Blog
Thoughts from the field
The key players at VPCS have a lot to say about the state of the industry, because we’ve been in the thick of it for years. Read current and archived posts for insights and perspectives. Subscribe to our blog.
Keeping the Beat While Juggling Multiple Projects
Even the most talented percussionists, the most eloquent string players, and brass instrumentalists with world-class cardio strength aren’t much use without a conductor. The conductor pulls those individually talented elements together to produce the symphony. That’s...
A Career Highlight: George Mark Children’s House
Last month, my (younger!) brother Mark wrote a piece for the VPCS blog reflecting on his first 40 years in the construction industry. It’s hard to believe that we’ve both been in this business for as long as we have. I suppose one of the reasons the time has flown is...
A Polaroid Guy in a Hashtag World
I started my career in construction on June 16, 1979 at 7:00 a.m. (The photo above was taken that very week.) Since then, I’ve collected paychecks from two companies: Lathrop Construction Associates and Van Pelt Construction Services, the latter of which I co-founded...
Keeping the Community in the Loop
There are always two very important relationships that we honor and nurture when VPCS works on school projects. The first is the one between us and our client, the school district. And the second is the one between the district and the taxpayers, who are basically our...
Connecting with Clients from the Home Office: A Conversation with Corinne Figueira
If you’re a VPCS client, you may have chatted by phone or exchanged emails with Corinne Figueira. She’s one of the reasons our home office hums along so efficiently. She manages multiple responsibilities and attends to countless details, always making her juggling act...
Season’s greetings from VPCS!
Van Pelt Construction Services is a family-run business that has always thought of clients and colleagues as members of our extended clan. During this time of year especially, we offer our warmest wishes to every branch of the VPCS family. May your hearth be warm...
An Attitude of Gratitude
Stop. Reflect. Give thanks. These are always important practices, but are especially relevant this time of year. Here are a few reasons I feel thankful these days: During the recession, my brother Mike and I suffered through more than a few sleepless nights as we...
Thoughts on the Growth of Green
Sustainable design and construction practices are becoming more widespread. Architects, engineers and builders are adapting to and embracing green approaches across all market segments. Building standards and codes are also changing to accommodate sustainability. We...
Wrapping Up the Not-So-Lazy Days of Summer
We’ve reached the end of summer – that warm, relaxing season when students and teachers take some well-deserved time off. But for those of us in K-12 school construction, summertime is anything but slow-paced. As soon as that final bell rings on the last day of...
Winning Wine Country Work
The headline news around here is that VPCS was recently awarded both the program and the construction management assignments for the entire Napa Valley Unified School District (NVUSD) $269 million Measure H bond. We’ll be supporting the efforts of a talented team of...
A Fresh Perspective: Chatting with Assistant Construction Manager Brian Cameron
It’s been three years since Brian Cameron joined us as an assistant construction manager. When he first donned his Van Pelt Construction Services hard hat, he was fresh out of college with the limited amount of work experience that’s typical of a 24-year-old. But we...
Construction Industry Cost Escalation: Riding the Price Wave
We are in the midst of a classic good-news-bad-news situation. Yes, the economy has largely recovered from the Great Recession, but the rebound has bumped up prices across all market segments. Construction is feeling the pinch as tightly as any industry....
A Firm Grasp: A Conversation with Operations Manager Christine Diamond
It’s no exaggeration to say that Operations Manager Christine Diamond keeps us all connected here at VPCS. While most of us are out in the field each day, Christine is holding down the fort in Fairfield (in our great new expanded office space). Christine does...
In the Zone
Let me introduce myself: I’m the new guy. Not just around VPCS, but around the construction industry. Until recently, I was one of those annoying Silicon Valley creatures who’d spent the entirety of his career in technology corporations. In the Valley, I was the go-to...
Changes in the Right Direction: The Slow but Steady Rise of Women in Construction Management
I’ve been thinking a lot about change – both in our firm and in our industry. Around here, we’ll soon be saying goodbye to our longest-serving employee, Pete Norgaard, who is gearing up for retirement. Pete joined Van Pelt Construction Services way back in 1999 and...
Happy holidays from VPCS!
The Van Pelt Construction Services family extends its warmest wishes to our clients, colleagues, partners and friends during this holiday season. We are grateful for the many ways in which you enrich our professional lives and we look forward to building with you to...
Notes of Gratitude
It’s that time of year again when people take a moment to reflect, express appreciation and give good old-fashioned thanks. Here at VPCS, we have a lot to be thankful for – individually and as an organization. In the spirit of the season, we asked our team to share a...
Building Connections with Clients: The Business Case for Camaraderie
We’ve all heard the adage that you shouldn’t mix business with pleasure. This is certainly solid advice in certain contexts. But I believe there’s great value in building professionally appropriate personal relationships with clients. It’s the kind of intangible that...
From the Job Trailer to the Patient Room: Looking at Hospital Projects from Every Angle
Precision is always important in the construction business, but those of us who work on hospital projects understand the critical nature of what we do. In the healthcare segment, doing our job well can literally be a matter of life and death. We know this, we abide by...
Tech and Dirt: Modern Construction Needs Both
On a recent visit to one of our job sites, I noticed something that struck me as pretty profound. We were getting ready to pour concrete for a large foundation on a sizeable project that had been designed and planned – and was being built – with the help of very...
Scaling Up: The Growth of Our PM Work
When my brother, Mike, and I opened VPCS in 1996 and printed our first-ever capabilities brochure, we promoted ourselves as “experienced construction and project managers.” Back then, that was an apt and accurate way to describe us. But in the 21 years since, we’ve...
One Trip Around the Sun
As of this writing, I’ve been a member of Team Van Pelt for just over a year. And what a difference a year can make. I was brought onboard last April when Mark and Mike Van Pelt asked me to help with what was then a single assignment: to oversee the installation of...
A Feminine Touch
If I were the protagonist in an afterschool special, my story would begin with the hopes and dreams of a young girl who wanted all her life to work in the construction business. She fought hard and battled bullies until she finally landed her dream career that would...
New Perspectives, Hard-Earned
I recently returned to VPCS after taking a medical leave. Being sidelined by a long illness is nothing I ever planned. (I don’t think anyone “plans” a long illness.) But when it comes, it comes like a sleeper wave. Still, at the risk of sounding clichéd, the...