Insights on the industry: three industry leaders present their viewpoints on several of the significant and complex challenges facing today's masonry contractor - management - Donald C. Grant, Tim McGourty, Charles W. Seedorff

Masonry Construction, July, 2002 by Diana Granitto

Mickey Mantle will always be revered as a hero who broke new ground along with old records. He was, perhaps, the best a baseball player could be in his day.

But today's game is more sophisticated and demands the skills of a Mark McGwire, said Donald C. Grant, chairman of Grant Masonry Contracting Co., St. Louis. Grant likens the masonry industry to the baseball field.

"The average modern-day contractor is so much more qualified than 40 years ago," stated Grant. "He is more educated and better trained across all disciplines. He has to be a businessman first."

Contractors have evolved along with the industry, which is becoming ever more complex. Before they step up to the plate, today's contractors must be equipped with the knowledge to use computers to their advantage, understand competitive new materials, promote the benefits of masonry, handle the risk inherent in stringent contract clauses, respond to tightening government regulations, and harness the capabilities of increasingly hightech equipment.

Labor shortage

One of the biggest challenges, however, is a continuing workforce shortage, despite the soft economy. "In construction, the next generation of young people is harder to find because becoming a tradesperson is not promoted in society or in families," observed Tim McGourty, owner and president of TMC Inc., Boise, Idaho. "Even in our company, where the workforce is relatively young with a median age in the mid 30s, we still worry about where the next group of apprentices will come from.

"We as an industry need to promote the opportunities at the high school level," he commented. "I would hope that as bricklayers demonstrate the ability to make a comfortable living, people will look harder at what the masonry industry has to offer."

Concern about labor shortages prompted Seedorff Masonry Inc., Strawberry Point, Iowa, to launch its in-house apprentice training program to develop employee skills (see the "Continuing Education" sidebar). "With today's condensed building schedules, we need to be able to build instantly," commented CEO Charles W. Seedorff. "We need manpower to do that."

Productivity threat

Productivity is another concern, and contractors bemoan proposed regulations that would--in the name of ergonomics--severely limit the weight a worker can lift each day. "People have laid brick and block for centuries," remarked McGourty. "And a big percentage of the lifting has already been eliminated with equipment such as tower and hydraulic scaffolding systems and auger-fed bulk mortar silos. People aren't lifting 100-pound bags of cement anymore.

"We have to find the middle ground that takes proper care of all our people without completely debilitating the industry." The regulations could send masonry costs skyrocketing, McGourty explained, driving customers to other materials.

If that scenario happens the masonry industry would lose ground that it has been regaining from competitive materials--such as tilt-up, precast, EIFS, and metal--that had made inroads in the commercial and retail sectors. "We feel that masonry is taking back some of that market share because of its durability and the richness of its appearance," said McGourty. "Retailers that went to tilt-up 10 years ago are coming back to colored masonry units. EIFS is used less because of its lower life expectancy." He credits this trend to suppliers and producers who pursue national clients and devote resources to getting masonry into job specifications.

Bright outlook

"The beauty and versatility of brick work is one of the strengths of the industry," stated Seedorff. "And it's a good investment for the money. Masonry is time-proved. Buildings 100 years old are still standing."

What about the future if today's industry is so much more complex than a generation ago? It's hard to imagine the players would need to become even more sophisticated, but that's what they said about Mickey Mantle 40 years ago.

Don Grant isn't worried. "We're passing our companies on to sons and others who are a credit to the industry. They are trustworthy, committed, and care about what they do. They have a passion for the industry."

RELATED ARTICLE: The buck stops here--Don Grant, Grant Masonry Contracting Co., St. Louis.

As far as Don Grant is concerned, the contractor must function as the "ultimate responsible party" for the masonry project. That approach means a commitment to core values: "Bid with integrity, follow the plans and specs, meet schedules, maintain a safe record, turn out a quality product, and don't cut corners," said Grant, chairman of Grant Masonry Contracting Co., St. Louis. General contractors value these practices and prefer to work with subcontractors who meet such standards, he continued.

An upstanding reputation--not the size or number of projects--is Grant's yardstick for success. "My father was very stringent about maintaining reputation," he remembered. His father, Harry E. Grant, was a card-carrying bricklayer who founded Grant Masonry in 1946. Don inherited his dad's passion for constructing buildings and after serving as a captain in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, went to work for a structural engineering firm where he did analysis and design.