Early coordination between contractors, designers and suppliers can help owners identify procurement and scheduling risks before they affect field operations. Barton Malow is using that approach on Michigan State University's Leinweber Center for Engineering and Digital Innovation, where its steel team became involved while design was still underway.
Barton Malow's Self-Perform Steel team joined the project approximately eight months before structural steel erection began. That timing allowed the team to work with the fabrication supply chain before the design and structural package were fully completed.
Several large steel sections for the project are manufactured during limited production windows. Early participation helped Barton Malow secure manufacturing capacity and coordinate material availability while design work continued.
The team also contributed to structural connection planning, erection sequencing and fabrication submittals. These activities provided additional coordination before steel reached the jobsite.
Structural steel erection began in July 2026. The 265,000-square-foot facility is expected to require approximately 2,100 tons of structural steel, with the main laboratory building scheduled to reach structural topping out by the end of 2026.
The value of early coordination became particularly relevant when a nationwide rail logistics disruption threatened shipments from the project's fabrication partner.
Barton Malow personnel worked directly with the fabricator to review detailing progress, procurement status and shipping logistics. The disruption ultimately resulted in a one-week schedule impact, which Barton Malow planned to recover during steel erection without additional cost to Michigan State.
The experience provided an example of how early contractor participation can give project teams more time and information to respond to supply-chain and transportation challenges.
For owners delivering complex higher-education facilities, early contractor involvement can bring procurement, constructability and sequencing decisions into the project before construction reaches critical installation stages.
The MSU project demonstrates how early coordination around structural steel can help manage manufacturing constraints, logistics disruptions and downstream scheduling requirements.
Source: Barton Malow.
