Angela House and Scott Copeland are assistant project managers at Brasfield and Gorrie. They are currently overseeing an addition and remodeling of the inside of Memorial Hospital on University Boulevard.
Brasfield and Gorrie is a full-service general contracting, construction management, and design/build service provider. The company builds healthcare, industrial, office, institutional, retail, education, and water treatment facilities.
WHAT DO THEY DO?
House and Copeland manage healthcare construction projects. “We both check steel shop drawings. Once that is checked by us and the design team, they go back to the subcontractors and they build whatever material they are making based off that check,” said Copeland.
They also manage the costs, schedules and subcontractors. “There are a lot of documents,” said House. “We are glorified paper pushers.” House and Copeland report to Chris Cameron, the senior project manager.
‘STEEL SHOP’ DRAWINGS?
“When a job is being built you have your plans, but they don’t actually detail out how the steel is to be put together,” said House. “The actual steel contractor has to send in shop drawings to show exactly each weld, bolt, size, length. Scott has to check those shop drawings to make sure they match up exactly and coordinate. If they don’t come in the right size, it could mess up the whole building.”
WHAT MADE THEM DECIDE TO BECOME PARTNERS?
They were assigned to be a team to work together.
They both have been with Brasfield and Gorrie for three years. They both started out as estimators, but then moved into the assistant project manager position.
“We were a team on the estimating side and the managing side,” said House. They started working as a team on this project via email while he was in Nashville and she had already moved to Jacksonville from Alabama.
House moved here a year and a half ago while Copeland moved here about seven months ago.
HOUSE’S HISTORY
House has a bachelor’s degree in building science from Auburn University and she joined Brasfield and Gorrie right out of college. “I wanted to be a residential builder to start off with. But, then when I got into the program, I really got interested in commercial construction. I got interested in healthcare construction through estimating at Brasfield and Gorrie.”
COPELAND’S HISTORY?
Copeland has a bachelor’s degree in construction management Middle Tennessee State University. He also joined Brasfield and Gorrie right out of college. “Most of my family is in commercial construction and I’ve always had an interest in it.”
STRENGTHS THEY EACH BRING TO PARTNERSHIP?
“I’m probably a little more outgoing and talkative than Scott,” said House.
Copeland said one of House’s strengths is dealing with people.
“A lot of our job is talking on the phone to subcontractors or vendors,” said Copeland. “She has a knack for dealing with people the right way and treating them fairly.”
House said Copeland is good at getting into the technical details of the steel shop drawings and construction.
YOUR CURRENT PROJECT?
They are doing an interior renovation to Memorial Hospital and a Bed Patient Tower addition. “They are getting a brand new kitchen, dining area, chapel, catheterization laboratory, prep recovery areas and a dialysis unit.” They are adding an additional 190,000 square feet to the hospital. It is a $63 million project.
BEST PROFESSIONAL ADVICE THEY’VE EVER RECEIVED?
“Be fair to your subcontractors, your owner and just in general,” said House.
HOW ARE THEY DOING IN THIS MARKET?
“The healthcare market is typically not impacted by the economy as much,” House. “It is to a certain extent, but not like the commercial. Commercial, especially the condominium market, tends to be impacted a lot. We are doing pretty well. We are not in our boom, but we are doing pretty well.”
WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT EACH OTHER?
They both said they are easy going. “There is a real team effort,” said Copeland. “She’ll call me when she’s on her way in and ask if I could do something for her and I’ll say no problem. She does the same for me.”
LESSONS LEARNED?
“I learned that every second needs to be used,” said House. “If you have some down time, you need to get ahead on something else because the next day you will have 50 million things to do. It’s a matter of making sure you prioritize what needs to be done. It’s also important to learn how to deal with people so they don’t misinterpret what you are trying to get out of them. You want them to trust you to a certain extent and be productive.”
Copeland said it’s very important to be clear when requesting what you need.
“It’s important to follow-up and make sure the material delivery is going to come on time,” said Copeland. “That’s where you cross the line sometimes. If someone gives you a date and they don’t make it you have to make your choices and judgments on what you have to do.”
Copeland also said it is also very important to have detailed documentation on everything.
“Be knowledgeable, very organized and keep detailed documentation of all changes,” said Copeland.
ADVICE FOR PEOPLE NEW TO THE CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS?
Copeland said it is important to get out and meet people so you can intern and get experience before you join a company.
“It’s OK not to know everything when you get out of school,” said House. “It’s OK to ask a lot of questions even if you think it is a stupid question because the people that have been in the construction industry for 25 years still learn new things everyday. There is so much to learn about the construction industry, so don’t hesitate to ask questions.”
- by Michele Newbern Gillis