SPARK

Discoveries, innovations, and insights that illuminate the future of the built environment

“Ask an Intern”: Clarissa Ferreira answers seven questions about her internship

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Q: How would you describe what you’re doing this summer in 50 words or less?

A: As a construction intern for McKinstry’s Phoenix office, my role includes assisting in the coordination and documentation of project-related activities, specifically for a project at the University of Arizona.

Clarissa Ferreira on a jobsite visit at the University of Arizona.

Q: What’s one thing about McKinstry that you’ve been surprised to discover this summer?

A: I’ve been truly impressed by the quality of the people. Everyone I’ve come across at McKinstry has been amazingly kind, competent and helpful.

Q: What misconceptions do you think people have about being an intern?

A: One misconception (and borderline fear) for many students about being an intern is that you’ll be getting coffee instead of doing valuable work that can help build your career. One of my personal misconceptions was that I would be expected to know a lot more than I do. However, my experience at McKinstry has been that you do not know what you do not know, and asking questions is encouraged. Asking questions has given me the opportunity to get the most out of my internship and gain a lot of valuable experience.

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Clarissa Ferreira: Getting to know me & my journey to McKinstry’s B.L.U.E. Program

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My name is Clarissa Ferreira and I am a construction intern in the Phoenix office. I enjoy outside activities like hiking and off-roading—when the Arizona heat permits. I love country music, traveling and am a huge foodie. Usually—on the weekends—I can be found out at a food truck festival, sightseeing in a new city, or hanging out with my family.

Clarissa Ferreira.

I started out as an architecture and construction management dual major at the University of Texas, San Antonio, and it didn’t take me long to realize I don’t think like an architect. I just didn’t find as much passion for being artistic and creative as I’d originally thought I would. I ended up moving back to my native Arizona and taking some time off to be with my family. I am currently a senior and a construction management major at Arizona State University (ASU).

I come to McKinstry with more than six years of experience in the construction field. Before transferring to ASU, I worked as an administrative assistant (in the engineering and work management departments) and participated in “fire watch” during outages at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Tonopah, Ariz. Fire watch was a hands-on safety experience. Staff paired with welders and pipe-fitters to go out into the shutdown unit and monitor as workers made repairs to mitigate the chance of fire.

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My B.L.U.E. Summer: Haley Hansen (Seattle)

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Haley Hansen.

Hello! I’m Haley Hansen and I’m a safety engineer intern at McKinstry through the B.L.U.E. Program this summer in Seattle. I’m originally from Bellevue, Wash. and was raised in Great Falls, Mont. I’m a rising senior studying Occupational Safety and Health at Montana Tech in Butte, Mont. and I also have an associate’s degree in Accounting Technology and Human Resources from Montana Tech.

I chose to work in Safety because of three reasons:

  1. The People. My passion in life is to be a support system for individuals and to work with others. Safety inspires me to make a difference, positively impact my community and provide a helping hand for those in need.
  2. The Company. Being a part of a company and its community drives me to help develop both the company and the employees around me every day. It also gives me an opportunity to influence the future of a company.
  3. Myself. I’m passionate about becoming a better person and serving others as well as I can.

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Unlocking safety through data analytics

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McKinstry’s safety performance dashboard is increasing safety transparency and driving change across the organization.

McKinstry’s safety performance dashboard is increasing safety transparency and driving change across the organization.

Originally published in the August 2018 issue of HVACR Business. Republished with permission.

McKinstry, like many construction companies, is a family. As a family, our top priority is making sure everyone goes home safe and healthy after each and every day. That’s why we take safety so seriously.

Numbers don’t lie; construction is dangerous. According to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), one in five workplace fatalities are in construction. Improving construction safety cannot happen by accident. We must make a conscious, deliberate effort to do better. Big data and business intelligence dashboards offer a platform to drive awareness, accountability and change.

McKinstry started its analytical data safety transformation in 2013. Over the past five years, we’ve developed a safety analysis and reporting program based on deep data tracking, analytics and reporting. Here are the six steps we followed along with some insights gleaned along the way.

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Client Safety Praise for Dan Badertsher and Nick Kochan

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Safety is core to McKinstry’s mission, values and ongoing success. Join us in recognizing June as National Safety Month as we spotlight efforts to keep each other safe 24/7/365.

West Allis-West Milwaukee Schools takes safety very seriously. That’s why Steve Rohde, district manager of facilities and operations, values McKinstry’s Dan Badertsher and Nick Kochan.

The safety plan we start with—that the McKinstry team brought to the table—not only creates a consistent format for all of the different contractors involved, but also provides the peace of mind for myself and our staff as we move through all projects within our district. Dan and Nick’s follow-through during each project and post-project review is noticed and appreciated.

Thanks again for helping to maintain a safe and secure environment here at the West Allis-West Milwaukee School District.

Well done Dan and Nick! #No1GetsHurt

National Safety Month Spotlight: Client Praises Bill Leistiko and Troy Zimdars

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Safety is core to McKinstry’s mission, values and ongoing success. Join us in recognizing June as National Safety Month as we spotlight efforts to keep each other safe 24/7/365.

McKinstry continues to gain attention for our safety efforts. Bill Leistiko and Troy Zimdars were recently recognized by Mared Mechanical. Here’s what Project Manager Ben Bickler had to say:

“Working with Bill Leistiko and Troy Zimdars on several projects over the last few years has been a pleasure, both from an operational standpoint and, more importantly, a safety one. Mared Mechanical prides itself on its safety record and culture. Too often, we find ourselves needing to drive this culture at a jobsite rather than participate in one that already exists. With McKinstry projects, it is McKinstry taking the lead.

We find working with Bill and Troy most enjoyable because we are able to plan and coordinate ahead of time. This allows us to prepare the site, our tooling and our team with safety at the forefront of the discussion.

Bill and Troy are always stressing the culture of safety promoted at McKinstry. This culture is in lock step with that of Mared’s. It assists us in not only reinforcing our own safety plan, but gives our workers confidence about the safety of the job site as a whole.

We at Mared value our partnership with McKinstry. Safety is a cornerstone of that partnership. And I personally value my relationship with Bill and Troy.”

Nice work, Bill and Troy!

National Safety Month Spotlight: Clients Praise McKinstry’s Safety Focus

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By Jason Engelbrecht, Safety Director

Safety is core to McKinstry’s mission, values and ongoing success. Join us in recognizing June as National Safety Month as we spotlight efforts to keep each other safe 24/7/365.

Safety is fundamental to serving our clients with excellence. As part of National Safety Month, several client teams shared praise and gratitude for our efforts to keep everyone safe 24/7/365.

“McKinstry has set the safety standard far above other contractors. We see their foreman getting their guys engaged and making a real effort.” – Skanska EHS Team

“McKinstry leads the pack when it comes to safety. They’re always on top of their safety documents.” Hensel Phelps Safety Team

“I am very encouraged that McKinstry has the leadership and initiative to recognize an opportunity to support the safety of our project team on and off the site.” –  Hoffman Project Team at Roosevelt Sound Transit Project

Keep up the fantastic work! #No1GetsHurt

Keeping Each Other Safe, 24/7/365

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Safety is core to McKinstry’s mission, values and ongoing success. Join us in recognizing June as National Safety Month as we spotlight efforts to keep each other safe 24/7/365.

McKinstry is a family of phenomenal people with common values and a shared purpose – delivering excellence for our clients and our communities. We cannot fulfill that purpose if we do not ensure each other’s wellbeing. This is no small task as our work can be dangerous.

June is National Safety Month, an annual campaign led by the National Safety Council. It’s an important topic that deserves a national spotlight.

There is no more sacred responsibility or greater priority than the safety of our 2,100 family members across the country. In conjunction with National Safety Month, I’m excited to introduce McKinstry’s new safety video, featuring our people sharing why safety matters to them personally.

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Getting to Know: Charles LeCuyer (Seattle)

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Charles LeCuyer.

Hello! My name is Charles LeCuyer and I’m part of the B.L.U.E. Program at McKinstry’s headquarters in Seattle. I grew up here in Seattle and I’m currently attending The University of Washington’s School of Industrial and Systems Engineering.

In late 2016, I started to look for a great place to work this summer. Luckily, I didn’t have to look far! McKinstry is so prevalent in Seattle, and I’d heard excellent things from who’s ever worked for the company. Now that I’ve been working here for a few weeks, I can definitely say that those people were right!

I started my work as a project engineering intern about a month ago, and I’m based at an active jobsite: the under-construction Roosevelt Light Rail Station in Seattle’s Roosevelt neighborhood. I’m working with James Postma (senior project manager) and Katie Arendt (project engineer). They’ve helped show me the ropes, and I’m now handling a variety of tasks: Daily pre-task plans, safety walk inspections, man-hour reports, earned value tracking, and assisting with submittals.

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At McKinstry, safety is no accident

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Blueprints

“Blueprints” is a Spark series exploring McKinstry’s core business philosophies from our leaders’ perspective. This is the third story in the series, from McKinstry’s Chief Operating Officer: Ron Johnson

Most companies will tell you that safety is important to them. No company wants to be labeled as “unsafe” or give the impression that safety is secondary to anything else.

Now, many companies truly do value safety. I would even say most companies are well-intentioned when it comes to protecting their employees and clients. However, there’s an enormous difference between saying that safety is your top priority and proving that safety is your top priority.

At McKinstry, safety is our top priority and we work hard to demonstrate this every single day.

It’s an indelible part of all aspects of our business.  We have high expectations when it comes to safety because we know it’s the only way we can achieve excellence in all that we do.

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