• Posted: January 27, 2021
• better construction, Construction Technology, KB Advanced Technologies (KBAT), Northern Trust

When Northern Trust called Powering Chicago member KB Advanced Technologies (KBAT), a Newport Industries company, about a massive building overhaul, KBAT President Ron Roeder knew his team was right for the job. Nearly three years later, in May of 2020, KBAT completed the project at the city’s iconic “Big Red” building at 333 S. Wabash Street, part of Northern Trust’s relocation to what was formerly known as the CNA building. It was a momentous moment, thanks in no small part to the tireless work of the team at KBAT, which completed the construction in only seven months.

Over the course of the project, KBAT’s team of 25 technicians completely overhauled 492,000 square feet of office space spread across 17 floors in the building. They installed a new riser system and more than 1.8 million feet of network cable — everything from audio-visual cabling to security cabling to sound masking and more. It was one of the most extensive projects in KBAT’s history, and it crossed the finish line right on schedule.

To complete the project efficiently, KBAT relied heavily on its pre-fabrication shop. By constructing cabinets there and shipping them to the project site, the team at KBAT was able to significantly reduce complications and waste, all the while maintaining a standard of excellence in craftsmanship.

“We had over a hundred cabinets that we built in our pre-fab shop and had shipped over, so all the interior and guts of the cabinets weren’t dirty on the job site,” Roeder said. “Given how much construction was going on in the building, it allowed us to unbox, mount all the equipment, and then palletize these cabinets with all the equipment pre-installed. We didn’t have all the cardboard and all the waste and all the trash on site as a result — we took care of all that in our shop, and we shipped everything fully assembled and ready to set in place.”

One of the most challenging parts of the project was the riser system KBAT installed, forming the backbone of the building’s network. With work underway to distribute approximately 36,000 feet of ribbon fiber throughout the building, KBAT discovered a roadblock on one of the floors, necessitating a total redesign of the riser system in only a few weeks.

“We had to come up with a solution for them quickly, and it was a very aggressive schedule,” Roeder said. “We utilize pre-fab because it helps us meet and exceed expectations in situations like that.”

Other elements of the office buildout included a wireless access system that enabled wall-to-wall wireless connectivity on all 17 floors occupied by Northern Trust and the installation of nearly 2,000 speakers as part of a sound masking solution designed to reduce noise distractions, increase privacy and improve comfort. Once everything was installed, KBAT technicians also worked with the Northern Trust IT group to test and turn up the network equipment to ensure it was installed and configured properly. All told, the project was an overwhelming success.  

“We’ve done projects of this magnitude before, as far as the work goes, but what set this one apart was the number of different systems that we were working on,” Roeder said. “We also were contracted directly by Northern Trust, the end-user, rather than being under the umbrella of a general contractor. It took quite a bit of planning on our part to coordinate with all of the other trades working in the building, particularly on an accelerated schedule. We’re very proud to have met every deadline and delivered exactly what the customer was looking for.”

KBAT is a Newport Industries company. To learn more about KBAT’s services and other projects, please visit its website.

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Featured image of 333 S. Wabash is attributed to Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons