EDiS site tour:

Along with my construction seminar group, I went and visited the renovations being done
on the Del Tech campus in the heart of Wilmington, DE. When we first came in we were greeted
by 2 men, a project manager and a foreman/project supervisor. This was an exciting visit for me
because I was able to experience a construction site that was not only being done under
renovation, but was already at 50% completion. It’s rare that we get to tour any major
renovations. The project manager walked us through the whole entire project. Firstly, he
introduced us to the main bulk of the project. This area was designated to be an advising center,
cafe, study area, book store, and apparel store. The versatility of this section was pretty
immense, and I was very impressed on how they were able to pack so much into such a little
space. Del Tech of Wilmington was built a very long time ago, so it wasn’t a surprise to me when
they informed me that the hardest part of this renovation is working around or omitting past
construction errors. With the new age of construction, everything can be done a lot more
efficiently and in a safer manner. I thought the most interesting hiccup that they introduced us to
in the project was the fact that they had to replace a whole transformer in the boiler room. The
PM informed us that since Del Tech is a public client, they were pretty lenient on this and
allowed them compensation+time for replacing the defective transformer. Another interesting
hiccup that I was informed about was that the floors of Del Tech leak quite a bit, and a leak
coming all the way from the roof actually stripped a floor down to pure aggregate. I also thought
it was extremely interesting how they were considering every aspect in order to make the area
look natural with the rest of the building. They used different colored bricks because the ones on
the main area of the campus were so old that their natural color has worn off. They used metal
lining and infrastructure because many of the concrete beams that were originally used were
cracking and aging. Lastly, they took us up to the roof area and explained the newest roof
generator they had to build on site, and carry in. They also took us outside and explained to us
that there have been problems with wood deliveries due to COVID-19. This has become a
common topic on many of the construction sites we visit. Lastly, the project manager and project
supervisor talked to us about their career, and how many useful things they have learned along
the way. They explained to us that every project is different, and that’s what gives them
excitement in their work. They also talked about how constant innovation amazes them, and
how jobs that were done by many, can now be done by few. Overall, this visit was extremely
enjoyable and I learned a lot about major renovations and construction.