Industry Axis

Project Dylan

Project Dylan is a new prototype fulfillment center for Amazon. The warehouse building has an approx. footprint of 700,000 SF slab on grade and another 1.95 million SF of elevated deck. The exterior is clad with 330,000 SF of full height composite insulated tilt-up panels. The panels are non-load bearing for gravity but as a VE alternate on the project, the panels do carry large shear forces for seismic loading.  

With the tallest panel standing at 81’-1” tall, Concrete Strategies (CSI) set a company record for the tallest tilt-up panel ever erected on a project and an industry record for the tallest composite panel ever constructed. This was accomplished utilizing an innovative composite panel design by Needham DBS.  Meadow Burke introduced the Super 62 which was used on this project.  The composite panel industry is on the frontier of emerging design technologies, the innovation is ripe to propel our industry in to the future.

MTM Expansion

May Technology & Mfg, Inc. (MTM) celebrates 55 Years of business with an Open House to showcase their new expansion and other upgrades made to their facility on May 16, 2019.

Founded in 1964, Ernie May began his business with a tooling machine and a small shop. Ernie’s sons, Steve and Reno May, learned the business from their dad and both joined the family business. With advancing technologies, Steve and Reno were instrumental in growing the facility to a high-speed CNC Machining and Tooling operation. Steve and Reno are proud to showcase the new building while preserving much of the history. The tour noted the original building footprint and the museum, just off the lobby, showcases and preserves many of the machines, tools and furniture used throughout the years of operation.

With the launch of a new name and a new logo, Needham DBS, formerly Needham & Associates, is sharpening the company's focus on providing time and cost savings while maintaining high-quality work for contractors and owners.

Jeff Needham, CEO of the company said, "Needham has integrated Design Build Steel, formerly a sister division, into the fold of services we provide. Our industry needs more hands-on engineers, someone who can take the project from concept, to design and detail, and to the field, making sure there are no gaps. Our structural steel framing systems and design-build delivery system provide contractors with precious time so they can focus on construction. Needham DBS was an early adopter of BIM and uses Concurrent Design and Detailing to accelerate construction schedule. Time, higher industry quality standards, and low project cost all come together for our clients."

Mike Stein and his Daughter attend State of the City.

Needham DBS’ Mike Stein attended the Mayor’s 2019 State of the City address for Lenexa, KS on Wednesday, February 20, 2019 at Hyatt Place & Lenexa Conference Center.

A few of the highlights of the presentation by Mayor Mike Boehm, in his 17th address:

Jeffrey Needham, Needham DBS, sponsored by the Concrete Promotional Group (CPG), presented "Composite Tilt-Up Panels - The Future of Tilt-Up Walls" to the AIA Nooniversity held on October 10, 2018.  The presentation explores the current state-of-the-art in composite tilt-up panel construction and explains developments in design methods for tilt-up composite panels.  The difference between solid panel design and the two-wythe composite design will be illustrated and the limitations of the current composite design methods will be shown.  The future of composite panels in tilt-up construction concludes the talk. 

Thanks to Christy Martin, Executive Director for CPG, and the Kansas City AIA for the opportunity.

Needham DBS Board of Directors held their Annual Board of Directors and Shareholders Meeting to present financials to current shareholders on Friday, January 18, 2019. The meeting was held in the Fireside Room at the Shadow Glen Country Club followed by dinner in the Main Dining Room.

2018 Christmas Dinner at Grunauer

Needham DBS' Kansas City Office celebrated the success of 2018 with a year end Christmas Dinner. The dinner was held at Grunauer in Kansas City's Historic Freight House District on Saturday, December 15, 2018.  Employees and their spouses enjoyed an Austrian-German meal of appetizers, dinner and dessert.

Sean Wonderlich passes the Fall 2018 NCEES Principles of Practice of Engineering (PE) Exam. The PE civil/structural exam is a civil breadth and a structural depth examination. The breadth exam contains questions from all five areas of civil engineering. The depth exams focus more closely on a single area of practice in civil engineering. Examinees work all questions in the morning session and all questions in the afternoon module they have chosen. The exam is an 8-hour open-book exam. It contains 40 multiple-choice questions in the 4-hour AM session, and 40 multiple-choice questions in the 4-hour PM session.

Needham DBS appreciates the effort put forth by employees who invest their time and effort to take the exam. Congratulations Sean!

The team that delivered a tilt-up concrete panel solution for the award-winning Olathe West High School project were invited to present at the 42nd Annual Scholer-Peterson Concrete Conference at Kansas State University on February 2, 2019. Jason Blankenship with Needham DBS, along with Travis Downing with McCown Gordon Construction and Aaron Curtis with Lithko Contracting gave a presentation highlighting the challenging design and construction aspects of the project and outlined the process the team used for successfully executing the complex project.

Some of the key points of the presentation were: reviewing the factors in selecting a tilt-up approach, the challenging lateral system design, execution of the segmented arc “black box” panels, detailing coordination, the use of cast-in thin brick and insulated panels.  In addition, the use of BIM for tilt-up panels was discussed. Revit was used for the BIM not only as a design coordination tool, but also as a platform for tilt-up panel detailing, and then leveraging the benefits for construction use.

Engineering News Record, ENR, Magazine spotlights Project Dylan, currently under construction in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

Link to the article E-Commerce Logistics Test Limits of Tilt-Up Construction.  

Karen S. Hand, PE, President of Needham DBS, presented a 2 hour seminar to about 90 contractors for the Fall 2018 Johnson County Contractors Licensing Educational Seminar.  The presentation of "Temporary Wind Bracing of Tilt-Up Concrete Panels" was at 8 am-10 am, October 30, 2018 at the Overland Park Convention Center.  

OSHA regulates the construction of buildings with concrete panels by requiring the panels to be temporarily braced to prevent panels from overturning or collapsing during construction. The Tilt-Up Concrete Association's brace document provides contractors and engineers with detailed instructions to interpret the existing codes and apply the forces to panels during the construction phase of the project.  Significant changes have been implemented since the last version. The guide is intended to be used in conjunction with ASCE/SEI 7-16 for access to the figures and tables. Attendees learned historical background leading up to the current guideline.  Major changes to the TCA Guideline for Temporary Wind Bracing of Tilt-Up Concrete Panels During Construction were presented as well as jobsite safety tips and case studies for bracing Tilt-Up Construction.

Needham DBS' Fort Wayne Office celebrated the success of 2018 with a year end Christmas Dinner.  The dinner was held in the Boardroom at Ruth's Chris Steak House in downtown Fort Wayne on December 8, 2018.  Employees enjoyed an evening of great company, dinner, libations and bountiful desserts.  

The Board of Directors of Needham DBS is pleased to announce the following management changes effective July 1, 2018.

Karen Hand, P.E. is the new President of the firm. Karen will direct all operations of Needham DBS and will also manage the Kansas City office. Karen started her career with Needham and Associates in 1998 after working for two other Kansas City firms. She is a civil engineering graduate of Missouri University of Science and Technology and holds a Master’s Degree in Engineering Management from the University of Kansas. Karen will continue to be a leader in concrete construction on the Board of Directors of the Tilt-up Concrete Association and as a member of American Concrete Institute Committee 551 on Tilt-Up Concrete Design and Construction.

What could make a 72'-6" panel more complicated?  The introduction of a new product.  The iconX composite connectors for insulated panels brought a lot of questions from the tilt-up subcontractor and the general contractor. The project is complex and the panels are very large.  Therefore, the decision to build a mock-up panel was worth its weight in gold.

Prior to the pour, the contractor got hands-on with the iconX composite connector and insulation to develop a marking and handling system to make the project run smoothly. The contractor then studied the sequencing of embeds, welded wire reinforcing mats, miscellaneous rebar placement, iconX connector and insulation installation, concrete placement and finishing and lifting/bracing hardware placement.  

Associated General Contractors of Kansas has recognized two Needham DBS projects in the announcement of the 2018 Awards.  Winners were announced in March and appeared in the Wichita Business Journal on March 9, 2018.

Shulthis Stadium received the "Award of Excellence" for New Construction up to $2,000,000.

The company culture at Needham DBS places a heavy emphasis on higher education, continuing education and career advancement opportunities.

Founder, Jeff Needham, earned a MSCE from University of Kansas in 1980 while working full time. With an appreciation for hard work and an eagerness to learn throughout his career, Needham began offering tuition reimbursement to his employees and encouraged all engineers to take at least core subjects in the master’s level engineering curriculum.

David Mittendorf, Vice President and longtime manager of the Fort Wayne, Indiana office of Needham DBS retired effective September 1, 2017. Dave remains on the Board of Directors and will continue to consult with Needham DBS.

Needham DBS delivered joist and deck to a project site in Wichita Kansas just 6 weeks from award of the steel contract. Although this feat seems routine to our firm, the realization that this is nearly impossible to achieve otherwise is definitely something to brag about.

Needham DBS has long standing relationships with joist vendors and has working knowledge of the detailing requirements for the projects. With the experienced staff at Needham DBS, the joist and deck erection drawings and detailed cut lists are created by our own staff in house. The detailing tends to be the bottleneck for the joist manufacturers especially when approval drawings go out and don’t come back in a timely window. If plant schedules allow room for projects to get in to production on short notice, Needham DBS can provide the list and slip right in to the schedule.

Needham DBS has been working with Cincinnati Architect, FRCH, and Owner, Simon Property Group, on the design and construction documents for the Denver Premium Outlet for the past few years. Contracts for the construction were worked out early summer and the flurry of shop drawings for the 330,000 sq foot complex kept the office busy over the summer. The groundbreaking ceremony with local officials and Simon Property executives was held on October 5, 2017 and construction is now well underway. All tilt up panels have been formed, cast and set in to place. Most of the structural steel has been erected and roofing is being installed over much of the deck.

Located at the intersection of I-25 and 136th Avenue in Thornton, Colorado, the facility will have a fantastic view of the mountains to the West. The open-air shopping center is expected to open in Fall 2018.

Olathe West High School project was selected for the Judges Award at the Concrete Promotional Group Excellence in Concrete 2017 Awards. The award was presented to the team at the CPG Holiday Party & Awards Banquet on November 7, 2017 held at the College Basketball Experience at the Sprint Arena.

Tilt Up Concrete was designed and detailed by Needham DBS. Lithko Contracting LLC was the Tilt Up Contractor for the project. Other team members who worked on the project were Hollis + Miller Architects, McCownGordon Construction, Musselman & Hall Contractors, Summit Concrete, Fodyce Concrete Co Inc., Penny’s Concrete and Braun Intertec.