Anyone who has been in construction knows that it can be a stressful occupation. For many people, that means long hours and time away from home – two ingredients that, by default, can lead to high turnover. Great companies support their team members so that they have satisfying careers and personal lives. This ultimately leads to better productivity, because employees with a good work-life balance stay longer and are healthier and happier.

That’s an altruistic goal, and one that takes effort and dedication to achieve. At Mortenson, helping employees have well-rounded lives is an extremely important part of our culture, and that’s by design.

So, how have we put that into practice?

To start with, at every morning meeting, we begin with a safety moment, which is a fundamental example of caring for others. Then, at every afternoon meeting we start with a culture moment. This is when we talk about more than just the projects on our docket – we encourage employees to share those things that make the workplace enjoyable.

“Mortenson wants you to succeed every day,” assistant project manager Alex Radcliffe says. “They want you to be the best version of yourself, both on the job and off.”

To do this, we must understand the perspectives of our team members and what drives them personally and professionally. We coach them that what they produce is paramount, and not the number of hours they spend getting there. We tell them that if they can find more efficient ways to achieve high-quality output, more power to them.

Jason Haden, an MEP executive, puts it this way: “We build great buildings, but we also build great people.”

For us, personal time is critical to this effort. So, we provide competitive PTO benefits and encourage team members to use it when they need it, whether planned or unplanned. We have what I like to call the three degrees of personal time.

To start with, we know that life happens, and sometimes team members just need a couple of hours or a day to take care of personal matters. We totally support that.

Then there are those times when employees need a few days or even a week off. That’s what we call our “family first” guiding principle. We know that giving team members the time and space they need to be with loved ones helps them be fully present when they’re at work.

Finally, some of us need to unplug and go completely off the grid. And regardless of the reasons, after five years with the company, our team members are encouraged to take a sabbatical that can be up to eight weeks long. I will be taking advantage of this benefit myself starting later this month.

While caring for our people is part of our culture, there are solid business reasons for doing what we do. As I watched cyclists power up hills last summer during the Tour de France, it struck me that the world-famous race is something akin to a career.

For instance, one of the key elements in that race is that you never really get ahead when you’re going downhill. It may look like you’re moving fast, but you’re not gaining ground on those ahead of you.

Similarly, when we coast during our career, we’re moving at the same rate as others. We don’t really make meaningful progress and we don’t overcome the competition. While watching the Tour, it also became clear that racers make their real moves during the steep, hilly portions of the course.

It’s the same during your career; it’s how you tackle the tougher and more challenging hills in our work, and life, that sets up a path to success.

Along with our employee assistance program and a mental health program, Mortenson provides professional mentorships, and customized leadership development and coaching. One of our most effective programs – unique to Mortenson – is called LeadBLU. Its foundation is being aware of who we are and how we treat each other. It’s understanding that leadership isn’t something that happens to us; instead, it happens within us, both as people and as a company. While seemingly a basic idea, it’s become an umbrella under which all our leadership development programs operate.

These formal pathways have, in turn, allowed us to develop a highly effective informal support network of internal friendships in which team members show up for each other– whether it’s a volunteer opportunity, an impromptu shuffleboard competition at the office or a planned team outing. Our teams show up every day and do the hard work, but they also find time to have fun.

“I think that Mortenson does a great job of making it feel like one company,” says estimator Nora Schneider. “They make everyone feel connected, even though we’re all working on massively different projects.”

On that last note, we also offer our team members a broad diversity in the type of work they can do. There are opportunities to work on different project types, in different roles, live in different geographies, and work in different aspects of the industry.

They can choose to work on solar or wind projects, sports arenas, hotels, office buildings, or education facilities. And they can work in the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest, or in the Southeast or Southwest regions. Someone working as a project manager on a hotel today may wish to move into another role in a different market sector and geographic region for their next project. And we make it happen for them.

At Mortenson, it’s true that we build cool stuff. But to do that, we must build a great team first. That’s a focus we share within our company, every single day.

Dan Mehls is the vice president and general manager of Mortenson’s Portland office. He will be on sabbatical from Jan. 10 through March 12. During his absence, contact Mortenson at 971-202-4100.

The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed in the preceding commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Daily Journal of Commerce or its editors. Neither the author nor the 91��Ƶ guarantees the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein.

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Go on, admit it. One of the first things you do after finding your seat at a concert or ball game is look around and wonder how quickly you might be able to grab food and a drink. That’s if you’re not already wondering where the restrooms are. Once settled, you’ll quickly notice how comfortable you are and how well you can see the event you’ve paid good money to attend.

Then, there are the finer touches the average patron may not consider. Those are things like the flow of foot traffic, the ease of travel throughout the facility, properly placed lighting, and acoustics that are just right no matter where you’re sitting. In a well-designed facility, these details will have received plenty of attention in the design phase to ensure that everyone at the final venue has the best experience possible.

A well-designed community gathering space is more than the sum of its parts or the maximum seating capacity. It is inviting, comfortable, and easy for all patrons to navigate. Everything that goes into creating a lively and joyful space for people to congregate is now at play in a few exciting Mortenson projects.

Mortenson is currently working with the city of Hillsboro, the Hillsboro Hops minor league baseball team, SRG Partnership and Populous to design the makeover of Ron Tonkin Field – the Hops’ home. There’s a lot more to this project than just baseball. The planned renovation will not only expand facility capacity but also broaden its ability to host a wide range of events year-round. These will include concerts, food festivals, farmers’ markets and community gatherings such as the Latino Cultural Festival that was held at the stadium in June.

As design-builder, Mortenson is dedicated to assuring that the new and improved Ron Tonkin Field appeals to and is accessible to the whole community. To make that happen, Mortenson has built a significant amount of community outreach and engagement into the upcoming design process. We also have a goal of 20 percent participation by COBID (Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity)-certified small businesses in both the project’s design and construction aspects.

We also value transparency in every step of the process. Ongoing collaboration with the city of Hillsboro and the Hops will successfully keep that open line of two-way communication going with the community until the project is complete. This will help us design and build a project that truly reflects the values and diversity of the community.
Community collaboration will lend to making flexibility a hallmark of the new Ron Tonkin Field, which also must also serve as an entertainment venue, not just a stadium. Flexibility is a reflection of today’s design world and can take many different forms. In the Greater Portland

area, this ethos can already be found in several other Mortenson projects.

For example, the new Boschma Farms Advanced Manufacturing Center at Clark College in Ridgefield, Washington, is a skills training center that will be designed and built so that spaces can be configured to meet the needs of existing programs, along with future programs created in response to evolving industry trends.

Flexibility also means designing a community gathering space that can be quickly reconfigured for different types of events while also welcoming people with disabilities, different cultural backgrounds, or genders. This will include amenities such as quiet rooms, an extensive network of ADA-accessible ramps, and inclusive seating areas that do not separate people with disabilities from their family or group.

Flexibility further extends to use of the most up-to-date audio-visual technology. For the renovation of the historic Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, Mortenson coordinated installation of a state-of-the-art audio system, as well as modern acoustic materials arrayed according to the latest design principles. This brought new life and a modern feel to a classic downtown performance space that is approaching its centennial birthday.

For indoor-outdoor venues like Ron Tonkin Field, the weather is also a key consideration. In a temperate climate like Oregon’s, it is essential to keep patrons comfortable in cooler temperatures. This may include the use of open-air fire pits, portable heaters, or even built-in climate control systems. On the flip side, an effective canopy to provide shade is also essential during the warmer summer months.

No entertainment facility or community gathering space is truly complete without food service. Unlike in older facilities, where employees were an afterthought to the design process and were simply expected to cope with the space provided, an essential design-build consideration today is ensuring that the kitchens, concession stands, and other employee facilities lend to a work experience that is just as positive as the leisure experience of the patrons attending events. It’s common sense, really. If we design these aspects of the project well, venue employees will be happier, which translates into patrons having a more enjoyable experience.

Ultimately, a successful venue will be flexible, inviting, and reflective of the community. It’s not good enough to say, “If you build it, they will come.” For a true place “of dreams” we must first ask people, “What do you want in a community gathering space? If we build it this way, will you come?”

Dan Mehls is the vice president and general manager of Mortenson’s Portland office. Contact him at 971-202-4113.

The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed in the preceding commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Daily Journal of Commerce or its editors. Neither the author nor the 91��Ƶ guarantees the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein.

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A century ago, when a contractor would bid on a commercial construction project it was assumed there would be a certain number of deaths on the job – roughly one death per $1 million budgeted. The contractor would include the cost of funerals as a line item on its bid form. Throughout the 20th century, however, our industry eventually came to recognize it is simply unacceptable for workers to die or suffer an injury on the job.

By the 1990s, safety standards had improved to the point where even injuries became unacceptable. That’s when Mortenson became one of the first major contractors to adopt a zero-injury policy. Today, not only are craftspeople on Mortenson jobsites expected to feel as safe on-site as they are off-site, but the company has also evolved its practices to embrace the reality that its workers’ psychological safety is just as important as their physical safety.

From mental health awareness to diversity, equity and inclusion policies, there is now a widespread recognition that workers’ minds are just as important as their bodies and technical skills when it comes to ensuring a safe jobsite. The most recent manifestation of this approach is Mortenson’s embrace of the Associated General Contractors’ Culture of CARE on many of its jobsites. This is a pledge that elevates the significance of diversity, equity and inclusion on every jobsite. By adhering to Culture of CARE, Mortenson commits to the following principles: commit, attract, retain and empower every worker and employee.

Culture of CARE debuted for Mortenson in Portland at the Providence Health Center – Reed’s Crossing project in Hillsboro in early 2021. When we asked craftspeople how to best ensure everyone had a positive experience, we learned they wanted a project that valued equity, honesty, resilience, collaboration, positivity and open-mindedness. A large banner displaying these values was posted on-site where team members could see it each day. Mortenson college intern Viri Magana Cruz even created a monthly award based on the values on the banner. This is just one example of how Mortenson’s safety program is evolving from rewarding only numbers and stats to celebrating the people who are positively influencing the project safety culture.

Another example of how Culture of CARE manifested at the Reed’s Crossing site is when Mortenson’s trade partner, OEG, approached the team about the possibility of one of its electricians, who is also a veteran, being allowed to bring his service dog on-site so he could be a member of an active project site for the very first time. All it took was saying ‘yes’ when others had said ‘no.’ Our safety manager, Dalton Gensch, proudly notes we were the first contractor that said, “You know what? We are going to make this happen. It’s the whole purpose of Culture of CARE.”

We know that the root cause of safety incidents is workers not having their heads in the game. This drives home the significance of health company culture as a key contributor to jobsite safety, and the importance of all team members’ contributions. The diversity of our teams gives us many perspectives, and we welcome input on what we can do better.

New advances in technology have also contributed to safer jobsites, including an app that allows Mortenson team members or craftspeople on jobsites to identify and instantly report and share potential hazards in real time. Instead of waiting until the end of a shift to enter a hazard or safety report, workers can now submit input instantly. The app also identifies trends and compiles statistics and reports, and our safety director, Nick Cordell, notes that this data helps us set safety goals each week at our projects. He says, “It’s a way to positively encourage people to report and show recognition for those teams when goals are met.”

Recognizing people for what they do right – not what they do wrong – is critical. “By spending more time looking for what’s going right,” Gensch says, “it takes a person in a good direction mentally and can turn their day around.”

A holistic safety approach that emphasizes technical and physical considerations along with mental health has been instrumental to Mortenson’s zero injury commitment. All these things combine to advance the safety of our workers, from fighting against the stigma attached to mental health issues, to being an early adopter of diversity, equity and inclusion policies, to incorporating the latest technologies.

Safety is ultimately driven by a positive attitude and culture. So, ask yourself today what you can do to improve morale and boost the spirits of your team. It might prevent an injury or even save a life.

Dan Mehls is the vice president and general manager of Mortenson’s Portland office. Contact him at 971-202-4113.

The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed in the preceding commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Daily Journal of Commerce or its editors. Neither the author nor the 91��Ƶ guarantees the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the world around us. This of course includes the health care industry and its facilities. 91��Ƶ of the past two years have laid bare the need for innovative types of facilities that focus on staff and patient well-being as well as flexibility of use, and an increased need to make those facilities more available to traditionally underserved communities.

Most fundamentally, the pandemic has changed everyone’s view of health care preparedness and the need to radically increase the ability to care for high-risk, infectious patients. Starting in March 2020, it was recognized virtually overnight that the risk to health care workers, other patients and anyone interacting with hospitals and other health care facilities had increased substantially. This has led to significant changes in how those facilities are now designed and built. There is also widespread demand for an overhaul of existing facilities to deal with this new reality. This presents both a challenge and a great opportunity to those of us in the design and construction industry.

In order to better understand how COVID-19 has impacted the health care profession, Mortenson surveyed more than 100 professionals at the 2021 American Society for Health Care Engineering Planning and Design Conference. The results revealed that 97 percent of respondents confirmed the pandemic has heightened their organization’s commitment to the safety and well-being of staff. This line of thinking is now directly informing how health care facilities are designed, built and retrofitted to handle the current pandemic and future events. Providers are also rethinking approaches in all areas, including operations, planning, facilities, and patient and staff care.

At the same time, the pandemic has also accelerated important health and community trends that were already under way. Three major themes summarize those changes: flexibility, space changes, and telehealth. This was all reflected in the survey, where no fewer than 40 percent of all topics mentioned relate to flexibility in health care infrastructure. Respondents know this is urgently needed to better handle infectious diseases and other emerging threats to public health.

One important way to gain flexibility is by building in modularity to new and retrofitted facilities. Modularity has the added benefit of significant potential for cost reduction. It calls for facility rooms and components to be designed and built in a standardized manner so they can be configured and reconfigured efficiently. Nearly two-thirds of our survey respondents indicated they are considering modularity when constructing new hospital space.

“We must have the flexibility to convert a space at a moment’s notice,” one respondent commented.

Flexibility also means the need for adaptable spaces designed for social distancing and touchless use, which integrate technology enabling check-in and patient navigation processes. There is also a need for more isolation rooms, negative pressure rooms, and more single occupancy rooms, each of which can be more effectively enabled through modular design and construction.

Better protecting staff, patients and their families going forward will also mean better ventilation and air quality in buildings. It also means creating high-quality respite and wellness spaces, and better separation and physical barriers between patient rooms and other areas inside hospitals and clinics. One survey comment noted “improvements in air quality, convenient access to PPE, respite spaces for caregivers, and increased use of telehealth are needed to keep staff safe.”

Another key aspect of the survey highlights the disproportionate effect the pandemic has had on disadvantaged communities and the need to provide greater access to health care in those communities. A combined 84 percent of respondents indicated that the pandemic has “definitely” or “probably” heightened their organization’s commitment in this crucial area. Providers say this will likely be achieved through a combination of improved telehealth and extended ambulatory networks in their service areas.

What does this all mean in practice? Currently, Mortenson is taking the results of this important survey into the field for several projects in the Greater Portland area. This includes ongoing improvements being carried out at Kaiser Permanente and OHSU facilities, as well as the new Providence Health Center – Reed’s Crossing. Scheduled for completion in June, this innovative, 118,000-square-foot health center is a critical part of the Reed’s Crossing master-planned community in Hillsboro. It will include primary and urgent care for all ages, as well as mental health specialists, nutritionists, physical therapists, fitness and yoga classes, therapy, and lap pools, and more. This integrated approach to wellness aims to prevent chronic illness and ensure care access to the local community.

Flexibility is at the heart of the facility, with the active wellness center occupying 45,000 square feet over two floors integrated with 65,000 square feet of urgent care, imaging, women’s health, and dermatology. Just one example of the built-in flexibility can be found in the adaptable exam rooms within urgent care. They were designed with the ability to supply negative air pressure capability to isolate patients with infectious diseases should the need arise.

Providence Health Center – Reed’s Crossing also includes a large collaborative workspace for health care staff, and improved respite spaces along exterior walls and other purpose-built respite amenities. Large amounts of natural light in break rooms are intended to boost mental health and improve wellness overall.

Mortenson’s work with Providence, OHSU and Kaiser Permanente is indicative of yet another survey result, which shows that most health care providers believe they will be undertaking significant investments in facilities in the coming years. Over 80 percent of our respondents said that traditional hospitals, ambulatory surgery, cancer centers, and general medical doctor’s offices will all see a new influx of investment in response to COVID-19.

“The ever-changing health care field brings with it unique demands and opportunities to maximize both active and acute care environments,” notes our health care market executive, Trent Rehfeldt. “Forward-thinking health care organizations in Oregon and Southwest Washington are adapting their built environments and approach to care in a way that puts the needs and desires of patients and staff first.”

As construction professionals, we are in the distinctive position of benefiting from lessons learned over the past two years to provide our health care clients with modern and holistic spaces that promote personal health and wellness.

Dan Mehls is the vice president and general manager of Mortenson’s Portland office. Contact him at 971-202-4113.

The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed in the preceding commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Daily Journal of Commerce or its editors. Neither the author nor the 91��Ƶ guarantees the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein.

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Diversity, equity and inclusion are vital elements in today’s workforce development in the architecture, construction and engineering industries, which have been bastions of a traditional white, male business culture. Increasingly, however, I must admire how these values have become indispensable in the industry I have committed to as my life’s work.

At Mortenson, over 41 percent of our team members are women, compared to 13 percent in the industry overall. We continue to set measurable goals that match demographics and commit to including even more women and minorities in our workforce. At project sites across the country, the proof of those benefits can be found in our people, who thrive in an environment that celebrates diversity, equity and inclusion.

In Portland, Gabi Kovac-Cowan is just one example. She journeyed out as a laborer with Local 737 as a member of our concrete crew in 2019 on the Hyatt Regency Portland at the Oregon Convention Center hotel project in Northeast Portland. She has since become a team lead and approached foreperson status. The company’s embrace of women in the trades and an overall inclusive approach is part of the key to her success, she said.

“I’ve been pushed to do my best work and have been thrown a lot of challenges to see how I would overcome them,” she said. “Best of all, I was taken seriously when I said I wanted to be a lead, and my team members have been supportive in taking the time to teach me things.”

Gabi’s dedication has been noticed. In 2020, Mortenson nominated Gabi for the Oregon Tradeswomen Inc. Women on the Rise Award, which recognizes up-and-coming Oregon and Southwest Washington women builders who are displaying leadership in the field.

“I’ve put a lot into this position,” Gabi said, “and I see a lot of opportunity for growth as I keep pushing boundaries.”

Workplace diversity does not happen by accident. It results from a focus on diversity, inclusion and equity in hiring, training and culture. That includes a willingness to cultivate talent among those merely exploring a career in the trades. For 35-year-old apprentice laborer Scott Adams, also a member of our Portland concrete team, that meant embarking on a career in the trades after trying many other job paths.

Scott is one of a growing number of African Americans in Portland working in the skilled trades. It took him what seemed like a long time last summer to get an interview with Local 737, leaving him a little uncertain of his future path. So, even when he was accepted for his initial apprentice training, he merely took time off from his job with an asphalt company with the thought of eventually returning. But that never happened.

“At the end of my training that Friday, I was asked to start working the following Monday at the Reed’s Crossing job site,” Scott said. “The skills I have already learned on the job are so beneficial for me and my life. I like working with my hands and building structures. Maybe one day I’ll be able to build a house of my own.”

Although Scott worked in construction previously, he had never before experienced inclusion in its truest form, he said.

“I feel extremely fortunate to have landed in this position,” he said. “These are good people. They care about you, ask about your weekend, ask about your family – it goes beyond what goes on at work. I feel like I won the Powerball.”

Acceptance of the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in construction has steadily advanced over the past few decades. It is now widely recognized in the industry as not only essential, but as the right thing to do. One result is that more than 1,000 contractors across the United States teamed up in November to promote the inaugural Construction Inclusion Week. This is an effort led by Time for Change, a consortium of six industry-leading general contractors that focuses on the need to cultivate a more inclusive construction industry. Mortenson is proud to be one of those six firms. Our team members are still celebrating the success of this event, which garnered national media coverage and provided a chance to share with other firms the benefits of embracing strong and genuine diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

When it comes to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in the skilled trades, we must ensure those values are more than just slogans. This starts by setting and adhering to goals that result in expanding the number of women and minority team members. It also means having zero tolerance for racial or gender-based bias on the job. Locally, this means supporting groups like Portland’s Constructing Hope, which has been providing workforce development training to lower income men and women and people of color for over 10 years now.

Diversity, equity and inclusion reflect the variety of people in society, with all their differences, including characteristics seen and unseen. If we genuinely want to attract, retain and develop the best talent for our industry and maximize the diversity of our suppliers, we must continue to ensure our industry’s culture is truly inclusive. A question to consider asking is: “What are we doing each day to continue to improve and live up to diversity, equity and inclusion values?” Those who do this with honesty and integrity are going to be the ones who follow a path to greater success in all of its meanings.

Dan Mehls is the vice president and general manager of Mortenson’s Portland office. Contact him at 971-202-4113.

The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed in the preceding commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Daily Journal of Commerce or its editors. Neither the author nor the 91��Ƶ guarantees the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein.

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What are you doing on Saturday morning? If you want to both take care of your health and look after your colleagues and loved ones, I invite you to consider participating in the . It’s easy to register online and even easier to simply get up and walk a few miles in your own neighborhood for one of the best causes imaginable – your heart.

While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to grab our attention, a disturbing health trend is happening in the construction industry when it comes to our craft workers’ personal health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly one in four construction workers suffer from cardiovascular disease. Even more troubling is that while many of us in the construction industry are keenly aware of this issue, few are doing anything to address it.

When it comes to numbers, here’s one: 211,000. That’s the number of construction workers who have been formally diagnosed with cardiovascular disease. On average, someone dies of cardiovascular disease in the United States every 36 seconds. Further, someone has a stroke somewhere in the U.S. every 40 seconds.

These conditions are often linked to hypertension, or high blood pressure. And in the U.S., 47 percent of all adults – 121 million – suffer from hypertension, according to data from 2015 through 2018. This can result from a lack of exercise, poor diet, smoking, or a combination of factors. Some people are more genetically prone to high blood pressure than others. This makes it even more important for all of us to exercise regularly, get enough sleep and follow a healthy diet.

These numbers, and their effect on the construction industry and its workforce, is what prompted the creation of a new American Heart Association program: Oregon Hard Hats with Heart. It’s an initiative I am proud to support, and I encourage other firms to get involved. Unlike the Heart Walk, which is a fundraiser, Hard Hats with Heart is an ongoing initiative that gives leaders within the construction industry the tools to focus on healthier lifestyles, getting information that already exists to the craft workers on their jobsites. So many craft workers think ‘because I’m in the trades, it doesn’t matter.’ Well, it does matter! Your health is important.

At Mortenson, we strive to support this program by making it as easy as possible for our team members to learn more about cardiac care, including high blood pressure and its causes, as well as how to take positive action to improve their overall heart health. Because of COVID-19, we know that the risks of heart disease and hypertension have only increased. With the added challenge of addressing a workforce that is spread out over multiple locations, we committed to reaching team members in more convenient ways for them. This has led to a new, digital approach that made educational information engaging and easily accessible.

The result is that Mortenson teamed up with the American Heart Association to provide virtual blood pressure and stroke awareness training during the company’s weekly all-hands safety meeting. After all, protecting our health is what safety is all about. Research has shown that around 70 percent of heart attacks occur at home, so company leadership encouraged our team members to also invite their family members and partners to join these workshops.

The 30-minute virtual training sessions cover vital topics such as “Know Your Numbers,” which provides guidance on how to accurately use a self-monitoring blood pressure cuff at home, the consequences of high blood pressure and how to recognize the warning signs and symptoms of stroke, and lifestyle changes you can make to reach your blood pressure goal.

In addition to education, we’ve actively provided resources to support team members and help them lead a heart-healthy lifestyle. We are trying to promote healthy food on the jobsite and frequently talk about it in safety meetings, new team member orientations and project meetings. We encourage our team members to use modern technology to aid their progress, including health apps such as the American Heart Association’s “My Life,” which assesses your current condition and provides tools to improve your heart health. We also encourage everyone to take the Heart Healthy Challenge, which involves tracking progress toward a more heart-healthy lifestyle by documenting meals and exercise habits.

You can help support future generations in learning about healthier lifestyles too. One of our favorite resources is the Kids Heart Challenge, which offers school-age children a fun and active way to learn about their own heart. The challenge emphasizes the importance of maintaining physical and emotional well-being while also raising money for the American Heart Association.

There’s also a similar program for middle and high school students called the American Heart Challenge. It allows students to not only improve their own health and raise funds for research and awareness, but also meet survivors of heart disease and learn how their lives were affected by the condition.

So, where will you be this Saturday? Hopefully you will join us in signing up for the Oregon & Southwest Washington Heart and Stroke Walk Digital Experience and taking at least a small step toward a better, healthier lifestyle both for yourself and for your loved ones.

Let’s turn this trend around.

Dan Mehls is the vice president and general manager of Mortenson’s Portland office. Contact him at 971-202-4113.

The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed in the preceding commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Daily Journal of Commerce or its editors. Neither the author nor the 91��Ƶ guarantees the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein.

The post OP-ED: Hard hats with heart: Take a walk and make a difference appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

For decades, the conversation about how to provide the best possible education for our children has focused on many areas: budgets, testing, teacher salaries and standards to keep American students competitive in an ever-evolving world of technology. Add to that what to do about our aging and outdated school facilities so that kids can make the most of these critical years of development. The year 2020 pushed that last point firmly to the forefront.

Even before stay-at-home orders rebooted what “school” looked like, we understood the need to make vast improvements to the buildings in which education primarily occurs. But none of us could have predicted how quickly we would need to consider overhauling or building new facilities to accommodate much more flexible and adaptable learning environments.

In listening to educators and students, we know the future of educational facilities lies in more flexible school and classroom designs where students and educators can thrive in a variety of situations.

What can we do today?

Build new or make old better? That’s an age-old question. Either way, it equates to spending money on bricks and mortar. It will take years before new concepts are designed, funded and built. Must we spend money now, particularly when school budgets are at a low point?

Mortenson recently supported Portland Public Schools by putting physical distancing protocols in place for students when they return. This included the installation of plexiglass barriers, signage separation tape and clear cleaning protocols. Establishing these types of safety precautions is a critical first step to getting kids back in school. What more can we do with the spaces we have now to prepare for tomorrow?

To further address the immediate need of providing students with the best education possible, in the safest environment possible, let’s unpack and prioritize what is needed. Obviously, we can’t just mothball every school out there and start over. It would make more sense to adapt and maximize the facilities we already have without going through wholesale renovations. We may need to break down the existing paradigms of how our facilities operate and serve our educators and students. It goes way beyond just ensuring proper physical distancing and starts to look at long-term needs. Could the answer be minor renovations with more investment in technology?

Adapt for distance when needed

Before 2020, classroom sizes of 30 kids or more were becoming the norm in many schools. Now that we are presented with physical distancing requirements, we see the need for getting creative in how we effectively accommodate potential reductions in classroom capacity moving forward.

When schools reopen, it’s anticipated there will be a natural accommodation for some students to continue to learn virtually. With a blend of home school and virtual learning, the hybrid education model will require that teachers continue to adapt their teaching style and that spaces support teachers’ needs. It could mean fewer people in classrooms and more reliance on the proper technology to straddle the two approaches of the physical classroom and virtual learning.

Maximize space

As we plan for the future, it is important to broaden our view of how school facilities are used and optimize their potential for being a central gathering place for neighborhoods. Well-planned buildings and surrounding property can support community amenities like arts and cultural programs, public health centers, local parks and recreation activities, and community and senior centers. School facilities can also be designed to serve as learning centers during the summer months, as well as food banks and meal distribution centers throughout the year.

A healthy breath of fresh air

HVAC systems in many cases will benefit from upgrades and/or higher-grade filters. Additional outside air exchangers are also important. Over the years, school windows have been restricted in how much they open, if at all, due to safety concerns. Modern design adjustments can allow schools to shift back to having operable windows providing fresh air. Such air will freely flow, and temperature and humidity control systems will monitor, balance and maintain comfortable settings. Mortenson is putting this approach to work today, having been selected to oversee renovations at the University of Oregon’s Huestis Hall in Eugene – a project initiated before the challenges of 2020.

Flexibility is the future

At Mortenson, we are helping drive a trend in which new school facilities are being built for flexibility. The solution can be found in creating environments that are equally adaptable and can serve a multitude of needs – movable walls, more fenestration (doors/windows), rooms that can serve various class types, wireless services and digital integration, and access management tools for various programs and schedules. This translates to larger spaces with fewer fixed walls, wider hallways, and classrooms with more spacing between desks. Classroom furniture will likely be designed to be more easily cleaned, as well.

We were proud to lead the design-build team for the Portland Community College Oregon Manufacturing Innovation Center, which is set to open this month. PCC serendipitously concluded partway through the design phase that it couldn’t anticipate education standards in the decades ahead, so the building design shifted to become a more adaptable space with adjustable walls and flexible mechanical and electrical equipment connection points.

There will likely be new standards in restroom and locker room design and construction, too. We’ll have more individual toilet stalls, and individual bathrooms, plus more space allocated to washing facilities. Antimicrobial surfaces may become a standard design function to keep learning environments more hygienic.

Learning for the future

The year 2020 taught us many things when it comes to the role of facilities in education. Primarily, tried-and-true building designs can be improved and reconsidered for when things don’t go as planned or as needs change. By breaking down education paradigms and understanding how to get the most use of our facilities, focusing on the needs of teachers and students, and rethinking what tomorrow’s ideal classroom looks like, we’ll be able to help teachers and administrators step into a whole new world of educating our children.

Dan Mehls is the vice president and general manager of Mortenson’s Portland office. Contact him at 971-202-4113.

The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed in the preceding commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Daily Journal of Commerce or its editors. Neither the author nor the 91��Ƶ guarantees the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein.

The post OP-ED: A lesson from 2020: the need to shift the schoolhouse paradigm appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

The centuries-old method of prefabrication, or “prefab” as it’s typically called, is experiencing dramatic growth in popularity in the construction industry. While it’s still considered secondary to more traditional methods, industry trends suggest prefab is one of the fastest-growing practices in construction today. Key reasons for this include: a labor shortage, quality control, design continuity, shorter construction schedules, and reduced environmental impact and construction waste.

Some people attest that prefab also decreases the overall cost of a structure. Given that groundwork and prefab component assembly can occur at the same time, the timeline for a project is typically much shorter. So it may be more accurate to point to gains generated by faster project completion – rather than a lower or equal price tag – allowing the owner to reap the rewards of putting the new structure to work faster than if it were built completely on the job site.

To consider the future of prefab, it is important to understand what it is and how it is integrated into a structure. Prefab describes the process of manufacturing and assembling components of a structure off-site, and then transporting and assembling it on-site. Two techniques are modularization and panelization. Modularization is the assembly of entire modules, like rooms, on-site along with other modules to create the final structure. Panelization describes the process of erecting preconstructed modular walls or ceiling sections that were assembled off site.

Health care and hospitality

Hospitals and other health care structures are ideal settings for using prefab in the construction process. While a few design variations may be used for patient rooms, a nearly universal component of patient rooms is the headwall system that abuts the patient bed. Headwall systems integrate electrical and medical gas functions that connect to cords and tubing and serve as a central place for managing patient care accessories. These headwalls all need to be the same from room to room in order for a panelized system to be very effective.

Modular bathroom pods are another prefab solution ideal for health care settings, as well as for hotels, student housing and others. These factory-made turnkey units are fully fitted and plumbed, and ready to use once installed at the job site. The assembly line production of bathroom pods, in which individual parts are installed by trade specialists in a factory setting, assures production precision and eliminates the challenge of scheduling and juggling crew members in small spaces. Modular bathrooms save time on the jobsite, reduce the need for materials delivery and save on overall materials waste.

CitizenM Hotels has taken hospitality modularization to new heights by integrating modular room pods into its building designs. In 2019, Mortenson built the first full modular hotel in North America for this Netherlands-based hotel operator in the Lake Union area of Seattle. Now our firm is building another in downtown Seattle, one in Los Angeles and one in Menlo Park, California. All guest rooms in these hotels, which are between seven and 12 stories, are modular units prefabricated off-site in a European manufacturing facility before being transported to the job sites as self-contained units very similar to shipping containers.

One of these hotel shipping containers typically includes two rooms plus the section of hallway in between. Prefabricating guest rooms in a controlled factory environment improves the quality and consistency of the build-out all the way down to the furniture & bedding, and reduces construction waste by up to 60 percent. This modular approach has also shown that the duration of construction is typically reduced by three to four months when compared to a hotel built using traditional on-site methods. The result is a reduction of pollution associated with construction and acceleration of the timeline in which the hotel can begin service.

Mechanical above ceiling rack is another prefab solution gaining popularity in all types of project settings. These racks include most of the components that are above the ceiling, like electrical conduit and wiring, duct work, sprinkler lines, light fixtures, and water piping.

Creativity and precision

While the benefits of prefabrication are very compelling, it’s also important to understand its design limitations. Prefabrication must be chosen early in the design phase, when architects and engineers are challenged to design prefabricated components down to the exact location of screws. This level of detail is accessible through Building Information Modeling (BIM), an advanced 3-D virtual modeling process. Traditional two-dimensional drawings, while lending to creativity, by comparison do not adequately support prefabrication.

Prefabrication is also best suited to projects that include repetition, but repetition doesn’t mean boring. The number of styles of panels or modular pods can vary depending upon the project. At Mortenson, we have worked with architects who consider the use of prefabrication to be a good architectural challenge to design a building that is aesthetically pleasing.

Prefab and labor

Prefab is becoming more prevalent in regions of the country that have a shortage of qualified craft workers because less on-site labor is required. It must be noted that prefab may not decrease the overall number of people working on a project. It essentially shifts jobs from construction sites to off-site manufacturing facilities with controlled environments.

Building the future

Prefab is merely touching the tip of the iceberg in the world of construction and what we can do next. At Mortenson, we are very optimistic about the future of prefabrication and committed to investing in it to the extent it benefits our customers. The residential building industry historically has shown that there is an appetite for prefabricated homes, especially when the owner can have all of the amenities and benefits of a new home, but without the added cost of customization. We believe this approach can also work for the commercial building industry, and we are optimistic about how this will play out as the art and science of construction continues to evolve.

Dan Mehls is the vice president and general manager of Mortenson’s Portland office. Contact him at 971-202-4113.

The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed in the preceding commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Daily Journal of Commerce or its editors. Neither the author nor the 91��Ƶ guarantees the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein.

The post OP-ED: Amid a convergence of factors, the future of prefab is now appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

These are challenging times. The COVID-19 pandemic has required all of us to adjust our lives and calibrate a new normal. Meanwhile, social inequities have inspired recent unrest, which Portland has helped keep in the spotlight. And wildfires have raged across the West, destroying communities, homes and livelihoods in Oregon and beyond. There is no better time than now to collectively open our eyes and bridge societal gaps in diversity, equity and inclusion.

Diversity, equity and inclusion are central to business at Mortenson. Diversity in construction has come a long way over the past few decades. It is a measurable reflection of the variety of people in society, with all their differences, including characteristics seen and unseen. Inclusion means being open to and listening to all of the people around you or your organization, and embracing a variety of ideas, voices, knowledge, backgrounds and talents.

Equity has traditionally been less understood, but current events have leveled a broader understanding societally and have prioritized equity practices within businesses like ours. Think of it this way: Two equally qualified individuals apply for a job. One has a hammer and work boots, and the other does not. Which is the better candidate? The answer: both. To embrace equity, it is our responsibility to provide people with the resources they need to be successful – or in this case, the hammer and work boots. It takes work to ensure equity. We must commit to better understanding the barriers that exist so that we can remove them and create opportunity for all.

Our industry can create more opportunities for people of color, and for individuals in unfortunate circumstances who just need a chance to prove themselves. We can, and must, emphasize diversity, equity and inclusion. It just so happens that the construction industry is poised to cultivate talent for present and future generations to help make lasting change. So, how can we help people seeking opportunity make the right connections and learn that a fulfilling and satisfying career in construction awaits? How do we provide the scaffolding that people need to enter our field?

One pathway is provided by Constructing Hope, a Portland-based nonprofit that breaks down employment barriers. According to Executive Director Pat Daniels, Constructing Hope was originally offered to formerly incarcerated people “who are typically punished for the rest of their lives, long after serving time.” Catering exclusively to the low-income population, Constructing Hope primarily serves African American, Native American and Asian American adults. The organization provides three no-cost programs that prepare people for careers in construction and related fields:

• Adult Construction Training – a 10-week construction skills and life skills pre-apprenticeship program. After a pandemic-induced hiatus, this program is back on track with the fall class set to begin in October. Classroom training will take place virtually, and work skills will be learned on actual jobsites with physical distancing measures in place.
• Career Advancement Support Services – three years of career placement in construction apprenticeships, pathway jobs that lead to apprenticeships, and other employment, along with mentorship and supportive services. Graduates secure good-paying jobs in careers that can be mastered without a college degree.
• Youth Summer Program – a five-week program for students ages 16-19 to learn the skills they need to pursue construction careers.

Constructing Hope, founded in 1995, originally was affiliated with and named after the Irvington Covenant Church on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. By 2010, the nonprofit had become established, moved to its current location at 405 N.E. Church St., and gained its apt new name. In its 25 years, Constructing Hope has guided 1,290 adults (including 66 in 2019) and 111 youths through graduation from their respective programs.

Anyone in business understands that it’s the relationships we foster that create opportunities. Constructing Hope is no different. As Pat puts it, opportunities typically come to the Constructing Hope community through the “FBI – fathers, brothers and in-laws.” Two inspiring examples of people who have developed construction careers through Constructing Hope include:

• Raleigh Morrison – After 12 years of working at Home Depot, he was ready for an opportunity that would change his life. He graduated from the Constructing Hope pre-apprenticeship training in winter 2013, joined the carpenters union, and is now a foreman with Turner Construction. Raleigh’s career pays a viable living wage and allows him to provide for his eight children. His success also inspired his two sons, Scott and Robert, to follow in his footsteps. Each went through Constructing Hope’s training program, and like their dad, are now also members of the carpenters union.
• Anthony Williams – Prior to enrolling in Constructing Hope, this single father of two was working hard. But he was frustrated with his $13.50 per hour wage, which had increased only 50 cents in three years. “Constructing Hope gave me an opportunity to actually have a chance at grasping what I’m looking for as a parent, and as an individual,” he says. “The education and certifications received gave me the foundation needed to pursue a career as a heavy machine operator. I am proud to share that I am currently employed by Clark and Sons Excavating and making $32.50/hour. That is a wage I can actually raise my family on.”

It is a point of pride at Mortenson that our team members are actively involved in community organizations. Our own Dewey Amos is a Constructing Hope board member.

“We need more diversity in our industry, and Constructing Hope is making that happen while bridging gaps in equity and inclusion,” Dewey says. “Constructing Hope is building a positive community of individuals who are thriving in construction – people who hadn’t considered our field due to a cycle of low-income barriers and closed doors they had encountered earlier in their lives. It is incredibly gratifying to help people who look like me get into construction.”

If you’re inspired to support Constructing Hope, or another organization that helps provide opportunities for people who are socioeconomically disadvantaged, consider making a donation or volunteering. Invite your friends or colleagues to participate or contribute. If you meet someone who would benefit from Constructing Hope or another organization, give the encouragement or resources he or she needs to pursue such a step.

Let’s be honest about the existing barriers and help break them down once and for all – barriers like education, training, tools, and even work boots. Let’s impress upon adults and children alike that construction is a field that anyone can pursue, regardless of the challenges they face, or have faced. As an industry, let’s do what we must to create the “we” that we want to be: diverse, equitable and inclusive.

Dan Mehls is the vice president and general manager of Mortenson’s Portland office. Contact him at 971-202-4113.

The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed in the preceding commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Daily Journal of Commerce or its editors. Neither the author nor the 91��Ƶ guarantees the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein.

The post OP-ED: Constructing Hope by removing industry employment barriers appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.

As we move through the phases to reopen our local economy, one can almost hear a collective sigh of relief for the belief that we are finally returning to business as usual. But we know that isn’t true. The nondiscriminatory COVID-19 is still out there, and it has changed how we all do business, perhaps for good. It’s changed office work, education, health care, hotel service, restaurant service, personal services, and how we shop for groceries. It’s shaken the way we work and play, and has put us in the unenviable position of having to redefine a new normal.

We’ve learned many lessons in the past few months that will help us in the future. Sheltering in place isn’t for everyone, but we know how to do it now. We’ve proven that work-life balance is possible, no matter how challenging. People who were not set up to work at home figured it out, and when they needed a break, they were able to find distractions. Working parents of school-age children performed daily juggling acts as they helped their kids navigate distance learning. We learned that we are resilient, as individuals and as a community.

We’ve also discovered the importance of meaningful daily interactions within our communities that we had previously taken for granted. Walks close to home have helped us forge deeper connections with neighbors, from six or more feet away. At the same time, we have felt the temporary loss of communities we’ve established for ourselves – neighborhood restaurants, health clubs, art events, schools, and our places of work, among them.

Evolution for a safe, healthy future

So, what now? As purveyors of the built environment, it’s on us to help prepare our communities for the next pandemic while we’re still firmly entrenched in this one. We must create a solid foundation for the new normal, and help make our response more turnkey next time and not nearly as painful. The exact path we follow is still uncertain, but ideas abound for how we move forward.

Technology will play a big part in the future with more touchless faucets, toilets, doors and windows being integrated into building designs. Even ADA buttons outside of doors will be controlled by sensors. The air we breathe in buildings will be better. Mechanical and HVAC systems will be modified to flush air quicker, and bring in fresh air more often. Looking into the future, kinetics may one day inform the development of surfaces with chemicals embedded into them – surfaces that will not allow anything to stick to them, not even water, and that will kill viruses on contact.

Contractors have all established worksite practices that adhere to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, and those won’t be going away anytime soon, if at all. OSHA will likely perform more workplace inspections – in offices, and on jobsites. Building codes likely will change, though it will take time.

Physical distancing protocols will be considered for all work and gathering places. Hotels will also adjust occupancy capacity in conference spaces, elevators and possibly on guest room floors. Restaurants will decrease capacity, spread out tables, and make a push for more outdoor seating – patrons will be willing to bundle up to dine outside, and restaurateurs will invest more heavily in outdoor heaters.

School officials have a lot to consider. One key challenge public school districts face is that too many students do not have access to technology at home, making distance learning difficult to achieve across an entire student body. But it’s technology that will ultimately save the day in the education setting. School districts are already meeting the challenge of getting laptops into the hands of every student that needs one. They might also consider alternating attendance, with half the kids going to school one week in color-coded checkerboard seating, six feet apart from one another, and the other half attending the same class via video conference. This approach will obviously require employers to provide more parental leave or the flexibility to work at home.

The health care industry will continue its evolution. Hospitals and other care centers may have permanent wings or sections built specifically for pandemics or highly contagious situations. Days for patients’ elective procedures may become limited.

“Just another day at the office” will take on a whole new meaning as employers change how interactions between employees occur. This may start with employees getting their temperatures taken on a daily basis at the front entrance to their office. Open office settings, which average around 150 square feet per employee, will accommodate fewer people. Checkerboard seating will be expected, and workstations will be sanitized at the end of every use. There may be limitations placed on how many personal items are permitted at the office, making for a more sterile environment. One-way paths in office hallways may be implemented. And cleaning crews will come in more frequently – not just in the evening, but throughout the day.

Inspiration in culture and community

A part of what makes Mortenson such a great place to work is our culture, and culture is built by spending time together and having shared experiences. We’ve thrived on video conference calls over the past few months because we have a foundation of trust and respect that can only be established in person. I have missed the communal energy of my colleagues that is most profoundly felt when the best thinkers and strategists are in the same room solving problems and working together. I’m ready to safely get back to work – together. But the rooms will need to be bigger, our conference rooms will have a reduced capacity and chairs will need to be at least six feet apart. Workstations will be spread out and colleagues will alternate days that they come into the office. We’ll be more intentional about giving our team members the room to work remotely, particularly those who are concerned about illness.

Life may never be the same, at work or at home, and that’s OK. It will be different, but we have proven that we can evolve. The way we interact within the built environment will change on every level. We can and will collectively embrace the opportunities that lie ahead for creating, living and working in a new normal. Are you ready?

Dan Mehls is the vice president and general manager of Mortenson’s Portland office. Contact him at 971-202-4113.

The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed in the preceding commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Daily Journal of Commerce or its editors. Neither the author nor the 91��Ƶ guarantees the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein.

The post OP-ED: With pandemic still in effect, it’s business as usual in our new normal appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.