Specialty Contractors Meet, Take Center Stage at AGC Building Contractors Conference in Austin

At the 2014 AGC Building Contractors Conference, "A/E/C Collaboration 2014: Partnering, Opportunity, Risk, Success & the Future," held last month in Austin, Texas, the construction industry's leaders came together to share the latest trends and solutions. AGC specialty contractors were also there to plan for the future and promote best practices. The AGC Specialty Contractors Council Steering Committee, under the leadership of Chairman Rick Pate of Pate Landscape Co., Inc., met to discuss the issues facing the specialty contractor in today's marketplace. The Steering Committee is working on developing an educational session at the 2015 AGC Annual Convention in Puerto Rico next March and other programs focused on specialty contractors. AGC specialty contractors also took center stage at the conference, sharing their strategies on how to deliver projects in a more collaborative and efficient way. The panel entitled "Improving Onsite Productivity with Collaborative Lean Implementation" was comprised of five specialty contractors who demonstrated how they use lean construction principles to drive customer value, collaborate with general contractors and minimize waste. The panel was led by Dan Heinemeier, executive director of the Lean Construction Institute subbing for Victor Sanvido, senior vice president of Southland Industries. The speakers were Henry Nutt, III, division sheetmetal superintendent of Southland Industries; Mike Selas, senior project manager of Grunau Company, Inc.; Greg Stedman, senior superintendent at KHS&S Contractors and Steven Grady, manufacturing manager at TDIndustries.