A letter from:
Steve Leavitt, Director of Development
Great River Medical Center

May 23, 2000

 

 

 

To Whom It May Concern:

 

As Director of Development for Great River Medical Center in West Burlington, Iowa, it was my task to assemble a team of contractors for our new hospital in West Burlington with a scope of 450,000 square feet, 1,342 rooms, and a budget of $140 million.

Because of the predetermined construction schedule of 30 months it was necessary to involve contractors who could become full partners with the design team including Great River Medical management, the architect NBBJ, and the mechanical, electrical, and structural engineers of KJWW.

 

We searched the Midwest from St. Louis to Minneapolis, and eventually selected five mechanical contractors to interview. Proctor Mechanical was selected as a team member because of their vast experience in hospitals and highly sophisticated laboratories, several of which they had worked together with KJWW. In all cases, they had proved themselves to be highly successful both in terms of schedule and superior quality. As importantly, the Proctor pre-construction team was innovative and came with ideas that demonstrated that they firmly understood that meeting our projects schedule was an integral ingredient of overall performance. Because of their successful past experience with similar projects and their reputation for integrity, Proctor Mechanical was a contributing resource to our design and construction team.

 

In the fall of 1996, the design team began meeting on a weekly basis. In several instances, methods and materials proposed were modified at Joe Proctor's suggestion, with the result being improvement to the overall project schedule. the innovative thinking helped give the overall project the quick start it needed for all crafts to meet the fast moving process. Joe Proctor was involved in equipment selection as the team met at vendor factories on many occasions making better informed decision for the hospital. During this time, Ray Conway, Proctor Mechanical's Vice President of Estimating, was continually updating and reviewing accurate, detailed cost estimates for the teams review.

 

In October of 1997, as budgets and schedules solidified, Todd White, Proctor Mechanical's Project Superintendent was introduced into the project and began the initial mechanical phase for the hospital. Also, at this time Mike Proctor joined the team as Proctor Mechanical's Project Manager.

 

All of Proctor Mechanical's personnel from top to bottom visibly demonstrated a team spirit and "can do" attitude that I have seldom seen in construction companies.

 

There were many revisions to the hospital including the addition of a 23,000 square foot wing. Proctor Mechanical consistently resolved all issues relative to these scope changes quickly, with minimum impact to the project.

Throughout all phases of the hospital's construction they maintained the highest level of field craftsmanship and technical support. Tech Proctor Mechanical Team consistently demonstrated organizational strengths, met schedules, and maintained quality with daily punch lists, which substantially helped the close out transition.

 

At times there were up to 500 construction workers on this project. Proctor Mechanical's safety program included daily job safety meetings that coincided with the hospitals belief that safe projects are quality projects.

 

Perhaps, the Proctor Mechanical trait I appreciated most as Director of Development for Great River Medical Center was their ability to not only develop their own schedule but to also include all other crafts involved in the specific task and to sequence all of the crafts in the most efficient manner. Proctor Mechanical was consistently able to get "Buy In" from the other crafts in this regard to the point that when I asked one of the hospital project managers what the plan was for a specific area, he answered, "Get behind Proctor and follow them."

 

In short, what Proctor Mechanical brought to Great River Medical Center was leadership at all levels, design, budgeting, project management, craftsmanship, quality, safety, and the ability to quickly close out the project.

I am pleased to recommend Proctor Mechanical for a construction project of any size and of any complexity. They are a company that demonstrated to Great River Medical Center an enthusiastic willingness to meet the challenge of schedule and quality that we at the hospital demanded.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Steve Leavitt
Director of Development