Lyle Charles Consulting, Inc.

Mr. Charles has more 41 years of experience in the construction industry, 25 years in the ownership and management of major subcontracting companies, 16 years in the construction consultant business, and is a qualified structural steel expert. As a subcontractor, he has worked on office buildings, hospitals, large shopping malls, stadiums, arenas, schools, distribution facilities, and industrial projects. As a consultant, he has been involved in projects located in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. Those projects include fossil fuel power plants, bridges, bottling plants, postal distribution facilities, airports, co-generation plants, and convention/performing arts centers.

He has been a consultant on 8 major stadium & arena projects and has testified in 12 large construction trials and two dozen arbitrations. Mr. Charles has been deposed over 50 times and prepared or analyzed multiple construction claims.

Lyle Charles graduated from internationally respected Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, with a B.A. degree. Since completing his education, his work in the fields of construction, alternative dispute resolution, and construction mediation has earned him membership in the following prestigious professional associations:

American General Contractor Association (A.G.C.)
American Subcontractors Association (A. S. A.)
American Institute of Steel Construction (A. I. S. C.) (Past Regional Advisory Board Member)
Southern Association of Steel Fabricators (Past President)
Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute (C. R. S. I.)
American Welding Society (A. W. S.)
American Arbitration Association (A. A. A.) National Panel for Alternate Dispute Resolution on Large Construction Projects) 

July 1967 – September 1985 – Joe Brashears Steel, Inc., Albany, Georgia
September 1985 – December 2001 – Lyle Charles/Lyle Charles, Inc., Tampa, Florida
January 1990 – January 1992 – Tyson Bolt & Supply (co-owner), Tampa, Florida
January 2002 to August 2008 (retired) – Management at E & H Steel Corp., Midland City, Alabama
August 2008 to Present-Lyle Charles Consulting, Inc.

• 41 years of experience and knowledge in the estimating, detailing, fabricating, cleaning, painting and erecting of structural steel, light gage metals, miscellaneous and ornamental metals, bar joist, form/roof deck and pre-engineered metal buildings.

• 30 years of experience and knowledge in organizing, managing and completing significant construction projects.

• 30 years of experience and knowledge in the estimating, detailing, fabrication and supervision of installing reinforcing steel and bar placing accessories.

• 23 years of experience and knowledge in the preparation of construction claims and damages.

• 20 years of experience and knowledge working with companies in trouble or in turn around situations.

• 18 years of experience and knowledge in the analyzing of construction claims and damages.

• 30 years of experience and knowledge in the estimating, design, fabrication and supervision of installing concrete formwork.

• 18 years of experience and knowledge in the pricing and selling of concrete additives, curing compounds, form oils, etc.

• 12 years of experience and knowledge in the estimating and installing of architectural, precast and prestressed concrete.

• 7 years of experience and knowledge in the estimating, detailing and manufacturing of architectural precast concrete.

• 7 years of experience and knowledge in the buying and selling of industrial and construction bolts and fasteners, small electrical and plumbing supplies, epoxies, small construction tools and equipment.

Forty-one years of experience and knowledge in the estimating, scheduling, detailing, fabricating, cleaning, painting, delivering and erecting of structural steel have made Mr. Charles a steel fabrication expert. He is also well-versed in miscellaneous and ornamental metals, bar joists, and floors/roof decks. Mr. Charles has previously been qualified by state and federal courts as a structural steel expert to provide opinions on shop fabrication labor estimates, down time, and inefficiency testimony resulting from incomplete/defective design documents or late shop drawing approval. He has also testified as an expert on structural steel erection on such issues as design changes from bolted to welded connections, field filet welding versus field penetration welding, and lost efficiency resulting from improperly set or missing embed materials. His testimony has included business valuations, lost revenue and lost profit calculations, as well extended overtime costs and stacking of trade-associated costs.

• Steel expert in Federal Court, Southern District of Florida, Fort Lauderdale, Allied Steel Fabricators v. Delphon/Jamie, Aetna Insurance

• Steel & Architectural Precast Expert in Federal Court, Southern District of Florida, Miami.  Architectural Precast v. Delphon/Jamie, Aetna Insurance

• Steel Expert in Board of Contract Appeals Delphon/Jamie v. United States Postal Service

• Steel Expert in Federal Court in Pensacola, FL, Brashears Steel v. F. R. Hoar Construction Co.

• Steel Expert in Federal Court in Meridian, MS, Sorrels Steel v. Great Southwest Corp.

• Architectural Precast Expert in Federal Court in Tampa, FL, FPC v. City of Orlando

• Steel Expert in Federal Court in Kansas City, MO, APSA v. Black & Veatch

• Steel Expert in Federal Court in Camden, NJ, C. Pyramid v. E & H Steel

• Steel Expert in State Court, Tampa, FL, International Steel v. Taylor-Woodrow

• Steel Expert in State Court, Tampa, FL, Allied Steel/LCI v. Great Southwest Corp.

• Steel Expert in State Court, Tampa, FL, Taylor-Woodrow v. Hillsborough County Aviation Authority

• Steel Expert in numerous arbitrations in Florida and Georgia

• Additionally, qualified as a steel expert for the General Service Administration in the “mini-trial” on the multi-million dollar steel dispute between the GSA and Stewart Steel Fabricators on the IRS Building in Memphis, TN

1. Allied Steel Fabricators v. DELPHON/JAMIE
          Federal court
          Testified as expert at trial
          Applied industry study (Roundtable Report)
          Shop fabrication labor
          40-hour week v. 56-hour week for 8-month period of time

2. J.H. Hamm & Assoc. v. Watkins Engineers
          Buckeye Cellulose Project
          Roundtable Report and National Electrical Contractors Association Guide (N.E.C.A.)
          Expert – settled; compared N.E.C.A. guide to total cost using roundtable as back-up; job had 2 12-hour shifts           working 6 days a  week for period of 4 months
          Overtime and stacking of trades

3. Ken Robinson Electric v. Dow Chemical
          Co-generation plant – 200 electricians’ expert – settled;
          All union electricians working 6 10-hour days for 6 months;
          Actual costs more than roundtable but used roundtable and N.E.C.A. guide

4. A & E Electric, Inc. v. Tampa Power Corp.
          Expert – trial – state court overtime inefficiency job accelerated due to late delivery of materials and equipment;           opinion given both on overtime inefficiency but also due to hop-scotching around due to late deliveries.

1. Sorrels Steel v. Great Southwest
         pp.  971-973, 983, 993-1015, federal court

2 . International Steel Industries, Inc. v. Taylor-Woodrow
          State court
          Tampa Airport
          Expert – trial
          Field calculations – steel erection and guideway erection
         
3. Taylor-Woodrow v. Westinghouse Electric
          This was the second trial on this same job
          State Court
          Expert – trial
          Shop fabrication labor
          Inefficiency on steel erection day time work without problems vs. night time work with problems; actual study over           10 days; no roundtable

4 . Orlando Arena – The “O” Rena-- Florida Precast v. City of Orlando
          Federal court
          Precast erection and precast step erection
          Expert – time study – extra work and non-conforming work

5 . Brashears Steel – multiple studies for 15 years
          54 hours v. 44 hours per week shop labo

1987-1990 Basketball Arena, Knoxville, TN (Thompson-Boling)                                                    +/- $56 million
Consultant/Expert to USF&G during litigation of construction cost overruns.
All phases of structural steel, precast seating and defective document design.

1993-1996 Olympic Stadium, Atlanta, GA                                                                                            +/- $207 million
Consultant/Expert to general contractor on reinforcing steel, structural steel & architectural precast matters.

1997 Conversion of Olympic Stadium, Atlanta, GA to                                                                        +/- $18 million
Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium (later known as Turner Field)
Consultant/Expert to general contractor on structural steel & architectural precast matters.

1997-1998 New NFL Stadium, Nashville, TN                                                                                     +/- $290 million
Structural steel advisor to construction manager including document & Specification review for constructability.

1998 New NFL Stadium, Tampa, FL                                                                                                    +/- $168.5 million
Consultant/Expert to precast erector & negotiated claims for erector with A/E team on erectors behalf.

1999 New Basketball & Ice Hockey Arena, Atlanta, GA (Phillips Arena)                                        +/- $ 213.5 million
Consultant/Expert to steel fabricator, steel erector & general contractor in multiple claims against A/E & Owner (CNN).

2000-2002 New NFL Stadium & Rodeo Arena, Houston, TX                                                          +/- $650 million
Consultant/Expert to structural engineers & construction manager on claims against them by steel fabricator.      

2008-2009 LSU Football Stadium expansion, Baton Rouge, LA                                                   +/- $80 million
Consultant/Expert to steel fabricator & general contractor in claim against Athletic Foundation for multiple contract/design changes/modifications.