McDonald's: View of Interior Areas

Positive, Proactive, Productive...Project Excellence

Okay, today things just took off and although we were facing a challenge in the schedule opening changes, Woody was determined to make it work. Before long Rick called and let us know the kitchen equipment wouldn't be in until the 12th. Then we got an email confirming a change in the opening date to the 27th instead of the 20th! So we are definitely going to meet our contracted scheduled work. But the real goal is not just to finish but to turn over a PROJECT EXCELLENCE project. Waste Management picked up another load today. The glass crew came to caulk the windows. The concrete crew came to form the sidewalks. The electricians installed the well lights and the tile crew is close to finishing the restrooms. As the photos show the masons are making great progress on the exterior. Good job!!!

Wednesday: McDonald's 360 VIEW

TUESDAY: McDonald's Moves Opening Date

We've had to be extremely proactive in scheduling the work for this project and the crews have had to be agressive to stay on schedule because we've had so many rain, snow and mud days at the beginning of this project. Another challenge has been getting utilities to the site because we are building in a new development. Currently, we are still constructing this building with the only electricity coming from a generator. We received confirmation that the kitchen equipment will arrive on the 5th which is two days sooner than we had expected. Then we received an email informing us of the opening date being moved to May 20th! Woody is determined to meet all deadlines....but this will be a challenge. Our original turnover date is the 22nd of May. So we're going to review all plans this evening and see what crews can work in overlapped sessions to get the work completed sooner. This phase of the job gets a little crazy and it's most important NOT to forget the details. The contractor that installs the kitchen equipment stopped in to inspect the site today. Tile crew continues laying tile, electric work also continues, and the masons are working on the drive thru wall, while the hvac crew continues installing vents. In the midst of all this we have guidelines of things that must be completed before kitchen equipment arrives on Monday.

Overall Work Progress on McDonald's Construction

In the days that the masons have been here, their work has been excellent. Their work is the most visible to the general public driving by. Although I've featured pictures of their work often, I've not mentioned the crew much. Those are usually the best crews...the ones that we forget to say much about. Reason being that they are out on those scaffolds working and just don't get involved with anything else going on in or around the building. They have steadily worked with very limited delays. Again, we can't stress the importance of having a Project Manager (Michael Sawyers) that contracts quality subcontractors that will result in giving us the tools we need to achieve PROJECT EXCELLENCE! Inside the building today, the tile work continued, the electricians continue to pull wire & have started digging the well lights, and the hvac crew started installing vents in the front part of the building.

McDonald's: West Lot

FINALLY! Scheduling the concrete crew has been challenging. But today they were finally able to pour the west lot. The west lot is not a parking area. It is really a lane that goes behind the building. As we've mentioned before, McDonald's designs there buildings with a thought to the future. This lane will easily convert to a dual drive thru station in the future. Meanwhile it allows traffic to flow to the parking available on the south of the building.

McDonald's: Arcade Wall

These are pictures of the arcade wall the framers constructed. Friday's & Saturday's postings show the beginning of this construction and today they finished it up. Now it's set and ready for the masons. As soon as they begin the work I'll post pictures of the stonework in progress.

McDonald's Dining Room Tiled

Sunday is a big NASCAR RACE DAY. Today the race is in Talladega, AL! But the tile crew wasn't at all interested in the Nascar race, they were too busy working on getting all the floor tile down in the front dining and make as much advancement as possible for the other crews return to work on Monday. Given that today is unusually cool & very overcast, we were surprised that they stuck to the schedule and came to work today. Woody was very pleased with their progress. It's been a great work day. Wish I could say the same about the race! Tomorrow we'll have several crews back out to work. Time just flys as we near the end.

Parkway's Subcontractors continue at McDonald's

Today the tile crew worked in the dining room. The framers continued working on the arcade wall. The masons bricked the north side of building. Excellent work day.

TGIF @ McDonald's on Belt Line in Irving

It's Friday and that means the crews are working at full speed trying to wrap up work for the week. We've scheduled three crews to return tomorrow and one crew for Sunday. Today, however, the framers arrived to work on the arcade wall which will later be covered with a stone veneer. I'll post pictures Saturday and Monday that will show the progress of the arcade wall. And then later next week, I'll have pictures of the stone. Definitely had a full house today. The electricians continue to pull overhead wiring & work on the west lot electrical. Tile work in the kitchen continued and tomorrow they are tiling the dining area. The painters finished up tape and bedding. The masons are working on the west wall. We also had the plumbers here working on wall fixtures and floor drains. These crews have worked agressively on this project this week. The advancement has been on schedule for the most part. But as the end draws near we have to remember that our goal is to be awarded Project Excellence. So we'll have to stay on top of the work and make sure not to overlook any details.

We're at the Don't Blink Stage....

The brick work looks great. This is a shot of it now that the scaffolds have been removed. But don't blink because next week a crew will be here to add on some frame work and then the brick will be covered by stone! This is a concept that is difficult to understand if you are seeing it for the first time. The quality and beauty of the brick work freshly finished doesn't seem as if it should be covered up. But McDonald's does a lot of FORWARD thinking and they have great reasons for doing it this way. Below are some pictures of ceiling grid work completed, tile work as it progresses, and view of the drive thru from another angle. Today they delivered the dining room floor tile.

Mid Week and Progress at McDonald's Continues

The concrete company came out and poured the light poles, directional signs, and flag pole. The NUCO2 arrived and the field box was installed today. Ceiling grid work, electrical, tiling, tape & bedding, and masonary work continued. The drive thru area is starting to take shape. Rick Mathews & Ben Simms came to lay out the drive thru area today with Woody.

Before & After Visual Changes

Full House at McDonald's Construction Site

Today started with Rick Mathews inspecting the site. Rick is the McDonald's Reg Construction Manager overlooking this project. He & Woody walked the site and addressed several items that were in question. Michael Sawyers, our Parkway Project Manager, was also onsite for the weekly site inspection. Overall, it was determined that work is progressing on schedule and Parkway & McDonald's managers both were pleased overall. The real surprise came later in the day with a visit from Joe Collins from McDonald's headquarters. It was a real pleasure to have him visit our jobsite. As far as the work for the day, that was busy, too. The tile crew is in the kitchen doing wall & floor. The interior frame crew was finishing hard lid over the service counter & installed more ceiling grid. The masons continued with bricking on east side of building. The concrete crew drilled for the light poles and directional signs. Electricians worked on drive thru and light poles and continue pulling wire inside the building. Best word to describe today would have to be PRODUCTIVE. At this stage of the construction the advancements are more visual and the crews tend to work longer hours in order to meet the turn over deadline.

The pictures show the light poles, drive through islad, the hard lid installation, progress in the bricking, and progress in the tile work.