Mortenson Consolidates Six Woodward Manufacturing Plants into Single High-Tech Facility

CHICAGO, Ill. — Mortenson Construction has turned an empty 334,700-square-foot warehouse into a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant for Woodward, Inc.'s aerospace components business in suburban Chicago, Illinois. The $90-million project, designed by Ghafari Associates, consolidated Woodward's engineering, R&D, production, testing and administrative operations from a half-dozen locations.

In addition to the Niles Campus, Mortenson is the builder for Woodward's new Lincoln Campus in Fort Collins, Colorado that will include a state-of-the art Industrial Turbomachinery facility as well as its new headquarters.

The new high-tech facility in Niles offers much greater efficiency and flexibility to meet the needs of customers for Woodward's industry-leading electromechanical flight control and utility actuation systems, fly-by-wire cockpit control systems, high-performance sensors, electric motors and electromechanical components. To easily accommodate new workstation configurations as manufacturing processes change, Mortenson constructed a grid suspended from the ceiling and ran conduit and piping for gas power, vaporized water, nitrogen, waste removal and data. Since the existing building did not allow for a raised floor, it placed the grid at an accessible height of 20 feet above the floor versus attached to the 35-foot ceiling. Mortenson also installed new mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems using existing and new ductwork on the roof and outside of the building.

Other enhancements include a series of rooms for stress-testing plane parts that include vibrating tables and extreme temperatures. The second floor, which overlooks the manufacturing and testing operations, features an open floor plan with conference rooms, gathering spaces, R&D labs, flight simulator and tables for disassembling finished parts that is designed to encourage easier collaboration among managers, engineers and R&D professionals. Woodward also has added a cafeteria next to the manufacturing floor that is open for both shifts.

The far-reaching use of mobile and digital technology on the job by Mortenson and craft workers helped the builder meet Woodward's ambitious construction goals. With just nine months to complete the project, Mortenson began by using a 3-D laser scanner to accurately map the building's ductwork and piping. It then developed a virtual model of the entire structure.

During the project, Mortenson placed touchscreen TV monitors on the job, site as well as in the construction trailer, so workers could easily pull up the latest work plans, drawings, checklists and models. The construction team used iPads and a Mortenson app for smart phones to open blueprints and other project documents stored in a Box folder and work through punch lists. The tablets also made it possible to make inspections paperless by using electronic forms.