Turning the Page:
Insights from Year-End In-House Survey
Flexibility and Collaboration lead findings of “What Worked” in 2020
Looking Back. Leaning Forward.
In a recent in-house survey we asked our team to help us turn the page into a much-anticipated new year.
This time of year, the internet and our inboxes are always full of articles and stories attempting to unpack the events of the previous 12 months. Given the extraordinary challenges of 2020, we believe it’s especially important this year to take a look at the strategies, solutions, and technologies that made a positive impact in the face of a global pandemic.
The fact is, decisionmakers are searching for practical insights from our various pandemic responses, and begin setting expectations for 2021.
At SilMan, we decided to enter the conversation from the point of view of our own teammates who are in front of clients and on project sites on a daily basis.
To create this data, we conducted an in-house poll with two questions:
- “What worked in 2020?”
- “What is your advice for 2021?”
We have made every effort to avoid overly summarized remarks by providing the voices of individual team members throughout the article.
[Photos: the images in this article feature SilMan team members during a recent virtual team meeting.]
Part 1: What worked in 2020?
1. Pandemic Response
Having in-house risk management resources to create and propagate guidelines was the key element for our team’s confidence and achievement.
Scott Harding, who leads the safety team said, “the protocols supported the continuation of our operations while protecting our team, and clients who kept this nation running. The guidelines were accepted and appreciated by clients all over the country.”
Senior project manager Jeff Piazza adds, “with my teams working in essential service manufacturing sectors, it was imperative that we deliver value as promised to these critical companies. Thanks to the proactivity of our HR and Safety teams, we were able to maintain production schedules, even with added protocols in place.”
2. Hire Smart
Understanding our team culture and recruiting for “fit” not only secures one position but also breeds confidence and resilience for the whole team when the going gets tough. In 2020, a company really finds out what kind of people they’ve hired!
Even with guidelines and best practices in place, situations still arose that brought uncertainty to our team members. For example, our team implementing a conveyor system for a meatpacking facility. Access to the facility changed from week to week, causing extra travel and increased health concerns.
We see in our findings that individuals who instinctually go “above and beyond” not only get the job done, they inspire their teammates. For example, these comments from Garrett King (engineering) and Dena Gann (safety management):
“Knowing the sacrifices that were made throughout the project makes me proud to be part of the team. – Garrett
“I was totally blown away at how our entire team came together to do this.” – Dena
We also saw the value of team members that dive into every project as an opportunity to learn from team members, clients, and suppliers.
Tommy Ethridge, who leads our Southeastern team, noted that this characteristic directly affects our ability to serve our customers, commenting that “we are blessed with a team of learners. This capacity has enabled us to have a constantly expanding pool of internal knowledge. In turn, when our clients were presented with challenges related to the virus, we were equipped to quickly respond with complex, high-tech solutions to keep their operations safe and productive.”
3. Communication and Flexibility
Commitment to communication skills and technologies always matter. In 2020, having established tools and best practices in place was a game-changer, helping our teams to collaborate and execute in a variety of unforeseen ways.
At SilMan, specific tools such as Procore and daily work reports are staples to keep clients and team members in the loop. And of course, we continue to place great emphasis on email and plain old-fashioned telephone calls in daily operations.
Communication in Project Execution
Our team members cited vibrant customer engagement as being directly related to our systems and habits of regular messaging regarding status.
In fact, Rob Hernandez, who works in project management, called SilMan’s communication with clients his “greatest asset.” It decreased unscheduled calls from the client, helping him to stay focused on the most pressing items throughout the day: “There was no need for the client to call or email, they always knew the status of the project and location of equipment.”
Furthermore, as engineer Eric Bickford points out, “in the end, working together to adjust schedules and timelines based on ever-changing health guidelines and protocols built a stronger relationship with the client.”
Communication as the Foundation of Project Management
In two specific instances, creating broad-based communication channels inside SilMan and with clients early in the process secured outstanding design and implementation results, despite Coronavirus-related disruptions to schedules.
David Birmingham was a lead engineer on a meat-packing plant conveyor system project. He reflected on the completed project and said, “This new system was literally designed by the collaboration of the client’s corporate office, the local facility leadership, and multiple people within the SilMan team.”
Similarly, an automated pack-out project for an online apparel retailer enjoyed high levels of buy-in on the client-side during the design process. Engineer Harrison Rupp noted that “the close collaboration with the client provided me with previously unseen insights into their process, which allowed our team to bring new tools to maximize the value of their new system.”
Transparency also opens the door to opportunity: both of these companies have contracted SilMan for additional projects in 2021.
4. Technology and Operations
At SilMan, we were lucky to have begun implementing new cloud-based accounting (Sage) and project management (Procore) systems in 2019. In fact, we announced the final implementation of the newly integrated platforms in a press release in February 2020!
With these tools in place, we have seen the power of technology to overcome unexpected challenges firsthand.
SilMan’s accounting team is headed by Abhinesh (“AJ”) Jit. He commented that “with this software integration, our data is now available for all team members in real-time, which was a critical aspect of dealing with shortened and disrupted project schedules in 2020.”
Similarly, project coordinator Maria Salazar, reported that “Procore not only improves our efficiency internally but supports the client. For instance, the Procore drawing tool makes it much easier for the team to get clarification from the client on site-specific information, especially when we cannot meet in person.”
Mike Watchers, one of our safety professionals, eloquently put it this way: “Flexibility & Adaptiveness have been invaluable in addressing an ever-evolving hemisphere of regulatory guidelines.”
5. Build the Team
In 2019, SilMan initiated monthly team meetings on the Go-To-Meeting platform to help unify the team, which is spread out over three regional offices and team members working from home.
Having this technology and routine in place proved to be a priceless investment in 2020.
“Monthly meetings became weekly meetings in March 2020. It was an empowering experience to connect with the whole team, scattered over multiple states, receiving transparent, up-to-date status from leadership and reports from the field,” said Steve Emahiser, who is involved with marketing and communications.
These crucial meetings built confidence by allowing key team members to demonstrate their awareness of the circumstances and articulate a clear path forward.
2020 Case Study: Putting it all together
One project in particular is mentioned in our in-house survey by team members in every department.
This project, ongoing at the time of writing this article, is a line-modification solution implemented at multiple sites for a leading e-commerce and logistics company. It will take our team to over 70 locations.
In light of its technical, logistical, and geographic breadth, this undertaking provides an example of how these elements – CV19 guidelines, communication, operations, technology, and personal commitment – all contributed to SilMan successfully navigating the unique challenges of 2020.
The scope of work includes:
- program management
- collaboration with suppliers
- staging and shipping
- custom engineering
- travel itineraries
- identifying and onboarding local tradespersons
and of course, safety and COVID-19 guidelines for multiple states and municipalities.
In their comments, the team refers to a variety of internal strategies needed to produce a satisfactory outcome:
Internal Organization
Team responses regarding the value of our corporate structure are unanimous: internal structure and company culture matter.
In the language of organizational theory, SilMan has a “Flat” hierarchy. Everyone answers to everyone.
This practiced history of interaction across departments and disciplines has allowed SilMan to not only be flexible but to scale our operation to national programs.
And in 2020, to accommodate a pandemic.
John Burns, who plays a key leadership role in the project, offered a reflection that likely encapsulates the team’s feelings: “We were forced to reconsider our approach and how we would execute the project. It has created an eye-opening experience about our team’s responsiveness, and is making us all look at opportunities in a different light.”
Client Communication
Thanks to the tireless efforts of team members, emboldened by the circumstances and empowered by technology, the project is ahead of schedule. In fact, on a date that the client estimated 17 sites would be complete, 34 were online.
Senior team member Tom Mangin quipped that “our one-hour weekly status meetings have become a 10-minute check-in. Regular communication breeds confidence and in this case adds an hour of productive work to the whole team’s schedule!”
Team Orientation
The team has overwhelmingly called out “Collaboration” and “Teamwork” as the basis of the team’s achievement during this project.
And this is not an accident. Senior leadership long ago committed themselves to bring this vision to the team at every opportunity.
Engineer Ian Fulton referred to this give-and-take among teams saying, “all of our offices stepped up to work in a coordinated effort, and adapted to divisions of tasks into new subgroups of team members.”
In-House Survey: The Last Word
Meeting the complexities and challenges of the year at SilMan is best summarized by senior team member Rick Silva:
“I attribute our successes in 2020 to the flexibility and cooperative efforts of our clients and team members. Together we implemented nationwide rollouts for our e-commerce customers, kept meat packaging and dairy plants supplying the nation with critical resources, and supported our local hospitals to make sure they had adequate testing facilities, all while keeping our own team safe from this virus.”
Or as Krista Maldonado-Baez put it: “We are a chameleon, adapting to any scenario that comes our way.”
Part 2: If you were a featured speaker, what advice would you offer for 2021?
Our in-house survey also asked team members to offer advice for the coming year.
Here are the team’s tips for 2021, without comment, alphabetically ordered by first names.
Abhinesh Jit (“AJ”)
We all are different and bring different skills to the table. Do what you are good at, don’t change who you are. When we combine our skills, we move forward together.
It is the diversity of the skills that will make us all successful.
David Birmingham:
If you don’t know…… ask. Never assume.
And always find a way to help or to add value.
Eric Bickford:
Be flexible. While the schedule should dictate the project timeline and goals, with what we have seen this year it’s important to be flexible when the schedule needs to deviate due to uncontrolled circumstances. This doesn’t mean you can’t push back, but there should be a give and take.
Garrett King:
Be hands-on – “Genchi Genbutsu” – “go and see.” Understand what it takes to make something work and how something very minute can have an effect on the entire system.
I encourage everyone to learn as much as they can as they are exposed to new systems and technologies. You never know when you will get a chance to apply your knowledge to a different component or system that may not even be related.
Harrison Rupp:
Be flexible. Be understanding that the people you interact with may be facing unseen challenges that can affect them personally and professionally. Whenever we can be accommodating without impacting the bottom line, say yes.
Krista Baez-Maldonado:
Always work on building trust with your team. No one will have your back in a crunch better than they will!
Ian Fulton:
Focus on addressing the customer’s problems as aggressively and visibly as possible. You want them to be thinking about how much more responsive you are than your competition.
Jeff Piazza:
Work to be more transparent and vulnerable with our partners in hopes to grow the relationships.
John Burns:
Do you want to make the biggest possible impact on clients in 2021? Consider these five things:
- Safety: protect your team and your client
- Flexibility: adjust to the circumstances
- Vision: understanding the client’s situation and objectives
- Team: band together with a single message and approach
- Value: stay focused on the goals of you and your client
Maria Salazar:
Even though processes might be inconvenient sometimes, it makes a world of a difference if followed correctly. I see processes as puzzle pieces, and in order to complete the puzzle, you must have all the pieces.
The pre-planning phase of your project is as important as the actual construction, it allows the team to have all the tools needed to succeed.
Mike Watchers:
The importance of training and record-keeping, highlighting holes found in pre-existing programs, and the execution techniques used to efficiently close said holes.
Rick Silva:
Don’t focus on the problem, but look for the opportunity that the problem may be presenting.
Rob Hernandez:
My advice to others would be to continue to communicate with the client even though you may not get a reply. This keeps the entire project team at ease and may lead to other opportunities down the road.
Scott Harding:
COVID-19 exposure is just one additional hazard affecting our daily work. Like many other newly introduced safety procedures, i.e. wearing gloves and safety glasses, it is a new habit we must learn to embrace and deal with every day. Like it or not, it won’t go away anytime soon.
About SilMan
SilMan Industries (previously SilMan Construction) is based in San Leandro, California.
Founded in 2008, the firm operates nationwide in three divisions – Construction, Material Handling, and Site Services – and partners with “best in class” companies in the Industrial, Manufacturing, Distribution, and Public Works sectors.
For more information, please visit www.silmanindustries.com/about.
