When bringing projects to life, much of the action will always take place in the field. Once you've designed, planned, and mapped out the job during preconstruction, execution relies on the field team's efficiency and adaptability.
And this is why it's crucial for specialty contractors to set their field teams up to be successful. Fully empowered field teams adapt to challenges better, stay safe on the jobsite, and be more productive—ultimately leading to successful construction outcomes.
Here to talk about this important topic are Christy Steffen, the Assistant Director at Gaylor University with Gaylor Electric, and Brandon Floyd, the Director of Quality from Rosendin Electric.
As leaders of training and construction quality management in their organizations, Christy and Brandon have interesting perspectives on how firms can empower folks and foster a culture of continuous improvement.
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Leveling up the skills and capabilities of specialty contractors is critical, given the challenges we as an industry are facing. Timelines are tighter and budgets are constrained, yet the expectation to deliver quality projects is as high as ever.
From Brandon's point of view, this means efficiency and speed are paramount.
"I think some of the biggest challenges we're having is the delivery, the market time, the speed of the schedule—the durations we have to get these projects completed and turned over—which really makes it difficult to onboard the teams quickly, get them up to speed and get our programs in place to make sure we deliver the safety and quality that the customers expect."
Christy agrees and adds that the labor shortage adds a layer of pressure and complexity.
"We have the same issues; there's the issue of manpower and just having enough people to put on the job and then making sure they know what they're doing and are safe."
The first step to navigating these challenges is ensuring that teams have the knowledge and skills they need to excel in their roles.
This is where training and education come into play, and it's the reason why Christy and Brandon's roles are essential.
Christy helps oversee Gaylor University at Gaylor Electric; specifically, she manages the firm's learning management system and other initiatives, including ones that take place on the jobsite. According to her, this ensures comprehensive training delivery across numerous locations.
"A lot of the online stuff helps us to deliver when we have projects in 22 states across the country. We also have craft instructors who go out on-site and supplement any kind of training that we provide. And, of course, there are the apprenticeship schools all our electricians attend.”
She adds that they make it a point to connect face-to-face with field teams to provide personalized guidance and support that they can use for their specific projects. Doing so facilitates practical application and immediate feedback.
"We go into the office or to the site to talk to the individual teams and the individual projects to get those one-on-one interactions. We pull up their project and talk about where folks can be more efficient in their specific project."
Similarly, Rosendin Electric invests in partnerships and programs to help teams develop their expertise and capabilities.
"Rosendin partnered with Grand Canyon University to do a pre-apprenticeship program to get more people to understand the trade. That way, we can help them get into the apprenticeship," Brandon explains.
Beyond that, Rosendin has a large learning and development team that provides practical training to empower people to better grasp the tools and technologies they use in their daily lives.
"We've put together our own quality and commissioning certification program where we're able to provide hands-on training to everybody using the technology before they get out in the field."
Aside from upskilling, one of the best ways to empower field teams to make better decisions is to equip them with the right data. Of course, this is easier said than done. For data to truly empower teams, that information needs to be accurate and there needs to be a culture of trust and transparency.
Accomplishing that calls for strong relationships and open communication.
As Christy puts it, "Trust comes when working directly with the teams, not just the project managers and project engineers. It's about going out and talking to the general superintendents and field supervisors and making sure that everyone is on the same page."
She adds that teams truly need to trust each other so that when they analyze the information, they can collaborate effectively and make informed decisions.
Brandon, for his part, emphasizes that teams should trust and recognize that tracking data isn't about being disciplinary but rather about improving quality.
"First, you have to be able to get clean, accurate data, and then you have to build that culture where teams are willing to put the data in and not treat it like a punitive thing," he remarks.
"Getting to that point with the teams is the first step, that first big hurdle you have to get through so then you can get that clean data and figure out what you can do with it. And it's showing them what you have and the value behind gathering the data and how it will help them and make their job easier."
So far, we've talked about education programs, data practices, and team dynamics. Improving all of these requires change—which, many people know, isn't easy.
That's why Brandon recommends fostering a culture of innovation and continuous feedback.
"Teams want to be inventive and come up with new ideas to streamline workflows while working and having those internal meetings to make sure we're bringing all that feedback and taking a look at how it impacts the organization as a whole."
At Gaylor Electric, Christy says they gather feedback through online and in-person interactions.
"Every two years, we have a summit where we bring all of our employees—and right now, it's about 2,000 people that are going to come together y. It's so powerful. And one of the things that the event does is it validates what we are doing."
She continues, "We have two COOs, and they're going to be presenting on Autodesk Build. And many people are going to be like, 'We've been doing that forever.' But we're going to catch people in that room that's like, 'Oh, I guess I need to speed up here and get on board.' So having those points ensures we're talking to each team and office and getting that message out there."
Over at Rosendin Electric, Brandon says he brings together regional managers and quality teams.
"We have a regional manager group, and I'll bring them together to discuss what's going on in the areas and then decide on what we want to change from a quality perspective."
He adds, "From the larger organization, we have an operational excellence team to which we can submit feedback. Those ideas are vetted to see how they'll impact the organizations. The team then decides how we're going to do it and then works through that marketing and rolls out the message to make sure it gets communicated to the company."
Digital Builder is hosted by me, Eric Thomas. Remember, new episodes of Digital Builder go live every week.
