Commercial Drywall, Inc.
cm Craftsman
Voi. 3 No. 8
June 1982
Biggest project yet
Oafilas begins w©trk ©p landmark Arco Building
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"Unique" and “challenging" are the two words which most aptly describe the 49-story Arco Building in downtown Dallas, according to a man who ought to know-Steve Gosling, CDI Systems project manager. CDI System’s scope of work on the skyscraper includes all core drywall work, fireproofing and a small amount of plastering. This is CDI-Dallas’ first fireproofing job. “It is going very well,” says Steve. “We are excited about doing more fireproofing in the metroplex." CDI has completed about 20 percent of the fireproofing work, which consists of spraying a fibrous material onto the beams and columns, so that in case of a fire, they do not become so hot that they collapse. Core work on the building has just started where CDI is actively involved in design and negotiations on the tenant work. Dollar volume wise, says Steve, the Arco building is the biggest project for CDI-Dallas. “This is a very, very complicated and complex drywall job,” says Steve. “It calls for a lot of unique drywall framing.” Although the Arco Building is not the tallest building CDI-Dallas has to its credit, several factors make it the most challenging. The building, designed by architect I.M. Pei, will be totally owneroccupied. “The combination of a prestigious architect and an owner occupied building presents a lot of challenges," says Steve. “This is not just a spec office building," he says. “Arco can afford to be as elaborate as they want. Practically the whole building is custom. We see it on the prints, and say, ‘We’ve never seen this before,’ and they say, ‘Fine, then create it!’ ”
The building features several different types of structure-concrete, composite and steel. “You name it, and they’ve got it," comments Steve. “The plans and specifications are tight and unusually demanding," he explains. For instance, the plans call for a lot of reveal work. CDI has custom designed some aluminum extrusions to meet the specifications for the reveals. Already, there have been 143 changes made to the prints. “It will probably continue like that for quite a while,” says Steve. Developer for the project is Olympia and York. J.W. Bateson is the general contractor for the shell of the building. Another general contractor will handle the tenant work. Steve is getting a lot of help processing the large amount of paperwork associated with the job from co-worker Rex Van Natta. Other CDI personnel on the job are superintendent Jerry Baccus, and foreman David Sparacino. David is also doing the layout. The problems and delays caused by changes to the prints are further complicated by the fact that J.W. Bateson is the second contractor on the job. That means construction is way behind schedule. “We’ll have to operate within a very compressed schedule to catch up,” explains Steve. In addition, there are already coordination problems between the crafts. “This is just a very complicated job from every subcontractor's point of view," says Steve. Most of the Arco Building is in the shape of an equilateral triangle. “It is the most striking building in Dallasdefinitely a landmark," says Steve.
A model of the Arco Building, under construction in downtown Dallas, shows off the equilateral triangle shape of the building. CDI is doing the core work, fireproofing and some plastering for the project, the largest yet for our Dallas operation.
“Our division president, Mike Grogan, and our chief estimator, Alan Smith, have never seen a job as complicated as this one." The Arco Building is just across Thanksgiving Square from the 50-story Placid Oil Building, where CDI is finishing up the core work and getting a good start on the lease work. CDI will be at the Arco site until June, 1983, and six to nine months longer if it gets the tenant work.
From the top
Pr@du©!ii©ri]=tte key to sales
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By Stan SVlarek Six months into 1982, Houston is finally feeling the crunch of the recession. If you read last month's Craftsman front page story, you were p'robably surprised at the number and size of jobs that have been tabled or cancelled. During the last few weeks, the Houston newspapers have carried stories of massive layoffs at Hughes Tool, Texas Instruments, and many other companies, etc. Business failures are more commonplace. In Texas alone, there were 3,943 bankruptcies in 1982. That’s up 32% over last year. Yes, fellow craftsmen, the recession has hit Texas and many say this is just the tip of the iceburg. I am very concerned and I know each of you are also concerned. We have always been number one in the industry, the first to try innovations to shape the entire market. We have never shied away from a job or a challenge. The challenge we all face now is one of survival in a depressed market. Economic changes are causing us to re-evaluate our entire method of doing business. Let’s examine a few of those areas. Our overhead structure, the office staff, will be undergoing semi-annual
evaluations this month. Productivity, the word we use so of our determine the care® sfm w@ associates. The b & tgh ^ 9^ have done into the office. Our credit policies must be totally re-evaluated. We can’t afford to enter agreements with general contractors or owners that allow them to delay payments long after they are due. Each department is totally rethinking their needs as related to staff. There have been very few jobs to bid the last six months and the ones that bid have gone at no profit. Our competition is happy to get contracts that will allow them to try to buy material at a discount and to get more production from their labor in order to net a profit. All of our bids in 1982 have been predicated on labor costs experienced during 1981 and thus far we haven’t been successful in selling a major job this year. Obviously, we will have to be more competitive. Our field operation is the finest in the country. You men and women have never backed down from a job, large or small. The economic situation of our country presents a challenge that hasn’t been equalled ...
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since the 1930’s. We can wait until it gets worse, until our backlog dwindles away because of higher costs, or unti| competitive pressures force us t0 bid jobs for nothing, or
we can begin looking for ways to increase our efficiency and productivity. We can start with the little things we hear about all the time-starting and quitting time, coffee breaks, material waste, vertical transportation, lost time, accidents and I could go on and on. Our framing, rocking and finishing costs could all improve. They’ll have to if we are going to be competitive. We wish we had all the answers; however, the only thing we can be sure of is that it will take the very best efforts of the office and field if we are to hold our position in the marketplace. We were forced to lay off a couple of hundred people in the last few weeks as a result of a few jobs not being ready. Our supervisors are going to try to utilize the men we currently have an not over-man new ^ jobs as they come up. The practice ^ of manning a job to satisfy the needs of a general contractor is a very expensive practice. We will rely on better planning and supervision to get the same amount of work done with fewer people. I have been very frank in this message. And even though the immediate future will be difficult, we have assembled a team both in the office and field, that can continue to be the dominant interior contractor in the Southwest.
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Craftsman Editor: Larry Williams Asst. Editor: Shelley Rogers
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Working up high . . . Much of the work on the 30-story Huntington Condominium must be done at heights which require tie-offs. Here, craftsmen Walton Jay (left) and Jeff Crouch hang coreboard in a stairwell.
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The CDI Craftsman is published monthly by Commercial Drywall. Inc. for its employees and their families. Employees should send their news contributions to Larry Williams, Commercial Drywall, Inc., P O. Box 10686, Houston. Texas 77018.
Awards, incentives
CDI adopts mm safety program . CD has instituted a new safety
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incentive program as part of \he company's Project SAFE effort 1 £r°9ram’ t0 90 int0 effect July 1, will focus on the positive side of safety. In doing so, CDI will designate awards for specific safety accomplishments. The awards will be distributed tht0 employees on jobsites that achieve a specified safety level. I he first rewards will include CDI ^ <pecially designed T-shirts. Thud and fourth quarter awards, that will progress in value, will be determined at a later date. Earning the awards will be determined by a jobsite’s ability to lower its accident rate to a certain level. The accident rate will be based on the number of accidents each quarter in relation to the average number of craftsmen on that job. According to personnel manager Ron McKinley, the jobs will not be competing against an acceptable accident rate established for that project. The basis for this rate will reflect industry averages as well as CDI’s own accident history. “It will be important for us to set the rates at a level that are attainable. But, at the same time they must be high enough to produce measurable savings for the company if they are reached,” says Ron. The new incentive program will also consist of individual awards for craftsmen and supervisors who excel in their safety efforts. In addition, a safety awareness campaign will begin with “safe worker” posters and other jobsite information posters. Safety reminders will be posted on projects while safety meetings will be attended periodically by safety personnel. Ron says that CDI’s accident history and workers’ compensation records from previous years reveals a strong need for a concerted safe y effort. “Our accident record in the past shows us that we have a lot ot room for improvement, he contends. , . ^ “Accidents hurt the employee, his I believe family and the company. T that any acccident that we v can prevent with the new incentive program will make it worthwhile for everyone.”
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Supervisor Bill Shafer conducts a safety meeting at the Four Oaks job site. Recently, a new safety program was developed which will offer awards and incentives for good safety records.
©01 ranfe first do contributions The United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast recently released its final figures for the 1981/82 campaign conducted last fall. The results show that Commercial Drywall, Inc. ranked number one in Houston of all companies on a per capita basis. Organization Name 1. Commercial Drywall, Inc. . 2. Exxon Chemical Americas . 3. Tenneco Incorporated........ 4. Exxon Production Research 5. Exxon Company USA........ 6. Houston Lighting & Power . 7. Armco - Southwest Steel . . 8. Diamond Shamrock Corp. . 9. Gulf Oil Corporation.......... 10. RepublicBank Houston
CDI’s per person gift averaged $178.06 compared to the average for the top 25 companies of $87.31 per person. Below is the list of companies and per capital pledges for the top 10 Houston companies. Per Capita . .$178.06
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176.56 124.28 110.13 107.56 107.34 103.51 94.00 92.60 91.54
Words of wisdom . . . Be like a duck-keep calm and unruffled on the surface but paddle like the devil underneath. A company is known by the people it keeps. 3
I am a slow walker, but I never walk backwards. -Abraham Lincoln The biggest step you can take is the one you take when you meet the other person half way.
EMPLOYEE NEWS
New personnel Several people have joined the ranks of the CDI office staff in the past several weeks. Glenda Land will be handling the processing of worker’s compensation claims. Her duties also include receptionist and dispatch relief and typing. Nancy Page has joined CDI as typist and secretary for the contract sales department. She, too, will handle relief receptionist duties. Beth Stevenson is new to the accounting department, where she is responsible for typing, answering the phone and general office duties.
^Branch manage faoes special ©tafenges CDI-San Antonio branch manager Roy Van Cleave is determined to make the young and highly ambitious San Antonio branch number one in the interior construction business in San Antonio and the surrounding area. Roy joined the San Antonio operations in August, 1980, after serving as general manager of an interior general contracting firm in the same city. Altogether, he has nine years experience in interior construction. As branch manager, Roy is responsibile for overseeing the entire San Antonio operation from start to finish-sales, bidding, administrative and field activities. “The most interesting aspect of the job is attempting to funnel everyone's efforts into one cohesive effort to
establish CDI as a driving force in San Antonio,” says Roy. “We’re trying % to reach that happy medium of not overloading the staff and making sure we have enough people to do the work.” Right now, says Roy, his biggest challenge is establishing CDI's market share in San Antonio. “Things are getting a little soft,” he says. “But, we have a real good backlog. And, by the time the backlog is exhausted, we should be past the soft stuff.” Although San Antonio is one of the fastest growing cities in the country, it has not escaped some of the economic problems faced by the rest of the country. But, Roy and the San Antonio operation is ready to meet the challenge. “We’re trying some different approaches besides just
Marks first anniversary
Cabinet stop a real sue©ess5 continues to grow
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Barely one year old, the CDI cabinet shop has grown faster than almost anyone thought and has great potential for the future. One of the effects of its success was that Alan Frank was named manager early this year. Since then he has seen the cabinet shop become his primary responsibility, although he has been associated with the cabinet shop since its inception. Previously, he was project manager at Greenway, where CDI had a cabinet shop to handle the millwork for that complex. When the company decided to expand its cabinet operation, Alan was appointed to organize and set up the shop. Until his appointment as manager, he divided his time between the shop and project management for the Allen Center. According to Alan, the future looks great for CDI’s millwork activity. One of the advantages to having the shop, and one of its biggest selling points, is that CDI can offer its customers virtual total interior construction. That means better coordination and communication and fewer problems. The cabinet shop’s work consists mainly of work done in conjunction with CDI interior construction project.
"Of course there is a definite need for cooperation between the shop and the field,” says Alan. Most of the work done in the shop is custom plastic laminate work, made to the customer’s order and specifications, and is done by hand, rather than by machinery.
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Typically, the millwork for a job is released after the drywall work. That means the drywall work has already ^ begun when the millwork gets the job, but the millwork must be finished with the drywall, according to Alan. “Almost always, then, we operate
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straight bid work,” explains Roy. “We’re trying to be a little more imaginative.” There are many problems and challenges unique to branch offices, but Roy has learned to handle them. “The best thing I’ve found about working for CDI,” he says, “Is that they give you all the resources and management tools you need to be successful.” Roy grew up in San Antonio, and takes great interest in the city and its business community. He is an active member of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Business Economists. He and his wife, Janice have three sons-David, 7, Mark, 2, and Daniel, four weeks. Roy also likes to spend his time away from work reading and hunting.
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under very compressed schedules," he says. The shop also gets calls for special jobs, such as the recently completed 14 feet high radius wall with plastic laminate at the Texas Commerce Bank at Cypress Station. Despite the tight schedules, the
San Antonio branch manager Roy Van Cleave is responsible for running all of the CDI operations in San Antonio-office and field. Here, Roy visits a job site with Paul Buck.
cabinet shop handles its work load well. Assisting Alan with the sales and estimating are Steve Weims and Mike Pruzinsky. Joe Lozano is the job administrator, who handles timekeeping duties. Daryl Bracht is a detailer trainee. During the past year, the cabinet
a vendor. Mike, a newcomer to The cabinet shop’s Mike Pruz,n^yJ^job. CDI, and has been doing an
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shop has run an average of 20 to 25 men, sometimes reaching 40 or 45. Shop superintendent Charlie Slayton has direct control over all the shop’s field production-the shop workers and the installers—with assistance from foreman Shorty McKinley who is responsible for overseeing production in the shop. Jobsite installation is under the direction of Richard Moskala whose men recently completed 10 floors of millwork for the Texas Commerce Tower. Others active in the operation include foreman Newton Price who handles the cut out and assembly work, and foreman Eddie McCall who is in charge of installation of the plastic laminate on cabinets. Already the cabinet shop has required three times the space originally allotted for it, and has been in every sense of the word a success. With its talented management and craftsmen, the shop should continue the success it has already established.
No man will be a great leader who does not take genuine joy in the success of those under him.
COMPANY NEWS
Jay Richards receives watch Supervisor Jay Richards was awarded a personally engraved Seiko watch, commemorating his tenth year with CDI, at the supervisors' breakfast June 8. "Jay is one of our top calibre supervisors in the field," says executive vice president Bruce Marek. "We have a lot of confidence
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in him to handle our major projects.” Jay is presently supervising the work at the Transco Tower. He
Finishing foreman Ron Love at the Three Houston Center job sne. n background is Ron’s tool crew, (left to rig t) a eorge, Harley Boone.
previously headed Texas Commerce Tower, one of the most prestigious jobs CDI has done in Houston. Before the TCT project, he supervised several projects in Greenway Plaza, including Summit Towers and Condominium I. He began his work for the company as an apprentice at Greenway. “He was an outstanding apprentice,” recalls Bruce. “He could stand more panels than anyone else.” "Jay has an exceptional ability to handle paperwork and keep track of costs," says Bruce. In his ten years with CDI, Jay has earned the admiration and respect of everyone who has worked with him. His professional attitude and dedication are inspirations to all CDI employees.
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Foimishoog foreman earns supervisor award Finishing foreman Ron Love, a seven year CDI veteran, has been named May’s supervisor of the month. Ron is presently overseeing the finishing work at Three Houston Center, but also spends a lot of time at the Texas Commerce Tower. He has 15 years experience in interior construction, and has worked in almost every aspect of the trade. He says he likes doing finishing work better because it is the most challenging. “The finishing sells the job," says Ron. “If anything goes wrong, the finisher is the one who has to fix it.”
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Supervisor Jay Richards displays the Seiko watch he received commem orating his tenth year with CDI. Jay is pictured here with director of construction Hoagy Canon and executive vice president Bruce Marek.
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And, as far as finishing goes, Ron says he finds the core work more of a challenge than the lease work. “I like doing the tougher jobs. The core involves a lot of stilt work, which is always harder,” he explains. His willingness to do the tough work, along with his supervisory skill, have made him a valuable asset to CDI. “Ron is respected by his crew and he has an uncanny ability of getting his men to reach deeper than usual to make a tight schedule, without sacrificing the quality of his product,” contends finishing supervisor Mike Hannah. “The men Ron has trained over the years have acquired his conscientious attitude towards work and have themselves become superior craftsmen for CDI.” In the past year, and a half, Ron has proven worthy of any task put before him,” says finishing superintendent Tom Stephens. “The Texas Commerce Tower would not have been the finishing success it was without Ron's expertise, help and guidance.” Some of the jobs Ron has worked on for CDI include First International Bank, One Houston Center and the Galleria, where he did a lot of the high work. Ron and his wife, Deborah, have four children-Ronald, 16, Tammy, 12, Pamela, 11, and Kimberly 1- ln his time away from work, Ron enjoy camping with his family.
Project of the month
Montrose 0@Encto crew The patience and skill of CDI W craftsmen were again put to the test, this time on the 22-story Montrose Condominium, and they came through with flying colors. "CDI probably did better than any other subcontractor on the job,” says Glen Brabham, field superintendent "Our punch list was extremely small.” Work on the luxury condominium began in September, 1981 and is expected to end sometime in midJuly. CDI handled the drywall and finishing for the project. Craftsmen on the job faced a multitude of problems. There was only one cage for men and materials, which tended to hamper the cleanup and stocking processes. A lack of sequence meant that a lot of work had to be repeated four or five times. This was especially a problem for the finishers on the project, since they had to do a lot of patchwork. Problems also resulted from the fact that the condo was designed with no chase walls, which meant that there was no room left for the plumbing. Several incidents of storm damage also meant extra work and lost time. “From the framing standpoint, this was probably the toughest job ever, says Glen.
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i CDI-San Antonio's Gary France installs wood paneling for a recent tenant job.
The 22-story Montrose Condominium provided many challenges for the CDI crews who worked on the luxury project.
“It was the toughest condo yet," says Glen, who was involved with the work on Greenway Condominiums I and II and the Four Leaf, Houstonian and Huntington condominiums. “Every floor was different,” he explains. “We had to solve new problems on every floor."
m San Antonio ere* active at several sites
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A multitude of print and verbal changes also played havoc with the work schedule. Project administrator Bob Eudy did an excellent job of keeping up with all the paperwork. “It was tough to meet the schedule almost through the whole job,” says Charles Sons, finishing foreman. “But, as far as the finished product goes, I’m really satisfied with it.” Despite all the problems, CDI craftsmen were able to maintain the high quality work a condominium demands. The leadership supplied by the supervisors and foremen kept things running as smoothly as possible. Supervisor for the project was Vernon Lambert. “Vernon was instrumental," says Glen. "There was never any good news on the job. But, Vernon faced every problem and showed his technical skill and drywall knowledge.” The Montrose Condominium was the first project Vernon ran by himself for CDI. Without his coordination abilities and supervisory skills, the job wouldn’t have been the success it was for the company. In addition to Charles, foremen on the job included Jim Furr, sheetrocking foreman; Scott Ray, framing foreman, and Bennie Ray Charles, labor foreman.
CDI Systems-San Antonio is staying busy as work continues on several projects and work on another begins. CDI just began its portion of the 10-story office building, Corporate Square for Bartlette Coche, Jr. Construction. CDI will be doing the drywall and acoustical ceilings. Foreman Bob Winder is heading up that job. Work continues at Woodstone, seven one-story buildings, under foreman Pete Williams. At Cline's Landing, twin six-story condominiums in Port Aransas, San Antonio craftsmen are hard on the finishing and painting. Glasweld exterior work continues at Bluff Creek, a four and three-story office building, for Guido Brothers 7
Construction under foreman Wayne Schultze. San Antonio is also busy at two jobs for Spaw-Glass Construction. The sub flooring framing continues at the Rand Building under foreman Mike Tinajero. And, work is finishing up at the 13-story South Texas building remodel project under foreman Joe Solis. Drywall work also progresses at a number of smaller projects in the San Antonio area while lease work continues at various locations, including the Northchase Building and the New Braunfels Shopping Center for Beeson Properties, the Galaxy Building for Melmec Investments, Digital Controls, the Alamo Savings Tower, Greatview, Stanley Towers, and One Riverwalk.
Computer flooring, drywall keep Dallas tasy Computer flooring and traditional drywall work continue to keep CDI craftsmen busy in Dallas. Work just began on computer flooring for a 50,000 square feet IBM building in Las Colinas. Foreman Dean Whitfield will oversee the sixth floor, while foreman Charlie Wells will head up the seventh floor work on that project. Meanwhile, work continues on other computer flooring jobs, including the Sun Gas, Bear-Sterns and Satellite Business Systems projects. Craftsmen are working at a hectic pace to finish up the Continental Bank in Fort Worth. The job has meant ten hours a day for most of the people involved with it. Foreman Dudley Chisolm is overseeing that job. At the Placid Oil building, craftsmen are finishing up the core work and are busy with a lot of leasework. Work recently began on the ceilings and lease work at the Galleria Tower. John English is in charge of the night time stocking for the leasework on that project, and is doing an outstanding job. Weekend stocking is underway at the Lincoln Centre II in preparation for the leasework. Dallas craftsmen have been doing the leasework for the Lincoln Centre I for about a year. On the administrative side, Gary Stewart has been hired to work with Roger Smith in the purchasing department.
CDI Craftsman Commercial Drywall, Inc. 3539 Oak Forest Drive PO. Box 10686 Houston, Texas 77018
Dallas estimators Alan Smith and Mike Smith (foreground) find they must spend a lot of time coordinating the mountains of paperwork associated with every project.
The back of a pickup truck is not a safe place to ride. The National Transportation Safety Board made a survey of fatal accidents involving pickup trucks that occurred between 1975 and 1979 and found that an average of 242 people were killed each year while riding in the cargo space of pickups. In addition, an unknown number of passengers who may or may not have been riding in the back died later as a result of injuries they suffered or sustained disabling injuries. Most victims were 22 years old or
younger, and in six specific accidents studied by the NTSB, an average of eight people were riding in the cargo area. Carrying occupants in the back of a pickup affects vehicle handling because the unrestrained passengers are free to move around and can cause a shifting of weight or a sudden change in the vehicle’s center of gravity. And an accident that would be trivial if an ordinary car was involved can be serious or fatal with a pickup.
BULK RATE U.S. POSTAGE
PAID HOUSTON, TEXAS PERMIT NO. 2840