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In Oregon, summer can be a busy, hectic season for construction. That鈥檚 why industry professionals with substantial summer work experience say effective communication and planning are needed to ensure projects run as smoothly as possible.

Luis Caraballo, director of facilities for Salem-Keizer Public Schools, knows about the hassles of working in summer months. A $242.1 million construction bond is going toward a wide range of projects. He oversaw many during the past two summers, and a 10-week construction period started last week, for 69 projects totaling nearly $30 million at 24 schools.

鈥淭he largest challenge is understanding that given the breadth of work at these facilities, only authorized staff need to be present,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e worked with our communications department to ensure that building occupants and other interested stakeholders understood that most sites would be off-limits to anyone but construction staff.鈥�

This can be difficult in a school because some teachers still need to perform work in summertime, and at least some of the school鈥檚 support systems need to remain operable. That鈥檚 why Caraballo said it鈥檚 important to make sure all stakeholders are informed about projects and invested in them.

鈥淭he key is solid planning and buy-in from the total system of affected stakeholders 鈥� staff, leadership, community, special interest groups, etc.,鈥� he said. 鈥淟eadership provided by our superintendent and (school) board, which clearly gave all stakeholders context of how they were part of this important process, worked very well to allay fears and concerns and to get building occupants to participate in helping with packing, moving and staying out of the building.鈥�

Don Hamilton, a spokesman for the Oregon Department of Transportation, said the agency relies on communication to plan for the busy season. For example, region 1 鈥� which covers the north Oregon coast, through the tri-county area and to Hood River 鈥� has 40 work zones planned through the summer paving months.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no easy formula,鈥� Hamilton said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about putting in the time doing a lot of talking with a lot of people.鈥�

For ODOT, that may start by ensuring that if a southbound lane is closed on Interstate 205, for instance, then there won鈥檛 also be a southbound one closed on its counterpart, Interstate 5.

ODOT officials can write rules into contracts so that companies must work out project plans approved by the state agency. Contractors can be fined if they don鈥檛 follow those plans, Hamilton said.

Sometimes, projects nearly bump into one another. For example, TriMet is planning for a light-rail bridge across the Willamette River near the South Waterfront District while Southwest Moody Avenue is being improved, the Block 49 housing project is being built, cleanup is taking place at the Zidell site and work is set to start on the Life Sciences Building.

Coordination becomes essential for project owners and contractors.

鈥淲e make a very serious effort to stay in communication with everybody,鈥� Hamilton said. 鈥淭his includes the city, county, TriMet, private firms (and) the public and emergency services.鈥�

Bart Eberwein, a Hoffman Construction vice president, said that when projects are near each other, communication can become chippy in regard to responsibility for flagging a specific road, or making sure a specific area is closed off. The only solution, he said, is for project owners to maintain constant communication.

Eberwein also said public and worker safety can be threatened when projects take place at busy summer locations. Besides using ample signage and barriers to keep the public out of work sites, Eberwein suggested using work weeks of four 10-hour days.

When problems and delays do occur, both Caraballo and Hamilton said the key is to keep everyone in the loop about potential deadline extensions and to start developing solutions. They recommended holding frequent project status meetings and seeking public input.