It took many years and trips to jobsite before they could understand that I did not build the project by myself, that it was a team effort.
BLUE OPS The Lewis Operations Newsletter ISSUE #3 | 2022
When my two sons were young, they would love to come to my projects and look at all the work we had completed. They always said how cool it was that, “dad built this.”
Make room for the next teammates and encourage them with a positive approach.
The value we place on our Lewis teams, subcontractors, architects and owners cannot be high enough. Imagine showing up to your jobsite having to do everything from turning on the lights Monday morning to writing the checks for Friday. Without a solid empowered team, we would not be able to accomplish much at all.
Jeff Blakeslee Superintendent, Portland
Superintendent’s Corner
All of us can look back on previous projects and remember the amazing teams that we wish we could have on all of our projects moving forward. It is just as easy to look back on the ones that were not so great. The one thing permanent in life is change. As we move forward through our projects that change daily, weekly or monthly, we can remind ourselves of the value of having a Plus 1 mentality.
Thank you, Daniel, for being a SafeGuardian!
At Lewis, safety is more than a department—Working Safe for Life relies on the commitment of every Lewis employee. Each quarter, Lewis will recognize Safeguardians for being safety leaders who go beyond keeping themselves and their peers safe.
By Jeff Cleator, Chief Operating Officer
Daniel Ramos is a Foreman on the healthcare team and he is presently running the NWGI Remodel at the Legacy Good Sam Medical Offices.
Daniel runs a very clean and organized operation, which is instrumental to running a Safe Project. He is well liked by Legacy because he is communicative and handles scheduling issues efficiently and creatively. Working in Healthcare creates its own nuances, such as controlling the dust and noise in an Active Medical facility.
To excel in our roles, we must first understand what is expected of us, which is captured in our job descriptions. Supporting the job descriptions are a list of core competencies— the skills an employee must master over time to truly excel in their role. Candid and regular performance appraisals help us to identify those core competencies that need improvement.
As you know, we are in year one of a three-year long-range plan. This plan is focused on our people, our performance and our community. In the next several issues of Blue Ops, we will provide you updates on how we are doing against these goals.
Daniel has worked his way up over 15 years, starting with odd jobs, before getting into hardwood floors and then he entered the Union as a Carpenter. He met a lot of people on his way up the ladder and he formed friendly relationships and a varied network. Daniel’s philosophy is to use these cultured relationships to help him run a smoother operation and delivering a quality finished product for Lewis customers.
Long-Range Plan Update: Employee Development
We have invested in a Learning Management System (LMS) that will provide quick and simple access to trainings and track employee development and certifications over time. We’re proud to announce that this system is now live as of September 15th.
I am excited to share the significant progress we are making on Long Range Planning Goal 1, “Double-down on our investment in employee development to ensure our people are tracking towards their full potential.” Important stuff!
SAFEGUARDIANFASEGUARDIAN
To address these growth areas, we then turn to the learning maps for our position. Learning maps provide a guide to self-direct your own learning. All these resources for Superintendents, Foremen and other salaried employees are available on the People Services and Lewis Discovery pages on OurLewislink.nextpriority
Long-range Plan
is to develop learning content for our employees. This effort started with the hiring of Jill Guffey, our Instructional Designer. Jill works with Lisa Harkness to identify areas that need improvement and develop learning content to address those needs. Lisa and Jill are a dynamic team, so don’t hesitate to contact either of them if you need guidance.
SAFEGUARDIAN OF THE QUARTER
Under the leadership of Nate Buddress and Mark Portin, we are building an employee development cycle.
WORK GROUP & COMMITTEE BULLETIN
Lewis is working hard to create the culture, environment, tools and trainings to help every employee reach their full potential. The rest happens through a personal commitment to self-improvement and continual learning.
BLUE OPS
“This is the first job I have had that invited me to participate,” said Journeyman Carpenter Maya Berns. “I volunteer because management invited me to; it feels good to be included in these opportunities,” she said.
By Ben McLean, Portland Communication Specialist
Though challenging to implement, the effort paid off with an order of magnitude reduction in manual calculation and rock-solid confidence in Lewis’ work!
The drawings themselves were not detailed enough to provide the team with enough information about the ramp geometry. To create a buildable model, the VDC team and project team broke down the architect’s Revit model into its underlying geometry. A formula was derived from this model which allowed calculation of the top of slab elevation at any point on the ramp.
virtual design and construction
Journeyman Carpenter Brann Marshal said, “I want to be involved in my community. I want to be part of a positive change.”
Why We Volunteer
I recently visited the North Valley Complex jobsite to sit down with a group of foremen, carpenters and laborers who have been particularly active in Lewis’ volunteer opportunities. The goal of the meeting was to understand the different reasons and motivations our teams have for volunteering. Here are a few things your fellow builders shared about why they choose to volunteer:
From left to right: Maya Berns, Ramone Veals, and Nick Samanski.
With very little structural repetition from one lift to the next, every placement of the LDNO project presented unique challenges. Rotated grids and radial elements created intricate geometry while the massive scale of the structural elements required dividing members into multiple complex placements.
“For me, I think it is important to give back, to support one another,” said Journeyman Laborer Ramone Veals
As Lewis employees that are all united by our Purpose, we should look for ways to bring others along as we strive to give back and lift those in need. Follow the QR code above to see a list of upcoming volunteer opportunities with Lewis or ask your team leaders about ways you can get involved and volunteer.
The most geometrically complex element of the project was the helical access ramp leading from the street level garage down to the loading dock. The mild steel reinforced ramp deck rises in a spiral with a cross slope to the inside—creating a non-planar double curved surface across its entire area. Because many walls, columns and beams were placed to the underside of the deck, the team needed to calculate ramp geometry in advance of forming the ramp and the tolerance for decks on the project required precise accuracy and reproducibility.
While setting horizontal formwork, the field would often need spot checks in unanticipated locations so quick answers were a necessity. To expedite the process, an automated script was created to calculate the ramp elevation in 3d. The solution enabled a workflow in which every elevation for the ramp or guard wall was generated based on the same formula—ensuring precise grading at every point on the ramp and accurate top of concrete wherever walls or columns terminated at the bottom of the ramp.
One of the central takeaways from this visit is that our employees are ready and willing to help improve their community through volunteering; they just need to be invited to participate. This is a powerful reminder to all levels of leadership to be includers in their community improvement efforts.
“It feels like the right thing to do to support folks who need help,” said Journeyman Carpenter Trevor Johnson
ISSUE #3 | 2022
By Doug Klassen, Seattle Senior VDC Coordinator LDNO Helical Ramp Geometry
Community outreach
At the Seattle Convention Center Addition, Lewis worked on a below-grade loading dock zone which also serves as the podium for Washington 1000, a twotower high-rise development. As part of the Lewis project team, VDC provided work packages and analytical drawings to make sense of the complex structural geometry and sequencing of the project.
Lewis aims to activate employees and leverage partnerships to improve our communities through volunteerism. All of Lewis is taking steps toward reaching this goal through the Long-Range Plan.
“It was a very dangerous job, and my wife was no longer okay with the risks now that the baby was coming,” Luis said. Luis and his wife moved to be close to family in Salem, Oregon, and having a cousin at Lewis, Luis decided to try his hand at construction as a carpenter’s helper.
about the apprenticeship program is learning all the steps that go into these buildings. I am most happy and proud when I am trusted to take on new responsibilities and have the chance to expand my role,” he said. Luis will be journeying out of his apprenticeship soon and has his sights set on becoming a Lewis foreman.
Did you know that we have an innovation committee at Lease Crutcher Lewis? Our committee is a team of people looking to find novel solutions to industry challenges, improving the way we work and collaborate.
The most fun part about her job? “The tools. They always get everyone excited. Especially the ones you get to use on the job or try out that you don’t have in your garage and you’d never have any reason to own yourself to use at home. And they make our jobs a lot easier.”
“The benefit of being an apprentice is that everyone at work knows you’re an apprentice and that you’re here to learn,” Erica said. “All the Journeyman come to help you out and teach you how to do something, and everyone is always teaching you new ways to problem solve.”
Erica Sanchez has been a Carpenter Apprentice for the last three years and is currently working on the STEM4 project for UW Bothell and Cascadia College. Most of her time as an apprentice was spent working at the Washington State Convention Center Summit Addition.
BLUE OPS
Erica loves the freedom of getting to problem-solve on the job. She said, “It might be the same kind of repetitive work every day, but it’s always a different problem to solve.”
Luis is a testament to the Lewis Apprenticeship Program and its ability to develop and empower talent to succeed in the field. His story is one of many from this program. Every apprentice at Lewis works incredibly hard to learn the trade and earn their spot as a journeyman.
As she completed training and got out into the field, she realized how much more you learn in the field.
By Ben McLean, Portland Communication Specialist
The thing that made Erica want to work in the construction industry is her twelve-year-old daughter. Before she joined construction, she had spent 12 years bartending. However, when the restaurant she had been working at started talk of closing, as a single mom, she knew she needed to find a career with more stability, normal hours and benefits to support her daughter.
“I love my job now,” she said. “At first being an apprentice was overwhelming—I didn’t know the difference between all the different nails and tools—but once I got better at knowing them and what they do, it got a lot easier,” she explained.
Luis Pardo: Deadliest Catch to Lewis Apprentice
“I didn’t even know how to use a measuring tape,” he said. “I constantly made mistakes in the beginning.”
Call for Innovations
Now, with a few years under his belt, Luis is starting to see all his hard work pay off as he has grown to appreciate the work and the learning process of “Whatapprenticeship.Ilovemost
Erica Sanchez: Lewis’ “Valkyrie” Apprentice
Luis Pardo is an eight-term Carpenter Apprentice currently working at Providence Saint Vincent. His path to apprenticeship started when his wife became pregnant with their first child. At the time, Luis was a fisherman working out of Dutch Harbor, Alaska.
Luis soon realized how patient and professional the management was at Lewis and how invested they were in seeing him learn the trade.
By Teagan Wood, Seattle Marketing Coordinator
Innovations are an important part of growth and success; they push us to continually look for ways to do our work that’s safer and more efficient and enable us to surpass our competitors in the way we execute our projects. At Lewis, the innovations that are helping us push the envelope come directly from our people and our jobsites, and we want to tap into the diverse knowledge that you have to continue improving the way we work.
The Lewis Innovation Committee is working hard to collect ideas and feedback to continue designing the next generation of products and services—ultimately carrying those innovations back into the field. With that in mind, we’re asking you to take five minutes to fill out a survey by scanning the QR code to the right.
Scan this QR code to tell us how we should innovate!
“Those guys really believed in me and wanted me there. I was surprised by their patience. Working on the boats, I was used to being cussed at and screamed at with every mistake,” Luis explained.
By Jesica Bush, Seattle Site Safety Coordinator
The Silent Killer — Suicide Prevention Awareness September is Suicide Awareness month and in the construction industry, mental health awareness and suicide prevention are just as important safety issues as jobsite safety. The suicide rate among construction workers is more than five times the national average, at 53.2 suicide deaths per 100,000 workers. That works out to an estimated 5,242 construction industry suicides annually, which is more than two times the number of construction industry work fatalities and for every person that dies by suicide there are another 25 suicide attempts.
Saying goodbye to friends and family
ISSUE #3 | 2022
This topic is extremely meaningful to me and my life as I recently lost a friend of mine from the trades to this less than a year ago. She was a vibrant woman who loved her family, was a hard worker and was extremely dependable. Losing her was a shock, yet it taught me a valuable lesson as well — to trust my instincts. If I feel I need to ask someone if they are okay, or I notice their mood being a bit off... I ask them if they are okay, let them know they are seen and offer an ear to listen.
Talking about not having a reason to live or that others would be better off without them
There isn’t a typical pattern of behavior for someone who is suicidal, but there are common warning signs. These are the signs that are generally clear and easy to observe:
VOLUNTEERING
Giving away personal items and wrapping up loose ends
The ladder bucked sideways and in an instant, I was on the floor. Fortunately, on the way down I caught the ceiling grid under my armpits, and it slowed me down enough to land somewhat softly on the floor.
Mentioning strong feelings of guilt and shame
Talking about dying or wanting to die
You may find yourself wondering why, or what is the cause? In most cases, mental health isn’t visible — it’s a silent killer.
Talking about feeling empty, hopeless, or having no way out of problems
By Roy Smith, Portland Superintendent Safety Moment
Congratulations Winningham! CARPENTER TREVOR JOHNSON’S REASONING FOR AT LEWIS?
Social withdrawal and isolation
blue ops trivia!
If you or anyone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide: Text or call 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline | Call 1-888-628-9454 Red Nacional de Prevencion del Suicido.
Years ago, I was working on a Saturday in a building by myself. I was up in the ceiling on a ladder and couldn’t quite reach what I was working on, so I took a couple of more steps up to the top of the ladder. As soon as I had both feet on the top rung of the ladder I reached for what I was working on.
Scan the QR code to submit your answer for the chance to win a $100 LewisGear gift card! The winner will be announced in the Q4 edition of Blue Ops. WHAT WAS JOURNEYMAN
When I see someone getting ready to make the same mistake, I ask them to get a taller ladder and retell my ladder story. I was very lucky to walk away since most of these kinds of falls would normally result in a serious injury or fatality.
to our Q2 trivia winner: Austin
The majority of the area will be occupied throughout the project. To facilitate the initial renovation, 20 separate “swing” projects were built out, ranging from several hundred thousand to $8 million.
$7M Civic
The team recently completed the highly technical structural demolition potion of the project. This portion was one of the most challenging, requiring highly intricate sequencing of the demolition. The major new structural elements (shear walls, steel, shafts) all had to be built before structural demolition.
$45M EducationHigher
Comprehensive renovation of a structure, including structural upgrades and seismic stabilization. Work requires the replacement of building HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems.
$32M Healthcare
Milwaukie Bay Park CountyClackamas
Q1 2023
Portland in progress: PCC Health Technology Building Renovation Atrium Offices
Q1 2023
Major scope items include:
DepartmentEmergencySt.ProvidenceVincent ServicesHealthProvidenceand
Q4 2022
$40M EducationHigher
$5M EducationHigher
PROJECT BACKLOG HIGHLIGHTS
The Project is an approximately 81,000-square-feet renovation of the Food Science and Technology and Rangeland Sciences Education building located on the Corvallis, Oregon campus.
Q1 2023
Oregon Projects
Classrooms Labs
Double height assembly space
BLUE OPS
Q1 2023
This project is a major remodel to the existing health technology (HT) building on the Portland Community College (PCC) Sylvania campus. The original 1968 building is a heavy concrete and encased steel beam structure. The building has three separate sectors.
This task demanded intense coordination and many meetings with trade partners and structural engineers. Lewis had to work with five different engineering firms to safely pull off the alignment of demolition.
The tables below are updated quarterly to show major backlog in each market sector. This is not a comprehensive list and data shown is projected. Please see Preconstruction or a market sector leader for more information about these projects.
+
This 2-floor renovation will include internal and external building upgrades to meet the needs of the Counseling and Psychological Services department.
Oregon Health and UniversityScience threefor(per$15,000,000yearthenextyears)
Oregon UniversityState
Healthcare The projects encompass a wide variety of scopes, including healthcare renovations and equipment.
This approximately 57,250-square-feet project will involve expanding the patient room count and is a combination of full reconstruction and minor upgrades.
Gilkey Hall Oregon UniversityState
ContractContractorGeneralManager-ConstructionIDIQ
Amphitheater, a nature play area, an interactive water feature, a main plaza and picnic area, new restrooms, Trolley Trail alignment, pedestrian pathways, upland and lowland natural areas and art/interpretive elements.
Q1 2023
RenovationHallWithycombe
Building HubTechnologyAdvanced12 CollegeCommunityLane
Project Name Client Value Market Sector Scope Start Date
Terminal 106 Trammel Crow $140M Commercial
Block 57W Vulcan $100M Commercial
Q1 2023
An 11-story, 207,000-square-foot office building over four levels of below-grade parking. Work includes a substantial public plaza and greenspace.
Q4 2022
Safeco RenovationPlaza
The tables below are updated quarterly to show major backlog in each market sector. This is not a comprehensive list and data shown is projected. Please see Preconstruction or a market sector leader for more information about these projects.
Q4 2022
seattle in progress: 400 Westlake
improvements to MEP upgrades to the overall function of the facility
Providence Bear Creek Providence Health and Services $5M Healthcare 28,000-square-foot tenant improvement of a secondfloor office. Work includes modernizing their medical IT department office space.
Start Date
11-story, 325,000-square-foot life science building. The design includes 14-foot ceiling heights for lab or office use as well as 7,800 square feet of retail space.
The project at 400 Westlake continues to work toward completion. Crews recently completed the restoration of the historic façade and are currently installing the curtainwall. The building also features a 220-foot-tall, 70-foot-wide pre-cast concrete wall on the alley-side of the building. The wall is being built with a self-climbing work platform, which moves incredibly slow—at a rate of about two feet per minute. The team will install about 1,000 pieces of pre-cast finishes to set over the next three months, which requires precise coordination from the team. The core of the building sits on the alley-side of the project, meaning that this work drives the schedule for the project.
Q4 2022
To prepare for the renovation, Lewis crews built a temporary school nearby to serve the 225 “early learners” and the UW staff and students in the program. The temporary school features a series of portable classrooms surrounded by a complex framework of metal ramping and platforms for walkways and play areas for each classroom.
ISSUE #3 | 2022
Washington Projects
1916 Boren Trammell Crow $101M Commercial
Multi-phased project from restroom and fitness center upgrades to main lobby and corporate meeting spaces.
42,000-square-foot renovation for the College of Education’s Experimental Education Unit. Renovations include improvements to MEP systems, finishes, accessibility, envelope and improving the overall function of the facility.
Building Cure L6 Seattle Children’s $15M Life Science 30,000-square-foot buildout of lab and office space. Q2 2023
Lewis recently started a 42,000-square-foot renovation for the University of Washington’s College of Education’s Experimental Education Unit. The work will include:
PROJECT BACKLOG + HIGHLIGHTS
seattle in progress: Haring Center School
Q2 2023
Two-story, industrial building with 700,000 square feet of distribution warehouse space and 350,000 square feet of parking.
realigning the building with the contemporary early childhood education needs
Q3 2022
Project Name Client Value Market Sector Scope
Boston Properties $50M Corporate
Haring Center University of Wash ington $26M EducationHigher
For inquiries, or to opt out from receiving this newsletter, please email: lewisinfo@lewisbuilds.com
In June, Duncan Howard completed his DBIA certification to become a Designated Design-Build Professional. Congratulations on your certification!
Duncan is also celebrating his recent marriage to his wife Julia! The two got married on July 23rd on the water off the shore of Fremont in a beautiful ceremony. The best to you both!
On April 23rd, 2022, Michael Ferrell and his wife Jacqueline welcomed into the world their beautiful baby girl, Renee Maria Ferrell Lewis wishes you the biggest congratulations, Michael and Jacqueline!
2200 Western Avenue Suite Seattle,500WA 98121 www.lewisbuilds.com
On June 28th, 2022 at 4:30 p.m., Nick Losh and his wife welcomed into the world Avery Losh. This sweet girl came in at six pounds, six ounces and Lewis wishes you the biggest congratulations, Nick!
RECOGNITION & PERSONAL MILESTONES
