WPOE Training Facility
A true partnership between customer, builder and Butler leads to a training facility that is future-ready and LEED certified.
Project
Overview
To meet rising demand for heavy-equipment operator training, Western Pennsylvania Operating Engineers (WPOE) built a new 32,800-square-foot facility designed for performance, efficiency and long-term reliability. The organization turned to Butler Manufacturing systems, delivered by Mascaro Construction Company, to ensure precision-engineered quality from foundation to finish.
The building’s 16,800-square-foot maintenance training shop features a Butler structural system that provides an 80-foot clearspan and 33-foot ceiling height — essential for crane and heavy-equipment operations. A 10-ton overhead crane traverses the length of the building, demonstrating the system’s load-bearing strength and structural integrity.
Both the training shop and classroom wing are protected by Butler’s MR-24® roof system, delivering superior weather tight performance, R-30 energy efficiency and long-term durability. The Shadowall™ wall system ensures seamless exterior continuity and complements the surrounding landscape, while its Cool Solar White roof coating contributed to the project’s LEED certification.
“The Widespan system was the most efficient and cost-effective way to achieve a large, unobstructed training space,” said architect Anthony Pitassi, AIA, LEED AP.
Situated on 228 acres, the training site has plenty of land for students to practice operating heavy equipment — ranging from skid steers and forklifts to bulldozers and cranes. But the repair shop and classrooms were pinched for space.
“About 75 percent of our training is for apprentices who are new to the industry, and 25 percent provides continuing education for journeyman operators. With demand for journeymen training increasing every year, we needed more capacity,” said Steve Columbus, administrative manager for the WPOE Joint Apprenticeship and Training Program.
Mascaro Construction Company, a nearby Butler Builder®, was an ideal choice to partner with WPOE.
The goal was to build a first-class training facility with the flexibility to accommodate classroom and hands-on training space.
A separate classroom and administrative wing attached to the shop totals 12,900 square feet, replacing several outdated modular classrooms. Engineering support from Butler Manufacturing® helped the construction team design retractable walls, so spaces can be configured for different class sizes. Flexibility is a must with anywhere from 25 to 150 students in the training facility at any one time.
Although the maintenance area used a clearspan structural system, the classroom wing incorporated conventional framing with steel members. But, the two areas of the building blend seamlessly since the Shadowall™ wall system from Butler covers the exterior. The exterior walls’ Cool Marsh Green color fits the rural western Pennsylvania surroundings.
Both building wings are covered with the MR-24® roof system from Butler. The standing-seam roof provides durable, efficient and low-maintenance protection from the elements. Added insulation creates an R-30 energy value, which is beneficial during both hot summers and cold winters.
The MR-24 roof system color — Cool Solar White — contributed to the building’s LEED certification by helping to lower roof temperatures. The coating color brought the solar reflective index needed to get LEED credit for mitigating heat islands on the roof.
“We delivered great value as far as safety, quality, owner satisfaction and scheduling. We were able to build the project safely, within the budget and on time, so the operating engineers were able to move into their training facility on schedule,” Swiatek said.
