Flintco Forward: Recent Episodes
Flintco
This is Flintco Forward, your media channel to explore innovative thought leadership in the construction industry.
In this episode of Flintco Talks, host Daniel “Dan0” Oates sits down with Bill Hart, a founding partner with the organizational performance consulting company Acumen Performance Group (APG), and a 20-year veteran as a Naval Special Warfare Operator with the Navy SEALs from 1992-2012. Following his decorated military service, Bill struggled with re-entry into civilian life. Extended multiple deployments during the Iraq War had taken their toll on his mental health. He got divorced and lost his oldest son to suicide. He was deep in debt, his driver’s license lapsed, and lost his personal identity as a Navy SEAL. But he didn’t give up. Bill shares his riveting personal journey as a warfighter while earning a master’s degree in psychology to starting a successful business with other retired SEALs. Available wherever you get your podcasts.
For this third installment of Flintco Forward’s look at the Texas Capitol Complex project, Ruben Martinez, President of Martinez Moore Engineers, LLC, Tom Stuhler, Vice President, Senior Project Architect, at HKS, Inc., Brian Eason, Senior Project Manager at HKS, Inc., and Jason Riley, Senior Superintendent, Flintco, LLC focused on the 1801 Congress portion of the project.
“The 1801 Congress project, also referred to as the George H.W. Bush building, is a 15-story office tower that sits on a four-story, below-grade garage,” Riley said.
A lot of effort goes into keeping a project of this magnitude on track with the various Texas Facilities Commission Agencies.
“There is a lot of coordination necessary,” Stuhler said.
With five other packages to consider, this project touches upon others. Eason mentioned hundreds of people and multiple teams, from engineers to designers, working on this project phase.
For Martinez, there’s a lot of pride on the line with his firm’s ability to tie the state's traditions to those shaping Texas’ future the way companies such as Martinez Moore and HKS have done for years.
“When you can contribute to a very important part of Texas that a lot of people will one day get to enjoy, [including] everything this complex will have to offer, it’s just something I find very fulfilling,” Martinez said.
“All of the various phases are not under one general contractor's direction or designed by one architect,” Riley said. “There are a lot of different challenges where these projects meet and come together, and there’s a lot of coordination that goes into that on Flintco’s end to make sure what we’re providing can tie into what the other contractors are providing and vice versa.”
One thing is for sure: the efforts, teamwork, and shared mission of so many will make the Texas Capitol Complex project a smashing success for Austin and something Texans can be proud of for years to come.
The Littleton, Colorado community understands the relationship between a child’s nutrition and mental health. And it is with those students, the future of the community, in mind the Littleton public school system (LPS) took on the responsibility to improve food quality, accessibility, and students' experience.
They invested in a complete renovation of the kitchens at several elementary and middle schools, sourcing Flintco to help. LPS’s Jon Widmier, Coordinator of Social, Emotional and Behavioral Services, Jessica Gould, Director of Nutrition Services, and Terry Davis, Chief Operations Officer, joined Flintco Forward to dive into the project's reasons and the benefits they’ve seen thus far.
“Having food is a basic need for students,” Gould said. “When those needs aren’t met, a student’s ability to learn in the classroom is not there.”
Ensuring students have access to healthy, nutritious food to learn and achieve their fullest potential is a primary focus for Gould.
Expanding on that thought, Widmier said, “What we know is physical health and mental health are two sides of the same coin. So, eating and drinking well can help a person lead a healthier lifestyle and sleep better. And sleep is one of those KPI’s that can really change a student’s game.”
With such importance placed on nutrition for students’ health and well-being, having a school system with state-of-the-art kitchens designed to execute nutrition is essential. To help meet these goals, LPS enlisted the help of Flintco for their kitchen renovations.
“Flintco came to the table with a creative scheduling approach we had not seen before,” Davis said. “We [had] a two-and-a-half-month construction timeline. And they came in with an approach that did not cost us above and beyond the work scope. Their ability and willingness to make changes without adjusting costs is why Flintco rose above and beyond the competition.”
Internships offer great opportunities for businesses and students. Alberici, a diversified, global construction company, has a long history of tapping into new talent and sharing real-world expertise with interns. In past years, the group of interns met at the company’s headquarters in St. Louis, but COVID-19 restrictions made that impossible.
The company came up with a plan for an Intern Hackathon to enable interns to innovate together on an actual problem—construction practices in the world of COVID-19. Intern Adnan Malkoc, Alberici Global Automotive Constructors President Jose Garcia-Aranda and Flintco project manager Dan O’Hara spoke about the experience.
“We had several goals for the hackathon,” Garcia-Aranda said. “We wanted to promote innovation within teams, leverage the interns' talent and expertise and solve a real problem in the industry.”
Eight teams competed to deliver a practical and innovative way to “hack the new norm.” O’Hara and Garcia-Aranda were both inspired and in awe of all the great ideas. They and other executives and industry leaders judged the presentations.
Malkoc’s team was the winner with the TRACE contact tracking idea to monitor employee activity accurately.
“We wanted to come up with the idea that hit all points. We came up with the TRACE solution; it works with a phone app and an embedded chip sticker for hard hats,” Malkoc said. “It tracks the daily activity of workers and other data.” How much is something like this needed on a construction site?
“We’ve had a few employees contract COVID. Attempting to trace that person’s interactions was impossible. The TRACE system immediately tells you this. It saves time in notifying others. It’s a useful idea that can make an immediate impact,” O’Hara said.
Its impact was so great that a customer serving as a judge requested it be implemented at their largest construction site.
This second installment of Flintco Forward’s focused look at the Texas Capitol Complex project in Austin, Texas, zeroes in on phase one construction. Host Tyler Kern spoke with three of Page’s architects working on the project, Lawrence W. Speck, Senior Principal, Paul Bielamowicz, Principal Senior Project Manager, and Ryan Losch, Senior Associate, Urban Designer.
The goal of the new Texas Capitol Complex is multi-fold. It will not only celebrate the State capitol, and house state employees in state office space with more space than ever before, but it will also create well-defined civic spaces for various events and community engagement. “We want to create a district that connects to the city around it,” Losch said.
Speck noted that creating a large mall to the north of the capitol building will result in a grand, green space where the public can gather for enjoyment and events. “It will be a place where families can bring their kids,” Speck said. There are many museums in the area to visit, and a planned cultural venue will generate excitement.
“One of the project's big drivers is a practical financial benefit to the state,” Bielamowicz said. “The state has a lot of agencies that currently lease spaces, and by constructing these office buildings and having the state own and operate these buildings, they are saving a lot of dollars in the long run.”
Be sure to subscribe to Flintco Forward to access all past and future episodes on the Texas state capitol complex.
Time goes on, but our landmarks often stay the same.
The Texas Capitol, beloved by Texans for being taller than the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., will remain, but the area around it is bring brought into the present.
That’s thanks in no small part to John Raff, Deputy Executive Director, Facilities Design and Construction for the Texas Facilities Commission. Raff and his team are modernizing the complex, making structural improvements, modifying the urban design and ultimately hoping to give Texans another element of Austin they can be proud of.
The original plan was designed in the 1950s, then updated in 1963 and 1989. In 2016, leaders decided that it was once again time to consider the space.
“Many times, you just have to update your plan based on what’s going on around you and what’s changing,” Raff said. “The solutions that you come up on master plans also evolve, so it’s (adding) contemporary architecture and engineering solutions to the plan.”
Making the plan is a tall enough task, but implementing it is even more daunting. Raff’s team has overseen a massive projecting involving excavating and hauling things away, then completing deep construction for basements of buildings that eventually will soar into the Austin skyline.
“It’s 520,000 cubic yards of material we’re pulling out of the ground. I think if you lined up the 80-foot trucks that haul that material off, they’d stretch from Corpus Christi to Amarillo and beyond, bumper-to-bumper,” he said.
A project the size of Texas, Raff is sure it will be worth the effort.
“The end result of this project is going to be spectacular,” he said. “You’re really going to like it.”
Bhavna Nim, Sarah Nario, and Alex Janota are just three of Flintco's many female professionals succeeding in the heavily male-dominated construction industry.
On this episode of the Flintco Forward podcast, host Shelby Skrhak sat down with these three successful women to discuss their different pathways to a career in construction and offer advice for the next generation in the industry.
A mere 9% of the construction industry is comprised of women, and only 3% are employed in hands-on production roles as opposed to administration, human resources and marketing roles that make up the bulk of jobs in construction.
Though they've found a home at Flintco, which has been a repeat winner of Constructech magazine's “Women in Construction” awards, Nim, Nario, and Janota will tell you they've faced plenty of obstacles getting to where they are now.
Family members told Janota, a project manager at Flintco and Vice President of the Austin chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction, to consider choosing "something a little more feminine like nursing or teaching," she said.
Nim, virtual design and construction manager for Flintco, said she's also experienced these types of microaggressions. "But I wasn't going to be dissuaded," Nim said.
Nario, a senior estimator at Flintco, has found at least one surprising advantage to being a woman in the male-dominant construction industry.
"I think my presence actually keeps people in check with regards to their attitudes and behavior," she said.
Flintco is hiring a Office Engineer based in their Englewood, CO. Office.
The Office Engineer is responsible for assisting Project Manager and Superintendent by performing specifically delegated administrative and technical work assignments.
This is an entry level position and requires an Associates or bachelor’s degree in Construction Management or equivalent combination of education, technical training, and related experience.
To see the full job description, visit MarketScale.com/careers.
For more that 100 years, Flintco has provided construction management services to clients in multiple markets.
Flintco is recognized for their commitment to Safety and Quality and use Lean principles as a guide to continuous improvement – which is the bedrock of their company Ethos.
If this job sounds like a fit for you or someone you know, visit Segway.com or marketscale.com/careers to apply.
On this episode of Flintco Forward, we spoke with Vernelle Chase, Director of Tribal Relations, Flintco, LLC, and Steve Eikanger, Vice President, Area Manager, Flintco, about Flintco’s long-standing heritage in building and growing positive relationships with the Native American Territories.
Chase works with the various tribes to ensure successful building projects and healthy relationships. “Understanding the sovereign immunity laws for the lands in which they build, and the various intricacies of the many tribes,” said Chase, “ensures the alignment of both the tribe’s goals and Flintco’s goals.” Eikanger added, “The learning never stops. The needs of the tribes keep evolving, and our job is to meet those needs and continue to grow with them.”
Chase and Eikanger noted some current building projects that were in the planning stages for 40-50 years. A new healthcare facility project will bring essential services and economic opportunities to a tribe. “A project like this does not just become the Healthcare resource for that area, it becomes a community center,” said Eikanger. Earlier this year, Eikanger attended a project groundbreaking ceremony that turned into a community celebration event.
Chase and Eikanger see a growing sophistication and knowledge of the tribal community in the understanding and execution of building & construction projects. Allowing tribes to rely less on contractors for every step of the process brings more control and ownership of these projects. Eikanger said, “We see a lot of tribes move to design/build procurement methods that are much more progressive than in the past.”
Regional Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) Managers for Flintco, Kevin Bromenshenk & Jason Schrader, joined us on Flintco Forward to help redefine as-builts as more than just being a two-dimensional format of marked changes made during the construction process by emphasizing the importance of as-builts during and after construction.
As Bromenshenk put it: “The perception of as-builts from the past is not what the definition of as-builts today.”
Bromenshenk explained that the perception of as-builts hinged onto its early stages, when the industry did not have access to advanced technology where assistance in planning and problem solving in the field were as readily available. As-builts as the industry understands the term today came to be through trial and error in the field.
“A PDF version of a red line drawing that was derived from something, whether it was a guy taking a tape measure in the field or marking up a coordination drawing, or construction document,” Schrader said, agreeing with Bromenshenk. “But to us, that does not really meet the need or the term in today’s world of an accurate as built.”
According to Schrader, as-builts are often a task that is completed at the end of the project, which can result in inaccurate data, lost time and lost money. Schrader insisted on placing an advancement of tracking changes as they happen, updating models during construction.
“It must be done along with the project,” he said.
It is crucial for contractors and their teams to systematically communicate and recognize each other’s role. According to Bromenshenk, taking this course of action could help take the burden off of the tradesmen, who frequently spilt their attention between the office and the field. With the entire crew participating, the integration of responses might continuously be used to update construction documents.
As-builts have evolved into numerous deliverables, surpassing simple PDF drawings.
“It is a conglomerate of different mediums or technologies used during the process,” Schrader said.
Technology such as 360-degree cameras can depict exact location. Laser scanning alerts engineers to preventable problems. Both pre and post project completion crews gain assurance of where everything is, resulting in a significant finished product for the client.
“In the end the owner needs, tangible deliverables, that defines as-builts,” Bromenshenk said.
Assimilating new technologies, such as laser scanning, designers, engineers and contractors are enabled to adopt a proficient workflow. Educating not only the crewmen, but the clients for current and future projects.
According to both managers, Flintco’s new approach to as-builts is being used as a quality control tool. Resulting in a decrease in unnecessary reverse-engineering and the costs associated.
It is only with accurate as-builts that engineers and work crews in the future could possibly know what is already installed and exactly where.
On this episode of Flintco Forward, we sat down with two executives who are making innovation management tangible by creating a technology working group for their construction companies: David Pounds PE, Director of Construction Support Services at Flintco, LLC, and Aaron Geiger, Chief Technology Officer for Alberici Group.
Tulsa-based Flintco specializes in commercial construction. The company is engaged in about 100 active projects at any given time. With that kind of volume, company-wide technology implementation has been sporadic.
Flintco isn’t alone. Construction as an industry has been slower than most in adopting and onboarding new technology and software for use in the field.
"The lack of connectivity [created] pockets of innovation, where there'd be only certain pockets that'd be innovative and try new things," Pounds said. "But because they weren't relying on any connectivity between the different software platforms, it never really would proliferate outside of their projects."
Flintco created a technology working group to aid process management, decision-making, and timeline implementation. They soon became an industry leader with this innovative approach to adopting new technologies.
"We developed committees and organizations within our enterprise that help us remain aware of the trends and capabilities of tech, so we can quickly hear through the noise to find products or procedures that will add value to the projects we deliver," Pounds said.
Meanwhile St. Louis-based Alberici Group, which offers design-build, general contracting, and construction management across a variety of industries, used construction technology robustly, but needed a better system for integrating them into their processes.
Geiger sought Flintco's expertise in innovation management and together created a solution for construction technology implementation.
"Our technology working group is a combination of an innovation committee that looks long term, three to five years out for the next big trends to investigate as well as a group that meets once a month with a very focused agenda to look at short term -- see where we are, evaluate things, and make decisions," Geiger said.
Geiger believes technology working groups can help companies embrace new technological advancements by putting a process to the decision-making landscape.
"Because of a few forward-thinking players in this industry, solutions have become more easily connectable, integrated, and more like one solution for your team," Geiger said.
The construction industry is seeing an exponential increase in the number of programs and tools available for any given project. On this episode of Flintco Forward, host Sean Heath sat down with Jason Schrader and Kevin Bromenshenk, Regional VDC Managers at Flintco, to discuss the need to minimize the number of tools used on any given project.
The sheer number of tools available today can actually be a hindrance to success, according to Schrader.
“Not always is every piece of technology pertinent to every project,” he said. “We want to make sure in our processes that we pick and select the right tools for the right job.”
Narrowing down the list of tools that will be applied should be the result of listening to team members desires, Bromenshenk offered.
“Really the answer comes from listening well to your team. A lot of the times, expectations will govern what tools you need to use,” Bromenshenk said. “Generally, those are tells on what tools that particular team is going to be focused on to make their job a better success.”
Organizing and facilitating that process for Flintco is their “focused BIM,” explained Schrader.
“We use that focused BIM process to strategically evaluate and implement technology, per project," he said.
While there is a benefit associated with whittling down the number of tools used, there is a proven advantage to increasing the number of team members involved from the initial stages of any project.
“It’s all about integration. There is no one person who is responsible for all of the technology on the project,“ said Schrader. “Our VDC team is integrated throughout the life cycle of the project, but at no point are we the end-all, be-all or sole providers of the technology.”
Bromenshenk commented that the influx of this technology leads to some interesting conversations with people outside of the industry.
“Every time I do describe to somebody what I do for a living, they are just blown away by the fact that people who build buildings are engrossed so heavily into technologies that, in a lot of ways are borderline animations," he said.
Flintco has been a leader in construction management for 110 years, working on impactful civic projects big and small. In order to keep this long record of service and expertise, Flintco seeks smart and innovative employees to join the team.
On this jobcast episode of Flintco Forward we explore the open role of Project Manager at Flintco and what this job entails. Flintco employees Tony DeStefano, VP of Human Resources, and Cole Butcher, Flintco Senior Project Manager, join the conversation to talk about what a project manager is, and what they can do at Flintco.
Based in Memphis, Tennessee the role of Project Manager is a full-time job requiring five to six years of experience in the field of construction and/or a Bachelors in Construction or Engineering. Butcher lists the benefits of being based in a growing city like Memphis, among them Memphis’ mouth-watering dry rub BBQ.
“There’s big things on the horizon for the city. So that’s exciting to see and also be a part of," Butcher said.
DeStefano elaborates on what Flintco is looking for in a project manager.
“As we evolve and take on bigger projects, the role that we’re looking for...is gonna’ be committed to helping us execute projects that are gonna’ have a significant impact on the community," he said.
Emphasizing community above all, DeStefano said the Project Manager will work on “cornerstone pieces,” that make a difference in the city, “whether it’s healthcare, higher education, or just corporate office space...”
Flintco emphasizes that they are looking for a “hands on” leader.
“We want people who challenge the way we do things to find the best solution,” DeStefano said. With plenty of opportunity for rising up in the ranks, the project manager role at Flintco is just the start of a flourishing career for a critical thinker and strong leader.
If you'd like to apply for this position of Project Manager, click here.
What do a football coach and a Flintco superintendent have in common? We asked the tough (and the fun) questions on this Flintco Jobcast, highlighting the leadership role of superintendent. We learned what makes a great Flintco superintendent and explored the possibilities of a long, rewarding, and forward-thinking career in commercial construction.
“The cool thing about this position, it really is building the skyline of Memphis," said Tony DeStefano, vice president of human resources.
Superintendents are project managers on some of the most influential buildings in Greater Memphis, including the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. The role oversees day-to-day operations, manages sub-contractors, and communicates with clients. Superintendents are at the frontline of defense when it comes to job site safety, monitoring quality and efficacy and looking for ways to improve.
In an economy where jobs come and go, how will a Superintendent grow and evolve with Flintco into the future?
“From my standpoint I think it’s going to be helping drive the industry forward through new technologies," DeStefano said.
It’s not just Silicon Valley entrepreneurs on the frontline of tech. A job as a superintendent also plays a role as an innovator in the construction industry, integrating tools like augmented reality, virtual reality, and cloud based data sharing into the workplace. With their eyes set on the future, Flintco aims to add offices, grow, and be at the forefront of modernization in construction.
“We are a people person business," said Henry Knerr, director of operations at Flintco. He explained how superintendents are also teachers and trainers, inspiring Flintco personnel to greatness.
At Flintco, “we’re constantly growing, developing, striving to be the best," Knerr said.
Find out more at the Flintco careers page www.flinco.com/careers
Lean, not to be confused with a lien, is a business practice designed to increase efficiency, eliminate wasteful applications, and utilize human effort to the best of its ability. Lean has been implemented across industries with great success...that is, until it encountered the construction industry.
Unperturbed by the challenges of bringing traditional efficient operations to the industry, Flintco soldiered on, implementing lean practices with great success. On this episode of Flintco Forward, we found out how the company did it and why it works with Melanie Gilbertson, lean manager, and Peter Kozicz, president & CEO of Flintco.
After speaking with other construction companies about lean, Kozicz noted that "they understand why it would work in the context of a manufacturing facility, but [they believed] there’s no way it will work on a construction site because there are too many things that are unpredictable.” The team at Flintco decided to challenge this notion.
Lean has never been more critical for the industry; labor shortages plague the construction industry, and labor productivity hindering its success.
“Labor productivity in the construction industry runs at about 40%," Kozicz said. “Why not address labor productivity issues first?”
Today, Flintco has designed a construction industry-specific version of Lean--Lean 2.0. Gilbertson dove into the five principles that make Lean 2.0 successful in this unique marketplace. At the heart of Lean 2.0 is an ethos for teamwork and team satisfaction, something missing in the heavy contractor world of construction.
What's more, Lean 2.0 acknowledges that each project is different, with different parameters and a different team on every site. This individualized approach with a dogmatic, can-do attitude is what sets Lean 2.0 apart from its predecessor.
“Complacency is not part of our culture," Gilberston said.
Hard hats have been a symbol of safety for construction workers for decades. While materials have improved and hard hats are now stronger and lighter, their actual mechanical structure hasn’t changed much.
Construction expert Adam Trautman, project manager for Flintco, joined us on the first episode of Flintco Forward to share his perspective on the evolution of hard hats in the industry.
“Really, the hard hat is a last line of defense on the job site. We try to design and develop plans to mitigate risk; however, there is always the potential for injury. Hard hats have, for the most part, been ‘good enough,’ and many construction workers feel it’s sufficient,” Trautman said.
Flintco has been investing in more safety measures for its workforce and recently introduced the new KASK hard hat to the field. KASK has a long history of developing hard hats for other users like rescue workers and climbers. In these situations, hats need to offer full mobility while also fitting snuggly to a person’s head.
“The hard hat is a critical piece of safety equipment. It could mean the difference in a slight discomfort or a major injury,” Trautman said. “When we introduced the new hard hats, there was resistance because many construction workers have used the same kind of hard hat for ages. So, we decided to approach it from a real-life, relatable strategy so that our workers understand how innovative these new hard hats are.”
What makes the KASK hard hat different? Trautman explained that the hard hats have a chin guard, but one that’s comfortable, not cumbersome. The design itself is unique as well in that it fits the head better and is less likely to come off in a fall or if hit by debris.
When bringing it to their team, Trautman knew that the best way to get them to buy in to the value of the new hard hat was to convince each individual. Though it's a longer, slower approach, it helped the Flintco team break down the cultural wall around replacing an iconic piece of construction gear.
“We’ve taken a real behavior-based approach to safety and have focused on how much safer the new hard hats are versus traditional ones. When workers understand that this hard hat could save their lives, it resonates,” Trautman said.