Randolph Construction Services

RCS Keeping the Nation Safe

In support of the Department of Homeland Security through Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, RCS has been involved with the design, construction, and deployment of radiation detection systems at various locations across the country. The goal of the Radiation Portal Monitor Project (RPMP) is to detect and interdict nuclear and radioactive materials at all U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) ports of entry in order to prevent weapons of mass destruction from entering our borders.

Since mid 2004, RCS has supported the RPMP program performing over $14 million in deployments across the United States. Sites we have supported include but are not limited to: Port of Miami, Ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles and Seattle. Port of Charleston, Ports of New York, New Jersey and Stanton Island. JFK Airport and Dulles International Airport.

This is an ongoing effort that involves initial site investigation, design and construction of the deployment of RPM's at various seaports across the country when local Port Authorities are either unwilling or unable to perform the work directly.

The physical deployment of these systems include placing CBP detection equipment on Port Authority property. They are located in the truck exit gate areas of a commercial terminal operator (the tenant) that must maintain commerce at or above current volume.

The site work involves underground utilities, electrical and communications cablings, foundations and placement of GFE technologies. The tenants are often unwilling participants, but must be involved in the process to mitigate potential impacts to their successful commercial operations. There are multiple stakeholders with varying levels of interest in each deployment. It is imperative that all parties are in agreement and in a mode of mutual cooperation for the successful deployment of these systems. We bring the parties together for a common goal.

After a conceptual layout for deployment has been achieved by various stakeholders, RCS conducts an initial site investigation to ascertain the overall deployment (design and infrastructure construction) strategy for the RPM systems. RCS interviews and pre-qualifies engineering firms experienced in seaport site and terminal design and construction activities; prepares an RFP for the design work, manages the bid process, prepares a comprehensive bid evaluation report and proposal to prepare a detailed deployment design. RCS then manages the design and coordinates the process to integrate all the stakeholders' concerns and successful operation. RCS performs multiple organized design and constructability reviews during the engineering phase. RCS then prepares an RFP and repeats the process for the construction activities. RCS places a construction manager on site throughout the physical construction process.

Performing this and maintaining stakeholder cooperation is the most challenging aspect of the program. RCS ensures the authorized stakeholders’ commitment by depersonalizing the issues and relying on facts to develop results. This is done at the highest level of authority but also at the operations level. In the end, the CBP officers and exit gate operators must have a mutually operable system to work with. Communication and resourcefulness is the key to our success.

This program is a rapid deployment process and is in a constant technological evolution. RCS must be flexible in the design and construction management to enable the program's evolution to continue and yet maintain schedule and budget allowances. RCS works directly with the research staff and engineers to facilitate the most feasible implementations of these evolutions in a continuous design build process.

During the construction phase, the most common issue is maintaining safe construction operations without impeding commerce. Although detailed safety and traffic management planning is conducted, this is handled on a day-to-day basis to ensure success. Our schedules are prepared in a critical path method with "float activities" that can be performed when traffic, weather, or unexpected delays manifest. This tactic has enabled us to shorten the typical (non-RCS) deployment construction times.

For more information regarding this program please visit http://rdnsgroup.pnl.gov/pdf/protecting_us.pdf.