Most go through life and meet people that they never get to know or in some cases want to know. I try to go through life learning from the ones I meet. I am a firm believer that each of us has attributes that we can give to or should acquirer from the people we come in contact with. This is about Mike Connolly whom I learned a great deal from.
Mike taught me the importance of training your crews and the people under you to do their jobs your way. The better you prepare them the smoother the job. I relieved Mike a couple of times on projects and the truth of the matter, I wasn't needed at all. Mike had his crew so well trained that they ran themselves.
I first met Mike on the Gerbus Brothers Clock Tower project. This particular project was to build a shopping center on land that once was used for a railroad round house. We were having trouble meeting the compaction density.
After scrutinized the soils reports and found nothing in them that would keep us meeting the requirements I went out to the jobsite to meet with the superintendent. The superintendent was not on site so I talked to Mike, who was an operator at that time. He told me the very detailed characteristics of the compaction failing.
Back at the office I placed a call to Jerry Linsey at H.C. Nutting. I figured I would get better advise from him than Don Theland who had made the reports. You see Don Theland and Rudy Gerbus had gone nose to nose in an argument just a few days earlier out at the Florence Wal-Mart job. With Rudy pushing Don in the chest with his finger, Jerry Linsey was my best bet for advise.
Jerry told me with what I had described the soil was probably contaminated with diesel fuel. Even though you could not smell it he would bet on it. When I told Rudy he told me I was full of, you know what. A few days later Rudy was pretty happy when he told me that Theland had tested the soil for diesel fuel and all of our compaction problems stemmed from that and now we can develop a game plan to finish the job
Before the job ended Rudy drove up on the site and told Mike he was the new superintendent, his truck was on the way out there. Mike had never wanted the job, now it was thrust on him.
The next spring Rudy calls me to stop by Widows Creek Power Plant. Again not knowing why I was there I saw Mike who was the superintendent. Riding around the site he tells me about a sub bid to move the dirt. The price was eighty five cents a yard, our historical cost at the time was a buck twenty to a buck twenty five.
Asking when the sub is going to start, Mike told me that Bob Gerbus told him that “we are dirt movers, if they can move it for eighty five cents then so can we.” My first thought was that this was a bad idea. We have historical cost for moving dirt in Cincinnati, this project is in Stephenson, Alabama plus it is TVA which means it is a union project, and a strong union that does not always play by the book. Mike was caught by the short hairs, I was his way out.
The next day, Rudy asked me about the project and I told him about the eighty five cent dirt. He called in Bob, we talked and he told me to write the contract.
More about Widows Creek in future blogs.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Venezuela Part 2
The blog titled “Luther Borgeston” started off being about a project a little over one hundred miles west of Caracas, Venezuela in San Diego close to Lake Valencia. This part of the country was the largest of Venezuela's agricultural regions until shortly before we showed up. It was in the process of switching from agriculture to being a service center.
It was early January, the middle of the hotter, drier months. Their summer. This would a be another testing facility for Creole International. The same building we had built three other times, of course being outside the United States, it was in metric not British measurement. I did learn a very important step in my personal development, to think in metric and not try to do conversions like I had in Borneo. Of course, to this day I still have never retained the Spanish I was taught from books, but a few years ago I found out that I can still swear in the Mayan dialect that I picked up.
The winter month in Houston, yes I did say month, is the month of January. It is usually wet and cold so going to Venezuela was a relief with the temperature being in the low eighties and dry. Very springlike. The goal was to have the project completed by the start of winter in May. The temperature did not change much except it was wetter and more humid.
This project did not go as smooth as some of my others have. The nationalized petroleum company of Venezuela wanted us here, Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA for short), we had resistance from locals that didn't want to see change or foreigners working in their town. We were far enough out of Caracas that we could not find quality subcontractors, as a matter of fact we hired only one, the plumber. The locals resented that our steel erector came from South Korea, our concrete sub brought in his own concrete plant from the U.S. to pour the concrete, and our electrician imported all of his materials.
Now to the dumbest thing I have ever done. How I fell out of the stupid tree and hit every branch on the way down. After dinner, Luther and I was in the job trailer when five or six guys came in to tell Luther that they were headed to the cantina about two clicks away. Luther always had a rule, no drinking after 10:00pm on work nights. All knew the rules. Luther wanted clear heads on his job and the quickest way to be sent home was to show up with a hang over.
This particular night, after we finished working on our schedule we went out and built a camp fire in a pit on the living quarters side of the site. We were there when the men showed up minus two. They had picked up two women and wouldn't leave. The ones that left saw that trouble brewing and got out of there.
Getting up, Luther asked where I was going. To bring 'em home. Luther argued that they were grown men. They're my men. By this time Mr. Lee, the South Korean foreman brought up a jeep. I started for it, Luther told me to wait, he opened a door to a storage shed and pulled out two baseball bats. We may need these. We jump in the jeep and head to town.
When we got there, they had been stabbed. One was dead the other was still alive, he didn't make it to the hospital. I tossed my bat to Mr. Lee put one over my shoulder and grabbed the other by the collar and dragged him out. One man stood up, Luther drew back the bat as if to swing, the man backed down.
We did report this to the local police, the eyewitness reports stated that one killed the other and then committed suicide. While sitting at the hospital, Luther told me how stupid it was to go in after them. We all could have been killed, or committed suicide like the official report said. We all knew better.
I've got to say, I never put myself into that position again. The only other time that came close was when in a bar in France. I didn't know how many it would take to whip me but after seeing how many they had I decided to get out of there.
On his death bed, he asked me if I had done anything stupid like that night in Venezuela. The next time I talk about Venezuela I'll talk more about the job and the baseball game with the locals.
It was early January, the middle of the hotter, drier months. Their summer. This would a be another testing facility for Creole International. The same building we had built three other times, of course being outside the United States, it was in metric not British measurement. I did learn a very important step in my personal development, to think in metric and not try to do conversions like I had in Borneo. Of course, to this day I still have never retained the Spanish I was taught from books, but a few years ago I found out that I can still swear in the Mayan dialect that I picked up.
The winter month in Houston, yes I did say month, is the month of January. It is usually wet and cold so going to Venezuela was a relief with the temperature being in the low eighties and dry. Very springlike. The goal was to have the project completed by the start of winter in May. The temperature did not change much except it was wetter and more humid.
This project did not go as smooth as some of my others have. The nationalized petroleum company of Venezuela wanted us here, Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA for short), we had resistance from locals that didn't want to see change or foreigners working in their town. We were far enough out of Caracas that we could not find quality subcontractors, as a matter of fact we hired only one, the plumber. The locals resented that our steel erector came from South Korea, our concrete sub brought in his own concrete plant from the U.S. to pour the concrete, and our electrician imported all of his materials.
Now to the dumbest thing I have ever done. How I fell out of the stupid tree and hit every branch on the way down. After dinner, Luther and I was in the job trailer when five or six guys came in to tell Luther that they were headed to the cantina about two clicks away. Luther always had a rule, no drinking after 10:00pm on work nights. All knew the rules. Luther wanted clear heads on his job and the quickest way to be sent home was to show up with a hang over.
This particular night, after we finished working on our schedule we went out and built a camp fire in a pit on the living quarters side of the site. We were there when the men showed up minus two. They had picked up two women and wouldn't leave. The ones that left saw that trouble brewing and got out of there.
Getting up, Luther asked where I was going. To bring 'em home. Luther argued that they were grown men. They're my men. By this time Mr. Lee, the South Korean foreman brought up a jeep. I started for it, Luther told me to wait, he opened a door to a storage shed and pulled out two baseball bats. We may need these. We jump in the jeep and head to town.
When we got there, they had been stabbed. One was dead the other was still alive, he didn't make it to the hospital. I tossed my bat to Mr. Lee put one over my shoulder and grabbed the other by the collar and dragged him out. One man stood up, Luther drew back the bat as if to swing, the man backed down.
We did report this to the local police, the eyewitness reports stated that one killed the other and then committed suicide. While sitting at the hospital, Luther told me how stupid it was to go in after them. We all could have been killed, or committed suicide like the official report said. We all knew better.
I've got to say, I never put myself into that position again. The only other time that came close was when in a bar in France. I didn't know how many it would take to whip me but after seeing how many they had I decided to get out of there.
On his death bed, he asked me if I had done anything stupid like that night in Venezuela. The next time I talk about Venezuela I'll talk more about the job and the baseball game with the locals.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Mexico Part 2
Have you ever been in a place where the humidity is so high makes it hard to breath? That is Merida, Mexico during the monsoon season. Merida is inland about thirty miles in a low lying area about sea level. It is close to the Tropic of Cancer with trade winds from the east making it a tropical wet climate. The average temperature is in the low nineties with May being the highest month, usually around one hundred degrees in the afternoon.
I arrived there in August, the goal was to have the camp set up and ready to start the pump the station and pipe line by the time the monsoons were over in October. The first week is always the boring stuff, just feeling your way around and finding locations. You always seem to find people that want to help you, the first week usually means they are used car salesmen that want you to line their pockets. It's not tell the third or fourth week that you find the ones that really want to help.
Going back the second week, I had the company of Bobby Lee's wife, Marie Ward. She is a delightful woman, a charming southern beauty through and through. Bobby Lee always said he married up and while she married down. I have to agree with him on that. In all the years I have known her I have never heard one derogatory remark come out of her mouth. I never heard any negative remarks of any kind or anyone saying anything negative about her. Anyway, she was coming down to set up house keeping in a house Bobby Lee rented the week before.
Coming from Cancun there is a military and customs inspection checkpoint at the state borders of Yucatan and Quintana Roo. Typically you show your passport and vehicle documentation and they let you right through. The men managing these sites are usually bored and this time they saw a pretty lady and decided to search for contraband chickens. We didn't have any but we did see two buses pass by while we were there with chicken coops tied on top.
They have some highly unusual driving traditions in the Yucatan. The average speed on the 180, the highway between Cancun and Merida, is around seventy. It was a two lane highway with extra wide shoulders. One of the hardest things I had to get used to driving this highway was if I came up from behind on a vehicle and he flashes his left turn signal, it may mean he intends to turn left, but it would most likely means it’s safe for you to pass. On two-lane roads, the vehicle in front may drive on the shoulder so you can pass between him and oncoming traffic. In return drivers behind you expect this courtesy and may express their wishes to pass by flashing their headlights. So if you see a vehicle barreling down the middle of the road toward you, it is common courtesy to give him some room and let him through.
The other thing I really remember about the driving there,Yucatecos love to honk their horns. After I found out that it was their way of telling other drivers “here I am” I stopped being offended and expected to be honked at. I can say that I never saw any road rage in the three month or so I was traveling there.
Next time in “Mexico” I'll get more into the people, the job and the jungle.
I arrived there in August, the goal was to have the camp set up and ready to start the pump the station and pipe line by the time the monsoons were over in October. The first week is always the boring stuff, just feeling your way around and finding locations. You always seem to find people that want to help you, the first week usually means they are used car salesmen that want you to line their pockets. It's not tell the third or fourth week that you find the ones that really want to help.
Going back the second week, I had the company of Bobby Lee's wife, Marie Ward. She is a delightful woman, a charming southern beauty through and through. Bobby Lee always said he married up and while she married down. I have to agree with him on that. In all the years I have known her I have never heard one derogatory remark come out of her mouth. I never heard any negative remarks of any kind or anyone saying anything negative about her. Anyway, she was coming down to set up house keeping in a house Bobby Lee rented the week before.
Coming from Cancun there is a military and customs inspection checkpoint at the state borders of Yucatan and Quintana Roo. Typically you show your passport and vehicle documentation and they let you right through. The men managing these sites are usually bored and this time they saw a pretty lady and decided to search for contraband chickens. We didn't have any but we did see two buses pass by while we were there with chicken coops tied on top.
They have some highly unusual driving traditions in the Yucatan. The average speed on the 180, the highway between Cancun and Merida, is around seventy. It was a two lane highway with extra wide shoulders. One of the hardest things I had to get used to driving this highway was if I came up from behind on a vehicle and he flashes his left turn signal, it may mean he intends to turn left, but it would most likely means it’s safe for you to pass. On two-lane roads, the vehicle in front may drive on the shoulder so you can pass between him and oncoming traffic. In return drivers behind you expect this courtesy and may express their wishes to pass by flashing their headlights. So if you see a vehicle barreling down the middle of the road toward you, it is common courtesy to give him some room and let him through.
The other thing I really remember about the driving there,Yucatecos love to honk their horns. After I found out that it was their way of telling other drivers “here I am” I stopped being offended and expected to be honked at. I can say that I never saw any road rage in the three month or so I was traveling there.
Next time in “Mexico” I'll get more into the people, the job and the jungle.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Knowing the Rules
Growing up, baseball was my game even though football was what I was known for. Coming out of high school my old Babe Ruth manager, Butch Dent, asked to help him coach his sons little league baseball team. About half way through the season the Butch had quit to take a new teaching position in South Carolina leaving me to finish the season.
Our season was a disaster up to that point. You see Butch drafted his sons friends and other kids from his neighborhood and didn't draft for talent. I started working on basics and fundamentals. I sat down and reread the little league rule book. By the end of the year I knew the rules better than coaches with years of experience.
The three items we all need to work on are the same in construction as in baseball:
1.)work on the basics, get your mental game down
2.)work on the fundamentals, get your consistency down so you can do it in your sleep
3.)know the rules better than the men who wrote them, know what they say, not necessarily what they are meant to say
We ended up winning three out of five games to finish the season.
In 1976, an election year, Gerald Ford introduced a program called the Economic Development Fund. This fund was to assure minority participation in all projects that had federal money from this fund in it. It was set up to get the party in charge re-elected. It didn't do much for Gerald Ford, but it did stimulate the economy and it gave a yard stick for hiring minority companies.
In 1976, I was an estimator for Arnold Beck & Son in Cincinnati. Arnold Beck was a medium size general contractor with it's main competitors being Frank Messer and Sons, Dugan & Meyers, and Universal. After reading the regulations for the Economic Development Fund, I was convinced that we could make money by knowing the rules and by being ready when the municipalities where funded.
When the first one came out I wasn't completely ready. The project was to remove the deck off the porches at Cincinnati General Hospital and replace them with precast planks from Price Brothers. I had painters and masons lined up, now I needed a demolition sub.
The project bid between Christmas and New Years. Bob Beck asked me one day why we were even fooling with bidding this project and when I told him that none of the contractors that held drawings could do it he changed his attitude and asked about the mark up. When I told him due the difficulty I was thinking cost times two or one hundred percent markup. He laughed and said we would never get it.
Guess what? We were the low and only bidder. By knowing the rules and how the game is played we got the job, we got the job at my mark up. The only problem we had was finding a minority sub contractor. This was resolved by a phone call to William Cargile, a minority general contractor. He made a recommendation and we welcomed it.
The sub is a blog is a story into it's self. You will enjoy the story.
Our season was a disaster up to that point. You see Butch drafted his sons friends and other kids from his neighborhood and didn't draft for talent. I started working on basics and fundamentals. I sat down and reread the little league rule book. By the end of the year I knew the rules better than coaches with years of experience.
The three items we all need to work on are the same in construction as in baseball:
1.)work on the basics, get your mental game down
2.)work on the fundamentals, get your consistency down so you can do it in your sleep
3.)know the rules better than the men who wrote them, know what they say, not necessarily what they are meant to say
We ended up winning three out of five games to finish the season.
In 1976, an election year, Gerald Ford introduced a program called the Economic Development Fund. This fund was to assure minority participation in all projects that had federal money from this fund in it. It was set up to get the party in charge re-elected. It didn't do much for Gerald Ford, but it did stimulate the economy and it gave a yard stick for hiring minority companies.
In 1976, I was an estimator for Arnold Beck & Son in Cincinnati. Arnold Beck was a medium size general contractor with it's main competitors being Frank Messer and Sons, Dugan & Meyers, and Universal. After reading the regulations for the Economic Development Fund, I was convinced that we could make money by knowing the rules and by being ready when the municipalities where funded.
When the first one came out I wasn't completely ready. The project was to remove the deck off the porches at Cincinnati General Hospital and replace them with precast planks from Price Brothers. I had painters and masons lined up, now I needed a demolition sub.
The project bid between Christmas and New Years. Bob Beck asked me one day why we were even fooling with bidding this project and when I told him that none of the contractors that held drawings could do it he changed his attitude and asked about the mark up. When I told him due the difficulty I was thinking cost times two or one hundred percent markup. He laughed and said we would never get it.
Guess what? We were the low and only bidder. By knowing the rules and how the game is played we got the job, we got the job at my mark up. The only problem we had was finding a minority sub contractor. This was resolved by a phone call to William Cargile, a minority general contractor. He made a recommendation and we welcomed it.
The sub is a blog is a story into it's self. You will enjoy the story.
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