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Learning from disaster: A talk with Lee Evey

Stalling retirement, the Pentagon 'renovator' has stayed on to oversee recovery and outlast the terrorists

Staff

July 1, 2002

Building Design and Construction

Walker Lee Evey is the program manager for the Pentagon's ongoing $1.2 billion renovation program (PenRen). Started in 1997, the 20-year project suffered a devastating setback when it was hit by a hijacked jetliner on Sept. 11, ironically the 60 ^th anniversary of the site's initial groundbreaking.

The terrorist act killed 64 on the plane, plus 125 inside the Pentagon, and it laid waste to Wedge One, the first fifth of the massive, 6.6 million-sq.-ft. complex to complete its renovation. Evey learned of the disaster while en route to a family funeral in West Virginia. He returned immediately, rallied his shaken troops outside the Pentagon on the night of Sept. 11, and put in motion an ambitious and relentless $740 million design-build repair plan that will return Wedge One to active duty by Sept. 11, 2002.

Degreed in psychology and renowned as a low-key motivator, Evey dubbed the work "The Phoenix Project" to evoke the mythical Greek bird that rose from the ashes. Last month, he was the keynote speaker at the Construction Specifications Institute show in Las Vegas. There, he sat down with BD&C editors Rob McManamy and Larry Flynn.

Q What did you say to your people on the night of Sept. 11?

A It was about midnight and I gathered 50 or 60 of them on the helipad outside the Pentagon. I said to them, "Life, as we know it, has changed... If any one of you wants out, now is the time to do it. No questions will be asked." And I meant it, too. But no one chose to leave.

Q What was the plan then?

A We had heard reports that two other planes were headed for the Pentagon. So we split our people into two groups and sent them to opposite ends of the building. Our theory was that if one of the groups was taken out, the other would be left to search for survivors.

Q What has surprised you the most about the pace of repairs?

A So many things... At first, the FBI had said the initial crash cleanup would take two months; we were able to do it in just two weeks. And that's even with security concerns in some classified areas where every file folder had to first be reviewed before it could be removed.

What is most impressive, though, is that we have logged 2.5 million manhours and, to date, we've had only two finger injuries and no litigation.

Q Is the rest of PenRen on track?

A Yes. From day one, our motto has been "On Time; On Budget; Built for the Next 50 Years." And we've held to that with each milestone. One reason is that now we do design-build exclusively.

Q How has that helped?

A I'm not that interested in process. I'm interested in output. We're after the best value, not the best numbers, as in a low-bid situation. To me, the single least important number we ever see in a situation like that is the first one. So, we're not interested in a liar's bid situation. That's why we like design-build.

Q How were you able to push the Pentagon into a new project delivery?

A Well, as I tell folks, "It's not enough to manage; you have to lead." You have to have the vision to see a new course; the guts to implement it; and the ability to communicate it effectively.

Q The Pentagon was built at lightning speed in 1941, but this is its first renovation. Any strange finds?

A Well, a number of stories had circulated for years about things that had happened on the fly in 1941. One story said a cement truck had been trapped after walls were erected around it. Well, that one turned out to be true. We discovered the truck one day while driving steel piles for the foundation. The piles kept bending back up until we eventually realized they were bouncing off an old truck engine block buried underground.

Q Name one thing that's changed about the PenRen work since Sept. 11?

A Well, here's one. We now have our "Exit" signs at floor level, lit up with photo-luminescent stripping. On Sept. 11, we discovered that "Exit" signs over doorways don't do much good when corridors are filled with smoke and everyone is on their hands and knees.