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Early-Stage Considerations in Cleanroom Design 

Aerospace and Defense industry cleanrooms are crucial to support the development of advanced aircraft and spacecraft. Manufacturing and assembling the exacting components require environments that eliminate contamination and comply with customer requirements for strictly controlled environmental conditions.  

Below are some of the key design decisions that must be considered.  

Cleanroom classification. A vital first step is to understand what classification level is required. For aerospace and defense, the standard for cleanroom classifications is ISO 14644-1. Cleanroom classifications are often referred to by the outdated standard, Federal 209E. The stricter the classification, the higher the air change rate (or the number of times the air is removed, filtered, and then returned into the space). Many times, a cleanroom is designed to a stricter ISO classification than presently needed. With an eye to the future, more stringent requirements to operate a cleanroom at a lower classification is simple; retroactively upgrading it to a higher standard is challenging and expensive. Understanding how a program may evolve helps engineers design in the flexibility necessary to change course. 

Function of the space. There are times when the classified nature of what the space will be used for means our engineers must rely on the client to provide a general concept of the manufacturing processes to be performed within the space. This general concept provides us the necessary information to understand the operating conditions more closely and if there are areas within the cleanroom that require stricter cleanliness than others. This includes vertical zones in high bay cleanrooms. 

Upgrading. Some clients need to improve a room’s requirements as a program evolves. To determine potential upgrades, we discuss how they are going to operate within a higher classification room. Sometimes we are helping clients identify vital clarifications, and other times we are assisting them in making decisions.  

Environmental considerations. The next discussion to occur is about indoor environmental conditions. This encompasses temperature and humidity specifications. The program and employee needs help our engineers make recommendations and critical design decisions.  

A thorough understanding of environmental considerations allows our team to design the cleanroom to meet the program’s set points and tolerances. Furthermore, it provides us with clear parameters to achieve the ideal indoor conditions for temperature and relative humidity. Frequently, the potential for electrostatic discharge also factors into the relative humidity specifications. 

If the program has not defined specific requirements, we will typically design ranges to make the employee comfortable. This discovery process includes discussing how employees gown-up since that factors into personal comfort and often means lower temperature setpoints.  

Weather consideration. It is very important to know and understand outdoor weather conditions that are not represented in standard published weather data for the larger geographic area. While the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) weather data tells us certain things, we need to consider many factors for our aerospace and defense clients that do not show up in this data. For example, some facilities are in high and low desert areas. In these locations, we need to take into consideration the unique weather created by localized wind patterns and events—including wide swings in humidity—often within a few-hour period. This geographical phenomenon also causes strong, arid downslope winds that originate inland and affect coastal areas of Southern California and northern Baja California. On occasion, and often enough to be a design concern, these conditions cause single-digit (extremely dry) relative humidity along the coast. As the temperature rises and the humidity drops the risk of wildfires increases, resulting in additional outside or make-up air filtration concerns. These are all factors that need to go into the design discussion. 

This type of geographical area also experiences monsoonal weather that does not show up in average weather data. These storms dump an extreme amount of moisture in a short time span, usually during warm to hot temperatures, causing excessive humidity. Some manufacturing operations can handle the extra humidity, while others must go to greater lengths to wring out excess moisture during these high humidity events. This capability is something we design and engineer into cleanrooms.  

Tolerances and cost. Knowing absolute outside-range tolerances is essential because tighter tolerances can impact cost. The stricter the environmental and control requirements, the more capacity and capability to be designed into the system.  

Pressurization. Another vital consideration in design is pressurization. Pressurization is ventilation technology that controls the migration of air. Cleanrooms require bringing outside air into the space to push air outward and ensuring that particulate does not come in through cracks, gaps, or leaks, and periodically open doors. This requires a comprehensive understanding of code requirements for ventilation and construction details of the building assemblies that contain the cleanroom.  

Exhaust requirements. Understanding exhaust requirements allows designers and engineers to right-size HVAC systems. Knowing if the room will require a fume hood or slot hood exhaust that will necessitate makeup air is critical.  

Security: Many aerospace and defense clients have security requirements that must be incorporated into the HVAC design. These requirements vary from client to client and program to program. Security includes physical, acoustic, and visible (line-of-sight) factors. Security devices that may be incorporated include security bars, non-conductive breaks, white or pink noise, grounding, double bends (Z-ducts), and acoustic liners. 

Airflow methodologies: The type of HVAC system to provide is not simply about providing a chilled water system or a refrigerant-based cooling system. It is about the methodology of how the air is being exchanged within the cleanroom. It is about how the air is being delivered, circulated, and taken out of the space.  

We are working with a client right now that has all three of these approaches in one facility.  

• Fully-ducted is where the air is supplied to the space through air handling unit(s) (AHUs) that are ducted all the way to the HEPA filters mounted in the ceiling. The return air is then ducted from the return-air wall plenums back to the AHUs. This is considered a traditional system and requires more ductwork than other methodologies.  
• Negative pressurized plenum system is where fan-filter units (FFUs) do the circulation within the space. The fan filter units return the air through low-wall intakes to a HEPA—or ULPA— filter and recirculate the air to the space. A small AHU provides conditioning of the air (temperature and humidity and maintains positive pressure for the space. There is a significant advantage to this system in terms of initial cost savings as it requires less ductwork as well as smaller or fewer AHUs. A considerable advantage is that the plenum above the ceiling is negatively pressurized and draws air from the cleanroom into the ceiling space. In the event of a leak this prevents unfiltered air from entering the cleanroom space. 
• Positive pressurized plenum system is considered in-between a fully ducted and negative pressure plenum system. This method uses the same AHU equipment to do the major recirculation as a fully-ducted approach. The difference is that air is supplied into the ceiling plenum space and pushed through the HEPA filters into the space by power from the AHU instead of being directly ducted to the HEPA filters. In terms of cost, this method falls between a fully-ducted system and a negative pressure plenum system since it still has large AHUs while having less ductwork. 

Each approach has its pros and cons. It is valuable for designers and engineers to talk through these design elements with the client team before finalizing the design.  

The most conservative system is the fully-ducted system. Here’s why:  

• The supply air is directly connected from the AHU(s) to the HEPA filters, preventing the possibility of particulate from entering the air stream and being transported into the clean space.
  
• The return is directly connected from the wall plenum or duct risers to the AHU(s), where the air is filtered before entering the supply airstream. 
  
• This method is the original design for cleanroom HVAC systems and has a proven track record that spans many decades.  

There is no way for something foreign to enter the system other than through a very controlled location (e.g., where you pull the outside air in, doors, and people). However, it is the highest initial cost system. Some programs require a fully-ducted system given its long-proven performance and greatest assurance of airflow control.  

Retrofitting a fully-ducted system to achieve a higher cleanroom classification can be difficult and quite expensive and disruptive to system operations. Negative pressurized plenums have one big appeal in that they offer significantly more flexibility for classification upgrades in the future because most of the infrastructure is in place. The classification can be simply increased by adding additional fan-filter units in the ceiling to provide the higher air change rates required. The AHUs providing the conditioning will require evaluation to determine if they have the capacity for the additional cooling required for the new motor heat in the added FFUs. There will be some disruption, but this is minimized. A positive pressure system is adaptive but less so because they utilize large AHUs for circulation that will require additional space and clearance. The decision often comes down to a client’s comfort with the systems. 

Confidentiality and design. It is important for designers and engineers to understand what clients are doing in the space and what kind of environment is needed. Due to the confidential nature of clients working in the aerospace and defense industry, this can be a challenge. It is essential for designers and engineers to be good communicators, glean what can be shared, and work with client teams to help them make the best decisions possible.  

The preliminary stages of designing a cleanroom require careful consideration. Understanding how the space will be utilized now and in the future is critical for making informed design decisions. Working with an experienced engineering team helps to navigate the complexities of cleanroom classifications and airflow methodologies in order to make smart choices in managing environmental conditions, pressurization, exhaust, and security.  

Safety and quality share many of the same aspects and are often intertwined. A sign of a well-managed jobsite is the team’s commitment to safety, quality, and productivity. When a team focuses on even the smallest of details, crews feel supported and encouraged to do quality work.

Let’s take a deeper dive into successful safety and quality planning.

Company Culture. Employers need to foster a company culture that values safety and quality. Then, when team members lead by example, everyone knows that a company isn’t just giving lip service to these values. Leading by example is an authentic expression of the company’s commitment to safety.

Inspection Process. Quality requires meeting the expectations of the owner, designer, and engineering requirements. Implementing a quality control program with detailed procedures reduces errors and omissions. Defects in design, engineering, construction, and products can be managed by following a good quality control plan.

Safety and quality control both require the ability to verify and scrutinize the built environment. For safety, it starts with making sure everybody has the correct personal protective equipment for each task. This includes a hard hat, safety vest, and glasses.

An example of quality during the inspection process would be validating that the crew has the latest design documents and correct material. It also means inspecting work to ensure that installation was completed per manufacturer recommendations.

Checklists. Building inspection checklists can be one of the most effective ways to ensure safety and quality protocols are followed. Lists can serve as a starting point that can be modified or expanded to account for new phases of work. When implemented effectively, checklists ensure that the necessary safety precautions are considered and that work is done according to the design documents.

Training. Safety and quality control require significant training and reinforcement. Many common construction hazards and quality mishaps can be controlled or avoided with training. When workers are trained in safe practices and proper installation of materials and equipment, the job site functions in a more efficient manner. These competencies reduce overall construction costs by diminishing insured losses, citations, and delays.

Regardless of delays or looming deadlines, safety and quality training should never be viewed as an unnecessary expense. It is critical that all employees, even seasoned veterans, attend safety meetings and acquire additional training regularly.

Right Tool for the Job. For safety and quality purposes, teams must always have the right tools or equipment to get the job done. Necessity may be the mother of innovation, but it can have catastrophic consequences. For example, if a crew member is sent out to do a job with a 10-foot ladder, but requires a boom lift. Rather than getting the lift, the worker decides to stack pallets to accommodate the height difference, leading to a dangerous fall situation.

Cutting corners can also have a significant impact on quality. Therefore, confirming that the right tools and materials are used is an important part of the quality control process.

Planning. Ensuring you have the right tools, materials, and trades, requires planning. Shortcuts coupled with the pressure to meet budget and schedule demands can spell disaster. Project teams must be proactive in assessing and addressing the needs of the crew.

Adhering to Requirements. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) provides a starting point for safety guidelines. There are many examples of site-specific conditions that require more stringent protocols. OSHA guidelines should be considered a minimum standard. Failure to comply with OSHA rules can shut down a site and result in fines starting at $14,200 per violation.

Tools, materials, and equipment have manufacturer guidelines. Understanding and adhering to these instructions produce a higher quality project. It is equaly important to hire a knowledgeable team and evaluate their work.

It is also critically important to work with a team that understands building code. Building to the latest design drawings and specs creates a smoother transition to an occupancy license.

Budget and Schedule. Safety and quality issues have the potential to significantly impact the budget and schedule. Preventative measures help design-build companies like Austin circumvent costly errors, omissions, safety shut-downs, and failed inspections. Daily huddles and weekly safety meetings allow teams to iron out safety and quality issues in real-time before they hinder the budget or schedule.

The Cost of not Getting it Right. Faulty safety operations lead to lost time, injuries, and eroded morale. It’s better to invest in preventative measures than to manage an emergency. Many companies think they must choose between expediency and quality. However, sacrificing quality can drive up costs and destroy a schedule. In the long term, poor quality control impacts project costs resulting in rework costs. A good quality program during construction extends a facility’s lifespan.

Details matter when protecting workers from injury and building a quality facility. Creating a company culture that values and prioritizes safety and quality is the first step. Inspection checklists provide a proven process that can be replicated. Training reinforces the importance of planning, using the right tools for the job, and following requirements. When organized and executed by experienced project leadership, safety and quality can work together to meet client standards and make sure everyone goes home safe.

In this age of advanced machinery, robotics, and complex logistics systems, superflat floors are critically important to operations. Superflat floors can:  

• Determine the kind of racks and logistics systems to be utilized in the operation.  
• Impact the amount of maintenance needed on equipment.  
• Be used for advanced robotics and rapid picking systems.  

• Impact how fast fork trucks, robotics, and other equipment can move around the facility.  
• Minimize risk of rack impacts and handling errors.  
• Improve the safety of the operations.  

Installing superflat floors allows for taller storage systems and, potentially, tighter aisles, faster operations, less maintenance costs, and, oftentimes, a safer operating setting. All are desirable benefits for industrial plant and facility owners.   

Considerations

• Understand equipment manufacturer’s floor flatness and levelness requirements related to performance. It is critical to understand the exact requirements and reasons for the guidelines versus making assumptions like using past reference points. 
• Coordinate the structural engineer or floor designer and the geotechnical engineer to agree upon soil loading and settlement requirements. This is critical for determining which soil improvement system will be recommended. 
• Base design details for the floors, including thickness, reinforcing, joint spacing, and layout on the superimposed loading criteria and geotechnical recommendations. Superflat floors must meet the demands of heavy wheel traffic, often in specific lanes in narrow aisles.  The concrete floor surface must be hard, wear-resistant, and not create concrete dust.  Careful specification of the concrete materials, proper finishing techniques, and surface treatments such as liquid hardeners are proven methods of ensuring wear-resistant slabs.  
• Coordinate and partner field operations and engineering team for size and layout of planned concrete floor placements.  
• Conduct an in-depth preconstruction conference involving the structural engineer, concrete supplier, concrete finisher crew, concrete testing lab, and geotechnical engineer. 
• Utilize specialized construction equipment, including laser screed machines and adjustable side forms set with laser levels.   
• Place superflat floors under a roof to control sun and wind. Both can cause the uneven setting of the concrete, which will result in flatness issues.   
• Provide proper lighting during finishing operations for the concrete workers.   
• Hire adequate numbers of experienced workers to place and finish the slab uniformly. Uniform timing promotes even curing and flat floors. 
• During installation, ensure joint saw-cutting, curing, and testing is per concrete specifications. 
• Have engineers review reports such as concrete compressive test reports, flatness reports, and levelness reports. Don’t just review them in the field or receive and file them without review. 
• Understand current industry standards which define the measurement of a floor flatness within 48 hours of placement.  However, concrete shrinkage and curling continue for several months after placement and can cause changes to the floor slab reducing the slab flatness. 
• Control cracking. Concrete slabs, including superflat slabs, are subject to cracks.  Crack control of super flat slabs begins with an awareness of the considerations listed above. This includes proper concrete mix, proper joint spacing, careful detailing to avoid restraint of slab components, finishing equipment, finishing procedures, and curing.  Additional techniques used to control cracking in superflat slabs include post-tensioning, shrinkage compensating concrete and admixtures, over-reinforced slabs, and distributed synthetic reinforcement.   

Did You Know?  

Austin has been designing and constructing floor systems to tight flatness and levelness specifications since the 1950s. However, it wasn’t until the 1970s that industrial and warehouse owners started increasing the density of their storage configurations to minimize investments in land and facilities to optimize operations.  

In 1987, Barry Rogers, PE, Senior Project Manager and Project Executive with Austin’s Research and
Development department, patented one of the first formal measuring devices for floor flatness allowing for a scientific method of testing and laser measuring these special floor systems.  

In 2017, and our partners set the world record for floor flatness and levelness design and construction.  

Three of our preconstruction thought leaders are presenting at the 6th Annual Advancing Preconstruction Conference this summer! Amy Hewis (Preconstruction Coordinator), Chris Jackson (Director of Preconstruction Services – Eastern Operations), and Andrew Hoffmeyer (Associate Preconstruction Manager) share their insights at the event, taking place in Dallas, Texas, from August 30 through September 1.

This year’s conference, entitled “Win More Work, Kickstart Project Success,” explores the latest technologies and workflows across five educational tracks: estimating, design coordination, cost escalation, subcontractor management, and department management.

Chris Jackson and Andrew Hoffmeyer lead a conversation about remote work entitled “How to Maintain Engagement & Productivity of a Preconstruction Team Working a Mixture of in the Office & at Home.” The presentation explores the impact of remote working on introverted and extroverted team members.

Amy Hewis reveals what makes you a general contractor of choice in her talk, “Developing Strong Relationships with Subcontractors to Ensure You Have Enough Bids to Compile an Estimate.” The presentation will also cover how to improve the communication of job specifications and explore the benefits of platforms and tools to advertise jobs and network well.

New highlights and additions for the 2021 conference

• Post-pandemic outlooks with a focus on cost escalation for major markets and bidding strategies
• Deep dives into estimating for specific CSI divisions, including earthwork, steel, mechanical and electrical
• Benchmarking ways to conduct design reviews and maintain quality of coordination, including with remote working
• How direct material procurement, prefabrication, IPD, and other trends could radically alter preconstruction and reduce costs

To purchase tickets, visit https://advancing-preconstruction.com/. Be sure to use the discount code “Austin10” when registering.

I recently watched a Ted Talk by Brene Brown titled The Power of Vulnerability. Brene starts her talk about connection and how it is difficult for individuals to connect due to their fear of disconnection. This fear can result in individuals putting up walls around themselves to prevent others from seeing their true self because they think that if truly seen, others would not like them. However, as Brene stated in her talk, “in order for connection to happen, we have to allow ourselves to be seen, really seen.” In other words, we must be vulnerable.  

As I reflected on this talk about connection and vulnerability along with Austin’s core focus, “To be the most trusted partner for complex and challenging projects,” I thought of how intertwined these ideas are and how we can’t be the most trusted partner if we don’t connect with our clients and other project stakeholders. Being vulnerable is being our true and authentic selves. We cannot connect if we are not first vulnerable.  

I never thought that being vulnerable was essential to building trusted partnerships. But when I think of some of the lessons, I’ve learned about relationship building over the past 30 years with Austin, vulnerability was indeed a key, if not the primary, ingredient.  

Vulnerability and People New to Their Roles

We’ve collaborated with many clients who assign first-time managers to our projects, whose only prior experience with construction may have been a home renovation or perhaps a new home – quite different than a multi-million-dollar industrial project. It’s important to build a relationship with client representatives. They should be able share their fears without judgment and be confident that you will not only get the job done but help them be successful in their new role.  

These first-time managers don’t always have the field experience to know that it isn’t if a project hits a roadblock, but when. It is in those moments when excitement is building, and tension is high that it is important to have a calming presence in the face of such obstacles.  

Our clients place a tremendous amount of trust in us. They want to know we will get to the bottom of an issue and deliver results. Rather than diving right into the muck of the situation, take a deep breath, have everyone take a deep breath. We should reassure the team that we will get through whatever the issue is. Worry will not solve the problem. Instead, talk through the issue, develop a plan, and then work that plan.  

Vulnerability and Delivering Tough News

At another point in my career, I had some particularly bad news to deliver to a client. I knew that it was not going to be a pleasant conversation. I was wringing my hands, trying to figure out how I would go about sharing this information. I knew what I had to do, but I wanted to make it as positive as possible. I called my boss at the time, former Austin President Pat Flanagan. I said, “I don’t know quite how to lay this out. Can you help me think through how to present this?” Pat asked me one question, “Matt, why don’t you use the old truth scam – it works practically every time?” That was the end of the conversation. The message was delivered, and it wasn’t as bad as I had thought because today, I can’t recall what the issue was. But I will never forget the vulnerability lesson I learned that day. 

Vulnerability and Admitting Weakness

Vulnerability is also about owning it. You must be willing to admit what you don’t know or are unsure of. Find answers and create results, not excuses.  

Early in my career, I recall interviewing subcontractors to install metal siding on a large rocket manufacturing facility we were constructing. The schedule was extremely aggressive, and the durations that we had allowed for the siding installation were ridiculously short. After four interviews and hearing from everyone that what we were asking was impossible and unachievable, I interviewed Clarence. We talked for a while about what we needed to be done, and Clarence didn’t say much – just listened. Toward the end of the interview, I asked, can you meet the schedule? I’ll never forget his answer, “It’ll be hard” – not impossible, not unachievable. There was hope. Clarence wasn’t a salesman painting a rosy picture or a negative one, claiming it couldn’t be done. He was someone who knew it was a tall order but was willing to work together to figure it out.  

We ended up giving his company the work, and they did a fantastic job and met the schedule. I learned a lot from his approach, and it continues to influence me to this day. I learned how to carefully evaluate a situation, admit I might not have all the answers, and share my opinions openly and honestly. I got others to do the same, to work together, as trusted partners.  

Around the world, there are a lot of buildings built every day in a very transactional relationship. Many of these projects are successful, but I wonder how the relationships between the stakeholders are? I’ve never thought of myself as a transactional type of person. I much prefer connecting with and building a close relationship with the people I work with. I’m glad that Austin has this as a core focus as well. Every day, as we interact with others, we choose to be vulnerable or not. When we are vulnerable, we open the gateway for others to do the same. Standing in our truth is to be authentic, and authenticity builds trust. Like the foundations we construct, our client relationships need to stand the test of time, pressure, and vulnerability. When they do, we will have a partnership for life. 

What are the chances? 

About 50,000 earthquakes large enough to be noticed without seismic equipment occur annually across the globe. Of these, approximately 100 (0.2%) are significant enough to produce substantial damage.  

Whether you experience a moderate to large earthquake depends on the seismicity of your location. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) compiles all known earthquake sources in the National Seismic Hazard Maps (NSHMs). These maps serve as the basis for determining site-specific seismic design forces for structures. The ground accelerations noted in the NSHMs are entered into algorithms that output project-specific design accelerations that account for characteristics such as building shaking frequency and site soil classification. The NSHMs (and underlying model) are updated every six years to provide the basis for earthquake provisions in building codes. Regular updates ensure that engineers can access the most accurate information about potentially damaging earthquakes throughout the United States. 

The time between earthquakes is also essential in determining the magnitude of an earthquake. The longer the forces build up along a fault, the more energy is released when the fault ruptures, creating a more significant quake.  

Magnitude Chart

Located in a lower-risk area? Why you could still face risks. 

The West Coast is the most active area in the United States for earthquakes due to two tectonic plates, the Pacific and the North American Plate. However, this does not mean the other parts of the country do not experience earthquakes.  

The largest earthquake recorded in North America took place on the New Madrid Fault in Missouri in 1811. The Charleston, South Carolina region has also experienced significant earthquakes in the past hundred years.  

Practices like fracking are making low-risk areas more susceptible to disturbances. Structures in these areas are not built to the same stringent seismic codes as those in California. This increases the risk of significant structural damage if seismic forces occur.  

What’s the cost? 

The most significant risk from an earthquake is that of life safety. Structural building collapses, and failure of non-structural components such as heavy furniture and hanging elements can cause substantial loss of life during seismic events. Modern building code requirements are intended to protect people. While the building may be damaged beyond repair, building codes aim to ensure safe evacuation at a minimum. 

A serious problem facing society today is that many buildings were designed and constructed in the infancy of seismic design methodologies. We gain tremendous knowledge with each major earthquake. Construction techniques and details that have not performed well under seismic force stress are identified and refined. This insight is incorporated into Building Codes, allowing for the construction of more resilient buildings. Some buildings built before the 1970s have an increased likelihood of suffering significant structural damage because they were constructed using obsolete detailing and methodologies. Such buildings pose a substantial risk to life safety in the event of a major earthquake. For example, older unreinforced masonry buildings are among the most vulnerable types of structures, and many occur in the high-seismic and densely populated region of Southern California.  

Earthquakes are estimated to cost the nation $6.1 billion annually in building stock losses, according to an updated report published by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 2017. Assessment and repair can cause production to stop and create a financial strain on a company.  

What you can do. 

The path towards seismically resilient cities starts with informed owners. Owners should understand the seismicity of the regions where their properties are located and be aware of their buildings’ seismic vulnerabilities. Here are the critical questions for every owner: 

Critical Questions

If owners do not know the answers to these questions or need to understand the impact seismic disturbances have on their building, they should contact a licensed structural engineer proficient in seismic design. If appropriately designed, both existing and new buildings can survive severe earthquakes and significantly reduce risk to life-safety, property damage, and lost-time production.   

Conclusion

Although earthquakes remain a deadly threat, today’s buildings are more resilient than ever, thanks to seismic research and technology advancements. Yet, there is still a great deal to learn.  Until we can tame mother nature, designers and engineers will continue to explore ways to minimize damage from seismic disturbances.  

The Austin Company has a great legacy of seismic design projects across the world.  Our parent company, Kajima, is located in Japan and is a leader in advanced seismic design research.   

The Austin Company has promoted Jeff Deel to Vice President of Human Resources. Deel formerly served as Director of Human Resources and has dedicated more than 15 years to Austin, serving the last seven years on Austin’s executive leadership team.

Deel was awarded the Crain’s Cleveland Business Archer Award for Organizational Development in 2017. He is a member of the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) and serves on the Engineering and Construction Compensation Forum Survey (ECCF) steering committee. ECCF is an annual study conducted among member companies providing a confidential, reliable, and valid evaluation of base salaries, other compensation, and human resource practices in the engineering and construction industry.

“Jeff’s contribution has expanded as Austin has continued to grow. He is a valued member of the executive leadership team providing great support and counsel. He has clearly earned the opportunity to serve as an officer of the company and the position of Vice President. I congratulate him on his promotion and thank him for all his hard work,” said Mike Pierce, President of The Austin Company.

“My day-to-day tasks will not change significantly. However, I will be taking on greater responsibility for strategic planning, and as Austin continues to grow, so will the breadth of my role,” said Deel. “I look forward to the role we will all play in Austin’s success in the coming years.”

Deel continues to be responsible for all human resource functions, including talent acquisition, organizational development, performance management, coaching, succession planning, policy and procedure, compliance, benefits, employee relations, and compensation. His contribution to helping drive the company’s vision, identify, and initiatives to improve the organization’s operations will continue to expand.

Innovation Defined

Thomas Edison said, “There is a better way – find it.” There are aspects of engineering that have stayed the same for hundreds of years, and then there is a new wave of technology allowing us to work in very different ways. Advanced technology has its challenges. Exploring the transition from old to new begs the question, “When the tools of the past no longer work, what does the solution look like?”

It looks a lot like what Austin has done to streamline our Revit templates. Project templates provide a starting point and standards for new projects. The design and implementation of these templates have reduced set-up and modeling time for our designers and engineers.

The ever-evolving process

The most significant benefit of Revit templates is how much time they can save. The downside is how much time they take to develop. The refinement of our templates is an ongoing process that is continuously improving. It can be challenging to find time to refine when billable projects await and deadlines loom. Fortunately, investing in this ongoing process yields long-term gains.  

Once you finish the template, how often do you review it and keep it updated? What if you have a project that’s a new building-type? Does your template still work for that kind of building? What if you need to follow an owner’s BIM standard? Can you modify your template to fit their requirements? 

We continue to learn more about best practices with each project and as product updates are released. It takes discipline to continually implement these tools and keep ahead of the maintenance required. Our goal is to find a simple, effective, and easy-to-maintain solution to every challenge we encounter.  

We use a spreadsheet within Microsoft TEAMS to log issues as they arise. Then we systematically address each one by crowd-sourcing answers within our team and through industry resources.  

Time and Money: two limitations to innovation. 

Solutions require professionals who understand the engineering process. They must be knowledgeable regarding the inner workings of Revit, the projects, and teams.  

User input critical to success. 

End-users play a critical role in the design process. Reminders of this can come in the most unlikely of places. For example, I went on a USS Midway tour, a retired aircraft carrier in San Diego. On the flight deck was a jet that stood out to me. The tour guide claimed it was the best jet ever designed because pilots were consulted throughout the design and manufacturing process. The pilot never had to take their eyes off the sky to operate the plane. It was a good reminder to me of the importance of user input in solving design problems.  

Applicable across disciplines

Any discipline can look inward and address efficiencies. For example, architecture is usually going to include floors and walls on any given project. Mechanical will commonly have diffusers. Taking the time to pre-define these types of reoccurring items in a project template is a wise strategy. When information is well defined and pre-loaded, a template can save a lot of time by automating repetitive tasks.   

The demands of today’s design–build industry are too great to believe there is no room left for innovation. We look to do more, better, and faster. Leveraging technology gives us a greater ability to master time. So, what repetitive tasks do you do? Maybe the next technological advancement lies there! 

In 2007 just days before Christmas, I accepted a position with a Cleveland-based construction company and began my passion for—and career in—the AEC (Architecture, Engineering, and Construction) industry. 

Design and construction are noble professions that deliver tangible results. There is a sense of pride when a successful project stands the test of time. This type of accomplishment is unmatched in most industries. It is a powerful differentiator that we neglected to promote within our communities, schools, and clubs. As a result, the industry is facing epic shortages of skilled workers at all levels.

Women in Construction 

While construction is a historically male-dominated industry, it is vital to the industry’s long-term growth to build the pipeline that attracts more women to this great profession. This is where organizations like NAWIC (National Association of Women in Construction) play a crucial role. NAWIC generates awareness and promotes opportunities for women to build their careers in construction.

According to NAWIC, on average, women in the U.S. earn 81.1% of what men make. In contrast, women in construction occupations make 99.1% of men. There was only one other industry where the gender pay gap for women was lower than 10%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2018). 

Yes, we have improved the gender differential, confirmed by the 64% growth in the number of female-owned construction firms from 2014 to 2019. Yet, there is still room for women in the construction industry.  

• As of 2019, only 13% of construction firms are female-owned.  
• Women account for only 10% of construction industry employment.  
• And, only 2.5% of those women are in the construction trades. 

Add to the mix the shortages of skilled workers, and women’s opportunities to find their careers in the construction industry are greater than ever before. A quick look at NAWIC’s website shows 5,202 career opportunities for women in construction, including: preconstruction, estimators, controllers, supervisors, superintendents, project managers, auditors, engineers, schedulers, construction managers, administration, safety and inspections, drivers, construction foremen, educators, and many more.

In celebration of NAWIC’s Women in Construction Week (March 7-13, 2021), I tip my hard hat to all the women who have played a role in the built environment. I have met some amazing women in construction. I no longer work with some of these professionals but continue to feel connected to them; others I stand shoulder-to-shoulder with every day at The Austin Company. These women inspire me with their leadership and dedication to their craft. My passion continues.

To learn about opportunities for women in construction with The Austin Company, please visit our Careers page. 

Every project starts with a plan. But, as the translated Scottish poem goes, the best-laid plans often go awry. This holds true for design-build projects.

Project success relies on complex teams of owners, architects, engineers, construction managers, and trade contractors. Coordination takes on new meaning when changes occur. Whether due to client requests, scope development, code requirements, or existing conditions, how the team responds is vital to a successful outcome.

What-if Options

While the team goes to great lengths to design the perfect building right out of the gate, there are things that can’t be anticipated. To remain prepared, the design and construction team must constantly consider alternative design solutions throughout the project and keep options on the table for what-if scenarios when required.

Collaboration

Because changes can have a ripple effect throughout the project, it is crucial to have a strong leader and collaborate not only on the solution but during its implementation. Solutions should integrate the integrity of the design team’s original intent and our client’s desired outcome. The Austin Company values collaboration so highly that we have incorporated it into our core values.

Early Engagement

Identifying potential changes as early in the process as possible is critical. Transparency with all stakeholders is the foundation of a trusted partnership. Communicating early and often with the client and design-build team avoids costly delays.

Expertise in Problem Solving

Problem solving is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. Every time the team faces a challenge, the process of developing a solution adds to their knowledge bank. The resulting stockpile of information is an invaluable resource. Assembling a strong team, including resources that bring a fresh set of eyes to problem-solving, is essential to achieving a viable solution.

It is not a matter of if your project will undergo a change of plan – but when. Up-front planning, generating options, ongoing collaboration, early engagement, and a strong problem-solving team can help reduce cost overruns and time delays. From site selection through project closeout, planning is key to meeting critical milestones and achieving overall success.

Over my career, it has become commonplace for companies to create Mission, Vision, and Values Statements. A Mission Statement should be aspirational and motivating but should also reflect what the employees believe in or buy into.

The word “mission” speaks to a higher purpose of the organization – the WHY. Mission is about the essence of the organization that inspires people to commit to it, sacrifice for it, and seek to make that mission part of their own personal purpose.

Similarly, vision communicates where the company intends to go while fulfilling its Mission. These two parts must be in sync. If the journey and destination don’t have a relation to the Mission, why are you on the journey in the first place?

Mission and vision are more forward-looking and immediate, addressing where a company wants to go and why. Values, on the other hand, are not time-sensitive. They speak to the soul and culture of the company.

Noted management consultant, Peter Lencioni, authored a great article on company values for the Harvard Business Review in 2002. He defines four different types of Values: Core Values, Aspirational Values, Permission-to-Play Values and Accidental Values. Of all, Core Values are the intrinsic cultural cornerstones.

Admittedly, the first time Austin’s leadership team set out to establish our Core Values, we wound up with Permission-to-Play Values such as Honesty, Integrity, and Respect. Nice. Important. But they are not uniquely Austin.

Enter EOS.

Entrepreneurial Operating System was devised by Gino Wickman and inspired by the works of Patrick Lencioni and Jim Collins (of Good to Great fame) and others. For us and thousands of other firms, EOS is a powerful tool to get a company’s leadership aligned and working toward the same goals together. EOS shows company leaders how to process issues with those goals in mind, and ultimately drive their teams toward the same goals.

It begins with an EOS process that shows company leaders how to define Core Values. The beauty and power of the process is that it is organic; it comes from within the organization. Start by making a list of those employees who embody the company culture each day and define what it is about them that caused you to add them to the list. Categorize those definitions into groups with similar themes and name each group. Congratulations, you have just defined your Core Values organically. They weren’t made up with the hope of being relevant. They are intrinsically relevant.

Within Austin, we identified people who were the problem solvers. They figured out ways of taking obstacles and developing new ways of getting past them. They carry our Innovation DNA, sending a message to their coworkers that we don’t let problems stop us.

Others seemed to always be there to pitch in. No matter what the issue is, these employees are there to help. There is a strong Commitment to Service among many employees who came to mind as true Austinites. Similarly, there were many examples of employees who, no matter what the project, task, assignment, or request can always be counted on to Get it Done.

We identified many co-workers with an unmistakable and contagious Passion for our clients and the important work they entrust to us, and our duty to earn that trust every day. For many, an assigned project or task is a personal challenge with which they exhibit an unrelenting drive to succeed, and failures are a personal affront. When given a project, they Own It!

Finally, we identified many people who had an innate ability to act as a catalyst, bringing teams together and making them successful. These employees are our Team Builders.

The authenticity of these values is that they were always there, making up the soul of Austin without ever having been examined or codified. These six Core Values are now part of our everyday work. They are branded throughout the organization. We have developed a Microsoft Dynamics app where co-workers can give a Shout Out anytime a colleague exhibits one of these Core Values in the course of their work.

Core Values have become an important part of our discussion in recruiting and evaluations. We sometimes find an employee who is competent but doesn’t seem to fit our culture. They tend not to demonstrate some of these Core Values. They also do not tend to stay around long.

On the other hand, many of the people named in this process have 20, 30 even 50 years with the company. We have consistent client relationships with major companies that span 40, 50, even 75 years. The thread that ties this all together is our culture, and the foundation of our culture is our Core Values. It is not surprising, then to read about our founders, Samuel Austin, and his son, Wilbert, and readily see these values describe who they were and how they built the company. These values have been unique to Austin from the start. It is our organizational DNA. It makes us a family. Taken as a whole, these Core Values define the essence of a career at Austin: the kind of people who work alongside you, your mentors, your work family. As business author Joe D. Batten put it, “Our value is the sum of our values.”

“Looking back on 2020… let’s not!” so read an ad I saw in a magazine.

I do not recall a year discussed, explored, dissected, and analyzed more than 2020.  It seems it is drowning out the look ahead to 2021 and what the New Year will bring. Most of what you hear is gloom and doom, despair, and fear. Yes, it has been a tough year, especially if you are a healthcare provider or work in the travel/hospitality – related industries.

And that is where the media is focused. What’s missing is the rest of the story – the ingenuity and perseverance for large and small businesses alike to forge ahead in the face of a global pandemic. When I speak with neighbors and friends in manufacturing and the companies that serve them, the consensus is that business isn’t good – it’s great! Orders are up, the backlog is strong, and they can’t find enough workers.

We keep moving forward

Despite how I started this piece, I believe it is healthy and necessary to look back on 2020, as we tend to do every New Year. This year can be a powerful reference point for personal reflection and growth as an organization, business, and society.

I recently participated in a panel discussion where a food industry executive suggested: “that we not let the ‘new normal’ be too much like the old normal.” It caused me to consider what about the old normal do we want to keep?  What have we learned this year that should serve as a springboard for our future?

We have learned to video conference like never before. It is no longer a skill that is dependent on IT or administrative support. But what to make of it?  We no longer have to be in the office, travel, or meet in-person.

I think we find we need to be in-person, at least more than we thought we might. We have come to appreciate the everyday things that we have taken for granted. A handshake, a hug, a meeting in a crowded room. There is a real need to be in-person. I think we acknowledge that there is more to be gained from a meeting with eight people in a room than eight people on Zoom.

We have learned resilience

We have tested our ability to work together under extraordinary circumstances and not only survive but thrive.

There is an old adage; what doesn’t break us makes us stronger. Innovators are resilient, embrace change, and get in front of challenges. One of Austin’s Core Values is innovation.  Our Core Values developed organically. We named people who embody what Austin is and then described them. When we consolidated all of the descriptors, innovation was one of the most frequently used.

We often think of innovation in terms of technology. But many people innovate their processes, ways of thinking, and approach to problem-solving. How do you organize tasks on a construction project to maximize social distancing practices? How do you schedule office work to minimize in-person contact and still maintain productivity and efficiency? How do you develop relationships based on trust in a virtual setting? To innovate, you have to believe that there is a better way and dare to embrace the changes necessary.  Our founder, Samuel Austin, and his son Wilbert believed there was a better way of delivering projects for clients and innovated The Austin Method circa 1904.  Their passion for serving our clients in a better way than the status quo drove them to innovate.

A crisis also drives innovation. In a global pandemic, traditional priorities and conventions get challenged. Conventional thinking said we would not have a vaccine for at least a couple of years. Priorities got rearranged. Typical means of development and testing were challenged and changed.

Think about that! If twelve months ago, you told someone in the pharmaceutical industry that a new injectable drug was developed, tested, and approved in about ten months, they’d say you were dreaming.  Due to innovative thinking, the dream became a reality.

We are more nimble

Communication among team members has gotten wider. Technology is allowing more people to be a part of discussions. But has the availability and convenience of technology caused communication to become shallow? Do we have fewer one-on-one, face-to-face conversations where we ask more questions, probe for more insights, and gain a greater understanding?

I believe the new normal in communications will be a hybrid. It will incorporate both broader and more in-depth discussions because we can and want to. Virtual meetings allow more people exposure to how others think. It is a fruitful platform for presenting and debating ideas. Let’s challenge ourselves to have meaningful dialogs – to probe, discuss, and understand because we now know what it’s like when we cannot do that.

The pandemic has made us more skillful at scheduling and planning. Our resources and teams working in the same space had to shrink. We figured out how to do it and thrive. Let’s remember what we did and how we came up with those solutions and take this thinking with us into 2021 and beyond.

Supply chains got disrupted, but we figured it out in partnership with all stakeholders. Let’s build on that and look at obstacles as an opportunity to grow and become better.

In this 2020 journey we have all been on, we discovered we could do more. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla discussed Pfizer’s leadership through the vaccine’s development. “I’m a true believer that people, they don’t really know their limits. And usually, they have the tendency to underestimate what they can produce.”

We can do more

Perhaps that is the most important lesson we can take from 2020. That we can do more. Let’s not hesitate to dream of what we might be able to do. Let’s take stock of our conventions and priorities and be more willing to make changes.

Let’s continue to dream, believe, and innovate. And remember that it was a crisis that taught us a new normal – a better normal.

What a blessing it was today to join some of my teammates in the delivery of food, products, and gifts to veterans and their families in need. With so many veterans in need during these trying times, it means so much to our team to be able to give back.

One of the blessings we have at Austin is that we get to design and build the industrial landscape that helps society function. The work we do for manufacturers across North America directly impacts our everyday lives. Nearly any grocery aisle we walk down contains products produced or processed in a facility Austin built. We take comfort in knowing that the planes and cars we travel in this holiday season were manufactured in whole or part (i.e.. tier one and two type suppliers) in factories designed and constructed by Austin. When we purchase medicine at the drug store or receive that critical COVID vaccine, we take pride in the small part we had in developing the manufacturing infrastructure needed to deliver these products.

For several years, we have sent out holiday baskets that included a few of our “favorite things.” From sweet treats, to home and personal care goods, to medicine, to toy cars and planes, these gift baskets were brimming with our client’s products (or representations of our client’s products – as it’s kind of hard and expensive to put a vehicle into a gift basket – hence the toy cars and planes). Products we were happy to be a small part of bringing to the world by designing and building the factories that produce them. Assembled with care, each basket was created with the recipient in mind filled with brands we all know and love.

With so many folks working remotely and such a tremendous need in our communities, we decided to expand our normal giving this year by partnering with Northeast Ohio Foundation for Patriotism (NEOPAT).  NEOPAT is a great organization that works to meet local military and veteran families’ needs.

Working with NEOPAT we fulfilled veteran families’ Christmas lists and stocked NEOPAT’s food pantry. Austin was able to support the Christmas lists of three veteran families with children’s needs, two of them currently without a permanent home. Also, in the spirit of our “favorite things” tradition and to honor our clients, we supplied NEOPAT’s pantry with items produced in facilities designed or built by Austin.

Austin’s connection to veterans, the American military mission, and the American cause in general, runs deep and spans nearly 142-years. Our relationship with the defense industry includes defense equipment manufacturing plants from WWI through today’s high-tech defense facilities. We have had a part to play in building manufacturing plants for companies who support the military, such as the food and beverage and consumer products factories. And for many years we seek to hire veterans – helping them transition from “helmets to hardhats.”

As Americans and American businesses, we operate under a blanket of freedom and protection. This comfort is provided by those who have served and those who continue to serve our country. We make these donations in a spirit of gratitude for our veterans’ sacrifices.

Thank you to all our teammates, customers, partners in business, friends, and communities for helping to position us in a way that we can support the communities we work in. These donations (and so many more throughout the year and North America) are made thanks to you and in your honor.

Special thanks to all the Austinites who helped coordinate this, and to those that helped make the deliveries including – Mike Pierce (President), Jamie Hullman (VP of Finance, USMC veteran), Nicole Rosario (Special Projects Manager), Megan Bishop (Executive Assistant and Legal Coordinator), and Tremaine Thompson (Construction Field Engineer, US Army veteran).

Austin Consulting, the site selection and consulting arm of The Austin Company, continues to expand with two new strategic hires.

About Austin Consulting

Austin Consulting, the site selection and consulting arm of The Austin Company, provides a value-add dimension to the design-build industry. Austin Consulting offers both independent and integrated services focused on the value of identifying the optimal locations for new plants and facilities, completing more than 1,750 studies for clients throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.

The Austin Company was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1878. Its headquarters remain in Cleveland, with regional offices in Atlanta, Georgia; Irvine, California; Kalamazoo, Michigan; Mexico City, Mexico, and San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Learn more at www.theaustin.com.

The International Listening Association estimates that the human brain listens at a rate of 125 to 250 words per minute, but the brain processes at 1,000 to 3,000 words per minute.

Think about that. You are on the mental input highway, and listening is going 25 mph in a 200 mph processing zone! To be an intentional listener, you have to slow your mind down to 25mph to accept all that is communicated.

Competing priorities and distractions make it hard to commit to fully listening and focused engagement. Remote working doesn’t help. While the advent of Teams and Zoom make video conferencing much more accessible, I find these calls to be mostly transactional. There is little chance to key into the non-verbal communication clues you get when meeting in person. A critical non-verbal communication element is eye-to-eye contact. That doesn’t happen with video conferencing. Some researchers say that non-verbal communication accounts for about two-thirds of all communications.

As one senior architect said, “if I am redlining drawings with my team at a table together, I can sense if they understand the nuances of why the design doesn’t work. That doesn’t happen as easily if we are on a video call with four or five of us on the screen.” And the social conversations that happen before and after an in-person meeting do not occur as readily.

How many times have you gotten an email that you interpreted negatively, but when you talked to the sender, the negativism was lessened or mitigated? Just the effort of verbal communications, especially in-person communications, lets the person know you respect them and commit your time and focus to hearing their issues. There is so much more to listening than merely hearing the words. It is about seeking to understand and process what is said and why.

And when we do, the interactions we have with people are much richer and deeper.

I know that my wife is one person I listen to most intently (and she knows when I am not!) I am easily motivated to listen to her because I am invested in her. What she says is important to me, and I place a priority on fully understanding what her thoughts are. For example, our family’s absolute house rule is we eat together as much as we can, and when we do, there is no TV. It is time to talk and learn from each other.

And that is a crucial point to consider. There is so much competition in our daily environment for our attention and focus. To listen with the necessary focus and purpose, there is a lot of noise that needs to be filtered out or turned off. Much is lost when we are not listening intently (i.e., with intention and purpose). As Stephen Covey observed, most people listen not with the intent to understand but to reply.

Purposeful, intentional listening requires full commitment and engagement. I recently read a book called the Trillion Dollar Coach about Bill Campbell, who became a very close advisor to many of the tech world’s biggest names at Google, Apple, SAP, and more. Campbell excelled at strategy and business, but there are countless executives out there that do as well. What made him different? The authors noted that trust is essential in business relationships along with other factors, but for Campbell, “trust was always first and foremost, it was his superpower.” He did this through purposeful listening, undistracted, and fully committed to the time spent with someone. He earned the trust and admiration of everyone with whom he engaged. He genuinely cared. He prioritized them, and they knew it.

Indeed, it is easier to listen intently to the people you care about the most, such as spouses, family members, BFFs, etc. To create those relationships that drive a successful business, you must be intentional in listening to teammates at work just as we do with loved ones at home.

The importance of intentional listening is critical to successful business relationships, as Bill Campbell demonstrated. This intentionality is fundamental to my opening question: Is listening a lost art? Listening with intention speaks to establishing priorities, staying focused, and being committed.

Prioritization. Is the time we are spending in a conversation a priority for both parties? Often not, but that comes with significant consequences at times. The often-cited statistics that employees leave a company not for money but because of their boss, saying, “He won’t listen to me.” The boss may be distracted and not fully engaged. It is not a priority for him at that time. However, when the resignation letter hits his desk, it indeed becomes a priority.

I know when I am on a video call, I typically have two monitors open. The meeting is on one side, but what is on the other monitor? When it is Outlook, I find that a big distraction. I have recently gotten into the habit that if I do not need the other monitor for the call’s purpose, I turn it off. Doing so is a conscious action to prioritize my commitment to the person I’m communicating with, and an added benefit is that my recollection of the discussion improves.

Focus takes energy. Whether it is driven by adrenaline or a mental decision to concentrate on the task at hand, focus requires energy. The execution of every task can benefit from the added focus. If the speaker sees you focused, they will appreciate that you care enough and are interested enough to listen to and consider what they have to say. It shows respect.

Commitment. It is easier to listen intently to someone we care about because we have an emotional connection that comes with caring for the person. Because you care, you are naturally motivated to understand their perspective, rather than what your reply might be. Organizations whose employees are committed to one another indeed care about one another as well. As a result, those organizations tend to be healthier and more successful.

So to my original question, in today’s society, we have so many things competing for our attention, how often are we listening? A work colleague once commented that today, “common sense is in such short supply it could be considered a secret weapon.”

So too, could this be said about intentional and focused listening.

As we dive headlong into the “new normal,” let’s make sure that normal includes enough time, opportunity, and awareness to listen. Let’s make it our superpower. It’s that important.

RELATED THOUGHTS

Campbell was said to practice “Free Form Listening.” The authors define it as “Listen to people with your full and undivided attention. Don’t think ahead to what you’re going to say next and ask questions to get to the real answer.”