Whitehall Commerce Center

Due to the business climate, infrastructure, strong workforce, and global competitiveness, Virginia was selected to be the location of Amazon’s new e-commerce warehouse. This new shipping hub was designed to have a structurally sloped steel deck with mechanically attached TPO membrane atop polyiso insulation. Raymond was brought on to provide quality assurance inspections. Our inspections ascertained whether manufacturer and industry standards were being met and if the contractor was in compliance with construction documentation. Namely, we confirmed that correct materials were being used, reported on progress, and identified any workmanship or detailing deficiencies.

Benefits/Challenges

Unique Challenges

The immense size of the project made inspection difficult, since inspecting every inch of the construction on foot would have been incredibly time consuming. To aid in this process, our team implemented our drones to survey the areas we did not do on foot.

Numerous materials and debris with sharp edges were being left at areas of newly installed membrane by the construction crew. Raymond utilized electronic leak detection equipment to scan areas of the roof to detect any breaches, so that they could be marked and patched up.

Our Value Add

During the course of the project, Raymond documented the progress by using photo mapping software to compile hundreds of photos taken with our drone. This process allowed Raymond to create extremely detailed images encompassing the entire 1,000,000+ square foot building. At least two of these images were included in every inspection report to aid the owner in seeing the construction progress.

Our team kept detailed reports of every inspection that included descriptions and images of the debris left on the roof by the construction crew. Should any leaks occur do to their negligence, the client will be able to use the reports to aid with litigation.