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The CIF’s Bob Carr (left) and Roger Lane announce the NOVA Award winners for 2001

National winner of NAWIC’s “Block Kids” program, Sylvester Rutherford of St. Louid, Mo., with Anona White.

Bob Carr introduces Christine K. Miller, the CIF’s first Construction Innovation Scholar

Nova Award Juror Bob Valentine (left) and Russ Donaldson, both General Motors Corp., with Don O’Connell, Great Lakes Construction Alliance.

Tom Boensch (left), Michigan State Construction & Building Trades Council; Sam Hart, Operating Engineers Local 324; and Frank Mamet, Clark Hill, Detroit.

Forrest Henry (left), Greater Detroit Chapter, Associated General Contractors of America, with Mike Buck, Association Benefits Co.

Keynote speaker Mike Hawes (left) from NASA, with Nova Award Juror Mike Goodrich of BE&K and CIF Vice Chairman Bob Carr.

When finished, the International Space Station will span an area approximately the size of a football field.

Sunrise breaks for the International Space Station, in this artist’s rendering.

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2001 NOVA Awards
draw a capacity crowd

A sellout filled Laurel Manor in Livonia on March 15 to honor five construction innovations during the internationally renowned 12^th annual NOVA Awards. Organized by the Construction Innovation Forum (CIF), the event drew construction industry representatives from around the world, including project owners, contractors, labor leaders, equipment manufacturers, and suppliers.

The 2001 NOVA Awards honored the developers of a side-grip sheet pile driver, a laser scanner that develops 3D data profiles on “as built” structures, a pothole patching truck, a flood fighting system that uses steel supports and common shipping pallets, and a special effluent tunnel ventilation system. Presenting the awards were CIF Chairman Roger Lane, from DTE Energy, Detroit, and CIF Vice Chairman Robert I. Carr, Ph.D., P.E., from the University of Michigan.

The Great Lakes Construction Alliance is one of more than 40 sponsors of the CIF. “Since its beginnings back in 1987, I think the CIF has done a fine job with the NOVA Awards,” said Donald O’Connell, the GLCA’s managing director. “It’s a program the Alliance can enthusiastically promote, because it provides inspiration for all segments of the industry while promoting best construction practices. The awards are of major interest to labor, project owners, contractors, design professionals and others, not only because they showcase developing technology and methods, but they also broadcast to the public just how truly creative the construction industry can be.”

More than 600 tickets for the 2001 NOVA Awards were sold, making the banquet one of the largest gatherings this year of construction industry professionals in southeast Michigan. People got to mingle, socialize, and network.

“This ceremony provides a great opportunity for people in the construction industry to meet with everyone and share ideas,” said Tom Boensch, secretary-treasurer of the Michigan State Construction & Building Trades Council, during the reception before the awards presentation. “There are a lot of great products and concepts that get nominated for the NOVA that really spark your imagination and open your eyes to new directions, whether they go on to actually win the award or not.”

Before the NOVA Awards were presented, Carr introduced the CIF’s first scholar, Christine K. Miller, who is currently working on a Ph.D. in construction engineering and management. Selected annually, Construction Innovation Scholars are to be sponsored with scholarship grants to support their work as half-time research assistants on assigned construction innovation topics. The scholars will also be responsible for identifying, soliciting, and obtaining nominations for the NOVA Award and for preparing original papers on their assigned topics for publication on the CIF Web site.

As a civil engineering student at the University of Michigan, Miller was honored as a Marian Sarah Parker Scholar and received her bachelor of science degree magna cum laude. She also received her U-M Masters of Science in Construction Engineering and Management with better than an “A” average. During her master’s study Miller was a National Science Foundation Fellow and a Great Lakes Center Scholar.

Miller has worked six summers as a laborer performing all phases of bridge construction for her father’s construction firm, Miller Development, in Mt. Pleasant. She also has short term experience with Boone & Darr Mechanical Contractors, Granger Construction, and Project Advisors International.

A special presentation was made by Anona White honoring the national winner of the National Association of Women in Construction’s “Block Kids” program. Sylvester Rutherford, a 12 year old from St. Louis, Mo., was on hand to share with the audience his dreams of one day becoming an engineer.

The 2001 Nova Awards were presented to the following innovations: 

• Movax Side-Grip Sheet Pile Driver developed by Yrjö Raunisto of Unisto Oy of Finland. The vibratory pile driver mounts on a standard hydraulic backhoe, gripping sheet pile, pipe, and H-beam piles on the side to enhance such operations as lifting, driving, and extraction. With the addition of a special plate, the driver can also be used for vibratory compaction. The backhoe operator controls the device from the cab, driving piles at any angle. Because the pile initially is gripped on the side, pile length usually is not limited by the excavator’s lifting height. As the top of the pile nears the surface, the driver can be disconnected from the side and reconnected to the top of the pile to complete the installation.

• 3D Laser Scanning of “As Built” Structures developed by Ben Kacyra at Cyra Technologies. A specially designed laser scanner driven by a laptop computer directs a laser beam over a structure to determine the position of its various features in 3-dimensional space. What’s created is a “cloud of points” generated by laser pulses that are reflected by the structure back to the scanner. These thousands and thousands of points can then be interpreted by the system’s software to generate a 3D model of the scanned structure, developing accurate “as built” data. This solves the often difficult problems that can arise when you try to mate new building additions and equipment to existing facilities. Potential interferences can be identified before final design is completed and construction commences. DTE Energy made use of this system in retrofitting its four unit Monroe Power Plant with selective catalytic reactors, with the Washington Group serving as contractor. Use of the system on that project generated an estimated $10 million in savings.

• Pothole Patching Truck developed by Steve Simons of Rosco Manufacturing Co. and Scott Kleiger of Patch Management, Inc. Fully automated, the road maintenance and repair unit sprays tack coat, liquid asphalt, and aggregate into potholes using a telescoping swing boom. It is operated by one person who sits protected in the cab of the truck, reducing labor requirements while enhancing worker safety. A high volume blower is first used to clear the pothole. The same nozzle then sprays a tack coat into the hole. Hot asphaltic cement and aggregate are combined with forced air and shot into the hole. The valve controlling the asphalt is shut off and a topcoat of aggregate is placed by the swing boom. The pothole patching truck is designed to be used in temperatures as low as 0° Fahrenheit.

• Pallet Barrier Flood Fighting developed by Sten-Magnus Kullberg of Geodesign AB of Sweden. The Pallet Barrier uses a system of folding steel supports that can hold from one to two sets (stacked vertically) of conventional wood pallets. The pallets are inclined against the supports and can be stacked to form a wall up to 6 ft. tall. A plastic liner is wrapped over the pallets. The system can form a line in any direction and follow ground contours vertically and horizontally. Erection is said to be almost 50 times quicker than sandbagging. One person can assemble 650-1,000 ft. of the system in a day. The system is being used for flood protection in Sweden, Holland, and Germany.

• Effluent Outfall Tunnel Ventilation System developed by a team led by Kenneth S. Chin of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. Two divers died during the removal of safety plugs at the base of effluent outfall risers used at the end of the 9.5 mile effluent outfall tunnel for the $3.5 billion Boston Harbor Project. To complete the plug removal, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration required ventilation of the entire tunnel. A cost effective and innovative approach to meeting this requirement, the Effluent Outfall Tunnel Ventilation System was designed to use one of the outfall risers to cross-ventilate the tunnel. To install the system, a jack-up barge was placed over the riser from which safety plugs had been removed, 110 ft. below the harbor’s surface. A caisson attached to the barge was installed, dewatered, and left open to the atmosphere over the riser. Then the diffuser riser’s manhole cover was opened to the atmosphere through the caisson. Fresh air was pumped through the tunnel from land. Fans were used to pull the air from the tunnel through the riser to complete the ventilation.

After the presentation of the NOVA Awards, W. Michael Hawes, deputy associate administrator for space flight development at the National Aeronautics & Space Administration, provided a keynote address on the assembly of the International Space Station (ISS). When complete the station will cover an area nearly the size of a football field, providing a laboratory for scientific research in virtually zero gravity conditions. Fifteen different countries are making contributions toward its construction. Details about the ISS can be found on NASA’s website at www.spaceflight.nasa.gov.

Audience response to the 2001 NOVA Awards presentation was positive.

“I thought it was the best I’ve seen and I’ve been coming to the NOVA Awards for a long, long time,” said Sam Hart, business manager of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 324. “The awards, and the way they presented them this year, were something you could quickly grasp. You didn’t need have to be a Ph.D. to understand what they’re all about. They absolutely made common sense.”

Nominations are now being accepted for the 13^th annual NOVA Awards, which will be presented on April 25, 2002. For nomination forms and requirements contact the Construction Innovation Forum, 43636 Woodward Avenue, Suite 300, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, U.S.A. 48302, Phone: (248) 409-1500, Fax: (248) 409-1502, e-mail: info@cif.org. You can also get nomination forms and requirements at the forum’s Web site at www.cif.org.

By Guy Snyder

This page last updated 04/17/01 by RICarr