SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/73468
the actual team that will be performing the construction work. The company may be 50 years old, but the team doing the work is com- posed of the cheapest labor they could find to contract the work to. Reputation—Don't just take the word of the salesperson, call several references, and don't solely rely on the recommendation of the few references they provide. Ask to see the entire list of projects the construction/manufacturing company has worked with and call as many as you have time for. Project Management—This is often overlooked, but affects the work for you, making the vendor selection process much easier, and reducing your cost because prices may have been pre-negotiated with the co-ops. • Reducing the time from contract to construction • Performing the due diligence to ensure quality • Reducing the overall cost of the project There are several regional and national programs that do the leg- PHASE 3: Post-construction entire project from start to finish. It is not very common in the syn- thetic turf and sports construction industry, but finding a company that manages the entire project from a single source is extremely im- portant. Working with one vendor, rather than several, can save you time and money. During the construction of your field, you should maintain a constant stream of communication with the project manager and your salesperson. Expect to receive weekly (if not daily) progress re- ports and make sure you are aware of any issues that may arise dur- ing construction. Remember your established deadlines and hold your construc- tion company accountable. Consider a co-op—Many public institutions have to take the project to bid. But, a cooperative purchasing unit, or co-op, elimi- nates that need and has other benefits, such as: • Assisting with contract creation The number one misconception about synthetic fields is that they do not require maintenance. Just like real grass fields, artificial fields need to be cared for to maintain optimal safety and perform- ance. The company responsible for constructing your field should pro- vide some type of post-construction orientation for your facilities department, to educate them (and you) on what needs to be done to clean and care for your synthetic field. In addition to internal maintenance, it is recommended that your artificial turf field be checked for safety before each season. Constructing a synthetic turf field is a long, layered process, much like the field itself. There are many layers (components) and each one affects the others. ■ Ross Clurman, Hellas Sports Construction, can be reached at (512) 250-2910 or rclurman@hellasconstruction.com. www.stma.org SportsTurf 23