Educating Construction Managers

“It’s one thing to see something on a drawing or a spec, and it’s an entirely different thing to see it being constructed. I have a lot better understanding now.” – Turner project manager

In April, three dozen young Turner project managers spent two days at the Flynn Center at what one participant called “project manager’s fantasy camp.” Seminars in detailing, restoration, sustainable masonry, structural systems and codes, plus hands-on experience in bricklaying and tuckpointing, enhanced their appreciation of masonry systems, and the union masonry professionals who install them. Now, says one participant, “I will not take for granted the workmanship. They make it look so easy and it is not.”

Construction managers and designers working on Ohio School Facilities Commission projects will get their own masonry “fantasy camp” in June, with seminars on reinforcing and movement control, flashing and best practices, plus popular hands-on time.

Expert erection of brick-faced architectural precast wall panels was a highlight of the Chicago event.

IMI also helps managers keep up on the latest industry developments. Major general contractors and construction managers in Chicago joined designers at the District Council Training Center in early May to explore Building Information Modeling (BIM), and precast concrete at a special session in partnership with AIA Chicago and the Prestressed Concrete Institute.

“Precast concrete makes sense for certain projects, and we want to show that the Bricklayers Union and IMI are providing the training and are well equipped to provide the labor,” says BAC District Council Illinois President Jim Allen.

Walsh Construction, the Chicago-based general contracting, construction management and design-build giant [18th on ENR’s Top 400 List], brought IMI right to the jobsite to educate their project managers and superintendents on flashing and moisture control. For the $230 million Sherman Hospital project, which sits on a geothermal lake, they were not taking any chances.

Bringing masonry expertise to the jobsite at the right time “makes the material more relevant and practical,” says Walsh’s training manager.

“It makes the presentation more accessible to our project management staff from both the office and the field,” says Heather Cirre, LEED AP, Project Manager/Corporate Trainer for The Walsh Group, who says her staff also appreciated IMI review of project details and specifications. “We look forward to work[ing] with IMI on other projects, so we can continue to improve… masonry design details and implement quality control measures that minimize our problems.”

Green Tile Marble & Terrazzo

At Coverings, the major event for the ceramic tile and natural stone industry, IMI’s “Green Tile, Marble and Terrazzo Solutions” seminar showed how these systems address thermal performance, protect against moisture, address air leakage, and support strong sustainable practices. IMI explained how the LEED credits work for tile, marble and terrazzo, and how designers can maximize the variety of credits, including materials selection, recycled content and regional advantages.  Other tactics include thicker beds, insulation, and air barriers.
The overriding message was that there is a way to design a system that offers maximum design flexibility and sustainable opportunities, and IMI can help.

The IMI Checklist makes it easy for designers to make tile, marble, and terrazzo part of LEED-NC designed buildings, with exceptional performance.

At the Pennsylvania School Board’s School Design and Construction Conference in Philadelphia in May, IMI covered masonry products and systems in a roundtable discussion on masonry LEED solution, plus one-on-one with decision makers.
With cost a top concern, IMI showed designers and planners strategies for material choices, design ideas and life-cycle cost advantages. John Trevisan from Roman Mosaic, who enjoyed “so many great contacts in one place,” pitched in by showing one district how to save money on a project by reducing the amount of metal strips in the design. “This was a great opportunity as a contractor,” he says.

Using terrazzo and other products “just make sense,” said Victor Lasher, P.E., Director of Facilities, Engineering and Services for Centennial School District. “I am demanding that they (the designers) utilize masonry in as much of the structure as possible.” IMI will work closely with the district on costing strategies, design comment and plan review for their projects.

Catching up with Masonry Camp Alumni

Although Ron had not picked up the tools before camp, masonry “is in my blood,” he says, including a stone mason grandfather. He did not grow up around unions, but “I was thoroughly impressed,” he says. “It was money well spent, because it gives young interns a good kick start.”

Returning to his architectural firm after camp, Ron was sought out for masonry answers more often, and became more comfortable when asked to push design limits, in part because “I was able to talk to the craftsmen.”

Ron’s admiration for BAC masons has not diminished. “There is sophistication to the way masons get trained. They apply ‘craftsmen’ to everything they do.”

"They apply 'craftsmen' to everything they do."

Ron is enjoying his recent switch to manufacturing “because you get to see the product right away.” He thinks rain screen systems like TerraClad are on an upward trend, “because the product is gorgeous, with natural joints. Masonry has always been about scale.”

He still gets to interact with masons on mockups, and enjoys getting their feedback “to make our product better.” Plus, he says, “I have to be nice to the masons now; they’re my customers.”

BAC Trainee Profiles: OSHA 500 Train-the-Trainer Class

Tim Cutler, 5 TN instructor
After working as a bricklayer for eight years, Tim jumped at the chance to become an instructor last year. One of the first things he did was sign up for IMI’s Instructor Certification Program. Next on his list was the OSHA 500 Train-the-Trainer course, which certifies him to teach basic OSHA courses.
 
“Teaching was something that I had wanted to do for a long time,” he says, and ICP gave him a good start. “It helped me think about things differently, and to think as a student,” he says. His enjoyed courses like strategies for presenting information, and craft familiarizations.

Tim previewed the Flynn Center last September, with a Local 5 brick contestant for the International Apprentice Contest. Coming back for the OSHA 500 class was more intense, because “there was a ton of information.”

He plans to offer the OSHA 10-hour course to his next pre-job class, and to other members. With many general contractors in his area insisting on everyone having it, “it will open different work opportunities for them,” he says.

Fernando Hernandez, Local 3 AZ/NM/TX organizer
This has been a year of “firsts” for Fernando since last July, when he joined BAC and was hired as an organizer for Local 3. Organizing in a non-union area like El Paso, Texas, keeps him busy, but he made time for the OSHA 500 class.

Fernando knows the power of information firsthand. The son of a non-union contractor who started laying bricks at 14, “we didn’t know how the union worked and how it would benefit us” until a BAC organizer explained it, he says. While his contracting experience helped prepare him for his new job, the OSHA class made him realize that, on safety, “I really was scratching the surface.” He enjoyed interacting with other instructors, and the Flynn Center itself. “It is awesome,” he says. “It’s a real life scenario, and a good way to learn.”

His members in El Paso are glad he took the course, too. With their insurer paying $400 to anyone who gets the OSHA 10-hour certification, “everybody signed up,” he says.

Fernando would like to return to the Flynn Center to learn more and perhaps attend ICP, but his father, who is interested in refractory, might beat him to it, if his members don’t.   “They like the fact that at any time they can get the training,” he says.

“IMI has been a big selling point here.”