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Quality
In an effort to continuously improve the quality of our work, the Pepper team in Indiana hosts an employee event each year to share innovative ideas and lessons learned – and to have a great time along the way. After 17 years, the Quality Concept of the Year (QCOTY) has become a highly anticipated competition that highlights progressive thinking and problem-solving on our projects.
To learn more from Ben about the Quality program at Pepper and the QCOTY Awards, watch this video.
“This event is our opportunity to share lessons learned—typically the positive practices we’re seeing on our jobs—and to spread those insights across the company. It helps reinforce the quality-focused culture we’re building at Pepper, showing that quality matters, that it can be enjoyable, and that everyone has a role to play in it.”
Quality can be "far out"
This year, the Indiana office journeyed to a galaxy far, far away with Quality Wars—a Star Wars-themed event set in a fully decked-out arena complete with lightsabers, blasters, and the iconic soundtrack. Project teams faced off in an epic dark side vs. light side showdown, presenting their best quality concepts. The audience played a key role, voting for their favorites and helping decide the ultimate champion in the final battle.
Each of the concepts included strategies to improve constructability, sustainability, safety and quality assurance through unique material choices or innovative techniques.
And the Winner Is...
Taking this year’s top prize was the Ascension St Vincent Brain and Spine team and their pioneering use of a mobile sweeping compound cart. The team faced a recurring issue on site: excessive mess and debris were piling up because laborers weren’t consistently using the designated clean-up bins. To address this, we introduced the ASV-P3 Mobile Sweeping Compound Cart—a simple, cost-effective solution designed to promote tidiness across the job site. This mobile cart can be easily used by all trades, helping us maintain our commitment to a clean and organized work environment. The response from the trades was overwhelmingly positive, and best of all, it was inexpensive to implement.
Finalists from across the galaxy
Glovebox Service Panels at Purdue University Birck Nanotechnology Center - Needed to add five tools into a cleanroom with limited space and room for work to be done.
Scan First, Install Once at IU Health West and IU Health Arnett - For both the IUH West and IUH Arnett projects, the team conducted a 3D laser scan above the existing ceilings to ensure new structural steel for the vertical expansions would align with existing conditions. The scan informed the initial design.
PreGlazed Curtainwall at Indiana State Archives - This concept is Hall Aluminum’s overall work here on site with their glazing system.
Temp Tarp & Pulley System at Roche Building D - Persistent roof leaks led us to install a tarp system that draped from the roof over the parapet and temporary barricade, adding an extra layer of protection. After installation, the water intrusion stopped.
Inertia Mass Anchor Bolts at Allison Transmission - The bed plate had 156 anchor bolts that had to be plumb within 1/8 of an inch, held to the grade- correct elevation, and be in the correct spot. Our Self-Perform Group designed and installed a unique support system to account for all the bolts.
Pre-Pour Archiving at Archives for the Indiana State Archives - The main purpose of the scan was to be able to reference the locations of tendons in the slab should any future penetrations be required. The scan has been referenced several times throughout construction to validate locations of tendons and sleeves.
ACC Pepper Strikes Back at Purdue Mitch Daniels School of Business - We created a punch list for the architect instead of the other way around. Much like punch list function in PlanGrid shows a stamp on the drawings indicating where an issue is located, we were able to place a stamp in the model indicating an issue for the design team.
Precast vs Block Walls at Ascension St. Vincent Brain and Spine Hospital - We advocated doing the interior with precast material rather than CMU block walls. This saved considerable amount of time as well as space on the jobsite during the presentation.
Site Tubes for Stub Columns at IU Health West – The use of site tubes significantly reduced the amount of time that the roofers have to work on opening and closing the stubs.
Mockup the Mockup at Purdue University Nursing and Pharmacy Education Building - To resolve potential issues early, the project team collaborated with virtual construction to create a virtual mockup before building the physical one. This helped to preplan construction, revealed design elements that were not constructable and required changes, and allowed the design team to refine several details to better suit the physical mockup.
Mapei Universal Adhesive at Ascension St Vincent Women and Children's Hospital – We purchased Mapei adhesive and secured a bond warranty directly through Mapei, while sourcing flooring materials separately from their manufacturers. This ensured adhesive consistency across six flooring types and eliminated the need for moisture mitigation.
A big congratulations to all the teams that delivered outstanding work in this year’s competition! Ultimately, the biggest winners are our clients—those already experiencing the benefits of these quality innovations and the many others who will gain from them as they become integrated into Pepper’s everyday practices.
