Michael Baker International’s nearly 80-year legacy of service to the U.S. federal government continues today
From the Winter 2019 issue of Signature
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE
Dover Air Force Base (AFB) is home to the U.S. Department of Defense's largest aerial port. Michael Baker recently provided the base with full design services — including civil, structural, architectural, interior design, mechanical, electrical, telecommunications and fire protection engineering — for a new $40 million single bay, 84,176-square-feet, fully enclosed fuel cell capable maintenance hangar for servicing and maintaining both C-5 and C-17 aircraft.
Since much of the work is performed during adverse weather months, the new hangar, when constructed, will support aircraft maintenance, repair and inspection activities under complete cover.
The project included Anti-Terrorism and Force Protection (AT/FP) standoff requirements, relocation of existing roadways and rigorous design efforts to avoid the flight line. New parking areas also were required. A majority of the building area is dedicated to the maintenance hangar bay space (approximately 68,000 square feet), which is supported by office spaces and support functions such as tools / parts storage, mechanical, electrical and telecommunications rooms.
Separately, Michael Baker is designing the addition and renovation of an Armed Forces Medical Examiner System (AFMES) facility at Dover AFB to provide more functional and efficient warehouse space. AFMES provides the DoD and other federal agencies with comprehensive forensic investigative services for fallen service members.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Michael Baker is providing planning, architecture, bridge and general engineering services under several indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts for projects at U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) installations within the North Atlantic division.
Over 50 projects have been awarded since 2007 at locations including U.S. Army Fort Drum and Tobyhanna Army Depot, which provides world-class logistics support for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Systems across the DoD, Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Dover Air Force Base, Joint-Base McGuire-Dix- Lakehurst, Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, and Naval Surface Warfare Center at Carderock.
Michael Baker’s services address virtually every aspect of facility planning and design. Tasks include coordinating and implementing planning charrettes; conducting on-site investigations, antiterrorism and force protection analyses; performing programming, space planning and interior design; developing building systems designs — including HVAC, electrical, plumbing and fire protection systems — and construction cost estimates; reviewing construction submittals; responding to contractor requests for information and preparing as-built plans. Assignments include developing designs for building renovations as well as new construction.
FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY
Michael Baker’s relationship with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and its predecessor agencies spans nearly 50 years. We provide outreach and risk communication expertise, program and project management, hazard mitigation, engineering and information technology services to support multiple contracts that help the agency fulfill its mission of helping people before, during and after disasters.
Michael Baker is the managing partner of Resilience Action Partners, FEMA’s national Community Engagement and Risk Communication (CERC) provider for the Risk Mapping, Assessment and Planning (Risk MAP) program. CERC engages with communities and individuals to help them take steps to reduce their risk of disaster loss.
As a member of the Resilience Action Partners team, Michael Baker helps communities understand their risks and take action to protect what is important to them. In addition to supporting FEMA Headquarters with national initiatives, we have teams co-located with each of FEMA’s 10 regions to help state, local and tribal communities across the United States become more resilient.
Michael Baker has a long history of successful project delivery, combined with extensive FEMA program experience and a strong commitment to making our nation more resilient through better community preparation, more strategic long-term community planning decisions, and increased ability to bounce back after a disaster.
NAVAL FACILITIES ENGINEERING COMMAND SOUTHWEST
Michael Baker is providing civil engineering services for projects at various government installations located in the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest (NAVFAC SW) area of responsibility, which includes California, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, with the possibility of supporting additional projects worldwide. NAVFAC is the systems command that delivers and maintains quality, sustainable facilities, acquires and manages capabilities for the Navy’s expeditionary combat forces, provides contingency engineering response and enables energy security and environmental stewardship.
Michael Baker is supporting large projects under the Military Construction (MILCON) Program.
“This contract builds on Michael Baker’s more than 25-year track record of delivering exceptional service to NAVFAC SW,” says Trudi Lim, P.E., Michael Baker’s San Diego Office Executive and NAVFAC SW Program Manager.
BUREAU OF OVERSEAS BUILDINGS OPERATIONS
Michael Baker’s Cost Management Practice provides cost estimating services and value engineering services for the U.S. Department of State’s (DOS) Bureau of Overseas Building Operations (OBO), which provides safe, secure, functional and resilient facilities that represent the U.S. government and support federal staff outside the U.S. Over the years Michael Baker has worked on projects in 115 different countries.
Michael Baker’s estimators and core group of teaming partners integrate DOS/ OBO requirements, local pricing, productivity challenges, security requirements and other factors into cost estimates, which are used as the basis for client cost estimates in the federal procurement process.
“With our deep understanding of construction initiatives outside the continental U.S., we are often within two to three percent of the contractor’s bid price,” says Mark Childs, Vice President - Cost Management, Michael Baker. “We are involved from the beginning of the project through final design, so we assist in keeping projects on budget throughout design, which aid OBO in budgeting the project before the bidding process begins.”
U.S. CORPS OF ENGINEERS, EUROPE DISTRICT
Michael Baker recently earned an indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity (IDIQ) Master Planning contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Europe District.
This contract prequalifies Michael Baker to compete for work that will help USACE Europe District deliver engineering, construction, stability operations, and environmental management products and services for the Army, Air Force, and other U.S. government agencies and foreign governments throughout the U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command areas of responsibility.
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
Michael Baker International is providing architectural and engineering services for the existing General Services Administration (GSA)-owned, 465,000-square-foot, single-story Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Service Center building in Ogden, Utah. The scope of professional services requires: professional architectural, engineering, design development documents, construction documents, specifications, cost estimates, value engineering services, computer-aided design and drafting (CADD), building information modeling (BIM), and postconstruction contract services for the interior and exterior construction.
The IRS Service Center is one of three mission critical facilities for the IRS and is operational 24 hours/day, seven days/week. The building also houses an American First Federal Credit Union branch, Cafeteria Services and a GSA Child Care Center. The project includes space for the approximately 1,800 year-round IRS employees, as well as the 1,000 to 1,700 seasonal employees.
U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
Michael Baker recently completed nearly 24 months of work for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Fort Worth (Texas) District on three Transportation Security Administration (TSA) K-9 dog training facilities located on Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) in Texas. This work continues our 20-plus years of working with USACE Fort Worth District, their Engineering Construction and Support Office (ECSO) and the Regional Planning and Environmental Center (RPEC).
On two of the projects, each an approximately 9,000-square-foot facility for training airport duty bomb smelling dogs, Michael Baker was the architectural engineering designer of record. On a third project, a K-9 dog training campus, we were the master planner, performing all of the initial concept planning activities as required by the TSA and JBSA installation facilities and planning guidelines.
As a result of these new facilities, TSA will now be able to train more dogs and help train other military and law enforcement agencies that leverage the use of K-9s.
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
Michael Baker was recently selected as one of four firms for a Master Planning Services contract supporting the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and has just recently completed our first task order — to analyze existing plans and identify potential gaps in siting personnel. After this initial successful task order, NASA is continuing to issue work to us.
“One of the strengths we bring to our work with NASA is our data-driven approach,” says Rachael Richter, Department Manager – Planning. “We have been able to showcase how we use data to best use facilities and property.”
Other potential services that Michael Baker could perform over the next five to eight years under this contract include working with NASA to identify and plan facilities that support the agency’s overall mission, developing special studies to assist with improving NASA’s facility management and creating websites to showcase NASA’s master plans to the public.
