BUILDING TOGETHER November 2019 Calvin University - New Entrance | Grand Rapids, MI
Upcoming Events December 2 | Zeeland Magical Christmas Parade December 3 | Holland Parade of Lights December 6 | Employee Christmas Party December 9 | Tommy’s Express Grand Opening - Breton Location December 10 | EV Youniversity Construction 101 - Lunch and Learn Part 1 December 11 | Safety Meeting December 12 | EV Youniversity - Flooring Prep and Installation December 17 | EV Youniversity Construction 101 - Lunch and Learn Part 2 December 25 | Merry Christmas! EV is closed
Don’t forget to check EVinsite for all upcoming events and more details!
Safety Tip: Personal Protective Equipment: Always keep your PPE in firstrate shape. Perform regular maintenance inspections – if any PPE is damaged, worn or expired it should be replaced immediately!
BUILDING TOGETHER | November 2019
AM I ADDING VALUE?
BRETT LESIEWICZ SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER When I was 13, I started my construction career by pushing a broom on my uncle’s residential project sites. I followed him around from job to job, cleaning and trying to make myself useful. I loved being around construction, and not wanting to seem like “a tag-along burden”, it was very important to me to keep busy and add value. Whether it was tidying up materials on the trailer, cleaning tools, mopping in addition to sweeping, or even cleaning the dashboard on the truck while he negotiated payment with the owner outside, I always made sure I earned my dollar by adding value. Fast-forward to today, in a season of project start-ups, the phrase “value” comes up A LOT! An architect might choose a more expensive option and say the reason is that it “adds value”. Conversely, we might find a material alternate that is less expensive and say we are “value engineering”. Meanwhile, a trade partner is selling us on their means and methods on a particular activity, and again, they say “this adds value”. In turn, we attempt to negotiate selfperform with the owner, once more using “added value” as the reason. So what does adding value mean? Is it adding cost? Is it reducing cost? Is it doing something right? Is it experience? Is it tangible enough to even be defined? I challenged
people to tell me what they mean by “value” and I became frustrated that no one could answer. No one could define the “value” that they were selling. Finally, I asked myself, how can we sell something to the owner and not even know what it means? So, I did what every good millennial does and I Googled it. Merging the definitions of “add” and “value”, we get something to the effect of “increasing the usefulness, worth, merit, benefit or practicality” of something. This didn’t help me in the slightest! What I kept coming back to is my 13-year-old self, just running around making sure I always put in a solid day’s work. In the context of EV, and selling a job, maybe “value” is just simply being confident that our team puts in a solid day’s work. No, I thought, it has to be more than that. A lot of people work hard. Value, I thought, is a field manager that sees the guys struggling and puts on a tool belt to lend a hand. It’s the employee that puts ego aside and says, “I need help”, instead of wasting time and energy on something they don’t understand. It’s making one trip to the hardware store instead of three. It’s walking with purpose instead of a lazy stroll. It’s knowing when to put your head down and grind. It’s knowing when to refill your fuel tank, collect your thoughts and take a break. It’s the passion Continued on next page. Page 1