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Helmkamp Construction Co.:
Pre-Planning leads to project success From pre-job to post-job, Helmkamp Construction company of East Alton, IL seeks a better way to deliver services Written by Leslie Blaize Produced by Stephen Marino
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hen Rob Johnes joined Helmkamp Construction Co. as an intern in 1997, he had no idea he would end up buying the company as the first non-family owner. Now, as the president and owner of this full-service general contractor firm, Johnes wants to provide his employees with the same opportunities for growth that he enjoyed as a new employee out of college. You won’t find many barriers at Helmkamp. If any employee wants to take on a challenge, they’re given the chance, with lots of internal support. Based in East Alton, Illinois, this client-focused construction firm brings in about $60 million a year. Its workforce includes 25 office staff and about 100 direct employees in the field. Although it provides construction management, Helmkamp also self performs a lot of work with an average project size of $200,000. The company, founded in 1938, serves the repeat professional buyer of construction in the industrial, building and life science markets. Helmkamp delivers services for about 200 projects a year. Its main presence is in Illinois and the St. Louis metropolitan area. Helmkamp also performs work in an additional 25 states throughout www.helmkamp.com
the country. Johnes says his firm looks for projects that they can execute really well. Because of their highquality services, some customers have been with the firm for 50 years.
Stakeholders Know the End Goals One reason for the firm’s long-term success may be its attention to
“Celebrate success. It’s too easy t
the next project without acknow completed.” Rob
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that exactly meets a customer’s specifications. Another critical question concerns the project goals. Why does a client need the project? Perhaps they need to meet a deadline for increasing production, or they’re rolling out a new product. Once Helmkamp’s team understands the goals, they share this data with their subconsultants and associated firms. “We’re a guest in the facility,” Johnes says. “We plan ahead, and we’re prepared.”
pre-planning. Teams dig into the issues to discover their customers’ goals - both obvious and hidden. “We figure out what are going to be the issues beforehand,” Johnes says. “That way, we’ll have the right people, materials and equipment before the project begins.” Project leaders look for intangible issues that may not be obvious, such as which building entrance to use or how to produce an invoice
to always to be looking ahead to
wledging the success of a job just Johnes, President
In addition, Helmkamp incorporates safety into its pre-planning process. The firm’s superintendents and foremen also share information regarding unsafe safety activities and how they were corrected on a job site. These stories are popular because they’re authentic. “It’s a craft person talking to a crafts person, misspellings and all,” he adds. If there’s a trend with a safety issue, such as ladder usage, then Helmkamp may offer training to prevent future safety problems.
Stay Ahead of Schedule Another aspect of the prewww.helmkamp.com
Helmkamp Construction Co. | Rob Johnes - President & Owner
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Luke LaBeau - Safety Director
planning process is identifying an owner’s unrealistic expectations. Sometimes, Helmkamp needs to inform the owner that their goal may not be practical or physically possible. Then the project team will work with the owner to find a solution.
Helmkamp’s project leaders are always looking for opportunities to pull ahead, whether that’s in the fieldwork, or through prefabrication or pre-work. “As a result, you’ve built in a cushion to absorb the unexpected and still adhere to deadlines,” Johnes says.
If the project requires a specific time frame, it may be necessary to prefabricate an element. By understanding an owner’s expectations, Helmkamp can then aggressively manage contingencies.
The firm likes to say that the month is over when you hit the 15th day. That’s because if you don’t address an issue by mid-month, it won’t be solved until the next month. It takes time to get materials, make the engineering change or solve some other issue.
Johnes agrees with a popular saying, “If you’re on schedule, you’re behind schedule.” That’s because unexpected issues may arise. www.helmkamp.com
This philosophy must work because this director always gets his projects done on time.
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Serving the Industrial World Helmkamp considers itself a clientbased rather than an industrybased firm. The company works for customers in the private market who buy construction in a repeat professional manner. Their clients include owners in the power, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries. The company’s clients look for quality contractors who provide a safe work environment for their employees and owners. “Safety is at the forefront of everything we do,” Johnes says. Projects Demonstrate Diversity
The following three projects reflect Helmkamp’s diverse portfolio. All are for long-time clients. One client, who has worked with the firm for 15 years, hired them to build a new field house for a Christian Science school in the St. Louis, Missouri, area. The 90,000-sq.-ft. structure is now about 50 complete. Helmkamp assisted with front-end planning. A second project is with Ameren, a local utility, for a conveyor’s coal yard. It required multiple shifts in the tunnels of the coal yard. The third project is with Tinuum Group, an emissions reduction firm, for installation of emissions control
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facilities for power plants.
the job?” Johnes asks.
The firm started with one project and installed 36 of them across the country. Through this project, the firm learned it could quickly mobilize teams, hire subs as needed, and build these plants to meet demand.
As part of the post-job review, superintendents will review a partner’s performance. If they don’t get high marks, these partners won’t be included in future jobs, even if they submitted a low bid.
Forging Strong Partnerships Helmkamp understands the importance of selecting the right project partners to ensure the firm’s continuous success. For each project, the team considers if the outside contractors are the best fit for the job. “Do they have the right people and resources to execute
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Johnes explains that timing is critical for many industrial projects. If an industrial facility doesn’t open on time, it could cost the owner millions of dollars.
What do the Clients Need? Helmkamp wants to make life easier for their client owners. Johnes understands that it’s best
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to tailor Helmkamp’s processes and procedures to meet a client’s needs in a large corporate environment. “We try to the be the ‘Easy Button’ like the Staples commercial,” he says. Helmkamp won’t sacrifice safety or quality, but otherwise, the company will accommodate their customer’s requests. He tells clients, “Tell me what you need, and we’ll do it.”
Focusing on Continuous Improvement Besides pre-job planning, Helmkamp also formalizes its postjob analysis. Johnes involves all
relevant personnel in this process. The project team will analyze a few job components that they might do differently the next time. Or they may recommend the continuation of the same approach. “Then we memorialize these comments and share them,” he says. Individuals who worked on the project may present to the rest of the company about some aspect of the project that didn’t go well, or that succeeded. For example, a crew may be forced into a new approach that works better than a traditional one. Johnes wants to make sure the entire company benefits from these on-site discoveries. www.helmkamp.com
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Coping with Material and Labor Shortages Helmkamp and its clients face material price increases and shortages like others in construction. Johnes predicts these issues will be short-term. In the long term, labor shortages will continue to be a challenge. “If individuals are willing to learn, have the right attitude, and are intelligent, you can teach them what they need to know if they enjoy working with their hands,” he says.
Johnes also predicts that offsite prefabrication may become more common. He’s seen factorybuilt components in the past. Most recently, he’s seen their use accelerate in the past few years because of the labor shortage and developing technologies.
The Lure of the Construction Industry Johnes is passionate about delivering excellent service for his clients. He loves construction “because everything’s always
“We try to the be the ‘Easy Button’ like the Staples commercial.” Rob Johnes, President www.helmkamp.com
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to others in the construction industry? “Celebrate success,” he says. “It’s too easy to always to be looking ahead to the next project without acknowledging the success of a job just completed.” Otherwise, Johnes notes, “12 years can go by, and you realize you haven’t celebrated anything.” He adds, “take the time to smell the roses, as they say.”
COMPANY INFORMATION different,” he says. “All the inputs change, whether it’s different subs, materials, environment or players.” As an owner, Johnes relishes the problem-solving process involved in each project. He also enjoys watching his long-term employees develop their skills over time . “Some of these guys I got out of college as interns,” he reveals. “At first, they were unsure of themselves. And now they’re confident in front of our owners and successfully delivering projects.”
Savor Your Successes What advice would Johnes offer
Company Name: Helmkamp Construction Co. Country: USA Industry: Construction Management and Self-Performance Est: 1938 Premier Services: Industrial, Building, Life Science CEO: Rob Johnes, President and Owner Website: www.helmkamp.com www.helmkamp.com
707 Berkshire Blvd East Alton, IL 62024