GDI
Commercial Drywall, Inc.
Craftsman
Vol. II No. 9
July 1981
F@r past 11 years
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For the past 11 years, CDI has had the opportunity to serve Vanco Construction Company as its major interior contractor. Vanco is the construction portion of the Vantage Company, a developer of office, commercial and warehouse space in Houston, as well as in several other major cities in the U.S. For CDI, Vanco activity is typified by a one to three story office building which often includes an atrium. Since they have properties over virtually all of the city, the job may be located almost anywhere. And, the scope of work likely includes drywall, ceilings, doors, door frames and hardware. Such a description fits such projects as Commerce Park, Southwest Plaza, Greenbriar Atrium and Northbelt Atrium I. It also describes such recent projects as the Superior Oil lease in the Atrium at Westchase, Cynercom and Cameron Iron Works. One of the benefits of conducting business with a client for such a period of time is the relationships that evolve. For CDI, Jesse Hadjik has served as the field superintendent on all Vanco work. To Vanco, Jesse is a single source of responsibility on almost any aspect of the job. On the other hand, Pat Hughes represents Vanco as its lease finish construction coordinator. She has been with Vanco for almost 10 years in a variety of positions, and now heads the activities of all Vanco field superintendents. In addition to the relationship established between Jesse and Pat, several CDI craftsmen, especially foremen, have become familiar with CDI’ers as Ben Oyler, Bill Sadler,
A Vanco job looks pretty much like the one above with CDI craftsmen building walls, hanging doors, installing door frames and hardware. In the foreground are two other typical sights in Vanco work—CDI foreman Bill Sadler, left, and field superintendent Jesse Hadjik.
J. D. Gibbons, Doyle Mason, Paul Gibbons, Charlie Crockett, David McKenzie, Eugene Foster, James Wilson, Gilbert Shelton and Andrew Howard. Also heavily involved in Vanco work are ceiling men Ken Apple, Red Davis, Bill Davis, Michael Crain, and Joe Campise. These craftsmen have become professionals at Vanco work which usually means finishing a lease area under an extremely tight deadline. As a commercial developer, it is critical for Vanco to get leased space ready for occupancy as soon as possible. Therefore, it is not unusual for CDI to complete a Vanco job in half of the normal production time. This helps us maintain a good working relationship and please a customer. And, it helps
Vanco meet the needs of its clients. One recent major Vanco job has been the Superior Oil job in the Atrium at Westchase building. A second floor lease, the project began in mid-June with drywall, ceilings, doors, frames and hardware being completed. An average crew of 4 to 6 carpenters did their portion of the job under foreman Bill Sadler, while the finishing operation under Herb Hawkins is currently winding down. CDI is proud to enjoy a close working relationship with Vanco and hopes for continued association long into the future. As a valued client, they certainly can look forward to the type of quality and service they have come to know and expect from CDI craftsmen.
^©mowing th@ demotiva • > t By Dick Phillips Several months ago, CDI called its entire field operation into a large dance hall and asked everyone to complete a survey form that had been designed for us by the Industrial Psychology Department of the University of Houston. The results of that survey showed us many interesting things. One thing that it clearly pointed out was that the majority of CDI craftsmen want very much to do a good job. Sometimes people in our business feel that field personnel look for ways not to be productive. Certainly, there are a few of these within CDI as there are within most companies. But, the survey clearly indicated that most of our people want very badly to do a good job. The survey, along with other information, also showed that before a person can truly be motivated, any demotivators that are in his way must be removed. Such demotivators include not having adequate tools on the job, not having properly stocked the job with material, not having adequate information as to what is to be built, where and in what time frame. All these kinds of things, plus many more need to be taken care of to make sure that the craftsman has everything he needs to do that good job. Upon learning this, we actively sought to remove these demotivators. We bought extra tools and gang boxes. We staffed our estimating and budget department with additional personnel so that proper and timely scopes of work, material lists and details could be communicated to the job. During this same period of time, CDI continued to develop a high volume of work resulting in a much larger work force. This progressed steadily for several months until now we have increased our field force dramatically. In so doing, unwittingly we have encouraged people to come to work for us, in some cases even helped people get into the
union, who were not properly trained or motivated to be a CDI craftsman. In our efforts to meet extremely tight schedules on various projects, we c ontinued to insist that our field management accept these workers with their lack of skills and attitude. Now, we have changed our ways. As of about the middle of June, we awoke to the fact that, again, we had allowed demotivators to enter our field operation. This time, however, they were not in the form of lack of materials, tools or direction but rather in the form of incompetent and clearly outclassed workmen. And, for that, I apologize to our entire field operation with us today. CDI will never let one of our customers down in our commitment to complete a project on schedule. However, the way to do that no longer means that we will simply add untalented, untrained and insincere people to our work force. When a CDI craftsman works side by side with a person who lacks training or has a loafing attitude, it affects his own production and that little extra bit of desire and effort to finish a day ahead of schedule slowly dissipates. The problem is worsened when that craftsman sees that the inferior worker gets basically the same dollars in his check. This is a demotivator on a grand scale. And, eventually, it affects you, the craftsman. Therefore, it is now the policy of this company to remove all demotivators. We will no longer knowingly staff our projects with people who do not care or who are not adequately skilled for their pay level. It is totally unjust to the good CDI craftsman to make him work with people who absolutely don’t care, or who simply do not have the strength, stamina or the skills necessary to be on the CDI team. There is now performance levels established for every craft and every function that goes in our field operation. Everyone should know -2-
exactly what is expected of them to do their part in making CDI the company we all want it to be. You have a part and I have a part. This is not a “get tough” policy at all. It is simply saying that what’s fair is fair and we believe that it is unfair to ask you to work with people who won’t or can’t keep up with your pace. So, it is my pledge to you that we will do everything to make CDI the most exciting and the most self-rewarding place you could possibly work. It will take all of our help, attitude, and skills.
Food tfor thought... The man who works with his hands is a laborer. The man who works with his hands and his brains is a craftsman. The man who works with his hands, his brains and his heart is an artist.
CDI Craftsman Editor: Larry Williams The CDI Craftsman i published monthly by 1 Commercial Drywall, I employees 11 Employe; news coi Williams, Inc., P. O Texas 7
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Supervisor of n@ month
Mka PeraranoTigtoin honored for company achievements at
l,ren^'n9ton' CDI foreman
at the Allen Center, was named the company's top supervisor for June Mike received the honor for his Alleennceent°rtS " h6ading the ^tire duhnn .h„ rhrem°delln9 nation J hh, M absence of its supervisor, Buddy Mayo. In addition, he has been outstanding in leading a significant portion of the Allen Center workload for the past eight years. a Mike, who hails from Monroe, Louisiana, joined CDI 10 years ago as a journeyman carpenter at the Greenway Plaza. In just a short time, his abilities earned him a foreman’s position, which he took downtown for the tenant portion of the Entex Building. Since then, Mike has been the primary foreman on Entex remodeling, as well as heading much of the remaining Allen Center complex. During Buddy’s recent absence, Mike was unexpectedly handed the responsibility for the entire remodeling operation there. While a chore in itself, the job was made even more challenging because the manpower at that time was peaking with approximately 100 craftsmen on the project. Mike accepted the increased work demands and the responsibility and did an excellent job keeping production smooth and completion dates on schedule. Presently, Mike is back to his normal duties, supervising work at the Entex Building, where some 12 floors of remodeling work are underway. With a crew of 12 to 15 craftsmen over the dispersed area, the work keeps a hectic pace. Mpanwhile the Allen Center itself continues to be a busy place, with Three Allen lease work going strong. For Mike the work week now normally ’includes Saturdays to meet Lohl production schedules set by the thP hectic pace of tenant move-ins. the hect p , Mike With such a busy schedule, Mike enjoys his time at home wit A Glynda, where he takes life a i n < easier. Mike says hat light work around the house = about^g undertaking as from the job.
Allen Center foreman Mike Pennington, right, confers with craftsman Curtis ‘ Eagle’’ Mitchell on remodeling activity in the Entex building. Mike was honored as CDI's outstanding supervisor for June.
New contracts highlight SA activity CDI—San Antonio has received the contract for the drywall and finish for twin six-story condominiums for Spaw Glass. This job is expected to start in October according to chief estimator Dave Demel. San Antonio manager Roy Van Cleave also reports that CDI has been awarded the drywall and acoustical contract for Prudential Insurance Company on which Linbeck Construction Co. is the general contractor. The demountable partition job at the University of Texas Health Science Center has been wrapped up under the excellent supervision of Pete Williams. Other jobs closing are RCA Corporation remodel under Randy Sanchez, the Vaughan Wall job at the Valero Aviation Hanger headed by Wayne Schultze, and Datapoint Corporation’s computer floors installed by Donald Buck. Superintendent Grady Atnip is proud to announce that another belt buck|e has been presented in San Antonio to Wayne Schultze for outstanding past performance, dedication, contribution to and knQw|edge of his jobs. ,n other San Antonio news, the latest employee is Delma ^ Ta|amantez. she began workin? part-time as secretary/ receptionist on June 2. -3-
And, congratulations go to Bob Winder, foreman on the North Frost Center on the birth of a son, Robert Todd and to Pete Williams on the birth of a daughter, Samantha. Congratulations are also in order for foreman Randy Sanchez who has recently married. He has just returned from honeymooning in Panama.
San Antonio foreman Wayne Schultze, left, and superintendent Grady Atnip pose following Wayne's receipt of a CDI belt buckle. The award was given recognizing Wayne’s contributions as an outstanding craftsman and foreman in the San Antonio operations.
Laborers—important psrS EMPLOYEE NEWS
Mew faces There are several new faces around CDI lately. And, if you don’t think the conversion to our own computer system is a big undertaking, just look at those below associated with it. New people over the past several weeks include . . . Tayab Alvi, a computer programmer . . . Sheila Barber, receptionist . .. Heather Barbour who is assisting Libby and Melva in collections and billing . . . Linzy R. Bean, Jr., working with Dennis Yanowski in tool management .. . Derek Bera, Jr., a new project administrator . . . Kelly Bull, an assistant in the accounting department .. . Betty Hamilton, who works the night shift in the computer room . . . Richard Hammond who is working with Allen Frank in Century project management . . . Ralph Hutzler, Jr., handling sales and estimating for our Interior Systems group . . . Angela King who works in the Century Department with Susan Pope . . . Wayne Lueckemeyer, a new estimator in Alan Jezek’s group . . . Huguette Slattery, a computer programmer.. . Greg Stine, who is a new project administrator . . . Nancy Vanke who works in the computer room . . . Penny Mitchell, also working with the computer... Julia Maldonado assisting in the paint department with Cherryl Newton.
TCT project manager Steve Schtockiey stands in the foreground of the 75-story project on which he has played a key role. Steve's work in estimating, budgeting, and communications for the job has aided substanially in its steady production.
One of the most critical yet most often overlooked crafts within CDI is our laborers. CDI’s labor force includes some 100 employees, a relatively low number, however, compared to the total number of craftsmen for which they provide cleanup, materials and tool support. To be a laborer requires some special demands due to the nature of their jobs. For instance, many, especially those in occupied buildings, must work odd hours — nights, weekends, holidays so that trash can be removed and materials placed in the building without interfering with normal business operations. Other special demands placed on laborers include a fairly thorough knowledge of the different materials used by all three other crafts —carpenters, painters, finishers. It is often the laborer’s duty to make sure
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that the proper material is brought to the job and placed in the right location. Yet another specialty of the laborers is the challenge of stocking high rise buildings where a great deal of coordination, teamwork and know-how are required to safely and efficiently stock the building. Such stocking necessitates that the laborers know each other's moves at all times as the operation often involves work on three different levels within the building — on the ground where material is loaded, on the floor being stocked, and if an overhead boom is used, on the roof controlling the tag line. Besides stocking, CDI laborers must make sure that work areas are clear of debris before CDI craftsmen hit the floor and that clean up is done afterwards. Labor duties also include providing CDI’s other crafts
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Steve Shockley
TCT project manager in vital roll® Providing the interior construction on Houston’s tallest building is no easy task. From bidding and estimating to actual construction, Texas Commerce Tower has been a constant challenge because of its sheer magnitude and tight production schedule.
Almost in the background has been its project manager for CDI, Steve Shockley. Steve has served in this position since construction first began on the 75-story building, and he has done a tremendous job handling the responsibilities associated with it. Among his many duties have been the initial budgeting of man hours and material, coordination of work between CDI and the contractor, and intense involvement in many meetings, phone conversations and correspondence with the owners, architects and contractor to ensure that everything is going according to schedule. In addition to these functions associated with the core work on the project, Steve has provided the bidding, negotiating, and budgeting of all the lease work, plus the processing of the numerous changes that have taken place thus tar in the building. His efforts in each of these areas have made Steve an integral part of CDI’s TCT team. His contributions have been especially helpful in establishing coordination between CDI and the general contractor
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with the tools and materials they need. Many laborers also transport materials and equipment from the yard to the jobsite. Some of the biggest problems confronting company laborers are those associated with vertical transportation within tall buildings. Since waits on elevators can take up to half an hour or more, laborers must be certain that all the tools and materials are in the right place prior to other craftsmen manning the floor. Otherwise, the delay in getting the items there is costly. In occupied buildings, laborers face the problem of “trying to put a square peg in a round hole.” Often, getting the sheetrock and other materials into the building through small door openings and into freight elevators without damage to either is
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Turner Construction. Proper communications between the two parties has proven essential to get the work on the huge building completed efficiently. His work also enables CDI’s supervisor Jay Richards to maintain a smooth work flow with a crew numbering 150 craftsmen. Also important to Jay, his foremen and project administrator David Kirsch are the job set ups and other paperwork provided by Steve which keeps them abreast of projected production costs. Although Steve became the project administrator for TCT when the job began in March of last year, he joined CDI in August, 1978 as a cost control administrator in the budgeting department. He came to the company after earning a Bachelor of Architecture degree earlier that year from the University of Tennessee. A native o that state, he moved to Houston following graduation. Previously, % Steve served as an architectural consultant to the Nicaraguan government for nearly a year in e development of public housing, hospitals and city planning.
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^Dl laborers at Four-Leaf load sheetrock into a cage for transportation to the proper floor. Their responsibility for keeping material and equipment in the work areas is often critical for a project's smooth production.
difficult. Despite all of these conditions, CDI laborers do a remarkable job. In fact, our labor safety record is excellent, especially with the amount of lifting and carrying that is done. And, although some 150 truckloads of materials are sent to the jobsites each week, CDI's transportation record is virtually unblemished.
Their efforts can really be appreciated if one considers that CDI stocks in excess of two million square feet of sheetrock each month. Besides this huge amount of sheetrock, there is an almost unknown quantity of tools, equipment, finishing and painting materials sent out and moved around on the vast number of CDI projects.
Winners „ onfthal, team won their Class C league and advanced to the city CDI South softball tearawu . lQsjng 15.13 t0 a class A team. Its playoffs Paul Wood. Mike O'Brien. Ben Boatright. Tom members includfnf* ;nd steve Patterson. Pictured on the bottom row are mihewFieZ. Tommy Owens. Harry Andrus. Ken O'Brien and Brian McNrchol. -5-
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COMPANY NEWS
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Eight earn GDI Huskies In the past two mon^s’
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the Warwick Post Oak. Says Roger, "He did the most detailed and
GDI Systems receives Galleria
outs^aindir?g'confributions o rutie°job.
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CD I Systems has received the contract on the Galleria Mall to be built on a 43 acre site in North Dallas. The project, designed much like its present counterpart in Houston, will contain over two million square feet of retail, hotel, club and office space in its first stage of development. CDI is expected to begin activity in August according to Mike Grogan, CDI Systems vice president and general manager. Mike says that the contract, with Harvey Construction, calls for the interior construction of the mall which includes substantial furrdowns, drops, bulkheads, and an intricate skylite system. In addition, CDI will construct the party walls separating tenant areas. The contract for the Galleria complements the interior construction of the 25-story office building located in the complex, already under contract by CDI for J. A. Jones Construction. There, CDI will be responsible for tenant and core construction, plus the installation of concealed spline acoustical ceilings. This project is expected to begin in September of this year. In other news, the Dallas Office has begun work on two major projects— the 40-story Continental Plaza in Fort Worth and the six-story Farmer’s Branch Bank in Dallas. Continental Plaza began work in early June under foreman Dudley Chisholm. For CDI, work will include both core and tenant build-out for general contractor, HCB Contractors. Meanwhile, foreman David Tom is heading the Farmer’s building, a project for Austin Commercial. CDI Systems also announced the addition of Philip Santieu as a field coordinator. Philip, who previously served in the remodeling operation in the Park Central complex with CDI, will assist Chuck Grogan in organizing all the company’s field activities.
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King, Guadalupe Flores, James Nuttal and Jim Regan. The following month saw Wilson Chambers, Joseph Vowels and Bruce McKinley each receive a buckle marking company achievement. According to superintendent Ted Hadjik, Leonard Cunningham is one of his men that he just couldn’t do without. Among his best attributes are his great attitude, an ability to make decisions, his knowledge of remodel work, and his punctuality on the job. “Leonard is the type of guy who does his job well and can always be counted on, and that makes him important to me and to the company’’, claims Ted. Billy King, meanwhile was acknowledged for his abilities to get a job done with excellent production and quality. Billy has worked on several major jobs under supervisor Roger Warman including Natural Gas Pipeline, Shell Woodcreek and
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nA scale model of the interior of the Dallas Galleria shows its modem design. CDI recently received the contract on the project from Harvey Construction.
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Mike Hanna, Guadalupe s supervisor, says hat his finishing talent, plus his willingness to teach apprentices, makes him one of Mike s most valuable men. Second period apprentice James Nuttal was als0 recognized in May as being one of the most aggressive and motivated young workers within the company. Working under Darwin Macat at 9990 Richmond and later at Shell Woodcreek, Darwin says that James' attitude, eagerness to learn, and his willingness to accept challenge have impressed more than one journeyman with whom he has worked, Another apprentice recognized for his work was Jim Regan. A fifth period apprentice on the Allen Center project, Jim was characterized by foreman Bill Grissom as having a unique combination of desire and natural ability. According to Bill, Jim’s quality, attitude and overall ability make him one of his top performers. One of June’s recipients, Wilson Chambers, a CDI craftsman for the past 10 years, serves as labor foreman over the Greenway remodeling operations. To those associated with him, an ability to get the job done and dependability characterize his decade with the company. Bruce McKinley, meanwhile, was honored for his layout abilities on such projects as the Four-Leaf condominiums and most recently the Houstonian estates. Bruce’s layout capability make him one of CDI’s top mechanics in this phase of our work. The June apprentice buckle went to Joseph Vowels, a second period apprentice working under Tommy Williamson. According to Tommy, Joseph is exceptional in attitude and is willing to do whatever is asked of him. In addition, Joseph has missed only 28 hours of work since January, giving him an attendance rate of 97 percent.
GM erafftsmeira display Satemite ®rs Moss T®@] Lease The 8,000 square foot Raines Tool (0 Company lease at Northwind Plaza ^ has been named June’s project of the month. The leasework, for general contractor Miner-Dederick exemplified CDI’s ability to meet ’ client needs while working under an extremely tight deadline. The job began as a three month operation, which included drywall partitions, paint and wall coverings plus extensive millwork. However with little notice, the tenant’s move in date was pushed ahead five weeks cutting CDI s allowable production time almost in half. With such a compressed schedule to work with, carpenter foreman Tommy Underwood, paint foreman Eddie Carsten, and millwork foreman Ruben Rios made preparations for a busy seven weeks. According to Chris Howard, CDI’s systems administrator who handled the job set up and much of the coordination of the work, excellent scheduling and cooperation among CDI crafts kept production moving at a smooth pace. “The foremen and their crews really helped each other out by coordinating work so that everything happened in the proper sequence,” said Chris.
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Offices within the Raines Tool Lease reveal the large amount of millwork in addition to the drywall, paint and wall coverings. The project was completed by CDI in seven weeks, just over half of the normal production time.
Providing office back-up for the paint and wall covering phase of the project was Robin Cravey, while Allen Frank served as project manager for the extensive millwork.
The millwork represented a significant part of the work on the Raines lease, with cabinets and closets going in virtually every office within the lease area. The work was completed off-site in the CDI cabinet shop on Judiway and then shipped, installed and retouched at the jobsite. This allowed all the cabinet work to be completed without interfering with normal jobsite production. Drywall partitions within the lease were completed by a crew of approximately six carpenters working under foreman Tommy Underwood. Frank Martin did an outstanding job hanging the many doors in the lease in just a short amount of time. And, Eddie Carsten’s paint group performed excellently in the field application of vinyl coverings and paint.
% New surroundings Members of CDI's cabinet shop are shown at w°
^ ^ facilities in the 'ranzes 0Ur millwork
warehouse on Judiway. The new cabine s AbQVe y.r) are Eddy McCall, operations, thus making them more 6 1016,1 nd Shorty McKinley. Reuben Rios, Larry Gerland, Leo Jarami o a -7-
In all, some 12 to 15 craftsmen provided excellent quality and production in getting the lease completed by the June 21 move in date. In fact, the final weekend of work, the crews worked Friday, Saturday and Sunday, making sure that everything was in place and up to CDI’s standard of quality.
Austin foremen Foremen in Austin were recently honored with a steak dinner. The affair was held for the men and their wives in recognition of foremen’s efforts for CDI. Those attending included some 12 foremen representing the leadership from every major CDI project in Austin. Recognizing the elite group of craftsmen were vice president and general manager Larry Hanvey, field superintendent Danny Kaiser, paint superintendent Pat Lunday and employee relations manager Larry Williams. Foremen attending the dinner included Jerry Brooks, Johnny Kovar, David Kovar, Chris Sylvester, Gene Doughtery, Bob Fritz, Wally Galvan, Terry LaRoche, Nick White, Jerry Wilhelm, Tommy Pruitt and Monte Dunlap. According to Larry Fianvey, the dinner was held to show CDI’s appreciation for the excellent job each of the foremen do for the company. “We feel we have a fine bunch of leaders in this group. They have proved this to us with their handling of the jobs on a day to day basis, and we are proud to have them a part of CDI", said Larry. Some of the work for which they are responsible includes all of the activity at the IBM complex, as well as Motorola, Tracor, Barton Creek Shopping Center, and various other jobs throughout Austin.
CDI Craftsman Commercial Drywall, Inc. 3705 Piney Woods P.O. Box 10686 Houston, Texas 77018
Some 12 foremen representing leadership on CDI-Austin's major projects were treated to dinner in recognition of their work for the company. Spouses and dates were also in attendance to help celebrate the occasion.
Austin projects starting in the near future include 100,000 square feet of office space in the Brockton Business Park where two one-story buildings are currently going up. CDI activity will get underway there within a few weeks, and will be a project for general contractor Vera Construction. Elsewhere, work at the police station under Terry LaRoche has commenced for the Robert E. McKee Construction Company. The job is a
six-story administration building and includes a ground to ceiling atrium area spanning the full six floors. CDI is handling the drywall portion of the project which involves numerous furrdowns and drywall rails. In September, the Foley's store in the Barton Creek Center is expected to get underway for Spaw-Glass, while a large acoustical ceiling job at the State Farm Insurance building will start in August under foreman Nick White.
BULK RATE U.S. POSTAGE
PAID HOUSTON, TEXAS PERMIT NO. 2840