BJ's Wholesale Club Disaster Recovery
Grocery
The Project
During a heavy summer rain storm on a Saturday evening in July, part of the roof covering in the receiving area of BJ’s Wholesale Club #102 in Akron, Ohio, collapsed. The accident occurred just past midnight while overnight Team Members were restocking the Club.
The Team Members heard what sounded like tornado-strength winds and steel groaning. All Team Members gathered together in the restrooms at the front of the Club, and just after reaching safety heard the steel roof crashing into the Club.
The damage was extensive – over 8,000 square feet of roof had collapsed, power was out and all sprinkler lines were broken. Water entering the Club after the collapse flooded the entire sales area, damaging thousands of dollars of merchandise. In addition, loss of power caused all refrigeration systems to fail, also resulting in additional merchandise losses.
An emergency call was placed to QPM on Saturday evening by the Director of Construction, requesting project management services including immediate disaster recovery and construction management services. QPM’s Certified Project Manager was selected to complete the initial site assessment, as well as oversee the construction repair and remediation. BJ’s requested the repair to be completed within 14 days, since the store would have to remain closed until deemed safe by local officials, during the clean-up.
The QPM Solution
QPM’s Project Manager reacted immediately and contacted the BJ’s Maintenance Contractor, a Structural Engineer, Insurance Adjustor, Loss Prevention Manager, BJ’s Regional Manager and BJ’s Club Manager to coordinate an emergency, on-site meeting to assess the storm damage early Sunday morning.
Upon arrival, the team assessed the damage both above and below the roof collapse and determined the immediate need was to brace the standing structure, which would allow the removal and demolition of the collapsed materials. Broken sprinkler lines coupled with all of the roof water that entered the club had left 3 inches of water flooding the sales area and damaging countless pieces of merchandise, refrigerated cases and miscellaneous racking.
The QPM Project Manager identified four key steps in planning the remediation and repair:
- Stabilize the remaining/surrounding structure;
- Demolish and remove the collapsed roof material;
- Clean and sanitize the flood-damaged areas;
- Reconstruct the collapsed roof area.
To maintain the 2-week clean-up timeframe set by BJ’s Wholesale Club, the demolition of the collapsed area started immediately that Sunday afternoon. The QPM Project Manager obtained an Emergency Use Permit and assembled a local team of contractors including demolition experts, electrical contractor, sprinkler fitter, carpenters and plumbers to begin the work.
Stabilization/Demolition/Cleaning
After terminating all utilities, shoring of the structure was the first priority. The collapsed area of the club had to be properly braced to prevent any additional collapse of the remaining building. Once shoring of the structure was completed, the stabilization work passed inspection by Summit County and the crews were able to begin demolition and removal of the collapsed materials.
Flooding and loss of power in the club caused major merchandise damage and the clean-up of the flood water, sanitizing of the floor and racking, removal of all perishable food items and non-perishable product needed to also begin immediately.
The QPM Project Manager coordinated the disaster clean-up contractor to begin removal of the flood water and sanitization of the entire club, arranged dumpsters for product disposal and storage containers for any merchandise that was salvageable. In addition, the PM developed a tracking mechanism to assist the store personnel in recording all damaged merchandise as it was removed from the cases or racks, to insure accurate records were being kept for both insurance and loss damage purposes.
Upon completion, the local Health Department arrived on site to review and approve the clean-up and disposal, prior to the Club being allowed to begin their re-merchandising duties.
Reconstruction
To insure the area requiring reconstruction would be ‘off limits’ to both store personnel and customers, a temporary wall structure was built to separate the area from the rest of the newly opened Club.
The QPM Project Manager worked closely with the Structural Engineer and also hired a local architect to create the necessary construction drawings to obtain the required building permits. Once approved, the QPM Project Manager was responsible for ordering the necessary materials to reconstruct the area, managing all of the trade contractors and the construction schedule to complete both the roof and interior store repairs.
The Results
The QPM Project Manager successfully ensured that Club #102 reopened for business within an extraordinary 2 weeks of the disastrous incident, satisfying the client’s goal. He received special recognition from BJ’s Director of Construction as well as the Asset Protection Manager for the extra attention and effort he provided on the project to accommodate the client’s immediate needs for the Club’s reopening.
“During the extreme clean-up efforts over the next two weeks in preparation for reopening the sales floor, not a single Team Member was hurt. Everyone acted in a safe and secure manner, during reclamation of the building. The team really pulled together to get up and running again as soon as possible.”
Dave Buckley
BJ’s Wholesale Club
Asset Protection Manager
