Without a doubt the Covid-19 Pandemic was the biggest disruptor we’ve seen.

From the health and safety aspect of orchestrating a jobsite, to the regulation side of things, to the supply chain constraints and material escalations…I don’t think there was a single day that started and ended as you would have expected it to have gone.

In hindsight, it was really a special thing to see our teams come together and find creative ways to execute work.  There’s a picture burned into my brain of a handwash station made of 2x4s and a storage bin that one of our Superintendent’s invented.

The creative thinking, the way people rose to the challenges of the time…there was nothing easy about it, but when you work with special people you can expect to see special results and the fact that we kept all our projects humming along is a real testament to the resilience of our staff.

I think we’ve seen more safety evolution across the industry than just in our specific sector. Looking back at 2006 when RC Andersen first opened for business, you hardly saw any high visibility clothing being worn, very few safety glasses or gloves.

Today our staff is wearing helmets with straps, vests, glasses, and gloves and in 2025 our subcontractors will be transitioning to helmets as well. So, certainly the PPE has changed. More impactful though has been the cultural changes and opinions of safety. People have started to really embrace it and look out for each other. It’s refreshing to see ours (and the rest of the industry’s) incident rate numbers dropping over time.

That’s the beauty of our approach; it hasn’t. Every time we’ve worked in a new geography, we’ve built lasting relationships with clients and subcontractors. It’s not easy working with new people, but when your approach is to take care of the human side of the business first, those strangers become friends.

Our industry makes things difficult in that many times your first interaction with a new company can be a contentious contract negotiation. By default, those new relationships start in a place where you have to take a side. Once the project gets going though, our clients and subcontractors start to understand we’re here to help.

If a subcontractor has an obstacle or issue, tell us about it and we can help problem solve together. By the time the project is over everyone has forgotten about the contract negotiation, but they’ll always remember the way the team came together to build something incredible and that fortifies the relationship long term.

The types of challenges posed, uniquely by each facility are simple enough; what pieces do I need and how do those pieces fit? The bigger challenges that are unique to each project require figuring out what stresses that project is under. Does the tenant need the facility delivered at record speed? What tasks will need to be performed through a cold winter?

RC Andersen has grown significantly through the years, but we’ve been able to maintain that close-knit family feel. Our people are experts who rely on each other’s talents to bring extraordinary projects to life. You can’t do that without trusting each other and genuinely caring about each other.

A significant amount of our staff has worked together for 10, 15, even 20+ years pre-dating the existence of RC Andersen. We’ve watched each other grow personally and professionally as we supported each other while our families grew up and ushered mentors into retirement. Sadly, we attended too many wakes, but we also celebrated plenty of births. Many of our staff members know each other’s spouses, children, mothers, and fathers. Sure, we all know how to build a building, but it’s how our staff cherishes building relationships that makes RC Andersen a family.

BIM assists with all project types. Contrary to what some might believe, every element of the building is not drawn and coordinated. We might have a raceway of six electrical conduits 4” in diameter each that must run through our building. To know where to run it, and confirm there are no obstructions or sprinkler clearance issues—BIM is our friend. It takes the concept of “measure twice and cut once” to a whole new level.

Integrity. Bob Andersen has always been an honest person. Often, brutally honest. You might not always like what Bob has to tell you, but he’s usually right and never afraid of the difficult conversation. Our business carries Bob’s honesty throughout the staff. Construction is an imperfect industry. Issues will arise. Honest companies can identify and communicate issues. With that communication comes the ability to use the thought power of everyone involved to problem solve. So, in a transitive way, honesty improves problem-solving. Contractors who problem solve the best are usually successful. At RC Andersen, our staff relies on being open, transparent, and communicative and with that approach most people outside our company come to appreciate us.

To use one of our Superintendent’s favorite lines, “pressure makes diamonds.” I already mentioned Covid-19 and that is certainly among the most rewarding moments, but Hurricane Sandy presented an incredible time for us as well. One of our clients had about 30 buildings experience flood damage. My house didn’t have power or heat. Our office didn’t have power or heat. We didn’t yet have a cloud-based server, so our computers were essentially useless. You couldn’t even fill up a tank of gas without waiting in line for hours. Our team came together and worked every single day until those 30 buildings were restored and the tenants within them back up and operational. I’ll never forget pulling together an estimate to repair the damages.

Our clients needed estimates to submit to their insurance companies. We hardly even had time to see each of the buildings, let alone pull together any sort of detailed takeoffs. I was working on it with a Project Manager and we had to hand write our estimate on a piece of notebook paper to submit. The only place we found heat and light to do it was an Irish pub, which in hindsight was probably a sign that we deserved a beer.

Bottom line, the biggest problems we face in this industry, and the biggest challenges that require the most effort are always the most rewarding moments.

I’d venture to guess that most young people have no idea that industrial construction can be a career path. But what I’d offer to any young person interested in construction is to seek part time or entry level work. Whether it’s your goal to be a project manager or a mason, you can try things on before you have to buy them. Look for opportunities and get involved, because those opportunities are out there. The decisions you’ll make about your career do not have to be blind decisions, so go experience the industry and figure out what aspect of it might best suit you.