Pavement rehabilitation is rarely a simple task, but the complexity spikes significantly when the job site is a 24/7 major food manufacturing facility. This wasn't just a matter of laying fresh asphalt. This project presented a "perfect storm" of logistical constraints. For the facility managers, the pavement construction posed a severe operational risk. Any misstep could halt production lines, delay shipments, and impact the bottom line.
The Challenge
The food manufacturing facility operates 24/7 and features narrow, one-way roadways, limited access points, and time-sensitive dock operations. The pavement construction presented a high operational risk due to several factors:
- Directional traffic constraints
- Continuous truck and dock activity
- A single product delivery port critical to production
- Waste management infrastructure essential to maintaining a clean production floor
Any interruption to site access, deliveries, or waste removal could have directly impacted the facility's operations.
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| Concrete Breaking |
Fine Grading Aggregate |
The Solution
Benchmark provided Construction Phase Services (CPS), serving as the owner’s eyes and ears on site and managed daily coordination between the facility, contractor, and operations team to keep the plant running.
Key CPS Actions
- Coordinated opening a second site gate to maintain inbound and outbound truck flow
- Adjusted construction phasing to preserve dock access and delivery schedules
- Sequenced work at the site’s sole project port during a one-week operational window with no deliveries
- Optimized dock door phasing, reducing disruption from four weeks to two weeks
- Carefully sequenced concrete work to keep a critical compactor dumpster operational throughout construction
- Maintained 24/7 traffic control, signage, and communication across all work zones
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Fabric, Grid and Base Installation
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Concrete Pour
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Project Oversight
Benchmark provided continuous quality control to ensure work met design intent and specifications, including:
- Verification of excavation depths, subgrade conditions, and undercutting
- Oversight of fabric, geogrid, aggregate placement, compaction, and testing
- Drainage structure inspection and final grade verification
- Concrete reinforcement, mix consistency, sawcut timing, and joint sealing
- Asphalt mix verification, placement, compaction, density testing, and yield checks
The Outcome
A disruption to access, deliveries, or waste removal at this facility could have triggered significant failures. Shutting down a production line for even a few hours often costs far more than the pavement repair itself.
Understanding these risks upfront helps develop a CPS plan that prioritizes the facility's needs. By considering the site’s constraints, we transition from consultants to strategic partners in facility maintenance.
With our optimized phasing plan, we completed the project with minimal disruption to the plant's 24/7 operations, ensuring critical deliveries stayed on schedule and high-quality pavement was installed as designed. The project's success has fostered a strong, multi-year partnership, and we look forward to future collaborations.