrates numerous software platforms to display real-time project information via a user-friendly interface.

Employing Google Earth Professional in this system allows users to “fly over” an area to see the geographic scope of the project and all affected properties.

The project team first developed the concept and design of the tool to organize documents associated with the project. The tool’s scope increased to include project schedule and status information as well as logging and tracking specific property concerns associated with the project. Though this is the first project to use this tool, future projects can benefit from the technology.

A unique component of the tool is the ability to receive and track specific property and/or citizen issues related to a project. The project team regularly receives calls from the public regarding property issues. The team logs that data, which is translated daily as

“flags” onto the GIS interface and mapped on Google Earth Professional. The flags notify field personnel of any issues that exist, commitments that have been made for that day’s work, and track the construction status of every pole, tower and vault along the line.

This GIS interface allows more effective and streamlined communications between the client and its numerous contractors, which translates to more effective communication with the affected community. Moreover, the data captured and maintained in this system can be utilized for the life of a facility or project, not just during the construction phase.

For more information, contact Wes Hardin, (816) 822-4361.

Joe Chittet is a project manager in the Burns & McDonnell Chicago office.

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In-House NewsBob Berry retires Started and led Burns & McDonnell’s first true regional office

News in Brief

In 1989, Bob Berry was handed a one-way ticket out of Kansas City and the challenge to open a regional Burns & McDonnell office in St. Louis. Eighteen years later, that three-person office has grown to three St. Louis area locations and a staff of 120. And Berry, by then vice president and general manager of the St. Louis regional operations, decided it was time for another one-way ticket — this time to retirement.

“Bob Berry made a bold and risky decision when he moved his family to St. Louis and opened what would be Burns & McDonnell’s first true regional office,” said Greg Graves, Burns & McDonnell CEO. “The 500 employee-owners in our regional offices around the country today owe him a debt of gratitude for the success of his efforts.”

Berry, who holds a doctorate in engineering from the University of Kansas, began his career at Burns & McDonnell in 1976. He worked first as an environmental engineer in the Infrastructure Group before being named the group’s director of business development.

Berry recalled that he faced his share of hurdles in building the firm’s presence in St. Louis. “But we stuck with it, and perseverance is rewarding in the long run,” he said.

Breck Washam, who took the helm as general manager of St. Louis area operations on June 1, intends to stay on the track that Berry started the firm on. “Quality work and profitable growth continue to be what we’re all about.”

Washam joined Burns & McDonnell in 1990 after graduating from the University of Missouri-Rolla. In 2007, he was promoted to associate vice president. Prior to that he served as head of Burns & McDonnell’s Energy Group in St. Louis. He is former president of the Missouri Society of Professional Engineers’ St. Louis Chapter and was named Young Engineer of the Year in Missouri in 2002.

Burns & McDonnell Selectedfor Major Transmission ProjectBurns & McDonnell was selected to be the owner’s engineer for Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association’s Eastern Plains Transmission Project. The project includes about 1,000 miles of 500-kV and 345-kV transmission lines as well as construction of four new substations and expansion of eight existing substations. The project is valued at $1.8 billion and is scheduled for completion in 2012.

Agreement Reached to UpgradeCentral Heating PlantBurns & McDonnell was recently selected by the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston for the upgrade of the Central Heating Plant at the Johnson Space Center. The upgrade is part of a master services agreement Burns & McDonnell signed earlier with NASA.

O’Connell ReceivesAWWA AwardsBurns & McDonnell project manager Mike O’Connell received the Missouri Section George Warren Fuller Award for distinguished service to the water supply industry and the Kenneth J. Miller Water for People Founder’s Award for outstanding service as a volunteer in furthering the mission of Water for People at the American Water Works Association 2007 Annual Conference and Exposition in Toronto.

U.S. Senator Attends Ribbon-CuttingU.S. Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) was the main speaker for the ribbon-cutting and dedication of a new facility at Rosecrans Field for the

Missouri Air National Guard 241st Air Traffic Control Squadron in St. Joseph, Mo. Burns & McDonnell was the design-build firm for the facility, which will provide a training home for Air Traffic Control personnel operating from Rosecrans Memorial Airport in St. Joseph.

Bob Berry Breck Washam

Left to right: Burns & McDonnell engineering project manager Charlie Loudon; Tony Bahr, project manager, Missouri Air National Guard; Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.); Charles Sun, Burns & McDonnell construction project manager.


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C H A R A C T E R

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A 1971 photo shows Burns & McDonnell Healthcare & Research Facilities Group leader Rick Keeler soaring to the ceiling of a makeshift Dojo in Cam Rahn Bay, Vietnam, landing a perfect flying side kick to a punching bag hung from the rafters.

“There wasn’t much to do after dark,” Keeler — a former Seabee — explains. “A couple of buddies and I started taking tae kwon do with some Korean contractors there.”

The instructors delighted in teaching Americans the hard way — with kicks that left dents and bruises. Keeler’s buddies quit after a couple of weeks. Keeler kept coming back. Two years later, he left Vietnam as a certified second-degree black belt — with the quiet confidence that he could achieve what he set his mind to.

Building SuccessKeeler’s come up against the same kind of odds in his professional career — and won.

He answers carefully when asked if his success reflects his martial arts training. “I have had some success in competitive interviews,” he says. “But that warrior mentality is different than what Westerners might expect. A warrior avoids a fight — if you feel prepared, you are confident enough that you don’t have to.”

You don’t have to be around Keeler long to realize he lives the principles of tae kwon do — courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit. He has parlayed that strength of character — and a creative, collaborative design approach — into a career-long series of achievements. A Kansas City native transplanted to San Antonio early in his career, he had a hand in many of the region’s healthcare facilities.

His credits include the radiology department and hyperbaric and wound center at Christus Santa Rosa Medical Center, master plans and campus designs for the Methodist Health System in Boerne and San Antonio, and the virology research lab for the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, also in San Antonio. He recently designed a new level-

one trauma center for Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

Facilities That WorkThe morning after a 2 a.m. flight, Keeler is at the office early, in khakis and flannel shirt, for a few hours of catching up before a planned day of showing relatives around his “new” hometown. Mementos of family skiing and motorcycle trips are pinned to the corkboard in his new office. Between fielding a stream of calls on his cell and office phone — apologizing after each — he talks about his goals for the Burns & McDonnell healthcare group.

“We have an opportunity to make a tremendous impact,” he says. “With a common goal, we can combine forces to build things in a way that works. Take hospitals, for example. They have a mandate for a certain percentage of charity care, but are losing the most profitable business to specialty clinics.”

The right facilities can help hospitals compete, Keeler says, by making hospitals more attractive to patients and visitors — who are potential customers — in a way that also reduces costs: emergency rooms designed to eliminate long waits in a common area and require fewer staff. Ventilation systems that lower infection rates. Cooling, heating and power generation systems that reduce energy use — and protect against outages.

“What differentiates us from other architectural firms is a complete range of technical expertise,” he says. “Engineering. Program management. Fire protection. Expertise in emerging energy technologies. And, the level of quality Burns & McDonnell is known for.”

A Gift for ListeningKeeler is known for rapport with healthcare providers, says long-time client Sylvia Davila, president of Hand Rehabilitation Associates of San Antonio. Davila is a physical therapist with a national reputation in her field. Her clinic is located in the Texas Center for Athletes, which Keeler helped design.

Davila’s specialty practice includes molding custom splints for the delicate adjustments required to restore function after a hand injury. Keeler designed ergonomically sound pullout “peninsulas” centered around an adjustable seat, allowing her to keep her patient positioned and materials within easy reach.

“Rick came in and tried to understand what I did,” Davila says. “He asked questions about our functions, our patient flow — he’s just a really good listener.”

Davila says Keeler had a knack for finding consensus when medical doctors within various groups disagreed. “Even though some doctors are known for being difficult, Rick never had a problem,” she says. “He managed to listen and find a way to work things out.”

Keeler’s projects prior to joining Burns & McDonnell included the 17,000-square-foot

Toyota Medical Clinic (left) and the 130,000-square-foot Texas Center for Athletes.


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Picture a technologically advanced nation with knowledge its main export. Where prosperous citizens live peacefully beside others of all nationalities, and children have every educational opportunity the world can offer — without leaving their homeland or culture behind.

Burns & McDonnell is helping make that dream a reality in the State of Qatar.

From a grain of sand …The Pearl


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The Long ViewThe Emir of Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Kalifah Al-Thani, and Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned, have a far-sighted view of Qatar’s enormous oil and gas wealth. They realize it won’t last forever — especially in light of the environmental effects of petroleum use. Their vision is to create long-term, sustainable prosperity for the Qatari people through advanced education, in partnership with some of the world’s largest corporations and most prestigious universities.

More Than a BuildingBurns & McDonnell provided architectural and engineering design of the 144,000-square-foot General Electric (GE) Technology and Learning Center in Qatar’s Science and Technology Park (QSTP).

“This is one of the most unique and visionary projects under way anywhere in the world,” says Burns & McDonnell project manager Mike Roark. “It’s an honor to be a part of it. The building itself is tremendous, but this is about more than the building. It’s what the building represents — giving back to the people, moving Qatar’s oil-based economy toward a knowledge-based economy for the benefit of future generations. This is bigger than all of us.”

Expanding Education CityThe GE Technology Center will be a centerpiece of the Science and Technology Park, located in Qatar’s Education City. Education City rises from the desert just outside Doha. It’s already home to branches of Texas A&M University, Weill Cornell Medical

College, Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts and Carnegie Mellon University.

The GE Technology Center will train aviation, energy, water technology and other business unit personnel in the world’s most advanced technology — and showcase that technology in state-of-the-art educational exhibits.

Technological PearlBurns & McDonnell architects chose the pearl as the central design concept for the center. Qatar was historically a source of fine natural pearls, and the pearl trade remains culturally significant, a symbol of the wealth Qatar has to offer. A rounded glass atrium dramatically evokes the image of the pearl, in a design illustrating balance and symmetry in motion.

“The concept grew out of the idea that just as a grain of sand becomes a pearl, a single idea sparks innovation,” Roark says. “It fits Qatar’s vision of the future and GE’s campaign for Ecomagination. Finding new ways of doing things is critical to protecting our environment.”

Ambitious Design, Aggressive ScheduleThe center will also include a high bay for hands-on training in high-thrust jet

engines, a 150-seat, multi-national lecture hall, a distance-learning lab

for teleconferencing instantly anywhere in the world, interactive

learning centers, a cafeteria and numerous training labs,

meeting rooms, offices and parking.

The ambitious design was delivered on schedule, in less than nine months.

Total Teamwork“Our client was pleasantly

surprised at how cohesively architects and engineers

reached common goals and objectives to deliver a

world-class facility,” says Burns & McDonnell architect Ric Jones,

lead designer for the project. “Good communication and teamwork led to a

building that is unique, yet complementary to the QSTP master plan — on schedule and budget through all phases of work.”

“It was a very aggressive, cooperative effort between us and the client team,” Roark says. “It’s a very high-tech facility. We met the targets with a total team effort.”

For more information, contact Mike Roark, (816) 822-3190.

“The concept grew out of the idea that just as a grain of sand becomes a pearl, a single idea sparks innovation.”


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Introducing Burns & McDonnell’s newest global practice: The Healthcare & Research Facilities Group 10And then there were



Let it be said for the record: Burns & McDonnell President & CEO Greg Graves has nothing against the number nine.

For years, in fact, nine had been a good number for the firm, representing the number of specialized practice groups. But Graves had been itching to make it an even 10. He got his wish in January when the firm launched its newest global practice: the Healthcare & Research Facilities Group.

“The firm was looking for an opportunity to grow and further diversify its capabilities,” explains Rick Keeler, who joined Burns & McDonnell last October to lead the new practice. (See profile, page 5).

Why healthcare? Market research shows that healthcare is a sector poised for continued dramatic growth for many years to come, given the impending retirement of the “baby boom” generation and other demographic factors.

The new group, which is based in Kansas City, is targeting clients and projects in three business areas: hospitals and clinical facilities, research facilities, and facilities for the aging. “These aren’t new businesses for us,” explains Keeler. “It’s just that now they are receiving more focused attention.”

Hospitals and Clinical Facilities Burns & McDonnell has worked on hospital and university medical campuses for years, designing central utility plants and energy-efficient on-site power generation.

The new group will continue to serve those engineering needs while venturing further into the “other side” of the campus with architectural design and other services, says 10-year Burns & McDonnell veteran Rich McKown, who helps direct engineering in the new group. “We are now also targeting large hospitals and healthcare systems with a variety of needs that could benefit from our single-source capabilities,” he says.

The group’s first official project, in fact, is design of a $5.5 million multi-specialty clinic for Brownsville Community Health Center in Brownsville, Texas. Burns & McDonnell is also serving as a consultant on two hospital projects in San Antonio, including a new hospital campus in Boerne, Texas, for the Methodist Healthcare System.

Research FacilitiesAlso falling under the responsibility of the new Healthcare & Research Facilities Group

are the company’s laboratory and research center projects.

University medical centers, pharmaceutical companies and life sciences companies are candidates for the group’s laboratory design services, according to McKown.

“Our St. Louis office, in particular, has extensive experience leading these kinds of projects,” he says.

In recent years, Burns & McDonnell projects have ranged from a major cancer research expansion at the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital in Columbia, Mo., to a Biosafety Level 3-Plus laboratory for San Diego County, to a new forensics laboratory for the St. Louis Police Department. Keeler recently completed site selection and master planning in support of an effort by the Kansas Bioscience Authority to lure a $451 million bioterrorism lab to a site in Manhattan, Kan. Other states in the running for the lab are Texas, Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky.

Facilities for the AgingThe group’s third focus is facilities for the aging: retirement homes, assisted living centers and retirement communities.

“The trend is toward continuing care retirement communities that provide a full range of care for seniors, from independent living to assisted living, to specialized nursing care for persons with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia,” Keeler says. “The idea is to create a community that individuals can enter when they’re healthy, and move within as their needs change.”

Keeler was the design principal for one such community that was constructed recently near a Texas hospital. “We even built a bridge over a creek separating the two properties so a golf cart could be used to transport residents to the hospital,” Keeler says.

“With the population aging, we project this to be a growth market for years to come — and an area where we can make a difference in quality of life.”

Burns & McDonnell provided site design and layout and conceptual building design for the National Bio & Agro-Defense Facility.

H E A R T L A N D

CON S O R T I UMBioAgro



What’s Different Here “One thing that makes our healthcare practice different from most is the sheer range of capabilities we offer,” Keeler says. “We are one of very few firms where a client can solve virtually any challenge from architectural design through design-build.”

Contrast that with traditional methods, where an architect serves as a hospital’s primary consultant, subcontracting civil engineering services; mechanical, electrical and plumbing design; landscaping and other services. “Sometimes you’ll have a team with 12 subconsultants working together,” says Keeler.

Building a Practice from the Ground UpOne of the best things about developing the new healthcare practice, says Keeler, is the opportunity to build it from scratch. “We have the advantage of not having any baggage,” he says. “We get to start fresh.”

For one thing, that means taking state-of-the-art Building Information Management (BIM) computer software to a new level. “We’ll soon be one of the few firms in the world where everyone is 100 percent integrated on a single BIM database,” says Keeler.

What’s the difference? A big one, according to Keeler.

“A team with a dozen subconsultants has to rely on the least common denominator in software,” he explains.

Burns & McDonnell’s BIM system, for example, has a 3-D modeling tool that enables designers to create a virtual hospital with diagrams that can be exploded to whatever level of detail is necessary. The accompanying database keeps track of every item in the facility — from the number and location of smoke detectors to the amount of concrete required for construction. This information is especially helpful during construction, when it can be used to support estimating, material purchases and scheduling — while minimizing errors and omissions.

“The more complex a project gets — and healthcare projects tend to be complex —the more there is to monitor and maintain,” says Keeler.

When construction is finished, Burns & McDonnell can turn over the BIM system to the owner. “The software makes it possible to automate the maintenance system, the procurement system — everything in the physical plant,” he says.

In fact, Keeler envisions working with clients to create databases of existing hospitals and health centers, which can then be used for maintenance and other purposes.

For now, however, Keeler is focusing on building the practice itself. “We’re looking for the best mix of people and projects,” he says. While he and his team put the pieces together, they are drawing on resources from around the company.

“We’re lucky,” he says. “We have the luxury of doing things the right way.”

For more information, contact Rick Keeler, (816) 822-3244.

Keeler was principal-in-charge of architectural design for the Texas Center for Athletes (above) featuring a surgery center,

physical therapy center and pharmacy.

Among Burns & McDonnell’s Healthcare & Research Facility Group’s project experience

are pharmaceutical and research and development labs.



Revolutionary Labs —From crime scene investigations to high-tech manufacturing to

cancer research, Burns & McDonnell designs facilities for the leading edge.

FORENSICS FOR THE 21ST CENTURYSt. Louis Police Department

Burns & McDonnell provided complete architectural, structural and civil design services for the new St. Louis Police Department forensic lab. The existing forensic lab was in a 1940s-era police building. To operate efficiently and maintain accreditation with the American Society of Crime Lab Directors (ASCLAD), the lab required additional space.

At 40,000 square feet, the new, $7.5 million lab meets the physical criteria for ASCLAD accreditation. Labs and support spaces on the second and third floors are connected to the existing police building next door, with parking for ETV vans and a vehicle-processing bay below. In addition to meeting ASCLAD criteria, the new lab features updated facilities for a safer and more productive workplace.

TOP-SECRET SCIENCETri-Service Research Laboratory & Veterinary Building

Burns & McDonnell provided programming, planning and preliminary architecture and engineering services for a 59,000-square-foot tri-service research facility and a 35,000-square-foot veterinary sciences building.

The research building includes animal surgery rooms, animal holding areas, research labs, BSL-3 laboratory and administrative space. The facilities’ mission is to research the effects of radio frequency, laser and ionization radiation on people.

The facilities required special ventilation, cold rooms, autoclaves, deionized water, emergency generators, lighting in animal holding areas, special HEMP RF shielded rooms, class V SCIF security vaults. It follows Department of Defense antiterrorism standards and is designed for LEED Silver certification.

SPACE FOR THE CUREHarry S. Truman Memorial VA Hospital

Burns & McDonnell transformed the Harry S. Truman Memorial VA Hospital’s unfinished basement into state-of-the-art laboratories for cancer and arthritis research. The basement space had to be attractive to researchers. Open, collaborative design, 9-foot ceilings, glass doors and windows, and pendant light fixtures created a bright and well-lit space. The area contains specialized laboratories for immunology research and for design of new radioactive drugs, support facilities and four levels of clean rooms — critical environments that require exacting design specifications. Mechanical systems include a specialized exhaust air system that blows air 40 to 60 feet high into the prevailing wind and away from the building.

The project received the Honor Award from the Consulting Engineers Council of Missouri for excellent engineering design.


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Project: Airport Security UpgradesLocation: St. LouisClient: Lambert-St. Louis International Airport

Project: Natural Gas Plant RenovationLocation: Bushton, Kan.Client: ONEOK

Searching for possible explosives at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport will soon get easier. The airport is currently wrapping up construction of a new $5 million automated baggage handling system that will screen checked luggage for explosives directly from the conveyor belt. The two CTX 9000 advanced bomb screening devices the airport is adding work similarly to MRI equipment, explains Burns & McDonnell project manager Gerry Williams. If the machine detects anything unusual, it will automatically send a photo to a screener for review. If the screener remains suspicious, the suitcase will then be inspected manually. The new devices, which can each screen 450 suitcases an hour, replace a system that requires workers to manually load all luggage from the conveyor belt into a machine for screening. Burns & McDonnell is serving as prime contractor for the system, which was completed in the spring. It is one of approximately 30 projects the firm has under way at Lambert.

For more information, contact Gerry Williams at (314) 821-9016.

Airport Automates Bomb Detection Process

By next spring, a once-shuttered gas processing plant in south central Kansas will come back online, following a $100 million renovation led by Burns & McDonnell. Operated at one time by Enron, the plant in Bushton, Kan., is today owned by ONEOK Inc., a Tulsa-based energy company and the largest natural gas distributor in Kansas and Oklahoma. Under a design-build contract, Burns & McDonnell is preparing the plant to receive natural gas liquids piped in from Wyoming, so ONEOK can then fractionate them into ethane, propane, butanes and natural gasoline. Design of the project’s first phase, which includes modifications to the existing plant and the addition of new processing equipment, is nearing completion, and construction is now under way, says Wayne Kuska, project manager. As the design-build contractor, Burns & McDonnell is responsible for all engineering, procurement and construction on the project, which will require the work of about 60 designers and as many as 250 construction workers. The project is scheduled for completion in spring 2008.

For more information, contact Wayne Kuska at (816) 822-3385.

Natural Gas Plant Makes a Comeback


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Project: Aircraft Maintenance HangarLocation: Bangor, Maine

Client: Maine Air National Guard

Project: Tanjung Bin Power ProjectLocation: Johore, Malaysia

Client: Tanjung Bin Power Sdn. Bhd.

Delivering Peace of Mind to Malaysian Lenders If you’re asking banks to finance the construction of a $1.9 billion project they know little about, it’s important to provide some assurance that it’s a smart investment. That’s why the owners of a 2,100-MW Malaysian power plant now nearing completion first called Burns & McDonnell and Malaysian partner SLP Perunding in 2003. Tanjung Bin Power Sdn. Bhd., the owner, wanted Burns & McDonnell to serve as the lenders’ engineering assistant, providing the technical expertise and support it would need to assess risks. Since then, Burns & McDonnell has continued in that advisory role, reviewing contracts, making periodic site visits, witnessing performance tests, certifying project milestone payment requests and reporting findings to the lenders’ project agent, CIMB Bankers Berhad. Located at the mouth of the Sungai Pulai River, the southernmost tip of peninsular Malaysia, the plant includes three 760-MW steam-electric coal-fired units, the final one of which will be commissioned this summer. The project also includes approximately 62 miles of transmission lines and the extension of an existing 500/275-kV substation.

For more information, contact Hugo Bazzini at (816) 822-4263.

Bangor Gets a New HangarDesign has now passed the halfway point on a new aircraft maintenance hangar Burns & McDonnell is designing for the Maine Air National Guard. Located at Bangor International Airport in Maine, the new “Bangor Hangar” will be used to perform maintenance on the KC-135 aircraft for the Air National Guard’s 101st Air Refueling Squadron “MAINEiacs.” “The planes this hangar will service are used for in-air refueling, enabling the U.S. military to execute global force protection and bolster the air mobility system,” says Mark Zimmerman, project manager for Burns & McDonnell. With its 200-foot clear span, the single-story, 35,400-square-foot structure will be large enough to service one plane at a time. It will also include aircraft maintenance shops and facility support areas. It will replace an existing 45-year-old maintenance hangar. A second phase of the project, including additional maintenance shops, training facilities and command offices, will more than double the hangar’s size. Burns & McDonnell’s services also include architectural, civil, structural, mechanical and electrical design.

For more information, contact Mark Zimmerman at (816) 822-3847.


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Just up the road from Fayetteville, where the University of Arkansas is located, and a little south of Bentonville, home of the Wal-Mart Corp., is Springdale, Ark. — a once-small town that’s become one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities.

ChallengesSpringdale was quickly outgrowing its wastewater treatment plant — and it had an added challenge: reducing very high levels of phosphorus in the plant’s discharge.

“Water entering the plant contained two to three times the typical levels of phosphorus,” says Burns & McDonnell project manager Steve Yonker.

Stop “Recycling Phosphorus”The high level of phosphorus in water entering the plant was partly due to the substantial poultry industry in northwest Arkansas. The problem was compounded by a solids

treatment process that returned some of the phosphorus removed by earlier treatment steps to the water.

“The plant was actually recycling the phosphorus,” Yonker says.

The treated, de-watered solids were applied to agricultural land, a common practice but one that was reaching limits due to the high nutrient load. The disposal method allowed residual phosphorus to re-enter the water supply via runoff, adding to the problem.

Find Time and SpaceThe state of Oklahoma, downstream on the Illinois River, threatened legal action over water quality issues.

Springdale called on Burns & McDonnell to add plant capacity and solve the phosphorus problem — within the footprint of the existing facility and without putting the plant out of service during construction.

SolutionsStore, Then TreatWhen designing the new plant layout, Burns & McDonnell engineers looked for ways to fit the expansion and upgrades into the available space.

“We were able to determine that in certain parts of the plant, minor modifications could increase capacity,” says Yonker.

Engineers increased peak flow capacity without having to construct additional clarifier units. That reduced the expansion footprint and the project cost. New pumps, including an influent pump station capable of pumping up to 40 million gallons per day (MGD) of wet weather flow helped solve the problem. The increased pumping capacity would allow Springdale to handle peak flows within the capacity of previously constructed storage basins.

WATER MAGICMaking phosphorus in plant effluent disappear

Simplified biological treatment basins reduce nitrogen and

phosphorus to low levels.


[O N S I T E ]

New Aerobic Process and Plant UpgradesTwo 5.5-million-gallon biological treatment basins were designed for a new process that aerates the wastewater and introduces favorable bacteria to remove phosphorus and nitrogen. Sand polishing filters were added to remove even more phosphorus.

Upgrades and improvements were made to nearly every part of the plant, including a new grit removal process, new chemical feed system, expanded laboratory and administration building, and a new, two-story sludge process building with a conveyer system that carries dewatered sludge to a truck-loading bay for disposal.

A new plantwide Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system used radio controls to incorporate the new processes into the existing process train. It now monitors both the original and new facilities. To keep the plant online during construction, engineers designed the additions in modules so that tie-ins could be accomplished in a matter of hours.

OutcomePhosphorus Reduced by 95 PercentThe plant expansion and upgrade increased Springdale Water Utilities’ capacity from only 12 MGD with a peak of 30 MGD, to 24 MGD with peak capacity of 68 MGD.

And the phosphorus?

“A short time ago, Springdale’s plant was seen as a major contributor to the region’s phosphorus problem,” Yonker says. “All that’s changed. The plant now reduces phosphorus levels by 95 percent and is producing among the best water quality of any plant in this part of the country.”

The project was also completed under the original budgeted cost.

For more information, contact Steve Yonker, (816) 822-3102.

Sand filters polish the water.

The finished product — clean water into Spring Creek.

Influent pumping station delivers up to 60 MGD.

Tests in lab addition keep an eye on plant performance.


[N E E D T O K N O W ]

In February 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report finding a 90 percent to 95 percent likelihood that increases in global temperature since the mid-1900s are due to human activities.

With that news, simmering concerns over global warming came to a full boil.

State, local and federal agencies began discussing ways to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, particularly CO2. With new regulations likely, companies are looking to launch and measure “green” initiatives now.

“There are two ways future regulations seem likely to take shape, a carbon tax and/or ‘cap and trade,’” says Burns & McDonnell air quality specialist Jerry Bauer. “A tax on all carbon-based fuels would pass through both industry and consumers. The cap-and-trade approach would set CO2 caps that are ratcheted down over time. Corporations would be allowed to buy and trade CO2

‘allowances.’ ”

How to Measure?While it’s easy to demand that industry reduce CO2 emissions, the devil is in the details. Reduce them from what levels? Beginning in what year?

“One of the problems is that there’s no single, accepted standard for quantifying greenhouse gases,” says Burns & McDonnell Environmental Group program manager Grant Smith. “International organizations have developed standards for conducting GHG inventories, but there is some uncertainty as to how emissions are correlated to production ratios.”

Smith and Bauer advise companies that voluntarily report GHG inventories to follow the generally recognized industry standards for conducting an inventory — the World Resources Institute Greenhouse Gas Protocol and ISO 14064-1.

It’s important for image-conscious companies to compile environmental data in advance of mandatory GHG limits. Watchdog organizations such as Ceres, a coalition of

Environmental scrutiny puts businesses on the hot seat.Help is available to find the answers they need.

GREENJUST HOW

ARE YOU?

environmental and investor groups, publish ratings of companies’ sustainability — with the lowest scores often going to firms that make little information available on their approach to environmental issues.

Green Report CardsA growing number of corporations are detailing their environmental efforts in annual sustainability reports, partly in response to investors’ demands, partly in anticipation of coming legislation. Some reports include a GHG inventory.

Burns & McDonnell helped AMR, the parent company of American Airlines, prepare its 2007 sustainability report. The report includes a GHG inventory that calculates carbon emissions by comparing emissions to the fuel consumed per revenue-passenger mile, also called the “intensity ratio.” The report can be viewed online at www.aa.com/content/images/amrcorp/amrerr.pdf

Burns & McDonnell has helped clients’ business operations become more sustainable through energy audits, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®), combined heating and power systems, air quality control, and other services. It helps them design and implement programs and evaluate results. Now, it is helping corporations compile this information in a concise format that can be presented to stakeholders and investors.

For more information, contact Grant Smith, (816) 822-3223.


[O F F L I N E ]

Dan Pearson is happy to do his part to help ease Southern California’s energy crunch. Even if that means relocating a native desert tortoise to a new burrow now and then.

Working from Burns & McDonnell’s San Diego office, Pearson is serving as environmental program manager on one of the firm’s largest transmission projects: the construction of 350 miles of new transmission line for Southern California Edison. Burns & McDonnell is serving as owner’s representative on the three-year, $1 billion project.

Designed to increase the energy supply for SoCal Edison’s 13 million customers, the project includes 230 miles of 500-kV transmission line that will carry power from west of Phoenix to just north of Palm Springs, Calif., with an additional 40-mile line connecting two substations. A second 80-mile segment of 220-kV and 500-kV transmission line, dubbed the Tehachapi Projects, will bring planned wind farm power generated within the state to consumers.

Pearson’s focus, however, isn’t on the transmission lines themselves, but on the plant and animal life that could potentially be impacted by their construction.

“Because the lines will pass through a national wildlife refuge and other protected areas,” he says, “we are obligated to protect the desert tortoises, bighorn sheep, fringe-toed lizards and other threatened and endangered species that make their homes in the path of the lines.”

The job is, arguably, a perfect fit for Pearson. A biologist who recently retired from SoCal Edison, Pearson was named 2007 Wildlife Professional of the Year by the Western Section of the Wildlife Society. He is also a member of the Desert Tortoise Council.

About those tortoises: “One of our responsibilities will be to check for desert tortoises at all the tower building sites,” he says. “If we find a burrow, we’ll excavate to see if any are there. If so, we’ll be relocating them

to artificial burrows away from theconstruction.”

The construction schedule, too, will be designed around the protected animals’ mating patterns and other needs. “Bighorn sheep, for example, generally prefer the steep terrain of the mountains where one segment of the line is to be built,” he says. “So there’ll be no construction from November to April, which is the lambing period for the ewes.”

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

“The environmental regulations on a project of this size are, without question, complex,” says Pearson. “But non-compliance will shut the work down. That’s why our goal is 100 percent compliance.” And somewhere in Southern California, a Stephens’ kangaroo rat or coastal gnatcatcher just breathed a sigh of relief.

For more information, contact Bob Sholl, (816) 822-3154.

a Tortoise’s Protecting endangered species is Job One on $1 billion Southern Cal Edison transmission line project

“We are obligated to protect the desert tortoises, bighorn sheep, fringe-toed lizards and other threatened and endangered species that make their homes in the path of the lines.”

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