Cyma Builders is pleased to announce the restructuring of our operations strategy to best align our resources and employees with a focus toward future growth. As always, we continue to maintain the high level of service our clients have come to expect.
Mike Royce remains Vice President of Cyma Builders, responsible for Cyma’s operations and project delivery resources.
Bill Leonard, PE, will now serve as Director, Project Management. This role will build upon Bill’s current responsibilities of EPCM delivery and design management. In addition, he will manage project managers’ performance and the internship program, focusing on quality control and continuous improvement.
Randy Wieder will serve as Director, Field Operations. Randy will manage all field personnel, specifically Cyma’s superintendents and laborers. This includes resource-loading across Cyma’s projects to ensure all job sites are appropriately staffed. Additionally, Randy will be responsible for field staff performance, quality control, and making ongoing improvements.
Dan Baunach will serve as Director, Process & Technology. Dan keeps his current responsibilities for technical GMP projects and he remains our subject matter expert for delivery of these projects. He will also manage the company’s technology platform for information and project controls needs.
Derek Balent will serve as Director, Pre-Construction. Derek will continue to serve in a leadership role over Cyma’s Estimating and Procurement operations.
Tom Santoli will continue to serve as Director, Safety & Health. Tom heads up Cyma’s Health & Safety Department, develops company policies and procedures, and implements the safety program in the field.
The entire Cyma organization remains committed to successful delivery of our clients’ projects. Please feel free to reach out to any member of our leadership team to address any questions, concerns or future project needs.
Cyma Builders recently completed a portfolio of projects for Charles River across their Malvern & Wayne Facilities. The portfolio consisted of a variety of laboratory, clean room and infrastructure upgrades across the two facilities. Click here to check out more details on the ISO 6 clean room!
Cyma Builders and Construction Managers completed a 3,800 SF cleanroom fit-out in Malvern, PA, on behalf of Charles River Labs. The project was started on November 2, 2020, during the height of the COVID pandemic and completed on March 22,2021.
The fit-out of the suite included three ISO 6 main production suites with multiple ISO 7 and ISO 8 entry and exit airlocks. The construction had multiple complexities from a technical and logistical perspective as it involved working seven days a week renovating an existing space adjacent to operational ISO 6 cleanrooms. Temporary washable partitions were installed to prevent construction dust and debris from contaminating continuing operations and construction material and personnel were completely segregated from operational flow. Installing ductwork and piping within the tight space above the new plenum and 104 Fan Filter Units required multi-trade coordination and pre-planning.
This project was initiated the first week of November 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown in Pennsylvania. Early in the process, Cyma identified how the pandemic would impact the project from a cost and schedule perspective and advised the Client on how it could impact their end-date of March 22, 2021. The Client utilized this feedback and made revisions to certain long lead equipment to minimize the impact of the longer lead times due to COVID and the Cyma team worked with their subcontractors to accommodate the revisions. As a result, many of the cost and schedule risks associated with the long lead items and COVID pandemic were successfully mitigated. Cyma was also able to effectively manage their subcontractors on-site and ensured that all PPE and social distancing requirements were always maintained. The project did not result in any documented cases of community spread during the team’s four-month presence on-site.
Cyma Builders has recently achieved mechanical completion on a 15,000 SF Central Utility Plant Expansion for a confidential client in Jacksonville, FL. Check out the flyover of the new facility below and read more about the project in the profile linked here.
Cyma Builders was contracted to build an expansion to an existing Central Utility Plant in Jacksonville, FL. Not only did this project present technical challenges based on the complexity of the MEP systems and controls being implemented, but the COVID-19 pandemic created manpower, shipping, and fabrication issues that contributed to difficulties faced in completing this project. Those challenges were ultimately overcome, and the systems installed were tied-into production utility lines.
The building construction included a 15,000 square foot building erection with pre-tensioned, load-bearing, precast panels on the exterior. The footprint of the building was logistically constrained by an adjacent alcohol storage building, so our team pushed for a design change to precast for fabrication off-site. The structural package included ground-level columns and roof-level framing for the new deck. In addition to the shell structure, there was also a large site work package that included demolition of an existing restroom building, new concrete sidewalks, and driveway, and underground sanitary, stormwater, and electrical distribution. The new building is conditioned by a new 25,000 CFM custom Buffalo AHU.
Several pieces of MEP equipment were installed around a robust compressed air system that included five 2796 CFM centrifugal units, two rotary screw compressors, two reciprocating compressors, all associated dryers, and six 2560-gallon air receivers—provided by Atlas Copco. Two 2100 GPM dual-cell cooling towers and two 375 GPM fluid coolers were furnished by Marley, and two 1400 ton York chillers were also installed. To support the new mechanical equipment, two 5000A switchboards and a 5000A switchboard expansion were fed. Rather than sequence the compressed air controls through a localized Atlas Copco system, and third-party vendor built an architecture with graphics that integrated with the existing Honeywell BMS system.
There was a lot of heavy pipefitter work surrounding the new equipment. A 12” compressed air line and 16” chilled water line ran across a pipe rack extending from the new CUP to the roof of the existing manufacturing building across the street. In addition, a 1500 linear foot steel rack was erected across three roofs to bring chilled water and compressed air distribution to three separate areas of manufacturing. Once the new systems were introduced, Cyma Builders executed demolition of existing cooling towers, air compressors, and chillers at the existing building to transfer function to the new CUP equipment.
Overall, this project had several design, logistical, and pandemic-related obstacles that were overcome through the input and persistence of the Cyma team. Despite these challenges, the project finished under budget within the schedule that was dynamically updated over the course of the project.
Cyma Builders and Construction Managers is pleased to announce the successful completion of a major fit out project located at a new office and testing building in the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The project was started on July 22nd, 2020 during the height of the COVID pandemic and was approached in two phases.
The first phase included the fit out of 43,000 SF of office space requiring completion by November to accommodate enhanced social distancing needs for their employees. The work included general office space, private offices, a town hall / break room area, four bathrooms, and general support spaces. At the onset of the project, a risk analysis was performed identifying critical infrastructure concerns that would prevent on-time delivery of the space. Cyma determined the new heating hot water and electrical infrastructure designed to support both phases would not be complete in time for the opening of the new office space. The team mitigated the risk by temporarily providing power to the 2nd floor from the existing service to allow the client to achieve their scheduled move in date. The first phase was completed in approximately 16 weeks with approval of occupancy on November 20th, 2020.
The second phase began approximately one month after the first phase and included 27,000 SF of new lab space to increase the client’s capacity to perform clinical testing and development. Phase two posed complexities from a technical and logistical perspective as it involved the purchase and integration of new infrastructure, including two air handling units, two chillers, two hydronic boilers, a low-pressure steam boiler, and a new 480V electrical service. The new equipment required tie-in to existing systems that were supporting active lab functions in the building. Cyma reviewed the drawings and existing systems and developed a comprehensive list of over one hundred tie-ins. The list was utilized to identify critical shutdowns impacting the client’s existing operations and allowed coordination to maintain the overall project schedule while accommodating the client’s business needs. Cyma was also able to ensure there was no unplanned outages to the client’s lab functions while this project was performed, and thus no impact to the client’s business.
This project was initiated in Early April of 2021 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. Cyma identified early on the pandemic would impact the project from a cost and schedule perspective and was able to advise the client on how it would threaten their required end-date. Using this knowledge, the client was able to prioritize areas critical to their business which the Cyma team worked to accommodate. As a result, many of the costs and schedule risks associated with the pandemic were built into the project execution plan, and any impact was successfully mitigated. Cyma was also able to effectively manage the subcontractors onsite and ensure that all PPE and social distancing requirements were always maintained, including through peak manpower of 97 active personnel. Subsequently, the project did not have any documented cases of community spread throughout the eight-month time frame of the project.
The second phase of the project was completed on schedule and the client took occupancy of both phases on March 10th, 2021.
My name is Greyson Messenger. I am 24 years old and a senior Construction Management student at Thomas Jefferson University East Falls in Philadelphia, PA. Since January 2021, I have been interning with Cyma Builders and assisting in project management operations on multiple projects while simultaneously being exposed to the many dimensions of construction management in a real-world setting. Prior to my internship at Cyma, I worked construction as a masonry laborer, landscaper, and commercial green roof installation in Philadelphia and the surrounding area. This field experience coupled with my college courses has given me a well-rounded introductory understanding of what it takes to be a successful and effective project manager.
During my internship, Cyma Project Managers, Superintendents, and Safety have consistently set a great example for workplace professionalism and have imparted a wealth of knowledge in just a few short months that has helped me to better define what I seek to accomplish and achieve in this industry. I am confident this, along with my education, has set me up for success and will be one of the experiences I am most proud of as I enter the professional environment. I will be graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management in May 2021 and plan to continue learning as much as possible and working towards being an effective project manager and of benefit to whatever organization I am a part of. Regardless of where I end up post-graduation, I am extremely thankful to have had the opportunity to work at Cyma as I believe it to be an invaluable experience and a great hands-on introduction into the world of construction project management.
GREGORY OBERMEIER, ASSISTANT PROJECT MANAGER
In December 2020, Gregory Obermeier successfully completed an accelerated academic program graduating Magna Cum Laude from Thomas Jefferson University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Construction Management. He first started working at CYMA Builders and Construction Managers as a part-time employee in 2016 as a Field Assistant. This experience drove Gregory to develop a passion for working in the Pharmaceutical Research & Development sector that further evolved in 2019 when he was advanced to an Assistant Project Manager. During this time, Gregory was able to work on a high-profile R&D Laboratory Renovation Project to support future cell therapy initiatives. Ultimately, he was able to further his knowledge, by working side by side with an experienced project team that allowed him to see a project from beginning to completion through planning, organizing, and managing day-to-day operations.
Prior to working at CYMA Builders and Construction Managers, Gregory worked as a Field Service Technician for a property management firm providing seasonal maintenance to condominiums. From an early age, Gregory always demonstrated a strong work ethic and entrepreneurial mindset from his first working experience at the age of twelve as the founder and owner of Obermeier Lawn Services. This company flourished while he attended La Salle College High School, which prepared him well for the next chapter of his life at Thomas Jefferson University.
At this time Gregory, is working as an Assistant Project Manager who strives to provide a high level of efficiency and dedication to all CYMA Builders’ clients. In the future, he plans to further his education by pursuing a master’s degree in business administration.
