As spring approaches I think everybody in this department is anxious to see the crews start back up.  It has been a very busy, very productive “off season” once again during the cold winter months.

Sandy has the training schedule almost whooped…there are about two weeks worth of scheduled coursework left on the sheet I have hanging in my office.  We added even more content this winter and will have delivered well over 1000 class hours to employees in less than 3 months time.  Sandy has been going above and beyond to manage this schedule in addition to running this little publication called the Mirror.  In her spare time she has been dabbling with more Viewpoint items…she recently assisted Bev in automating some input into the Flex system.  A lot of this kind of work flies under the radar, but it’s the stuff that makes our company more efficient and more competitive.  Kudos to her for a job well done, and the expectation of continued good work!

As I’m writing this article John Beaderstadt is sitting in Florida at the Bid2Win User’s Conference.  I’ll have to figure out how to wrangle myself into that trip next year…it’s better than scraping the frost off the windows!  Our PCC estimators have really embraced this estimating system this winter, which I’m very glad to see.  John has put a lot of sweat into getting the system set up to where it is today.  Dave Schinckel has been using Bid2Win for a couple seasons now, not to mention the Ames Division.  Adding our PCC Division is a big step toward getting the rest of the company on board.  A standardized, flexible system such as this makes great fiscal sense.

We’re less than a month away from Pelling’s go live date with Viewpoint.  Candace has spent 4 of the last 5 days trying to finish out their setups and test everything before we turn them loose.  I’m betting she logs more time for Pelling during the next 90 days than she does for Manatt’s.  This conversion is another crucial step toward a vision of standardized systems across our companies.  This is a massive undertaking that I feel has to succeed.  Our quality people, in both companies, will make this happen.

The new IT Building has really taken shape since the last issue of the Mirror.  The inside work is probably 80% done.  Once we get the steel on the outside I am sure the final stages of the project will move quickly.  We completed all the underground work during the final week of January.  I have to single out Brett Strong and thank him for his dedication to the project.  He’s done everything under then sun out back to keep things moving along for us.  It’s very much appreciated.  I anticipate our move-in date to be sometime in March.  We’ll shut down all the systems on a Saturday morning and move them into the bunker…down time will be limited to a few hours.  The rest of the move will take a little longer!!!

We’ve rolled out a lot of new systems, networks, and servers this winter.  Those of you who have received new equipment know the benefits.  Please take care of your stuff and call us in Brooklyn if we can assist you.  We’ll see everybody around the shop again soon.