MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, the authority overseeing the construction of the Minnesota Vikings US Bank Stadium, recently announced that the stadium project has passed a goal that 32 percent of the construction workforce be comprised of minorities. Working on the project are Iron Workers Local 512 (Minneapolis) and Danny’s Construction Company.
“Minnesota set a goal in 2012 for 32 percent of the workers on the US Bank Stadium project to be minorities,” said Iron Workers 512 Business Manager Barry Davies. “According to the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, we are sitting at 37 percent minorities.”
Minnesota also set a specific goal for women on the project. “Almost 10 percent are women, which is more than the six percent goal set by the state,” Davies added.
“I am extremely proud of the accomplishments of our crews on the Vikings’ US Bank Stadium Project,” said Danny’s Construction Company President and IMPACT Management Trustee Alissa Schneider. “Local 512 did a great job using creative methods of outreach. Our Joint Apprentice Committee has focused on increasing apprentice retention and graduation rates by changing our entrance methods, incorporating field trips, mock-ups and mentoring programs to our apprenticeship classes.”
“When we first heard about the state requirements, we felt the challenge ahead of us, “said Davies. “But we reached out to the community and to the churches to get the people they recommended.”
Local 512 ironworkers and Danny’s Construction Company worked to complete the project as effectively as possible. “We actively used Building Information Modeling techniques to evaluate the structure and plan for and prevent erection problems in the field,” said Schneider. “All the technology and quality control allowed us to build the super truss from the outsides to the middle.”
The ironworkers worked so efficiently that when the day came to connect the two sides together in the middle, it fit so well that the connection was accomplished before the morning break.
Danny’s Construction Company and Local 512 also worked to complete the project with minimal safety incidents. Daily collaboration between the in-house engineering team and the ironworkers and operators was imperative to an efficient and safe performance.
“Our safety support team included two ironworkers who have taken IMPACT’s Safety Trained Supervisor Construction prep courses for the STSC certification,” said Schneider. “These two are now focusing on safety positions and were vital to the safe completion of the project.”
“We are extremely proud to have exceeded the goals of the project,” added Davies. “This was a higher percentage mandate than we’ve seen, but we have proven we have the best, most dedicated and safest workforce in the market.”
“We are delighted to report that so far our contracts on this facility have resulted in the issuance of over 4,700 meaningful paychecks for hard-working, professional people,” Schneider said.