Minnesota Section American Society for Quality April 2011 Program
Social Responsibility/Environmental Concerns
When/Where
- When
- Tuesday, April 12, 2011
- 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM
- Where
- Crowne Plaza Minneapolis North
- 2200 Freeway Blvd.
- Brooklyn Center, MN 55430
- (763) 566-8000
Registration
Registration Deadline: Friday, April 8, 2011 at 12:00 Noon
There are 2 options to register for this event.
- Option #1: Register and pay Online. »
- Option #2: Contact the section office at 651-779-9820 and leave a voicemail following the instructions. Please make sure that your member number is provided so you get charged member rates. Non-members are welcome!
**IMPORTANT** Please register before deadline to avoid a late fee and guarantee a meal. Only personal checks or cash will be accepted at the time of registration.
Cost
- $25 Members/ $35 Non-Members
- Late Registration/Walk-Ins: Add $5
- No Meal Option $0 - You may join us at no cost using the ‘no meal option’. You are welcome to bring your own meal.
Agenda
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 5:00 P.M. | Registration & Networking |
| 5:45 P.M. | Welcome & Announcements |
| 6:00 P.M. | Dinner |
| 6:40 PM | Target Field (1) |
| 7:45 P.M. | Target Field (2) |
| 8:50 P.M. | Closing Note & Speaker Gifts |
Presentation: Target Field: How to Build a Ballpark
A lot of Minnesotans were bursting with pride when the new Target Field opened for business last spring, but it's a safe bet that the proudest man of all was Dan Mehls. That's because Mehls, in his role as a construction executive for Minneapolis-based Mortenson Construction, was the on-site supervisor for the complicated project, which finished two months early and under-budget. Additionally, having Having collected the most certification points ever awarded to a ballpark, Target Field is the greenest ballpark in America.
"How do you build a $425 million building? You build it one piece at a time. You have to have a very detailed schedule and road map; if you achieve the major milestones, you know you're heading down the path of being done on-time," says Mehls.
“The challenge was not so much the building itself but the site that we built on,” he says. “What made it so tough was we were building on top of an ancient riverbed, that we couldn’t close Interstate 394, and that we had to build it over an active railroad with up to 14 trains per day. Not to mention it was up against the Seventh Street Bridge, which is a major corridor, and we couldn’t shut down traffic.”
The site’s soil, he says, was “extremely sloppy. Sediments had built up there for many, many years. We had to dig down 100 feet to hit bedrock. That made it necessary to drive 3,300 pilings, each 100 feet long, down to solid rock. That’s why no downtown skyscrapers had ever been built there.”
In this presentation Dan Mehls will discuss the challenges associated with the construction of Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins. Challenges that include: building on an old river bed, building over an active railroad and interstate highway, extremely aggressive schedule and downtown site logistics. Mortenson will also describe lessons learned and how it has influenced their approach to construction quality on new projects.
About our Speaker
Dan Mehls has been a construction executive with general contractor Mortenson Construction for the past 10 years. He joined the company as an estimator in May 1988, after graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Stout with a degree in industrial technology. He is responsible for new business strategy and new project acquisition and his duties include positioning and relationship management, marketing and public relations, and oversight of proposal development. He is a member of Design Build Institute of America, American Institute of Architects, US Green Building Council - local chapter, Urban Land Institute, ALA, PLA, University of Wisconsin - Stout, Construction Curriculum Advisory Board and is involved in the City of Lakes Rotary Club, City of Lakes Rotary - International Services Committee Member, and Chairman - Church Building Council.
The many projects Dan has been involved with include Target Field - Minnesota Twins Baseball Stadium in Minneapolis, MN; University of Iowa - Kinnick Stadium Renovation in Iowa City, IA; Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Coralville, IA; Central Library in Minneapolis, MN and the Bloomington Civic Plaza in Bloomington, MN. As Project Manager for Target Field – Minnesota Twins Baseball Stadium, Dan rode herd on all aspects of the project—from conquering its muddy underlying soil at the start to the finishing touches on its restaurants at the end.
Meeting Location Map and Directions
- Crowne Plaza Minneapolis North Hotel
- 2200 Freeway Blvd.
- Brooklyn Center, MN 55430
- From the North:
- Head south on MN-252. Turn right on N Humboldt Ave. Turn right at Freeway Blvd.
- From the South:
- Head north on I-35W. Exit 16A west toward downtown/I-94W. Take ramp onto I-94W. Exit 34 for Shingle Creek Parkway N. Turn left on Shingle Creek Parkway. Turn left at Freeway Blvd.
- From East:
- Go east on I-694/I-94. Take exit 34 toward MN-100. Merge onto Shingle Creek Blvd. Turn left on Freeway Blvd.
- From West:
- Go west on I-694. Take exit 34 for Shingle Creek Blvd N. Turn left at Shingle Creek Blvd. Turn left at Freeway Blvd.