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Volume 13
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Number 6
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JUNE 2015
Support system
Change of the century
L-R: The support Angie Ellis has received from industry friends iike Paula Pacanins can’t be contained.
Staff at the Dallas branch are excited for the changes ahead.
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aula Pacanins remembers what it’s like to be the new kid on the construction block. In 2013, she sold her half of a staffing agency to join Cole Smith in the relaunch of construction storage container and mobile office sales and leasing company Container King Inc. in Denton. As president, she relied on every resource others in the industry made available to her. So when Pacanins learned one of her customers, Angie Ellis, was establishing Construction Industry Allies, a temporary job site needs supply company in Dallas, she jumped at the chance to offer any help she could give. “When I found out that she was striking out on her own, of course I wanted to
reach out to her. Quite honestly, I wanted to hire her!” Pacanins says. “She had a bigger vision, though, which is so exciting to me because what she is offering clients is such a needed service. When she didn’t want to work for me, I told her that anything she needed, being another woman-owned company in the construction industry, I would happily do.” For nearly a year, Ellis had dreamed of establishing a company offering a one-stop range of project services including generators, light towers, fencing, barricades, and dumpsters, construction offices and containers. When she took the leap, she found herself overcome continued on Page 17
T
he 100th anniversary is commonly known as the “diamond” anniversary, but for Western Waterproofing Company in Dallas, the milestone will be marked not with a blinding carat, but with a brilliant change. The parent company is honoring the occasion with a rebranding effort for all of its nationwide branch offices and member companies to express its century-long evolution. Now known as Western Specialty Contractors, the name and logo change will help customers better understand the range of services available to them. The company, originally named to reflect its extensive waterproofing experience, has added both services and manpower over the years: Thir-
ty branch offices (three are in Texas) and more than 1,200 employees nationwide make it the largest specialty contractor in masonry and concrete restoration, waterproofing and specialty roofing. It’s an impressive feat for the Bishop family, who is now the third generation to run the business since it was founded in St. Louis by Ben Many and his brotherin-law George Bishop Sr. Between 1926 and 2008, Western acquired seven companies and opened more than 30 branches across the country. Western president Jeff Kelley says that the scope of business has grown from basements to commercial, institutional, government and continued on Page 17
Doing what they Lean to do
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wo projects. Two Methodist Health System healthcare campuses in Richardson. Two tight deadlines set for April completion – this is what Skiles Group and its director of operations, Keyan Zandy, were up against, and each project brought its own unique challenges. The first project was a renovation on the Campbell campus where an existing space would be remodeled into an adult behavioral health facility. Skiles Group had to create a safe and secure environment for patients while meeting strict Texas Department of State Health Services codes. Despite these sensitivities, the schedule was an aggressive 12 weeks. The second project, on the Renner campus, was a remodel of the emergency department room to accommodate new CAT scan machinery. With ambulances delivering critical care patients on one side of the space, and patients enter-
ing the ER on the other, the remodel would need to be completed in six weeks without disruption of services. Fortunately, Zandy had already implemented a Lean Dashboard System, which kept both projects – and their many variables – on track. Skiles Group’s Lean Dashboard System is a scheduling and tracking system derived from the Lean Construction Institute’s Last Planner System. The difference is that Skiles Group’s Lean Dashboard System utilizes graphical “dashboards” so that trades can plan and visually communicate every part of the process in three-week increments. Many firms are unaware of this secret weapon, but Zandy has been utilizing it for nearly a decade, and even served as program committee chairman for the Lean Construction Institute of Dallas/Fort Worth’s Community of Practice. Skiles Group used an innovative system to complete this emergency room renovation.
continued on Page 17