WORK GROUP & COMMITTEE BULLETIN

By Jeff Cleator, Chief Operating Officer

Long-Range Plan Update: Business Performance

During our recent virtual Town Hall meeting, leaders shared updates from our annual business planning process. During the Q&A period, we received questions about the “R-word”—recession!

The real estate industry faces headwinds. Cost escalation for construction inputs, increasing interest rates, ongoing supply chain issues and declining demand for office space have reduced the construction opportunities in our core markets.

While concerning, real estate cycles are a natural and predictable part of the business. Lewis has weathered numerous recessions and depressions in our 137-year history with resiliency, adaptability and smart business planning—and it’s a focus of LRP goal #5.

More specifically, our goal is to achieve annual revenues of $900 million with profitability that meets or exceeds industry averages. We expect our 2023 revenues to be just over $1 billion, meaning we have accomplished our goal one year ahead of plan!

Long-range Plan

The more important aspect of this goal is to deliver at least $900 million in revenue every year, regardless of what’s going on in the economy. To meet this, we will shift revenues from declining market sectors to expanding market sectors.

First, launching the Data Center/Advanced Technology (DCAT) business unit under the leadership of Matt Jackson and JB Hall allows us to capitalize on the ongoing demand for data storage and high-tech spaces. Also, Crutcher Structures allows us to perform structural work as a specialty subcontractor, potentially opening new doors into public works and creating stability for our craft resources. And we recently were awarded projects in the education market sector, which remains strong.

Collectively, these strategies—being championed by Brian Aske and Matt Jackson under LRP Goal #5—will allow us to “Leverage our foundation as an expert builder to achieve paced growth and increased profitability.

DEI Community Updates

Carpenter Foreman

Shaun Hagler

Shaun joined the Carpenters Union at 28 years old, after graduating from college and looking for the right career. Nearly 25 years later, Shaun is a Foreman here at Lewis. Read our latest blog post to get to know Shaun, hear about the adversity he has overcome and learn how the construction industry can become more inclusive.

DEI Speaker Series Link

In honor of Martin Luther King Day, Lewis hosted its first speaker event of the year, with Theo Wilson. Theo spoke about finding common ground with people who bring different perspectives than your own. Scan the QR code to watch the recorded meeting!

By Ben McLean, Portland Communication Specialist

Meet the New Oregon President: The Renaissance Builder

Tony Stewart recently joined Lewis as our new Oregon President. With over 35 years of industry experience, including working as an architect, general contractor, specialty contractor and owner, he brings a broad range of experience and a balanced perspective. We sat down with Tony to get a sense of who he is, his business philosophy and his vision for his future with Lewis.

I developed a respect for the craft and found that the designs coming from architects did not always lend themselves to the realities of construction.

My success as a builder was leveraging my background in architecture to see what was supposed to be in the drawings but was left out. My years of lessons learned from the field and the design room have positioned me well to serve Lewis as the Oregon President, especially when it comes to our integrated design-build work.

How do you like to spend your time away from the office?

TS: I have developed a hobby centered around restoring 1950s and 60s-era muscle cars and turn-of-the-century outboard boat motors. I’ve been into fixing up cars since high school and have grown to see these machines as industrial art pieces. I’m currently restoring a 1956 Ford Thunderbird. Not the easiest car to drive but a beautiful design in the American post-war era. One of my fondest moments as a father was teaching my oldest daughter to do a burnout in my 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1!

How would you describe your business management philosophy? And how do you see yourself infusing it into your work as our new Oregon President?

TS: I observe, listen and look for talent in others, then partner with them to enhance that talent. I coach through facilitation, being able to come alongside and shepherd personal growth and development. I like to ‘lead the witness,’ allowing individuals to discover their inner strength and then inspiring them to maximize it. I often take on the role of director and producer, setting the lights, queuing the effects and setting the stage for others to perform.

Tell us how your past experience in architecture will impact your ability to lead a construction company. Where do you see that experience shining through in this new role?

TS: My approach is that of the ‘renaissance builder,’ a call back to when the builder and designer were one and the same, fully understanding design principles while having the training and skills to build. I am a licensed architect and spent the first ten years of my career designing buildings. I then pivoted to the field and took a position as an area superintendent.

Jobsite Jargon: Wrong Answers Only

Lewis superintendents were recently prompted to send in “Wrong Answers Only” to commonly used jobsite acronyms, and they did not disappoint. Be careful out there, you may think you are fluent in jobsite jargon, but some of the below acronyms may surprise you.

“Tentative Improvements (TI)”

— Anthony Powter

“A quick decision that I make in the field is a DBL… Design by Larry.”

— Larry Alar

“Another Stupid Idea (ASI), Reaching For Infinity (RFI), Maybe Enough Planning (MEP)”

— Patrick Millius

Tony says he joined Lewis at an optimal point in his career because he can use his passion for developing people to amplify the talent and brand we already have. His past work has prepared him to support Lewis in achieving our Long-Range Plan and business development goals in support of our Values and Purpose. We welcome Tony to the Lewis family and are eager to see him flourish as our new Oregon President!

By Teagan Wood, Seattle Marketing Coordinator

Jamie Coleman:

400 Westlake Apprentice

For a family man looking for a new direction in life, there are many things to consider about your path. For Carpenter Apprentice Jamie Coleman, joining the industry and learning the trade made sense. Jamie has been an apprentice since 2019 and works on the 400 Westlake project. Other than working with his hands on his steady to-do list of new work to learn, his favorite part about being an apprentice is the number of interesting people and tasks he gets to learn from. Everyone operates on the job differently, making it easy for him to throw himself into learning as much as he can and escape into the rhythm of his scope of work.

After slogging through unpredictable gig work with even less predictable hours, a career in construction appealed to Jamie.

“I love the schedule. I get here early enough to get off early and take care of my kids. It helps when the people in this industry are so laid back and value family and people the same way you do. People always understand life and if you’re sick or have kids, you can take care of things without having to jeopardize your job. People recognize that you’re a person,” he explained.

To Jamie, construction is more than just a job, what’s fulfilling to him is that it’s also a career in building a legacy.

“What makes me most fulfilled every day is knowing that I can take care of myself and my family. Knowing I can build up Seattle and pass it down to my kids and the city when I’m done,” Jamie said.

Forest Grove City Hall

By Brittany Woltering, Portland Marketing Manager and MacKenzie Junor, Seattle Communication Specialist

Working with Mass Timber

Mass timber has rapidly become a high-demand construction material. Whether our clients seek to utilize more sustainable materials or want a more natural aesthetic in their spaces, we’ve seen an increase in demand and a wide variety of mass timber applications on several recent Lewis projects.

Forest Grove City Hall

One example is the renovation and expansion underway for Forest Grove City Hall. The team recently completed the mass timber structure for the new two-story Development Services Annex (DSA) building, which ties in directly to the existing building. The wood framing installation was self-performed by our crews.

The chosen design utilized concealed beam hangers called Ricon connectors to achieve their desired outcome. The unique technique enabled the glulam beams to be installed directly against one another, eliminating the steel connections from view.

Health Sciences Education Building

The original design called for 2x4 nail-laminated decking on both floors, which was labor-intensive and would have resulted in a lower-quality finish. Lewis suggested using a different product, “Lock Deck,” which saved the client time and money while also increasing the quality of the finished product.

The site of the DSA building is surrounded by adjacent facilities on three sides, which restricted the team’s installation access to just one side of the structure. Proper sequencing and detailed planning of the work were critical. Further, the concealed connectors didn’t allow for any tolerance in the length of the beams. To minimize this, the team ordered all perimeter beams longer than needed and cut them to fit on-site.

With the building envelope completed, the team is currently installing interior finishes in the DSA building and the renovation is underway in the existing City Hall building.

Health Sciences Education Building

At the recently completed Health Sciences Education Building (HSEB), a

98,000-square-foot lab, classroom and office space on the University of Washington Campus, Lewis installed 209 cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels as the primary decking material. The structure is a first-of-a-kind composite system consisting of steel, CLT, and concrete.

The HSEB team knew the long, heavy spans of CLT panels would bow if picked traditionally, so they invented a unique hoisting apparatus (now stored at the Yard) to pick the material safely. The hoisting rig attached to each panel at a standardized point, which allowed the panel to be picked up, flown and placed in a stable, flat manner. This system increased safety and saved time by reducing from five chainfalls to a single chainfall used for each pick and by being sized to work for multiple sizes of CLT panels.

Each panel was specifically sized to fit in a set location precisely, the panels were prefabricated and cored offsite, which allowed for increased accuracy and little field measuring for cutting. This resulted in no errors because each hole penetration was modeled and reviewed for accuracy before creating each panel. The only penetrations that were field cut were those too small for pre-fabrication or added by tenant request after erecting the structure.

HOW

Scan the QR code to submit your answer for the chance to win a $100 LewisGear gift card! The Q1 winner will be announced in the next issue of BlueOps!

Congratulations to our Q3 trivia winner: Robyn Overby!

By Teagan Wood, Seattle Marketing Coordinator

Sewer Heat Recovery System at 701 Dexter

The Lewis team at the 701 Dexter project has been laying the groundwork for the infrastructure of a new green Sewer Heat Recovery system (SHR) in the Life Science blocks of downtown Seattle. In partnership with King County and McKinstry, Lewis is constructing the main support system and housing unit to establish and support the SHR. Intended to support four future city blocks — 701 Dexter being the first — its function is to heat the blocks through more sustainable means. The unique trait about this SHR is that it will draw its energy for the building from the heat from the municipal sewage line running beneath the blocks.

In order for this to work, the team tapped into the 84-inch diameter King County Sewer main adjacent to the 701 Dexter building, which collects wastewater from over 100 acres of the City of Seattle! This combined sanitary and storm system runs at a temperature consistently above 56º, the minimum supply temp to be effective, meaning that the system can utilize the heat source to transport thermal energy within and between buildings in the future Energy District. By collecting the wastewater in the holding tank constructed by the 701 Dexter team, the system extracts the heat and then adds it to a closed-loop condenser water (CW) system. The team drilled horizontally beneath Roy St. and Dexter Avenue to install one of four 30-inch interconnecting casings between the adjacent buildings. This CW system loop allows the buildings in the district to share heat, reducing their overall demand on the energy grid. Lewis’s involvement in this scope is to build the foundation for the infrastructure of this future district. It’s an exciting and unique scope that allows for cleaner energy use for 701 Dexter and the future building projects that will plug into it.

Lewis has launched a charitable foundation! The Lease Crutcher Lewis Foundation serves to activate the collective resources of our employees and partners to improve our communities in support of our Purpose and Vision. Use the QR code to watch the launch video and learn more about how Lewis is using foundation resources to elevate our community.

By Ben McLean, Portland Communication Specialist

From Apprentice to Lewis Foreman: Elisha Jones

Lewis promoted Elisha Jones to foreman last January after he journeyed out of his apprenticeship. We met Elisha to talk about his experience transitioning from apprentice to foreman and what advice he has for those in that stage of their career.

What were some strategies you used to get consistent work while being an apprentice?

EJ: It was a real hustle trying to get work. I remember showing up to jobsites with my resume trying to get work. Eventually, my lady helped me design a business card with a QR code that took you to a list of all my certifications and Pacific Northwest Carpenters Institute (PNCI) coursework. I feel like that went a long way toward showing my work ethic and investment in improving and learning more about the craft.

What were some of the central challenges you had to overcome during your apprenticeship?

EJ: Getting noticed and proving your reliability was the biggest challenge and strength because, despite the grind, it forced me to improve and develop. I kept signing up for additional education and training and adding to my resume to showcase my determination and commitment to the trade.

For those in apprenticeships, what advice do you have for getting floated for full-time employment with a general contractor (GC)?

EJ: Focus on being the most reliable person on the jobsite. Be coachable, lock onto instructional moments and find ways to make it clear that you learn from mistakes. Take advantage of the associate degree program through PNCI. Bosses can look up your transcripts and see if you are doing the bare minimum or taking the initiative and enrolling in courses that are above and beyond what is required. On every job, I carried a notebook, wrote down what I was doing daily and recorded notes of interest. These notes are helpful when asked about past work experience and demonstrate that you are an engaged and observant worker.

Elisha is working on a pediatric clinic buildout at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria, Oregon. If you have questions for Elisha or want to learn more about moving through the apprenticeship process, email him at elisha. jones@lewisbuilds.com