When the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) bid out the new California Health Care Facility inmate hospital in Stockton, scheduling was seen as one of the keys to the project’s success. At the peak of construction there was expected to be an estimated 1,700 workers on the 144-acre job site, making logistics and accessibility major challenges as well. It was those things in mind that insulated standing seam panels from All Weather Insulated Panels were proposed in lieu of traditional metal roofing for nearly two-thirds of the planned 1.2 million square feet of new construction.

It was Mike Harnack, sales manager for Roland Construction of Stockton who started looking at the benefits of using All Weather factory insulated standing seam panels as a means of saving both labor and installation time for roof areas totaling 791,000 square feet.

Roland and the successful prime contracting joint venture team of Clark/ McCarthy worked with CDCR prior to the bid date to make sure that this “alternate” roof system would be acceptable to the State. Not only was it deemed acceptable, it was considered an upgraded material in the final design-build package submitted for consideration. The specification was subsequently amended to include insulated metal panels for the architectural roofing before sub-contractors submitted bids. When the bids were opened, Roland Construction, along with their supplier, All Weather Insulated Panels of Vacaville, CA was chosen.

Design work began in January 2012 for the roofing of the 23 buildings. The 4” thick SR-2 standing seam insulated roof panel by AWIP was selected with a 22-gauge exterior skin coated in Natural Green Kynar paint. With the excellent insulating properties of the insulated metal panel (R-value = 32 for a 4” panel), the darker color could be used and still comply with the project’s LEED Silver Certification.

From January to May and beyond, several mock-ups were completed, including a full-scale mock-up of the building on site. Both the AWIP and Roland design teams devoted many hours to this project. Instal­lation of the first roof panels began in May. Over the course of the next six months Roland would utilize three separate installation crews, each with their own crane, to erect the roof panels. At the peak of production, each five-man crew was installing up to 7,650 square feet of panels in a single day. It is believed such volume would not have been possible utilizing any other type of roof system. Following behind the roof paneling crews were several other crews installing the AWIP 2 ½” DM40 wall panels, flashings, and trims to encapsulate the 192 individual “Light Monitors” on the project. These cupola-like structures, with windows on all four sides, were mounted on the roofs to bring natural light into the buildings’ interiors.

One of the keys to helping speed the panel installation process was the use of a vacuum lifter provided by Automatic Panel Lifting System (APLS) of Auburn, California. APLS provides the Wood’s Powr-Grip® brand vacuum lifters for sale and rental. They are designed to be hung from a crane or forklift, and with the proper attachment setup, are capable of raising panels up to 60’ long and weighing approximately 600 lbs each. With the panels being able to be lifted and released in a matter of seconds, production was increased dramatically over traditional sling methods in order to meet the project’s break-neck schedule.

It was also important for the success of the project to minimize the amount of onsite materials as much as possible. This made scheduling a key component not only to construction, but to manufacturing as well. Since there was not enough space to store 1,200 bundles of AWIP roof panels in any one place, production had to be paced with installation, and a choreographed dance of trucks, forklifts, and installation crews was required to be executed in extremely compact areas.

“This being the largest project Roland has ever completed, as well as the demand for over 50 workers on site, many challenges were created,” said Jim Hoagland, owner of Roland Construction. “Without all the pre-planning with our supplier, AWIP, and their ‘going the extra mile’ for us, we could not have accomplished this project in such an efficient and timely manner.”

The use of AWIP’s insulated metal roof panels for this project proved to be the decision that made this job feasible. Hoagland stated that the reduction in installation man-hours not only saved schedule time, but more than made up for the additional material cost over a more traditional built-up insulation and metal roof system. Bill Lowery, President of AWIP states, “We believe that superior customer service is ultimately what differentiates us from other IMP manufacturers. The sheer scope and aggressive construction schedule on the CHCF project provided AWIP with some unique challenges and the opportunity to support our customer, Roland Construction.”

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