The C-Building Innovation Centre project has run into a handful of problems for months but now remains on track to be completed by April 2018.
Todd Schonewille, head of Physical Resources at Algonquin, says that delays are to be expected for smaller work tasks within a bigger project but they shouldn’t disrupt the overall project schedule.
“It’s not uncommon to find things that we didn’t expect,” said Schonewille, “but we’re always mindful that it doesn’t affect the overall schedule.”
The C-Building main lobby has been disrupted from Dec. 31, 2017 to Jan. 19, 2018 due to the C-Building Innovation Centre project.
“Keep this in mind; this is by far the most disruptive construction project this college has ever done because it’s right in the middle of the campus,” declared Schonewille.
Schonewille believes there are many ways to avoid a delay in a schedule, including hiring more construction workers or paying them overtime to get more work done in less time.
“You’re always encountering things that you don’t expect; reacting to it and managing it so that it’s not negatively impacting your schedule, or your budget, or the quality of the space you’re going to get,” said Schonewille. “At the end of the day that’s what construction and project management is all about.”
Among the problems was dealing with unexpected occurrences such as the fire that took place in the construction zone on Dec. 14, 2017.
Not only is Algonquin expecting to meet the deadline with the C-Building Innovation Centre project, it also decided late last year to renovate the basement or lower level in addition to everything else.
“That’s a nearly $8 million dollar renovation,” said Schonewille. “It’ll be quite a dynamic environment.”