Download - Thayer ecn2013 renovation
STIMULUS, INDEED! MAJOR RENOVATION OF THE FIELD
MUSEUM’S PINNED INSECT COLLECTION
FUNDED BY ARRA
Flies (and other Insects) in Federal Alphabet Soup
OR~~
ECN 2013
Margaret K. Thayer
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
Long title An act making supplemental appropriations for job preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science, assistance to the unemployed, State, and local fiscal stabilization, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other purposes.
Colloquial acronym(s) ARRANickname(s) The Recovery Act, Stimulus, The Stimulus
PackageEnacted by the 111th United States CongressEffective February 17, 2009
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Recovery_and_Reinvestment_Act_of_2009
“Infrastructure Improvements to Support Invertebrate Research at The Field Museum”
1. Keystone: Compactor system in non-beetle pinned collection space, adding beetle collection to free up 3 rooms
2. Hook: New 2-room shared lab area – multiple imaging systems, morphological study, group workspace (Collaborative Invertebrate Labs)
3. Benefit: Expansion space for dry invertebrate collections adjacent to existing; modernize both
The Cast Rüdiger Bieler (PI, Inverts curator) Margaret Thayer (Co-PI, Insects curator) Deborah Bekken (Sponsored Research) Pamela Clayburn (Grants Compliance) Dan Summers, Jim Boone, other Insects staff Jochen Gerber, other Inverts staff Jim Croft (VP, CFO) Tom Chlipala (Project Manager) Kate Webbink & Jared Berent (Videography) Volunteers, students, et al. (collection move)
The Scene
Upper level – 3rd floorLower level – 2nd floor mezzBeetle collection 1 → Collaborative Labs
Invert collection (all)→ Invert collection 1
Beetle collection 2→ Invert collection 2
Non-beetle collection → All pinned insects
The Plot July 2009: Submitted proposal (after
Letter of Intent) – $3.3 M budget February 2010: Began negotiations w/NSF
(several rounds of revised documents, budgets)
September 2010: Grant award letter – $2.78M budget allocated (not actually awarded)
Special ARRA/ARI conditions: No funds for indirect costs, salaries/personnel, moving existing cabinets, modifying elevators; high level of reporting and accountability
NSF · DBI · ARRA · ARI-R2 · LOI · WBS · PEP · RFQ · RFP · WHD · DBRA · §1606 · OMB · CBP
Open bidding, Buy American (~ no exceptions) Construction projects complex, NSF ones more
so, ARRA topped all – each contract required a new spending authorization request to NSF
Reports! Monthly (32) + Quarterly (13x2) + Semiannual DBRA (5) + Annual (2) + Final (2) = 67! + 3 research outcomes in following year
Reports variously via FederalReporting.gov/ fastlane.nsf.gov, later research.gov/ email
Alphabet Soup & Other ARRA Fun
Bidding Structure Complex project: (1) construction (electrical,
mechanical, plumbing, fire protection, woodworking, security) and (2) equipment & installation → ≥ 2 contractors
Flexibility to award insect and invert equipment contracts separately, if desired
Modular RFP (Request for Proposals) and bids: construction, insect cabinets/compactor, insect drawers, invertebrate cabinets/drawers, security
364-page construction manual + 22 pp. equipment + 31 pp drawings + over 100 pp. museum and federal requirements
Contract Awards1) Construction (General contractor
w/several subcontractors)2) Insect equipment (Viking Cabinets as
prime w/subcontracts for compactor system by Spacesaver & installation by SIR)
3) Wooden insect drawers (HH Elements)4) Invertebrate equipment (Spacesaver as
prime w/subcontract for cabinets by Delta Designs)
5) Security (card readers for access control)
Cabinets 5 compactor sections eachwith 7 double rows x 14 cabinets =980 cabinets (766 x 24-drawer, 214 x 21-drawer) = 22,878 drawer slots
E
elevator (non-public)
20ft
Cabinets on 1 fixed + 6 movable carriages per section
E
N24 ft
Reprints & slides on 1 fixed + 5 movable carriages
S wall – fixed shelves for slides & reprints
Shelves: 6 double rows x 9 shelf units ea =108 units (ea 3 ft x 1 ft)
6.73ft
fixed
sec
tion
fixed
sec
tion
fixed
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fixed
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fixed
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End view of one cabinet section:
Compactor Plan
6 workstation cubicles
One Year in: Trouble Ahead Planned adjustments of fire-protection
system to fit 24-drawer cabinets NOT allowable: 19-drawer max, NO old cabinets reusable
Back to the drawing board … and rebidding Remove shelving from compactor → only
cabinets Reduce aisle size → 40 instead of 35 carriages Couldn’t reuse ANY old cabinets as planned →
Buy 339 more than planned: Budget???
Revised Plan 40 carriages, each with 2 x 14 cabinets =
1120 cabinets, all new 19-drawer = 21,280 slots
Some construction under budget: full new plan OK!
Insect Collection Area Before
How It Happened …
End Result
Collaborative Labs Before
M. L. Jamieson photo
How It Happened …
End Result
Invertebrate Collection How It Happened
End Result
Lessons Learned Read the fine print … ALL of it (And again, if
you thought you already did) Have an outstanding Grants Compliance
manager (we did!) Verify all dimensions and building-code issues
as early as possible (beware Catch-22s) Get and test prototypes before
manufacturing (Insects did , Invertebrates didn’t )
Everything will be harder and take longer than expected
Thank you My colleagues on the FMNH-ARI team NSF for funding the project