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Howell Crane & Rigging Inc.’s Dal-las office has only been open for a little more than a year, but it’s

working to develop a bond that feels like it goes way back, both with customers and employees. The Dallas office was born of owner Audie Howell’s desire to relocate the West Texas branch to a North Texas loca-tion. Starting with two cranes and quick-ly building up to six, the office’s rapid growth reaffirmed Howell’s decision, which means they plan on staying put for a while. “We’ve been blessed when it comes to business,” Dallas branch manager Mike Boucher says. “We came in opti-mistic and hit the ground hard. We want-

ed to see what we could get out of the market. There was a lot of room for growth, even though many crane com-panies have been here a long time. That barrier has been a challenge to break, but we’ve been very fortunate. I believe there’s always room to make a mark, it’s just a matter of having the right people in the right position.” For Howell Crane’s Dallas office, the “right people” are its 13 employees, in-cluding Boucher, office assistant Christie Smith and territory salesman Blue Cole-man. The crew enjoy fishing and hunting with customers (“We’re from Texas; if we don’t have a gun in our hands, it’s usually a fishing pole!” Boucher says with a

L-R: Howell Crane & Rigging Inc.’s Blue Coleman, Christie Smith and Mike Boucher

When the new owner of a dilapidated Springtown gas station approached Innovative

Design Build’s A. (Joe) Ghafoor for a project consultation, his request was an urgent one. An addition to the 700sf facility was desperately needed in order to compete with neighboring gas stations, and the retail store was in dire need of remodeling. An additional 600 sf space was also required for merchandise in the “Bear Cave,” a shopping concept gaining popularity in Texas gas stations. It was a tall order, and given the owner’s limited budget, it would be understandable if Ghafoor declined the project. “The building’s structure, which was built in 1952, had never been renovated, was in poor condition, the electrical system was outdated and the roof was in a terrible state,” Ghafoor explains. “I see this situation often. Too many businesses

fall on hard times, resulting in poor conditions of the structure due to lack of periodical repair and maintenance. Then, once ownership changes, they want to bring the structure up to date. Therefore, it is very challenging to bring it to current code and back to functional condition. Electrical work is the most difficult to bring to current code because so many unlicensed or unprofessional individuals have made alterations to outside lights and other equipment. “I am always looking for a ground-up project, which is a lot easier to build,” Ghaforr says. “But every now and then, a challenging project like this lands on my desk. It’s hard for me to walk away when I see an old building which has potential in danger of being bulldozed.” Ghafoor accepted the challenge. The project’s scope of work required him to build a new 600-sf addition, connect or

HNTB’s legacy in Texas can be traced back to 1910, when a founding partner of the firm

worked as part of the design team on Austin’s historic Congress Avenue Bridge. More than a century later, the firm bridges the gap in their clients’ needs with architecture, engineering, planning and construction services offered through offices in 27 states. Not forgetting its roots, one of those states is Texas, where HNTB has seven of-fices, with two of them in Plano and Dal-las. Leading the two teams is Dallas office leader and vice president Michael Hegarty. Together, the teams work on high-profile transportation engineering, transportation planning, environmental,

HNTB’s Michael Hegarty helps steer his North Texas teams to success.

aviation, structures, construction man-agement/inspection, public involve-ment, urban design, municipal and fed-eral projects. “The DFW Metroplex is growing at such a rate that HNTB, working along with several other partners, needs to ensure that roads, airports and public transport can accommodate the gradual increase in population,” Hegarty says. “DFW currently has a sustainable capital program that rivals some stats because of numerous corporate relocations to North Texas. It is the economic engine of North Texas with an annual impact of roughly $37 billion to the region.”

Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • May 2016


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The Dallas Fort Worth Construction News (ISSN 1547-7657) is published monthly by Construction News Ltd., dba Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News, and distributed by mail to construction related companies in the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area. All submissions should be mailed to our editorial offices. We reserve the right to edit any materials submitted. No fees for materials, copy or photographs submitted will be due unless agreed upon in advance in writing. Submissions will be published at our discretion on a space-available basis. Construction News, Ltd., dba Dallas Fort Worth Construction News, will not be liable for errors in copy or in advertisements beyond the actual cost of space occupied by the error. Publisher reserves the right to reject any advertisement at any time.

If you are a construction-related companyin Dallas, Tarrant, Collin or Denton counties

and are not receiving a free copy of theDallas/Fort Worth Construction News, callfor a Requester Form, or visit our website.

Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Buddy DoebblerEditorial/Production . . . . . . . Reesa Doebbler Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . .Cyndi WrightAdmin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lacie CortezProduction Manager. . . . . . . . . . Sue JohnsonMarketing Director . . . . . . Leslye HernandezSales Representative. . . . . . . . .Dana Calonge

L-R: The Regional Hispanic Contractors Association (RHCA) recently elected its board of directors for the 2016-2017 term: Atmos Energy’s Sheena Morgan, KPost Company’s Luciano

Perez, ATCI Contracting Inc.’s Hector Bass, North Texas Ductworks LLC’s Yesenia Garcia, Austin Commercial’s Bianca Sandoval, All Janitorial Professional Janitorial Services’ Evelyn

Molina, and RHCA Vice Chair Ruben Landa of K Strategies Group LLC. –mjm

RHCA board electedSubmitted to Construction News

Sending their top techs

Four HOLT CAT technicians won a state competition and traveled to Little Rock, AR to represent the

heavy equipment dealer in the 2016 Tech Wars, a four-day competition with other Caterpillar heavy equipment dealers. From the Machine Division, Jarrett Payton, field service technician tech 5, San Antonio, took first place at the state level, and Autry Adams, field service technician tech 2, Longview, took sec-ond. From the Power Systems Division, Alan Lindow, shop service technician

tech 6, Longview, took first place at the state level, and Vince Jones, lead techni-cian, Longview, took second. The four state winners participated in three rounds of completion at the lo-cal, regional and state level against 400 of their HOLT CAT peers. This is the first year HOLT CAT competed in Tech Wars, and the company plans to expand the competition in coming years to include its Transport, Ag, Crane, and Electric Pow-er divisions. –mh

Machine Division state contestants L-R: Howard Schram, Steven Pinkerton, Jonathan Morrow, Autry Adams, Jarrett Payton, Grady Trainor, Paul Boubel

Power Systems Division state contestants L-R: Keven Leon, James Pardaen, Vince Jones,Alan Lindow, Ben Gallo, Wade Nagel

Construction equipment rental company Rental One has merged with its sister company Supply De-

pot. The supply division has been re-branded as R1 Supply and is now in place to support the equipment rental busi-ness. Customers can pick up concrete-re-lated products and supplies at all of the company’s Rental One locations. Company president Mike O’Neal says a benefit of the merger that custom-ers are sure to notice is the expertise in rental equipment and concrete-related products. ”We are able to operate more effi-ciently as one company which allows us to serve our customers with excellence,” O’Neal explains. “Also, now we can offer our customers two areas of expertise with rental equipment and a supply divi-sion. We have teams concentrating their

efforts in both areas that work very well together to take care of our customers.” A Supply Depot location at 4041 Meacham Blvd. in Fort Worth has been rebranded R1 Supply and operates as a store, but also distributes those supplies to the Rental One branches. Although the merger took place Aug. 1, 2015, O’Neal says it wasn’t until January that they have “truly been oper-ating as one company.” He says client re-action has been positive. “We have seen a lot of excitement with customers once they find out they can conveniently pick up items like rebar from our Rental One locations,” he says. With eight North Texas locations, Rent-al One rents construction equipment and sells construction supplies including con-crete-related products. –mjm

L-R: Rental One’s Stacey Fetters, Tom Wade, Shawn Zwieryznski, Todd Shields, Roger Walton, Scott Hammond, David Compton, Prince Williams


Daryl BowenPresident

Taurus Commercial Inc.Dallas

The characteristics of the zodiac sign Taurus include practicality, reliability and an eye for beauty,

which made Taurus Commercial Inc. the perfect name for Daryl Bowen’s general contracting company. It also speaks volumes about how the May-born Bowen approaches both his work and his free time. Whether Bowen is building one-of-a-kind projects or sailing the seas, he can be counted on to make sure he approaches it with practicality and beauty in mind.

Tell me a bit about your childhood; were you raised in North Texas? I grew up on border towns for most of my life; my dad was a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent, so we moved around a lot. I lived in Del Rio, TX for about five years and went to elementary school there. I lived in McAllen for five years and in Falcon Heights. I lived in El Centro, CA and went to high school there. I wanted to go to college in California, but my parents basically said I could go to school in Texas and they would pay for it or good luck! So, I started to look at Texas schools and I picked Texas A&M. I was supposed to be a veterinarian, but after about two years, I changed majors to building construction and environmental design – and now I can build a really good barn!

What made you decide to switch to a different field of study? Did someone you know work in that field? I think it was more of the biology and sciences not sticking and me acknowledging that I didn’t have a passion for it. I had some friends that were in building construction at the time; it looked exciting. I wanted to be more in the architecture side rather than the building side so I got into the environmental design program first and then transferred over to building construction.

Did you find work in that field soon after college? When I graduated from college, I immediately got a job for EMJ Corporation and worked there for about eight years, working my way up from being a project coordinator who ordered and shipped all of the blue prints to working as an assistant superintendent, superintendent, warranty manager and then as a project manager. I ended up leaving EMJ Corporation to work for a company called M.A. Mortenson in Minneapolis in their telecommunication department for about three years. It was in the go-go days of the cellular boom, but the CTG group kind of got dissolved because the boom fizzled out. They wanted to send me to Sweetwater to build a 75-turbine wind farm, but I didn’t want to move to Sweetwater.

Well why ever not? Sweetwater is metropolis! I’m allergic to snakes! I don’t know, it probably would have been a great opportunity in a different direction, but I

didn’t do it. I ended up staying here and got a job with a general contractor, Pacific Builders. I worked there as a project manager building interiors. About three years into it, I was eating lunch with [Kevco Electrical owner] Kevin Richardson, an electrician I was working with at the time. We were feeling overworked and underpaid. So we said, “Hey, why don’t we start our own general contracting company?” Kevin then says to me “You can be the president!” So I said, “Sounds awesome!” You know, you don’t really understand what that means at the time; you just think, “Hey, I get to be the president of something.” Kevin and I are both Tauruses, and we decided on the name of Taurus Commercial rather than Taurus Construction because we wanted to keep that development option open. We’re a construction company that would also like to get into some development in the future.

So just like that, you and Kevin decided to form Taurus Commercial? A month later, I was wrapping up things at Pacific Builders. Ginger Stockton, who is my accountant/business manager, and I went to move in at Kevin’s office – it was basically a glorified closet where we shared one desk and one fax. Ginger and I worked in that closet for about three months. There was a building in downtown Carrollton that we got a good rate on; we worked in there for about a year and a half. We moved here onto the third floor and worked here for three years. We have been in this suite on the fourth floor for four years; a year ago, we doubled the size of this suite.

So Taurus Commercial has been steadily growing? It has. At the beginning, we ended up landing some big jobs that were good clients and have had good repeat business from corporate accounts. This year, we’re on pace for about $20 million. We’re on a nice upward trajectory, but we still have to feed the monster; it’s definitely a treadmill and is not easy.

What challenges did you and Kevin face that first year? Not having anyone take us seriously. You’re playing off of relationships that you built when you worked for another company using their good name, and you have to come to the table with your own good name and stand behind what you say. It takes a while for people to learn that. Some people inherently distrust contractors, and the God’s honest truth is that we’re mostly just people who want to do an honest day’s work, make a decent wage and go home. It’s hard to convince people of that sometimes. That was really hard for the first couple of years to get people to take us seriously and give us a decent-sized job.

How did you overcome that? Kevin says you have to “touch them seven times.” I don’t know if I believe that, or if there is any magic number, but you do have to be friends with them. People want to work with people they like and they’ll find ways to give you work if they like you. You don’t necessarily have to [bid] low, but you have to be competitive, give them a good deal, a good product and a good finish. If you make them look like rock stars, they’ll come back. What is the thing you enjoy most about your work? I think it’s a lot of freedom and flexibility to chase whatever path I want to go down. We build certain things, but there’s not really anything that we wouldn’t build. I kind of joke and say that if someone said to us, “I need a nuclear reactor,” I would say “No problem! We’re

going to build you the most awesome nuclear reactor you ever saw in the whole wide world. Just sign here.” We know nothing about nuclear reactors, but we’ll find people who do and we’ll assemble a team to build the most awesome nuclear reactor. But someone is going to pay that bill, and if you’re willing to pay it, we’re willing to put it together and make it happen for you. That’s led to some really interesting [projects]. We recently finished placing the foul poles at The Ballpark in Arlington, and we did a bunch of their luxury suite remodels, the owners’ bunker suite and we’ll do their Hall of Fame this summer. Two summers ago, at the Dallas Arboretum Children’s Learning Center Expansion, we built touch screen kiosks in 10-ft fiberglass carrots, celery and rutabaga – that was a once in a lifetime thing! We’ll build anything that is not immoral, unethical or unprofitable. So if you need a nuclear reactor, just let me know.

Good to know! I’ll keep your card handy. What do you like to do when you’re not building things like fiberglass rutabagas? I play a little bit of golf, although I don’t play as much as I want to. I always say I want to play more golf every year, and I end up playing three, maybe four, times. I like to go sailboat racing. I’ve raced competitively since I was in high school. About eight to ten times a year, I’ll go to regattas and they’re always in beautiful locations, so if I pull the ropes I basically get a paid vacation. They’re in places like Marble Head MA, Newport, RI, and St. Petersburg, FL. I’m going to Annapolis, MD in a week for a three-day there; those are always nice, big, world-class regattas. I’m a fair-weather sailor; I’m not one of those guys who want to go on the Volvo Ocean Race and sail around Antarctica for 30 days – I’m not interested. But if you want to take me to Newport and have me do three races during the day and come back and sleep in a nice comfy bed bed, I’m up for it!

How did you become involved in sailing? Was your family involved in it? No, actually, the complete opposite. Besides being a DEA agent, my dad was also a big rodeo guy who rode bareback and was a rodeo bullfighter. When I was growing up, we were always going to rodeos. He asked me if I wanted to fight bulls with him, so of course I did, since I was 15 years old, immortal and bulletproof. I would put clown make-up on and run around the ring and get stomped on a couple of times. My sister’s a barrel racer too, we have cattle and we’re all count-ree!

But when I was in California, I wanted to surf, sail, and go to the beach. So I met some people who were sailing and got into catamaran racing. When I went to college at A&M, my roommate had a sailboat and we sailed in the little utility lake at College Station. When I moved to Dallas, I didn’t sail for a couple of years, but decided I wanted to get back into it so I actively sought out people who were sailing and met them on Grapevine Lake or Eagle Mountain Lake.

Do you have your own boat? I used to be a catamaran guy, but I sold my boat because I realized I was spending too much time on everybody else’s boat and never sailed my boat. I also found I could have more fun not having to write those checks! They say a boat is a hole in the water surrounded by wood into which you throw money, or that sailboat racing is like standing naked in an ice-cold shower ripping up $100 bills. It’s fun now because they aren’t my $100 bills. Also, I have another theory that if you have the proper apparel – one of my jokes is that I’m “High-Performance Apparel Daryl” – it makes all of the difference in the world. You can splash me in the wet and cold, but if my apparel keeps me warm and dry, I’m having a good time.

Does any of your family share your interest in sailing? No; my wife Kimberly goes with me sometimes but she does not sail; she is shore crew. We travel a lot. We just went to Vegas; my wife is a middle school history teacher so for Spring Break, we went to Las Vegas and I gambled zero dollars, because I’m not much of a gambler. We stayed at a place as a home base, and then we went hiking at the Grand Canyon, Red Rocks and Valley of Fire. Being a fair weather hiker as well, at night we would come back to the hotel and sleep in a comfortable bed.

Being a Taurus, you have a birthday coming up? I do, on May 19.

Do you have any birthday plans, like another trip? You know … no. It’s 49. I don’t wanna do anything.

Well, 50 is just around the corner then. Any blowout plans for that? Man, I don’t know. It’s going to have to have an open bar or something! Taurus Commercial is a Dallas-based general contracting company offering complete construction services, from interior remodeling to ground-up projects in the industrial, office, medical, and residential markets. –mjm

Taurus Commercial Inc. president Daryl Bowen


Taking flight

There’s a first for everything, and for Adolfson & Peterson Construction, Mar. 31 marked the general contractor’s first annual charity golf classic. One hundred and forty-four golfers competed on the Tribute in the Colony’s green to raise

some green at the sold-out tournament. The event raised funds for two charities: The Park Cities YMCA and veteran suicide awareness organization 22Kill. –mjm

1st Place, Flight 1 (score of 56): BakerTriangle team – Peter Dean,Cole Hord, David Long and Johnny Barnes

1st Place, Flight 2 (score of 62): John Palms, Roger Moon, Scott Sower and Tommy Osborne

1st Place, Flight 3 (score of 65): Chase Carter, Jeff Baty, Joe Hiebert, Ryan Skelly

Submitted to Construction News

Come Union

The Union Dallas celebrated the official groundbreaking of its approximately 800,000-sf office, residential and retail project being built at the intersection of Uptown Dallas’ Field Street and Cedar Springs Rd. Scheduled for completion in 2018, the project is overseen by

StreetLights Residential DPR, RED Development and project architect HKS. –mjm

When our readers pick up Con-struction News, there are a few articles and sections about

which they often ask, “How do they de-cide who is profiled in this article?” and “How can I be featured in one of these?” In this article, we’ll answer those questions regarding two of our primary features, our Front Page GC and Spotlight articles.Front Page GC Every month, we feature a general contractor’s recent project on the front page. The size and scope of the project range from small tenant finish out or ren-ovations to large ground up construction. If you are a general contractor with an office located within our coverage area for that city and its surrounding counties, you are eligible to have one of your projects featured on the front page of that paper. The project should be one that has been completed within the last year and is located within our local pa-per’s coverage area. We will need any information about the build that you can share including but not limited to the project duration, square footage, approximate cost, design team and subcontractors on the job, and details about the build and building pro-cess. We will also need a few photos, ex-terior and interior. Can your company be featured in this article multiple times? Yes, but when you are featured as our Front Page GC, you must wait five years from the publi-cation date of that article to have another

project featured on our front page. This is to ensure the opportunity for general contractors of all sizes and markets to ap-pear on the front page.Spotlight Another monthly feature in our pa-per is a profile of the head of a company that we call Spotlight. This article is an in-depth interview with the person who serves at the very top of a company as its owner, president, principal or CEO. The company can be a general contractor, subcontractor, supplier, architecture or engineering firm, equipment dealer or service provider of any size or specialty. To qualify for a Spotlight article, the featured person’s company must have an office located within the coverage area for the paper in which he or she would appear. The Spotlight can only run in the city in which this person is based. We only do a Spotlight once per individual and per company. The Spotlight focuses on the individ-ual, not the company. The profile covers the interviewee’s background, career, family, community involvement, hobbies and interests, and other personal details. The interview is presented in a question and answer format along with a photo of the person being featured. If you feel you qualify for one of these articles and would like to be fea-tured in a future Front Page GC or Spot-light, please contact your Dallas-Fort Worth editor, Melissa Jones-Meyer, at [email protected] or 817-731-4823. –mh

Your company up frontand in the spotlight


OSHA adopts new rule to protect workers from RespirableCrystalline Silica

Stan GregoryInsuricaSan Antonio, TX

Most people in the construction in-dustry are familiar with silica dust.

This is the dust that is produced when drilling or cutting certain materials, such as concrete or stone. The negative effects of this dust have been well documented since the 1930s, but OSHA’s previous ex-posure limits did not adequately protect workers. This much needed new rule will curb silicosis, lung cancer, chronic ob-structive pulmonary disease, and kidney disease in America's workers by limiting their exposure to respirable crystalline silica. The new rule has separate stan-dards for construction and general indus-tries. OSHA estimates about 2.3 million workers face exposure to silica dust at work, including 2 million construction workers and 300,000 workers in manu-facturing facilities, foundries, and energy production. It is estimated that the new rule will save more than 600 lives and 900 new cases of silicosis annually. In addition to this fantastic improvement, OSHA also estimates that the new rule will provide a financial benefit of about $7.7 billion per year. In addition to reducing the allowable exposure limit for silica dust, the rule in-cludes employer requirements such as limiting worker exposure through work practices and engineering controls, pro-viding respiratory protection when con-trols are insufficient, training workers, limiting their access to high exposure ar-eas, and providing medical exams to highly exposed workers. Most employers can limit harmful dust exposure by using equipment that is widely available – generally using water to keep dust from getting into the air or a ventilation system to remove it from the air. OSHA is also providing additional as-sistance through their free on-site con-sulting services for small businesses. As this rule goes into effect, specific materi-

als will be made available directly from OSHA. Insurance Pro Tip: many insurance carriers offer compliance and testing ser-vices for construction clients. Most of the time, you have to ask for these services directly, so check with your insurance car-rier to see if any free services are avail-able. OSHA defines the key provisions of this new rule as follows: • Reduces the permissible exposure limit (PEL) for respirable crystalline silica to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air, averaged over an 8-hour shift. • Requires employers to: use engi-neering controls (such as water or venti-lation) to limit worker exposure to the PEL; provide respirators when engineer-ing controls cannot adequately limit ex-posure; limit worker access to high expo-sure areas; develop a written exposure control plan, offer medical exams to highly exposed workers, and train work-ers on silica risks and how to limit expo-sures. • Provides medical exams to monitor highly exposed workers and gives them information about their lung health. • Provides flexibility to help employ-ers — especially small businesses — pro-tect workers from silica exposure. The compliance schedule for this rule will begin to take effect on Jun. 23, 2016. Businesses involved in the con-struction industry will have one year to become fully compliant. General indus-tries will have two years. Stan Gregory is a Safety and Risk Con-sultant and a leader on INSURICA’s Risk Management team. He has more than three decades of experience working with loss control, safety planning, and risk man-agement for clients within the construction and energy industries. He can be reached at 210-805-5915 or [email protected].

L-R: Meet the newly-elected Women Construction Owners & Executives’ 2016-2017 board: Gadberry Construction’s Tonya Watson (secretary/president elect), Trade

Management’s MaryEllen Evans (legislative), Hill & Wilkinson’s Kristen Marcis (events/meetings), North Texas Ductworks’ Carmen Smith (professional development), Lane

Gorman Trubitt’s Donna Nuernberg (treasurer), Gordon Highlander’s Pam Bird (website/branding) and Hicks Resource Consulting’s Ann Hicks (president). –mjm

Spring boardSubmitted to Construction News

It’s time to redevelop middle management developmentAndy Ray, PrincipalPFK TexasHouston, TX

Recently, I polled a group of 200 execu-tives and owners of mid-market com-

panies. The question was this, “How many of you have a formal development program for your middle managers?” Only two people, or one percent of the group, acknowledged such a program. It should be no surprise then that when this same group of executives was asked if their middle managers had driv-en a significant and sustainable result into their businesses in the last 90 days, the answer was a collective sigh and a frustrated, “no.” The performance dis-connect here is clear - executives and owners are consistently dissatisfied with their middle management’s ability to change business results in a meaningful way, and yet there is little being done programmatically to change that dissat-isfaction. This performance disconnect is oc-curring while “millennials,” the most edu-cated generation to hit the workforce in the history of our nation, are rapidly back filling the middle management ranks be-ing vacated by baby boomers that are hitting retirement age at the rate of 11,000 people a day (a demographic trend that will continue through 2030). Executive and ownership’s reflexive response to this performance disconnect is to blame the millennials for the charac-teristics that define that generation. This shortcut prescription for middle man-agement underperformance is a misread, and we are long overdue for a reframing of the discussion. Hiring smart people and hoping they will “figure it out” is not middle management development. And yet, that is the predominant middle man-agement development methodology used in mid-market companies today. The root of the frustration between ex-ecutives and the middle managers that are trying to keep them happy is not gen-erational; it is developmental. Mastery in middle management, (the ability to create a significant and sus-tainable results change), is developed the same way mastery in music, or golf, or carpentry is mastered: through a broad range of experiences over time. The path to middle management mas-

tery, then, is not so much about explor-ing an unending supply of domain knowledge, but rather digging in and working through real business results change challenges in a tactile way. “Applied Development” is the pro-grammatic response to this managerial challenge that delivers both a high ROI to the sponsoring business and a path to mastery for the middle manager that par-ticipates in it. In an “Applied Develop-ment” model, middle managers journey toward mastery through solving real per-formance challenges in the business they are in in repetitive iterations over time. A successful “Applied Management Development” program rests on four pil-lars: 1) Guidance: Senior peer guidance is critical in any middle management devel-opment program. This is where real tacti-cal knowledge transfer can occur. 2) Technique: Lean, Six Sigma, and Design Thinking are all techniques that today’s middle managers need in their problem solving toolkit and “Applied Management Development” supplies training in these techniques. 3) Structure: Real deliverables in tight timeframes assure that develop-ment cycles deliver a sustainable ROI to the sponsoring company. 4) Practice: Applied development creates a framework for middle manag-ers to practice their craft repetitively and in different types of management chal-lenge scenarios. It is not a one-time fix but, rather, a change in management process. Taken together as a programmatic approach, the four pillars of “Applied Management Development” deliver mid-dle management capability improve-ment that can drive sustainable and meaningful change into a business in as little as 90-days, and change the way middle managers work forever.

Andy Ray is a principal with the Entre-preneurial Advisory Service Practice at PKF Texas. Contact him at (713) 860-1400 or [email protected].


OSHA Issues Silica Lawfor ConstructionJoann NatarajanCompliance Assistance SpecialistOSHAAustin, TX

About two million construction workers are exposed to respirable crystalline silica in over 600,000 work-

places. OSHA estimates that more than 840,000 of these workers are exposed to silica levels that exceed the new permissible exposure limit (PEL).

Exposure to respirable crystalline sil-ica can cause silicosis, lung cancer, other respiratory diseases, and kidney disease. Exposure can occur during common con-struction tasks such as using masonry saws, grinders, drills, jackhammers and handheld powered chipping tools; oper-ating vehicle-mounted drilling rigs; mill-ing; operating crushing machines; and using heavy equipment for demolition or certain other tasks. The construction standard does not apply where exposures will remain low under any foreseeable conditions; for ex-ample, when only performing tasks such as mixing mortar; pouring concrete foot-ers, slab foundation and foundation walls; and removing concrete formwork. The law requires employers to limit worker exposures to respirable crystal-line silica and to take other steps to pro-tect workers. The standard provides flexible alter-natives, especially useful for small em-ployers. Employers can either use a con-trol method laid out in Table 1 of the construction standard, or they can mea-sure workers’ exposure to silica and inde-pendently decide which dust controls work best to limit exposures to the PEL in their workplaces. Regardless of which exposure con-trol method is used, all construction em-ployers covered by the standard are re-quired to:• Establish and implement a written ex-

posure control plan that identifies tasks that involve exposure and methods used to protect workers, including procedures to restrict access to work areas where high exposures may occur.• Designate a competent person to im-plement the written exposure control plan.• Restrict housekeeping practices that expose workers to silica where feasible alternatives are available. • Offer medical exams – including chest X-rays and lung function tests – ev-ery three years for workers who are re-quired by the standard to wear a respira-tor for 30 or more days per year. • Train workers on work operations that result in silica exposure and ways to limit exposure. • Keep records of workers’ silica expo-sure and medical exams.

Table 1 matches common construction tasks with dust control methods, so em-ployers know exactly what they need to do to limit worker exposures to silica. The dust control measures listed in the table include methods known to be effective, like using water to keep dust from get-ting into the air or using ventilation to capture dust. In some operations, respira-tors may also be needed. Employers who follow Table 1 correctly are not required to measure workers’ exposure to silica and are not subject to the PEL.

[email protected] x232

Practical tips for limitingdiscovery costs in construction litigation Jessica NeufeldMunsch Hardt Kopf & HarrDallas, TX

Litigation isn't the first thing on the mind of most con-struction companies when considering their informa-

tion technology infrastructure. However, how an organi-zation stores and manages its data can have a major im-

pact on the overall cost of complying with preservation obligations related to lawsuits.

When litigation arises, parties are obligated to take good faith and reason-able measures to preserve unique data potentially relevant to the case. For the construction industry, this can range from emails and other forms of commu-nication, to CAD, scheduling and ac-counting files, as well as hard copies of the plans and specifications, RFIs and submittals. There are several ways a company can structure data to limit discovery costs without adversely affecting its business functions. Below are some practical data management suggestions construction companies should consider implement-ing to limit potential discovery costs:Avoid storing data on individual com-puter hard drives If each employee stores work on their individual computer hard drive, when it comes time to preserve and col-lect in litigation, relevant data may need to be collected from each computer sep-arately. This is a time- and labor-intensive process that also will likely result in a sub-stantial amount of duplicate data. This results in more data to cull through when it comes time to review and produce to the opposing party, which means greater discovery costs for the company. In contrast, if employees maintain their work on a shared server, preserva-tion and collection of that data can likely be performed just once on that server. This benefits the company by keeping collection costs down, limiting the chance of spoliation (the more individual collec-tions you need to perform, the greater the chance of technical issues or that rel-evant data is missed) and streamlining the review and production process. Though it is still best practice to inter-view key employees to determine wheth-er they’ve saved work on their individual hard drives, having a policy in place in-structing employees not to do so, and which the company can back up with regular compliance audits, will help to fur-ther ensure it can rely on shared storage locations for litigation data collections.Utilize an email archive An email archiving system captures email content in a central location, while storing and indexing the emails for easy searchablity in the future. This type of

product enables a company to reasonably limit the amount of email storage per user while providing employees quick and easy access to archived material. Maintaining a centralized and searchable database of company emails makes it easier to isolate, preserve and collect the emails of key employees when litigation arises. In addition, it en-ables more consistent preservation by centralizing the process instead of rely-ing on individual users to manage their email archives themselves.Be mindful of electronic communica-tions, beyond emails Do employees utilize instant mes-saging software or text messaging? These forms of electronic communica-tion have value for companies as they enable employees to communicate effi-ciently with colleagues, clients or cus-tomers, which can be crucial in the field. At the same time, they each generate ad-ditional potentially relevant data that may need to be produced in litigation. In addition, especially with respect to mo-bile technologies, they may pose unique security risks. Prior to implementing such tools, weigh the value of their use with the po-tential for related litigation costs. Bring IT, legal and other relevant stakeholders to the table for an informed analysis. Fur-thermore, develop policies regarding use and retention of this data to help mitigate discovery costs. If these tech-nologies are already in use, it is not too late to consider revisions to current poli-cies and protocols to minimize discovery costs and improve data security. Jessica Neufeld practices general com-mercial litigation with a significant focus on construction litigation and counseling on behalf of contractors, developers and design professionals. She has both defend-ed and asserted claims of breach of con-tract, negligence, professional negligence, DTPA, fraud and mechanic's liens foreclo-sure. Jessica is also a member of Munsch Hardt's eDiscovery task force. In that ca-pacity, she advises clients and other attor-neys on cost-effective and defensible strat-egies for the preservation, collection, pro-cessing, review and production of electron-ic information. [email protected] www.munsch.com

Tee totalers

It was time to tear up the tees at the 2016 annual Golf Classic, held on Apr. 11 at Dallas’ Bear Creek Golf Club. The

players had a ‘hole’ lot of fun at the event, which was hosted by the DFW Drywall and Acoustical Contractors Association (DACA). –mjm

Winners:1st Place: Mark Long, Ezequiel Perez, Brandon Sparling and Daniel Kampfer2nd Place: Dick Porterfield, Doug Baker, Gary Batton and Chad Fife3rd Place: JD Welsh, Todd Chappell, Ben-nie Lenox and Don Warner

Longest Drive: Mark LongClosest to Pin: Todd Chappell

The 1st place finishers

Rick Rogers won the 50/50 raffle.

Team BakerTriangle had a great turnout for the Walk MS in Addison on April 9th. Combined, the Dallas, Fort Worth and corporate offices raised $8,000 to stop multiple

sclerosis (MS), and also served as a major sponsor for the event. The cause is close to the team’s heart: Both executive vice president Brad Baker and prefab president Keith

Giddens have wives who have MS. –mjm

On a MS-sionSubmitted to Construction News


Lucky Stars

Curtis PurvisRoofing SuperintendentChamberlin Roofing& WaterproofingDallas, TX

Industry FOLKS

On Feb. 17, Curtis Purvis sat in the audience at the National Roofing

Contractors Association’s 129th Annu-al Convention awards ceremony, po-litely listening. As the presenter listed the next award recipient’s achieve-ments, Purvis started having multiple “me too!” moments. Every achieve-ment matched his own – but he wasn’t catching on. “I was happy for whoever that was,” he says, laughing, “only to find out it was me!” Purvis was humbled to be hon-ored with the Roofing Industry Alli-ance for Progress’ Most Valuable Player award as well as Professional Roofing’s ONE “Best of the Best” MVP. Since that moment, Purvis has been inundated with congratulatory emails, phone calls and handshakes upon returning to work. “I wasn’t expecting it,” Purvis says of the awards, which now have a place of honor on his mantel. “It’s nice to be rewarded for the things you do, even though I don’t look for it. I do it be-cause it’s what I want to do.” Purvis grew up in the construction industry, thanks to his father, a master plumber who enlisted his son’s help on job sites until Purvis was a young adult. After a brief stint in college, Purvis got a job in the warehousing industry, working as a shipping coordinator for nine years. Hoping to break free from a desk job and spend more time outside,

he was inspired to break into roofing in 2008 after meeting a cousin’s spouse who was in the industry. Purvis’ ware-house and shipping experience only put him behind another desk, howev-er, this time as an accountant for a roof-ing company. It wasn’t long though before he was coordinating for the maintenance department, and when he was hired at Chamberlin Roofing & Waterproofing four years later, he soon began working in the field as an inspector. A happy circumstance helped him land the superintendent’s job. “We were short on superinten-dents!” Purvis says. “I went to go over-see a job and I never left!” It’s a role Purvis feels fortunate to be a part of every day. “I enjoy the interactions with the guys, the customers, and seeing some-thing built,” he says. When he isn’t working, Purvis likes fishing, traveling and volunteering when he can find the time, but free time is rare. Purvis and his wife Kiki share a blended family of six children and two years ago welcomed their “last child,” Kaleigh, “who is younger than our four grandkids,” Purvis says with a chuckle before adding, “The kids are our greatest reward.” –mjm

The Lone Star State now has a consolidated voice with which to take utility contractors’ issues to Austin. NUCA Texas was officially chartered at NUCA’s 51st Nation-al Convention in March. NUCA Texas starts out almost 100 members strong as it immedi-ately incorporates both existing national at-large members resid-ing in Texas and the NUCA North Texas membership. The state chapter formed in time to build a strong utility contractor coali-tion to address the Texas 85th legislature.

There was not just one lone star, but several at Grand Prairie’s Lone Star Park on Apr. 8. It was there that the

National Utility Contractors Association’s North Texas chapter held its 2016 Awards Banquet and Scholarship Fundraiser, honoring members and companies who shine in the construction industry. –mjm Ditch Digger Award

L-R: Travis Inge, Zach Fusilier and Alex Kocher

2016 Company Safety Driver PipelineEd “Whiz” Whisenant accepting

2016 Member: ContractorDakota Utility Contractors Inc.

L-R: Travis Inge and Nathan Vyers

Extraordinary LeadershipEd “Whiz” Whisenant, Driver Pipeline (right)

Extraordinary LeadershipEric Lesch, PCL Contract Bonding (right)

Extraordinary LeadershipKelli Meyer, Vermeer (right)

Top Project Over $5 MillionREYES Group L-R: Jeff Heimer and Craig

Beckendorf accepting

2016 Estimator and Safety ProfessionalL-R: Southgate’s Bob Becky and John Burns’

Tom Thompson

Top Project Over $5 MillionDriver Pipeline, Ed “Whiz” Whizenant

Accepting

2016 Long Suffering Award MCNational Trench Safety’s Patrick Keller

2016 Extraordinary Member ParticipationU.S. Shoring’s Chad Pendley

L-R: National Special Event AwardNUCA/OSHA Trench Training

L-R: North Texas Contracting’s Zach Fusilier and Team Safety’s Greg Strudwick accepting

2016 Member: Associate, FrostL-R: Alex Kocher, Greg Wilkerson, Travis Inge,

Rick Ducharme and Jill McKean

L-R: Anchor Construction and NUCA’s national treasurer Dan Buckley presents Kiewit-Southgate’s Alex Kocher, National Trench Safety’s Fred Burlbaw,

NUCA’s Deana Butorac, McLaughlin’s Kevin Wise and Driver Pipeline’s Ed “Whiz” Whisenant with

acknowledgement of the charter.


Thrilled to build

The young ladies at Girls Inc. built up their construction confidence at a Block Kids event on Apr. 11. Hosted by the National Association of Women in Construction’s (NAWIC) Dallas chapter in partnership with Hilti Inc., the competition introduces elementary

school children to aspects of the construction industry and encourages them to consider a future construction career. –mjm


Spring FishingStrategies!!by Capt. Steve Schultz

Sponsored by:Waypoint Marine, Majek Boats, Evinrude Outboards, E-Z Bel Construction, Power Pole Shallow Water Anchor, Aggregate

Haulers, ForEverlast Hunting and Fishing Products, MirrOlure, and

Columbia Sportswear.

As we approach the month of May, every one of my clients has been asking the same questions. “Is it

croaker season, or do you have croakers yet?” Well, as I write this column, croak-ers have not been really available on a regular day-to-day basis. A couple of the marinas have flown the bright yellow flag for several days, but most of the baits have been small and weak from the high winds and the transporting of these frag-ile fin fish. I got my hands on a few dozen last week and they were hand picked at one of the local marinas. I must say that it didn’t take long to put together a decent box once we located the right rock in Baf-

fin holding the larger fish. Some may ar-gue that it’s to early to start using these highly sought after summer baits that usually don’t show up till the first of May, but I beg to differ. Don’t get me wrong,

I’ve had some great days in the last few months using lures and shrimp under a popping cork. I think if you’re in the right place at the right time, and you’re a good fisherman, you will catch fish.

Ben Davis, San Antonio, caught this 26-inch Speckled trout south of Baffin Bay usingshrimp under a popping cork while fishing with Steve Schultz Outdoors.

Fishing pressure will increase dra-matically now and as the summer pro-gresses, I have not seen too many busy weeks on the water this season as of yet, but I’m sure they are right around the cor-ner. Late spring and summer months are very busy on the water. Tournaments will be starting this month and you can bet there will be one every weekend from May thru September. It is very important to stay focused in our conservation ef-forts. Keeping enough fish to eat is not a crime by any means, but stacking fish into your deep freeze to be forgotten about and discarded later because of freezer burn is a no-no. We rarely keep and fish over the 25-inch mark unless its survival is hopeless. These larger sows are carrying eggs ready to spawn and re-plenish our ecosystem for the future, so please do your part with these conserva-tion needs. Nuff said!! For the next few month my plan is to continue running south into Baffin Bay and sometimes further south. The rocks in the middle of the bay have been hold-ing good numbers of solid fish. Shore-lines with surface bait activity will also not go un-fished! Target thigh deep wa-ters while wading throwing large surface plugs early and switching to slow sinking lures or plastics as your action slows. If your choice is live bait, anchor or drift fish with live shrimp under a popping cork over deeper rocks and sand areas for specks and reds. Summer schedule is filling quickly but fall dates are still available. Don’t wait until the last minute to book your dates. To schedule your next bay fishing trip give Capt. Steve Schultz a call or text at 361-813-3716 or 361-334-3105 or e-mail him at [email protected]. Good luck and Good Fishing.

Nothing mini about this birthday

Construction News publishers Buddy and Reesa Doebbler wished a happy birthday to Dolly, one of their miniature horses, who turned 10 years old on Apr. 24.

This memory was captured when she was celebrating turning 1 month old. –mh

San Antonio Austin South Texas Houston South Texas

www.constructionnews.net


Half or Full Day Fishing Trips

All Bait, Tackle & EquipmentFurnished

Your catch Filleted andBagged for You

Furnish your TPWD FishingLicense & Refreshments,

and WE DO THE REST!Ken Milam Guide Service(325) 379-2051

www.striperfever.com

Shooting straightSubmitted to Construction News

L-R: Tri Dal Ltd.’s Shay Thomas, PCL Contract

Bonding Agency’s Melissa

and Eric Lesch and Senator

Craig Estes take a break from

shooting to shoot straight about

the construction industry’s most

important issues. The four were attending the

BYOG (Bring Your Own Gun) 2016 Sporting Clay

Shoot at Decatur’s Fossil Pointe

Sporting Grounds on Apr. 2. –mjm

Ken Milam’s Fishing LineSince 1981, Ken Milam has been guiding fishing trips for striped bass on Lake Buchanan in the Texas Hill Country,. You can hear Ken on radio on Saturday and Sunday mornings, 6-8

AM on AM 1300, The Zone – Austin, or http://www.am1300the zone.com

When Lake Buchanan started ris-ing last summer we were just happy to have our lake back.

We had no idea that it would be a lake so unlike the lake the drought took away. After the long dry years the lake bed grew up so many large trees that we now have a lake that takes a while to learn to navigate and fish. The lower part of Lake Buchanan is pretty much unchanged. There are more willows in the backs of the creeks that make bass and crappie fishing more fun, but other than that it is not much different. Upper Lake Buchan-an though is a whole different lake. From the Hi-Line and Canyon of the Eagles area up there is still heavy growth of willow trees that grew to 20–30 ft. high along the river banks when the lake was dry. It is these trees that have changed every-thing.

It is now possible to tie your boat up and fish under a cool shady canopy of willow trees in the middle of the lake on the upper end. In many places the trees are too thick to get through and really hard to see through. You have to just fol-low along the narrow forks of the river channel and ease your way along. Even if you are familiar with Lake Buchanan you need to allow yourself some extra time to learn to navigate and do your best not to be on the water after dark. Use your GPS to help you keep your bearings because I can tell you from experience, out in those willows it is possible know where you are and be completely lost at the same time!The nice thing about the willows is that they tend to gentle down the lake some-what. They break the brisk winds that Buchanan is known for and smooth out

the waves. Even better than that, the wil-lows provide habitat for just about ev-erything that slithers, flies and swims. You can see the handiwork of the many beavers that we have now and even catch a glimpse of one basking in the sun. Be careful of the wasps that favor the willows to nest in though. It is worth a trip to the willows because much of the flood debris is still hung up in the willow thickets providing a double whammy of cover for fish to hide and feed in and op-portunities for anglers to catch them. We have seen some really nice size and num-bers of crappie, bass and catfish being brought in, and our charter trips are yielding good steady limits of solid fish.

Just last week a lady came fishing with us on her 60th birthday with friends and caught the new lake record hybrid bass for Lake Buchanan! Sally Nicholas caught one 26 inches long and 7.9 pounds! What a way to celebrate!

This “new” Lake Buchanan makes us all feel like celebrating! Grab some friends and come see us!

Happy New Lake!

Sally Nicholas caught a record hybrid.Beaver in the willows

Through the willows


With the help of his 11-year-old daughter Cori Beth, Trades Masters’ North Texasregional manager John VanCleef scored this axis deer on a two-day hunt on a

14,000-acre ranch in Menard, TX. VanCleef also harvested an axis doe and a blackbuckdoe (not pictured) on the same hunt. –mjm

Daddy/daughter deer huntSubmitted to Construction News


What should peopletry at least once?

The hail that recently battered the Metroplex made multiple head-lines, but one preschool’s story is

much happier than it could have been, thanks to three local roofing companies. ER Systems, Energy Roofing Solu-tions and Springtree Roofing and Res-toration, who are all members of the North Texas Roofing Contractors Associa-tion (NTRCA), joined forces to donate a new roof to St. Philip’s Episcopal Pre-school in Frisco this spring, just in time before hail assaulted the area. The school’s roof had already taken a beating from last year’s hail storms, but that wasn’t the worst part: Another company had cut out sections of the roof to pro-vide samples as part of an insurance arbi-tration process and had not properly sealed it. Springtree Roofing and Restoration owner AJ Huckaby heard about the pre-school’s need and wanted to help. His

The three roofeteers

company donated labor to temporarily fix the problem areas, but it was evident that the entire building needed a new roof. Huckaby consulted with multiple manufacturers, and ER Systems assessed the roof and decided to donate the need-ed roofing materlias. Energy Roofing So-lutions also jumped to action by donat-ing its services to install the new roof mid-April. Dry, safe and grateful, the preschool teachers and students presented hand-made thank you cards to the companies involved, and honored the team with a luncheon. Karen Vermaire Fox, NTRCA’s exec-utive director, is full of gratitude for the companies as well. “Community service is a major part of NTRCA’s mission, and we are proud to have members like Springtree Roofing and Restoration, ER Systems and Energy Roofing Solutions.” –mjm

Three companies worked together to keep 200 students and their teachers safe and dry.

People should try bungee jumping, I have bungee jumped at Six Flags, and it is fun! In West Virginia, there is a waterfall near a bridge that you can bungee jump off of. I would love to do that.

Christie SmithHowell Crane & Rigging

I went to Yankee Stadium in 2003 and sat in the dugout, walked the fields and went into the old Yankee locker room; it was the locker room where Babe Ruth had his locker, and Derek Jeter had two lockers because of all the fan mail he would get, which would fill up one of the lockers. My wife and I had the choice of going to Tavern On The Green or going to Yankee Stadium, and she chose Yankee Stadium. Unfortunately, they tore the Stadium down, so people can’t go to it. But it was awesome, a lot of history.

Philip ButlerParamount Plumbing

As miserable as it looks, I think everyone should attend New Year’s Eve in Times Square with a significant other. I’ve never done it but it’s on my bucket list. It seems like a monumental moment.

LeAnn HoltDallas/Ft. Worth Lite & Barricade

Give! Give with all of your heart! Don’t give and expect something in return. Giving makes me happy. A pastor in San Antonio once told me that givers gain! Sometimes, I’ll go to Starbucks and give coffees to people anonymously. I’ve been doing this a long time, and one time, a woman recognized me and bought me one! It felt good to be on the other end of her giving, because I know how good giving feels.

Freddie Lopez, freddieamerica.com

Everyone should ride a motorcycle at least once for the sense of freedom that it provides.

Merrick Butler, Butler & Butler Construction/Butler Masonry

It was time for golfers to get their green Apr. 14 at Garland’s Duck Creek

Golf Club. Plumbing-H e a t i n g - C o o l i n g Contractors Association (PHCC) members took their best shots at The 17th annual PHCC North Texas/CompPAC Trust of Texas Golf Tournament. Dinner and awards concluded the event with three happy teams taking home a trophy to show off on their shelves. –mjm

1st place: Pepco Sales team – James Wickersham, Logan Gourley, Richard Mahoney and John Hefner

2nd Place: Romar Supply – Mark Cleer, Jason Waters, Randy Stanley and Ronnie Stanley

Go tee-m! Go tee-m!

3rd Place: The Steam Team – John Kurek, Charlie Hogg, Patrick O’Brien and Jeff Dobbs

Trending nowSubmitted to Construction News

Dallas architects and architectural firms provided a peek at their industry’s current trends by erecting three-dimensional displays at NorthPark Center. Organized by the The American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Dallas chapter, the 26th Annual AIA Dallas

RETROSPECT 2016 exhibition showcased the members’ local, national and international works Apr. 7- 16. –mjm

The Pepco Sales team took 1st place.


How grand!Submitted to Construction News

L-R: As part of the “Jody Dean Office Invasion” contest, Dallas radio station 98.7/KLUV’s Jody Dean “checked” in on Independent Electrical Contractors Association apprenticeship

coordinator Sandy Strevel at her Fort Worth office to give her a $1,000 prize! –mjm

Architects, contractors, subcontrac-tors, engineers and clients stopped by Fort Worth’s Rahr & Sons Brew-

ing Company on Apr. 14 to support a cause close to their hearts. The Building With Heart event, an evening of food, drinks and networking, was held to gen-erate support for the Tarrant County American Heart Association, raise funds for the Annual Heart Walk in September and increase awareness about how heart disease affects those in the construction industry. –mjm

A hearty breed

Did you know?

In the construction industry, 2.1 per-cent of the people had suffered heart

disease or stroke.

According to the American Heart As-sociation and the American Stroke

Association, the construction indus-try has one of the highest incident rates of psychosocial health prob-

lems, including stress, fatigueand burnout.

Research shows that workers in the construction business are at risk for

heart disease and stroke due to phys-ical chemical, biological and psycho-

social work hazards.

L-R: Byrne Construction’s Chad Anderson, Benjamin L. Robertson, and American Heart

Association’s Stacy Richardson

L-R: JQ’s Carlo Taddei, Douglas Rothermel and Stephen Lucy

L-R: Huckabee’s Josh Brown AIA and Dennett Construction’s Scott Dennett

Craw shucks!

Everyone was crazy about the craw on Mar. 31 at the Silver Lake Marina at Lake Grapevine! TEXO, the

Construction Association hosted a crawfish boil for its members as a 2016 debut for the association’s IMPACT Networking Series. –mjm


Concrete Industry

Economy strong, but labor shortage a stressor

Lance Halfmann, Vice-PresidentConScape Inc.Fort Worth, TX

What are the “hot button” issues in the industry?

It seems like the problem for contrac-tors across the board is a shortage of qualified labor, because the work is defi-nitely there – it’s been there for two years – but the labor is the issue. I think right now, with there being so much commercial work available, some-times your eyes get bigger than your stomach and you take on more work, or you get more work because everybody is spread so thin. A lot of times you take on jobs and the schedule is demanding and your labor force is so short you find your-self behind the eight ball before the job starts. What we’ve learned to do is to back off and take the work that we think we can handle so that we’re able to properly man our projects. I don’t want our cus-tomers upset with us or to think we’re not

capable. We know the job, we know what we’re capable of and so we’re not going to extend beyond our means. We want to maintain quality and not just take on more than we can handle. I’ve heard that from many people, that there is so much good work out there that you almost have to rein yourself in and not get overextended, because then you’re into overtime hours and labor, which will eat up your profit margin.

How would you describe the state of the construction industry in general terms? I’ve been with ConScape 15 years, and business is as good as I have ever seen it. My dad, Charles Halfmann, who has been in this industry 48 years, said he’s only seen one other time that was comparable to this as far as the quality of work that’s available.

There’s definitely an increase in busi-ness. As I said, we’re trying to stay level in what we can do. It’s awfully tempting to bid a lot of work but I have to temper that enthusiasm.

How is this increase affecting your company and how you conduct busi-ness? We’ve increased our labor and we’ve increased the pay of our employees, which is good for them, too. We’ve con-centrated on our margins and have been able to pick the work that suits us better. We don’t have to chase work that we’re not suited for, and that’s what we’re lean-ing towards.

Have there been any recent changes in legislation affecting the concrete industry relating to transportation or the environment? I think change has been more local; with the increase in the amount of truck traffic, the Redi Mix suppliers are more conscious of the weight of their trucks going down the road; they seem to get stopped a lot [by police officers]. They have to be careful and conscious that they’re not overloading their trucks be-cause that could become a hazard. As far as legislation pertaining to us directly, nothing drastic has been hap-pening. All that has really affected us is the labor shortage.

What are the cost increases relating to your industry? Thank goodness fuel has leveled off. It has helped our bottom line, just with our day-to-day travels. I would say the general price increase as opposed to two years ago, by roughly 20-35%, is in labor, and 25-35% in material. Rebar has been steady and forming material has been good. Concrete has been the increase that we’ve seen the most, along with la-bor.

What do you think is on the horizon for your industry? What we are looking for is anything equipment-wise that can reduce labor cost because of the shortage right now. We try to make sure that we are up to par on that. We’d like to keep that equipment running so we’re not working our labor too much; we’re more productive and more efficient that way. In our industry, pretty much every-thing is labor-driven, and we’re dependent on quality people. We’re just trying to re-tain what we have. Anything that will take care of our people is what we’re concen-trating on. If they’re happy, we’re happy.

ConScape Inc. in Fort Worth offers pav-ing, tilt wall panels, foundations and stamped concrete. –mjm

Working togetherto achieve success

Wanda Lynn Gibson, president, andMarty Gibson, vice presidentGibson Concrete LLCPflugerville, TX

What are the “hot button” issues in the concrete industry?

The “hot button” issue that affects the concrete industry from the ground up is the labor force – finding and keep-ing workers, more so in the field, not in management roles. We recognize that nothing is accomplished until the first shovel hits the ground, so the men that have that job and the superintendents that run the crews are most important. How would you describe the state of the construction industry? The state of the industry is very good right now, there is a lot going on in devel-opment. What factors are driving this in-crease? There are several factors that contin-ue to keep our industry busy: the amount of bonds passed for schools, including a new movement towards the fine arts ed-ucation. Austin continues to be a desir-able place to live across demographics, which lends to an array of development, from schools to churches, to urban living communities, hospitals, education cen-ters, retail, entertainment, roads, etc. It’s a ripple effect. Has this increase affected your com-pany and how you conduct business? Our bidding has to be selective – otherwise if we are not careful, we can take on too much. Work is consistent, and scheduling is everything to keep projects happening on time and on bud-get. Other than that, we continue to con-

duct business and operate with respect and attention to details, the customers, the work force, and Mother Nature. Are there recent changes in legisla-tion affecting the concrete industry? The legislation that continues to happen and affect the concrete industry on a daily basis has mostly revolved around contractual language. I believe we can look forward to subsequent bills that will address global warming. This will encompass environmental concerns as well, in which Gibson Concrete will al-ways respect and support laws that both protect our Earth and balance healthy development. What is the most significant chal-lenge your industry faces? The labor force is again the topic of the day. In a nutshell, we are losing the tradesman generation. Young men and women are being educated in the con-struction sciences at universities, but many have not had the opportunity to grow up in or learn an actual labor trade – and so the application knowledge and wisdom that is gained with hands on ex-perience is missing from professionals that we employ on our jobsites or in the offices as project managers, etc. It’s im-portant that we utilize benefits from both, taking aspects from the books but applying it with the practical know-how on a jobsite, in the midst of jobsite vari-ables. We need both. There is a difference between building out of a book and building on a jobsite. This understanding

is huge and must be respected in ways to build and foster the tradesmen vocation with the construction industry in order to maintain its health and integrity. That said, recent interest with high school cur-riculum offering trade certifications again is promising. How are you dealing with these challenges? For Gibson Concrete, it started a long time ago when Marty began the trade. Since then, he has not only respected it, he knows a tradesman when he sees one and hires them! From there, you manage a business well to provide a good place of employment and keep those great em-ployees. It’s also nice when the long-term employees become your recruiters and bring in others that may possess the same work credentials and ethics. What is on the horizon for your in-dustry? Technology affects everything, al-ways on the horizon is a better, faster way of getting from point A to point B – in our industry, one personal experience is with surveying equipment for both layout and concrete placement. The instruments and software designed for the tasks are pretty good. What are the rewards of the indus-try? At the end of the day, you can look back and see productivity – literally, you can see a permanent foundation or build-ing that will contribute to the community in different ways: socially, physically, eco-nomically, spiritually…it’s an honor to be part of it and lend our expertise and tal-ents in this way. What are keys to being successful? First, let’s define success – Webster’s Dictionary defines success as: 1) the fact of getting or achieving wealth, respect, or fame; 2) the correct or desired result of an attempt. These definitions are not bad if they

also consider the journey and conse-quence of such success! Success to the owners of Gibson Concrete would first take into consideration the goals which might be summed up to livelihood, con-tentment/happiness, and purpose. Thus far, as owners and employer, we have cer-tainly provided towards our own and oth-er’s livelihoods; we have experienced many hours of contentment and happi-ness (along with frustration and sorrows); and we have come to learn and see how all has great purpose. So in this way, we are very grateful and successful people! We are successful because we have the eyes to understand what we already are and have. If you were to revise the question to how to run a successful business, I would elaborate on the last decade where we learned how vital the owner presence and direction is when it comes to leading a company, both administratively and in the field. In the same breath, a company is not run by one or two people or owners. You learn to strategically (and harmoniously) surround yourself with a great team of ex-perts in the different positions called for. You seek and maintain the good working relationships, both with your internal and external customers, and let go of the rest. You start and finish strong knowing that your name is on the product. The fruit: after working together for several years, the cohesiveness between the field and office has a profound impact on projects when it comes to communi-cation and decisions made that can either make it a good day or not so good day. Finally, Gibson Concrete takes the time to identify and recognize each per-son for the person they are, and for their contribution to the success of the com-pany. We do this in several ways, includ-ing, but not limited to: prayer, vacation benefits, monetary recognition, perform-ing charitable functions together, play and social time. –cw


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Concrete Industry

Concrete mattersBill Cloyd, OwnerCloyd Concrete ConstructionMagnolia, TX

What is your background in the construction in-dustry?

I have worked in the concrete business for about 30 years. When I first got started in the industry, I helped a few people do small concrete jobs back in the early ‘80s. I was just looking for a way to feed my family. I eventu-

ally had the opportunity to do larger concrete jobs. I learned the business as I went and things just took off from there.

In your opinion, what is the state of the Houston construction industry? I think the Houston construction in-dustry is still strong. I have noticed in the last two or three months things are start-ing to slow up just a little bit. We have had a huge boom in the past couple of years. We still haven’t felt anything that is related to the downturn in the oil busi-ness. I think we are still doing OK.

What are a few major changes in your industry in the last few years? There are new products and tools to use for larger jobs. Laser screeds are now used on jobs and this cuts down on labor. These new products help us give a better product to the customers. What are few challenges you have

seen lately? I think with as many people laid off in the oil business, that we are going to see a slow down in the coming year. It is still a very diversified economy here in Hous-ton. I think established customers and contractors will continue to do OK. I have several builders I do work for as a subcon-tractor that are very established in the area. They are going to continue building because their name is out there. You have to have a good product, a good response to problems in the field and good relationships to keep your business going. You have to know how to ride the storms out.

What advice can you offer to a young person who wants to pursue a con-struction career? My advice to a young person would be to get with a reputable company that has been around a while. Learn the business. Start out as a la-borer and work your way up. If you have

aspirations to own a company, see about taking business and accounting courses. It is important to know all aspects of the concrete business, not just how to do the work.

What is on the horizon for the con-struction industry? I think it is still going to be a good market but I don’t think it will be as busy as it has been in the past two or three years. What does it take to be successful in your industry? I think the keys to success in the con-crete business is having good customers that pay well and pay on time. I have employees that have worked with me for a long period of time. You have to treat employees good because they are your business. They have to be taken care of and re-warded for the work they learn how to do. Cloyd Concrete Construction provides residential and commercial concrete servic-es. –ab

It’s all in the tilt wallLuis Higadera, General ManagerNOVIDESASan Antonio, TX

While construction companies and owners search for ways to stream-

line the building process, save on costs, and create sustainable and energy effi-cient designs, Luis Higadera, NOVIDESA, believes that insulated concrete tilt wall can help achieve all of these goals. “The benefit is that you have three steps in one,” explains Higadera. “Once you lift your panels, you have your con-crete, your metal stud and your insula-tion, and as a system, it’s more cost effec-tive than conventional construction.” By doing these three steps in one, Hi-gadera says the panels save costs on la-bor, concrete and steel. In conventional

construction, once a concrete tilt wall is lifted, a subcontractor will put in the in-sulation and another subcontractor will put in the metal stud. Combining these three steps in one panel makes it less ex-pensive to install and more energy effi-cient in the long run. With expanded polystyrene (EPS) providing the insulation in these panels, they provide protection from hot and cold, and they mean lower electricity bills for the end user. Using the index that measures the heat transmission re-sistance of the wall, the R-value of the insulated concrete tilt wall is 20. Higadera cites the 2015 Internation-al Building Code as requiring continuous insulation with an R-value of 7 1/2, and points out that the panels exceed the code-required R-value by more than double. He also says that using conven-tional construction, if the builder or owner wants more insulation, will add to the cost of construction. In this sense, the NOVIDESA system is the same cost but has an R-value of 20. When the 2015 code was imple-mented, NOVIDESA came to San Antonio

because the panels presented a conve-nient way to meet and exceed the code, Higadera explains. “The 2015 code requires a continu-ous insulation, and all of our products give you a continuous insulation,” he says. “What it means to have a continu-ous insulated wall with the R-value that we have is that you’re going to have a lower [electricity] bill on your building.” Another point Higadera makes is that the wall will be less thick than it would be in conventional construction, creating more space inside. The insulated concrete tilt wall will be 9 inches if you would use it in place of a 5 1/4-inch con-ventional concrete tilt wall. But as anoth-er benefit to having three pieces of the process in one, he says that when you add the metal stud and insulation to that conventional construction, the wall will be thicker than 9 inches. The insulated concrete tilt wall pan-els have been used for more than 20 years, he says, and NOVIDESA has been using them in Mexico and in the Rio Grande Valley, but this kind of panel is used across the world. The panels are

manufactured in Mexico, but the tech-nology was engineered in Italy. When NOVIDESA started in 2006, Hi-gadera recalls having to convince cus-tomers of the benefits, but as the years have passed, he observes that insulated concrete tilt wall is becoming more pop-ular because of its advantages, especially under the 2015 code. One example of the product’s use is a recent project in San Antonio with MD Construction, a concrete contractor, where NOVIDESA supplied insulated con-crete tilt wall for a retail commercial building on Potranco Road. Higadera es-timates that nine panels used in the build totaled about 5,000sf and were done in two-and-a-half days. NOVIDESA started in the Rio Grande Valley, and since arriving in San Antonio, Hi-gadera has worked with Diego Rodriguez, owner of MD Construction, on supplying materials for jobs. Higadera notes that Ro-driguez was the first subcontractor in the San Antonio area to be trained to work with the insulated concrete tilt wall. –mh



Center of it all

BRS Architecture and Byrne Construction Services help break ground on the Link at Richland Hills activity center Apr. 19. Construction on the 26,500-sf facility, which will

include a gymnasium, weight and cardio areas, indoor walking track, fitness studio, an arts and crafts classroom and community rooms, is slated for completion April 2017. –mjm

Members of the Dallas and Fort Worth/Tarrant County chapters of the Independent Electrical Contractors Association (IEC) had a feeling in their putt Apr. 12. The association hosted its 10th annual Tom Jones Memorial Golf

Tournament at Euless’ Texas Star Golf Course, and 212 golfers competed in morning and afternoon flights to benefit the National Breast Cancer Foundation, the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the IEC Foundation. –mjm

Hole in won

Winners:Morning:1st Place, First Flight: Troy Skipmore, Tyler Mileger, Chris Tucker and Chad Knowles1st Place, Second Flight: Brett Skyllingstad, Corey Bryant, Ron Canion and Scott AndersonClosest to Pin: Jeff WolflaStraightest Drive: Jordon JonesAfternoon:1st Place, 2nd Flight: Gary Sodd, Roger Peterson, Randy Aldridge and David LaytonClosest to pin: Wes ShahanStraightest Drive: Shaun Kell

The golfers fight the morning chill before the first flight.

Jeff Wolfla won “closest to the pin” in oneof the morning flights.

Skanska’s Eric Bunner trains forThe Prosper Row-a-thon, a grassroots

fundraising event he created for Cornerstone Assistance Network of

North Central Texas, which helps Collin County’s needy. On May 21, individuals or teams will join Bunner in rowing an entire marathon (42,195 meters) on an

indoor rowing machine (aka “ergometer”or “erg.”). –mjm


Creating quite a row

L-R: Brothers Kevin and Merrick Butlerpull out all of the glamorous stops to

celebrate the 10th anniversary of Butler & Butler Construction/Butler Masonry. To

share the joys and successes of thepast decade, the brothers hosted a gala

Mar. 26 at Dallas’ The City Club. –mjm


A perfect 10!


continued from Page 1 — Causing a lift

continued from Page 1 — Driven to succeed

continued from Page 1 —Fuel injector

chuckle). They also join the company’s San Antonio team for an annual skeet shoot/dove hunt and cookout held for employees and customers. The example of camaraderie is set at the top with How-ell and runs deep through the ranks. “What I like about Howell Crane, and what sets Howell Crane apart from any other crane company I’ve worked for, is how involved the owner is,” Boucher says. “Audie Howell is very involved in the day-to-day – I’d almost say by the hour – and I love that about him. The fact that he takes this much interest in his own com-pany says a lot.” Boucher, who has worked in the crane and rigging industry since high school, enjoys helping Howell mentor the Dallas team, which his staff appreci-ates. “I’ve enjoyed working for Mike since I’ve been here,” Coleman says. “It’s my first year in sales and he’s really helped me out a lot, and so has our owner. How-

ell Crane’s kind of a big mom-and-pop operation; we’re all known by names; we’re not a number. The owner calls us and checks on us. They’re just good peo-ple all around.” Smith agrees, saying her favorite part about working at Howell Crane & Rigging Inc. is her co-workers. “I really enjoy my job,” Smith adds. “Mike is a lot of help, and Blue is too.” Boucher says he likes working with a great team that makes a difference for the customers. “The biggest compliment we have gotten is on our service. We pride our-selves on service and safety. Our guys are highly trained; they’re very efficient in what they do,” Boucher says. “If we’re cheaper on the dollar, that’s a plus, but safety and customer service are the two key components we try to tackle.” With offices in Dallas and San Antonio, Howell Crane & Rigging Inc. offers crane and rigging and trucking services. –mjm

Association CalendarContent submitted by Associations to Construction News

AIA - Fort WorthAmerican Institute of Architects

May 11: AIA/CSI ACME Brick Golf Tourna-ment, Waterchase Golf Club, 8951 Creek Run Rd., Fort Worth, 1pm.

ASA North TexasAmerican Subcontractors Association

May 12: Schmooze & Mingle – Crawfish Boil, Morrison Supply, 3200 Irving Blvd., Dallas, 4pm. Contact Kelly Dando for de-tails at (817) 640-8275 or [email protected] 14: 13th Annual Poker Run for Texas Scottish Rite Hospital & Happy Hill Farm, 9am. Visit www.asa-northtexas.org or contact LaDell Tullos for details at (817) 640-8275 or [email protected] 19: Luncheon with CFMA, Hackber-ry Country Club, 1901 W Royal Ln, Irving, 11:30am. Contact Kelly Dando for details at (817) 640-8275 or [email protected].

ASCEAmerican Society of Civil Engineers

May 9: Dallas branch meeting, 11 am

ASSE – Southwest Am. Society of Safety Engineers

May 9: Chapter meeting

CFMAConstruction Financial Mgmt Assn.

May 19: Luncheon with ASA, Hackberry Country Club, 1901 W Royal Ln, Irving, 11:30am. Contact Kelly Dando for details at (817) 640-8275 or [email protected] 23: CFMA Golf Tournament, Timma-ron Country Club, 1400 Byron Nelson Pkwy, Southlake, 7:30am.

CSI – DallasConstruction Specifications Institute

May 10: Chapter meeting, Addison Con-ference Center, 15650 Addison Road, Ad-dison, 5:30pm.May 31: CSI Dallas Happy Hour, Katy Trail Ice House, 3127 Routh St., Dallas, 5:30pm.

CSI – Fort WorthConstruction Specifications Institute

May 11: AIA/CSI ACME Brick Golf Tourna-ment, Waterchase Golf Club, 8951 Creek Run Rd., Fort Worth, 1pm.

DACADrywall & Acoustical Contractors Assn.

May 18: Membership meeting, Court-yard Marriott TownePlace Suites, 2200 Bass Pro Court, Grapevine, 11:30am.

IEC - DallasIndependent Electrical Contractors

May 13: IEC Night at the Ballpark, Globe Life Park, Texas Rangers vs. Toronto Blue-jays, 5pm “All You Can Eat Porch”, 7:05pm game.

IEC - Fort Worth Independent Electrical Contractors

May 13: IEC Night at the Ballpark, Globe Life Park, Texas Rangers vs. Toronto Blue-jays, 5pm “All You Can Eat Porch”, 7:05pm game.

NAMCNat’l Assn. of Minority Contractors

May 19: Launch event, Globe Life Park, Cholula Porch, Arlington, 6pm.

NARI - DallasNat’l Assn. of the Remodeling Industry

May 10: Meeting, ProSource Wholesale Floorcoverings, 989 W. Sandy Lake Rd, Coppell, 6pm.

NAWIC - DallasNat’l Assn. of Women in Construction

May 4: 23rd Annual Golf Classic, Cow-boys Golf Club, 1600 Fairway Drive, Grapevine, 10:30 check-in.May 16: Dinner meeting, “Industry Ap-preciation Night”May 20-21: South Central Region Forum, New Orleans, LA

NAWIC - Fort WorthNat’l Assn. of Women in Construction

May 5: The Who’s Who in Building and Construction Showcase, Texas Rangers Baseball Club, 1000 Ballpark Way, Arling-ton, 2pm.May 18: Business dinner meeting, Dia-mond Oaks Country Club, 5821 Diamond Oaks Dr. N, Fort Worth, 5:30pm.May 20-21: South Central Region Forum, New Orleans, LA

NTRCAN. Tx Roofing Contractors Assn.

May 25: Lunch & Learn meeting, Interna-tional Bowling Museum Arlington, 621 Six Flags Dr., Arlington, 11:30am

NUCANat’l Utility Contractors Assn.

May 5: PORKaPULLuza 3rd Annual Clay Shoot & BBQ, Dallas Gun Club, 3601 S Stemmons Fwy, Lewisville, 10am.

PDCA - DallasPainting & Decorating Contractors of Amer.

May 11: Happy Hour

PHCC Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors

May 17: Lunch meeting at Brookhaven Country Club

PMI – DallasProject Management Institute

May 27: Dallas Lunch & Learn, Panera Bread, Park Lane/Central Expwy, 7839 Park Ln., Dallas, 11:30am.May 27: Plano Lunch & Learn, Café Ex-press, Shops at Legacy, 5800 Legacy Dr., Plano, 11:30am.

RHCARegional Hispanic Contractors Assn.

May 20: Annual Sporting Clay Classic, Elm Fork Shooting Sports, 10751 Luna Rd., Dallas, 7am. Contact Yolanda Tafoya at [email protected] or (972) 786-0909 for details.

SAMSubcontractors Assn. of the Metroplex

May 5: Dinner meeting, MCM Elegante Hotel, 2330 W. Northwest Hwy, Dallas, 6pm.

SEA – DallasStructural Engineers Assn.

May 17: Lunch meeting, Maggiano’s Lit-tle Italy, 205 Northpark Center, Dallas, 11:30am.

SFPE – DFWSociety of Fire Protection Engineers

May 2: Meeting and lunch, Double Tree Hotel, 4099 Valley View Ln., Farmers Branch, 11:30am.

TGA/NTD Texas Glass Association

May 10: Membership Dinner Meeting, Hilton Inn DFW, 2001 Valley View Ln, Ir-ving, 6pm.

TPWA – N.TX.Texas Public Works Assn.

May 19: Sporting Clay Tournament, Al-pine Shooting Range, 5482 Shelby Rd., Fort Worth, 1pm shotgun start.

“fuse” it with the existing structure, demolish the dividing wall without compromising the structure’s integrity and also bring it up to code. Ghafoor felt confident he and his team could meet or possibly beat the project’s 90-day deadline and impress the client as well. “I have a great professional relationship with my structural engineer, Jerry Coffee, who always gives me sound advice and his professional opinion on operation and maintenance,” Ghafoor explains. “Innovative Design Build has a very positive relationship with many of the experts in the construction field. Our company consults with these professionals on a regular basis in order to deliver the desired outcome.” Innovative Design Build started by giving the structure firmer footing, thanks to a new foundation. For additional support, concrete masonry unit (CMU) structural walls were utilized as well. The team topped off the structure with a new timber frame roof and installed larger windows and a wider door. New counters freshened up the interior of the building, and, to bring the facility up to date, IDB renovated the bathroom to meet all American Disability Accessibility requirements. The structural wall

between the remodeled addition and the gas station was also removed, connecting the two spaces. Ghafoor and his team not only brought the building up to date, they also completed the 90-day project in only 65 days. The gas station that had once been “running on fumes” was now refueled and ready for business. Looking back on the renovation process, Ghafoor is glad he took the challenge, even though he admits the gas station’s original condition caused occasional doubts. “After all of the construction documents were completed and approved, I had second thoughts, thinking, ‘What have I got into now?’” Ghafoor admits. “However, after a few weeks of progress when I could see the resulting fruit of my labor and the labor of many others, it was very satisfying to complete a project early and within budget. Ask any contractor - those feelings are hard to put in words!” Located in Colleyville, general contractor Innovative Design Build specializes in commercial and residential ground up construction, rehabilitation and additions, and also focuses on green building. –mjm

Even though the firm focuses on high-profile projects, Hegarty says HNTB also focuses on its professionals, ensuring that there are opportunities for employee happiness and growth. It is something he has seen firsthand since joining the firm in 2013. “Our North Texas office makes sure to have numerous team building events – we genuinely enjoy getting to know each other outside of a working environment,” he says. “Just this year we have departmental outings for Whirlyball, Top Golf, Dave and Busters, Rangers games, Bocce tournament and several happy hours. We also have hosted an office-wide “pub quiz” and March Madness bracket competition.” In addition to creating bonds outside of the office, HNTB strives to ensure their professionals feel they are on the right career path within the company.

“We have numerous one-on-one career path discussions to make sure everyone is growing and learning in their roles within the company, and that they are happy with what they are doing,” Hegarty says.” HNTB North Texas is on a mission to have a general management focus of building pride of place.” “The HNTB North Texas office has been growing rapidly since its inception in 1965. Just since 2013, our staff has nearly doubled in size to our now 108 employees,” he continues. “Our main focus now that we have a great portfolio of talent on board is to keep our employees happy and ensure that they maintain a work-life balance while producing quality results for our clients.” HNTB is an employee-owned infrastructure solutions firm serving public and private owners and construction contractors. –mjm


Dallas/Ft. Worth Lite & Barricade Inc. president Shane D. Howell (far right) welcomes guests and describes one of the products, an ADA SpeakMaster, on display at a product

showcase event held Apr. 13 at the company’s Dallas office. –mjm

Quite a product-ionSubmitted to Construction News

Round-UpLane Gorman Trubitt (LGT) and its affili-ate company LGT Financial Advisors LLC (LGT FA), announced two new additions to their partner groups: Kevin Warneke CPA, an assurance services profession-al, has been named a partner of LGT. With more than 15 years of public ac-counting experi-ence, Warneke’s pri-mary focus will be on client service. His responsibilities include all aspects of au-dit and consulting engagements from planning, assessing risk, and supervising staff to the review and presentation of fi-nal deliverables to management and board of directors.Scott Gunn, JD CFP CPFA, a financial planning consultant who has more than 20 years of invest-ment consulting and financial plan-ning experience, has been named a partner of LGT FA. Gunn, who joined LGT FA as principal in 2009, will be responsible for investment advisory services, comprehensive finan-cial planning and qualified plan consult-ing to employers. Scott also serves as LGT FA’s Chief Compliance Officer.Several staff level promotions at LGT’s Dallas office have also been announced:Babita Sherchan and Shehzana Ali be-came manager in the firm’s assurance services department.Callie Nixon and Elliot Nolan were pro-moted to Senior I employees.Rachel Luker and Britney Castilleja graduated to Staff II.Trey Hardy was promoted to Senior I in the firm’s tax department.

Buyers Barricades in Richland Hills an-nounces two additions to its team:Matt Sauer has joined the team as a project manager. Sauer’s job duties include managing contract work, quoting commer-cial jobs, onsite su-pervising and man-aging special events. His past experience includes out-side sales with an industrial supplier, op-eration of longline striping, and work as a supervisor/dispatch/project manager in traffic control for three years. Sauer earned an Associates of Arts degree from Longview Community College.Cole Benton has been hired as an es-timator in outside sales. Benton’s du-ties include analyz-ing data to estimate time, cost, labor and material re-quired to perform services from start, to maintenance to completion. With sev-en years in the construction industry, Benton previously worked as an assistant project manager and rough carpenter for RJM Contractors. Benton earned a bach-elor’s in marketing with a sales concen-tration at Texas Tech University’s Rawls College of Business.

Architecture, engi-neering and plan-ning firm Smith-GroupJJR promot-ed Clint Menefee AIA, LEED AP BD+C to principal at the firm’s Dallas office. Menefee joined SmithGroupJJR in 2006 with a focus in the planning and design of a diverse range of higher education building ty-pologies. Menefee earned a bachelor’s of Environmental Design from Texas A&M University, followed by a Master of Archi-tecture from Clemson University.

Sundt Construction Inc. has hired Arun Verma as a projects control manager in the company’s Fort Worth office. Ver-ma’s experience en-compasses the en-tire spectrum of project controls and management for federal/Army Corps of Engineers, commercial, industrial, light rail, highway and energy projects. Verma earned a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engi-neering from the K.K. Wagh Institute of Engineering Education & Research in In-dia and a master’s degree in Construction Engineering and Management from Tex-as A&M University.

SubmissionsEmail with “Round-Up” in the subject

line (w/digital photo, if available)by the 15th of any month, for the

next month’s issue to:

[email protected]


Safety in numbers

Trinity Drywall & Plastering Systems president Brad Bryant proudly holds the 2016 Excellence in Construction Safety Award presented to him Apr. 18 at the Association of the

Wall and Ceiling Industry (AWCI)’s annual convention in New Orleans. The company was recognized for “greatest overall increase in safety, training and awareness among AWCI member companies with between 500,000 and One Million Man-Hours in 2015.” –mjm

Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News May 2016

Documents

Transcript of Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News May 2016