TMG Construction Corp. won praise from Loudoun County Public Schools for its Herculean effort in helping ease student overcrowding at the Douglass School in Leesburg, VA., last March. TMG had just five weeks to relocate seven office trailers from the Douglass Support Facility in Leesburg to a remote classroom facility at the Douglass Community Center down the street.

"The school system was under a very tight time constraint to ease student overcrowding at the Douglass School," explained Scott Klose, senior project manager for the Department of Construction of Loudoun County Public Schools. The project required completely dismantling, transporting, reassembling and converting the trailers into classrooms before additional students were scheduled to arrive after spring break. It was a tough assignment.

TMG won the contract based on its ability to propose an accurate and detailed schedule and adhere to the project constraints. TMG and its subcontractors worked around the clock, seven days a week to complete the project in time. "We were especially impressed with TMG’s organizational skills in planning and implementation of the project," said Klose. "We were very pleased with how well TMG worked with its subcontractors as well as the quality of the subcontractors. They all performed beyond our expectations to get the job done."

To accomplish the work within the tight schedule, TMG initially assigned two project teams to work concurrently at the two sites. The first team was tasked with dismantling the trailers, installing temporary shoring and preparing the trailers to be moved. The second team was assigned with constructing the new foundations and installing site utilities at the new site prior to the move. This effort was followed by the relocation of the structures, interior retrofit to create classrooms and exterior improvements that included decks, walkways and site restoration.

TMG is proud of the way its business partners and their employees worked tirelessly to complete the project on schedule. TMG’s team included Williams Equipment, which provided rigging and transportation of the office trailers; Gull Concrete, which performed the site concrete and paving; Jett Mechanical, which reconfigured the HVAC system; as well as Delta Painting, Potomac Floor Covering Inc. and TMG in-house forces, which performed the civil and architectural work. RCD Inc. dismantled and reinstalled the electrical improvements, including new electrical services, lighting and integration with Douglass Community Center’s fire alarm, master clock and low-voltage systems.

Most of the work was performed during off hours. "We had to work our schedule around the school, so we would not disturb the teachers or create a lot of dust or debris," noted TMG Project Superintendent Nic Rausch. "The RCD crew was on site one day at 2 a.m., working by their truck headlights to get one aspect of the project completed by the next school day."

Scott Klose offered special kudos to RCD for its willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty to stay on schedule. "When we needed a last-minute switch gear that was located in Pennsylvania, the RCD guys drove up there to get it overnight and then installed it the next morning." Rausch added that Triad Engineering saved TMG more than one week on the project by expediting the county site inspections.

Excellent communication among the key players was instrumental to the project’s success. "So many things can go wrong on a construction site," acknowledged Klose. "If a problem came up, TMG was right on the phone with us, coming up with a resolution within hours instead of days."

At one point, the project looked like a scene from "Extreme Makeover - Home Edition." Delta Painting, Potomac Flooring and HVAC firm Jett Mechanical were all jockeying to put on the finishing touches before the deadline. The end result was five new classrooms complete with computer labs, alarm system, ADA-compliant decks, sidewalks and ramps. TMG Principal Joe Matthews even threw in some landscaping. "He’s very conservation minded and hated to leave the mature bushes at the old site, so we transplanted them around the new classrooms and mulched," said Rausch. "Just doing our part for the environment."

"It’s that kind of going the extra mile that has won TMG more work with Loudoun County Public Schools," said Klose. "TMG has a highly professional and knowledgeable staff, and we're looking forward to working with them on more projects."