Managing construction projects means tracking an enormous number of details. It also means communicating information to key audiences when those details affect them. On K-12 school sites, we share this responsibility with districts, site staff and other local entities. Still, in spite of our collective best efforts, information sometimes gets misinterpreted. One of our most important jobs is minimizing the spread of misinformation and, if rumors do start to circulate, making sure people get the facts as quickly as possible.
VPCS Project Manager Prachi Amin has seen this kind of thing from different angles throughout her career. Before she began her current assignment of overseeing projects at numerous schools in the Davis Joint Unified School District (DJUSD), Prachi worked as a facilities director for other districts. Here, Prachi talks about some of the tricks of the trade when it comes to controlling the rumor mill.
How does VPCS typically share project-related communications with audiences?
I’ll use DJUSD as an example. Here, we’ve sent out detailed letters to the community and the neighborhood residents informing them all about the projects – start dates, durations, etc. We also share contact information for the contractor, the construction superintendent, the district’s facilities office and the project manager (me) so people can reach us with questions. In conjunction with the outreach that VPCS has done, the district has notified the site parents through their communications department and has also published information at meetings of the school board, the citizens’ board oversight committee and school PTAs.
Why is it so important to keep school communities in the loop about project details?
Because what we do often affects them directly. For one thing, construction work starts early in the morning. So we usually have vehicles coming and going not just through the school site itself, but also through the streets parents use when dropping off and picking up students. Of course, we always tell the contractors not to schedule deliveries during those high-traffic times, but it’s still really important to make sure families know what to expect.
What types of things do you need to inform neighbors about?
Almost all of the same things we communicate to school families, since anyone who lives near a school site will be affected by the same traffic and scheduling concerns. But with neighbors, we also always inform them about noise. Even though we follow city noise ordinances very carefully, construction projects are just loud; there’s no way around that. So that’s an area where we put a lot of effort into managing expectations just so the folks who live nearby really understand how the projects might affect them.
What can happen when information gets misinterpreted?
Schedule delays and cost overruns, of course. But mostly, just confusion and ill will that we then need to clear up. I’ll give you an example: one time, I was walking a site with the head custodian, district plumber and contractor and we were talking about a water shut-down that was planned for a long weekend about six weeks later. Within an hour, I got an urgent call from the school district superintendent who told me the teachers’ union had filed a grievance and parents were also upset. It turns out, someone had overheard us and assumed the water shut-down was imminent, spread the rumor and then that incorrect information got around very quickly. We were able to rein it all in, but it took some time and a lot of work to assure everyone that we weren’t planning to turn off the water while students and staff were on site.
How do anecdotal examples like that affect the way you do your job?
At VPCS, we’re always looking for ways to improve our processes, so anything that happens differently than how we expect it to is an opportunity for a lesson learned. That goes for how we communicate to school communities, clients, fire departments and everybody.
What’s the best way to dispel rumors and misinformation?
Transparency and consistency. That’s it. The more we communicate, the less likely people will be to misunderstand or misinterpret what we’re doing. We get really specific with the details so people will know exactly what to expect and when. It’s also really important to work closely with district leadership and local safety authorities like the fire and police departments. When we’re all aligned and sharing the same information with the public, rumors are less likely to spark. Construction is a very dynamic undertaking, so part of our job is adapting to constant change. We’ll do whatever it takes to keep the lines of communication open so the people affected by our work have accurate, up-to-date information.
VPCS is thrilled and humbled to be celebrating our 25th anniversary this year. We’ve kicked off the festivities with an updated company logo and a spruced-up website, now expanded to include rich details on our portfolio, our team and more. Please take a tour to see all the new content.
We also wanted to hear from our founders, Mark and Mike Van Pelt, and ask them to reflect on the firm’s first quarter-century. Here are some highlights from that conversation:
How does it feel to hit this milestone?
Mike: I do sometimes wonder how we went from being just the two of us scrambling for work to becoming a fairly well known and well respected entity. We broke into an industry that was sort of new and unknown when we started and now we’ve got more than 50 employees and we’re one of the firms that people are really talking about.
Mark: I agree. It’s weird when your name becomes a thing; when you sit in a meeting and people are talking about Van Pelt as an entity and you realize, “Hey, that’s us!” It’s amazing to think how fast all of it has gone by.
What have been the keys to the firm’s success?
Mark: It’s all been about staying true to what we did from the very beginning – doing things the right way, delivering quality products and bending over backwards for clients. Then training each new employee to honor those same commitments. We’ve started calling it “The VPCS Way,” which is about getting to the heart of what sets us apart. It’s our secret sauce. Mike and I aren’t running projects anymore; we’re overseeing our people. So it’s up to them to maintain the company’s reputation and they’re doing a great job with that.
Did you ever imagine the firm would get this far?
Mike: I hoped it would, but I’m not sure I assumed it would. One advantage we have is that Mark and I have always gotten along really well and made decisions together. We’ve also always done things the way our dad used to – using common sense and not rushing to judgment. Back in 1996 when we were meeting with an attorney about forming the company, she warned us that family businesses don’t always work out. I took a piece of paper and drew two intersecting lines and said, “I’m the horizontal line and Mark’s the vertical line. We always work together and that’s why we can make this work.” That seemed to make sense to her. As for us, we never had a doubt.
Mark: I always knew we’d make it, but I never imagined we’d get this big. Together, Mike and I had no fear. Neither one of us could have done what we’ve done without each other. We just wanted to make a living. But to reach the point of having 50 employees and pondering growing even further? Never.
Was it tough starting out as small fish in a big pond?
Mark: There’s a funny story I like to tell from back when we were a young company. We’d done well enough to buy a few trucks; we got four little Ford Rangers and had our logos painted on the sides. But we were always going up against national firms that would come into interviews with big teams of people; they looked like they came with their own horn sections! So we decided to number those trucks, but not with 1, 2, 3 and 4. Nope. We numbered them something like 101, 748, 359 and 238. A sly little trick, but it must have worked. Now we go up against those big firms all the time and we’re often the ones to beat.
What do you envision for the next 25 years of VPCS?
Mike: I foresee the kids [Kelli Van Pelt Jurgenson and Eric Van Pelt] taking it over and continuing the legacy. They learned the way from Mark and me, and we now see them teaching others how to do things that way. There’s no reason why that can’t continue on while Mark and I go bass fishing and play a bit more golf and take the grandkids to Disneyland. The goal is to keep it going so the legacy of the company will continue on.
Mark: Absolutely. One of the things that Kelli and Eric bring to the company is enthusiasm and an interest in making the company and our product even better with innovation and new technologies. It’s fun for us to watch the younger Van Pelts taking on the tasks that we did when we started. I want to see this thing go on for 100 years, even though I won’t be around to watch it. It’s fun to think that maybe our grandkids end up getting involved.
What are you most proud of when you look back?
Mike: Our people. They’re such hard workers and they do things the Van Pelt way and that’s why we’re as successful as we are. At every one of our company holiday parties, I always tell our employees that they make it so much easier for Mark and me to sleep at night. They’re just great at their jobs and they’re great to have on our team.
Mark: I agree 100%. Plus, being able to put something together from scratch that’s provided good livings for so many people. I also really enjoy what I do, and that’s pretty fun.
Senior Project Manager Ray Green has been part of the VPCS family for many years in several different capacities, currently focused on our work for the Napa Valley Unified School District. In this Q-and-A, Ray tells us a bit about the arc of his career, his history with the firm and a few thoughts on how he stays on top of his busy schedule (that is, when he doesn’t have his feet up at the water’s edge).
You and VPCS have a very rich history together. Tell us about that.
It’s a good story. Our first encounter was back when I worked for a general contractor on a VPCS project, so that’s when I first got to know Mark and Mike. A few years later, Mark called and offered me a short-term position as a VPCS construction manager which was followed by a longer assignment on one of their healthcare projects. Then I got hired directly by the healthcare client, which put me on the other side of the owner’s table. Eventually, I came back to VPCS and I’ve never looked back. So my interactions with this firm have been as a contractor, as an employee, as a client, and now as an employee again. Quite honestly, this is where I belong; I don’t believe I’ve ever been happier.
What’s different about working for VPCS?
After working around the industry for different employers and in different roles, it’s so refreshing to work for someone I admire; I never second guess them. The Van Pelts are so competent and have such integrity. I haven’t felt this way since working for my own family.
Did you always know you wanted to work in this industry?
All the way through high school, I actually thought I wanted to be a police officer. I even went through a training program and was about to enter the police academy. But before I did that, I went on a few ride-alongs. Those showed me that many of the interactions police officers have with other people are negative, and that’s not what I wanted out of my career. I’d already been working in construction to make money during school, so that just stuck.
These days, you oversee the construction on all the school sites that are part of the Napa Valley Unified School District $249 million Measure H bond program. Right?
That’s right.
What are the keys to being a good project manager?
Flexibility is definitely first on the list. In this job, you have to be the kind of person who can wake up, look at your calendar, plan your day, and then know that none of that will end up happening because someone will drop a grenade on your plan. But you still have to find a way to make all of your original stuff happen while dealing with all the other stuff that comes up. Patience is another virtue. And relationships are huge in this business. You have to develop the kind of rapport where you can have a heated conversation with a contractor and still have enough trust built up to turn around and ask them to do something and know that they‘ll do it. Finally, I would say it’s important not to get too worked up about things. I’ve been around long enough to expect things to turn upside down all the time. I’ve found that if I don’t get overly excited and I just keep my head, things will be okay. If you’re good in this business, it doesn’t mean things don’t go wrong; it just means you’re good at correcting things when they do.
What do you do to stay organized?
I’ve always had the type of mind that can do 50 things at once. It’s natural to me. In fact, it’s weird for me to do just one thing at a time. That being said, I do rely heavily on my calendar and on technology.
How do you keep project stakeholders in the loop?
I’m a big documentation guy and my primary mode of communication is email. Every time I have a phone call with an owner, I’ll back it up with a follow-up email. Still, you need to use different approaches with different people. As much as I rely on email, I also think it’s important to add a human touch; for people to see my face (even if it has a mask on!) so they know that I’m present on the project.
How would you expect a client to describe you?
Probably something like, “He’s a little high-strung but he really fights hard for the taxpayers and the district.”
When it comes to your work, what do you most look forward to about the post-COVID era?
In-person meetings! And interacting face-to-face with people; shaking hands. I really miss being able to shake hands when I meet new contractors or vendors.
Outside of work, what do you most look forward to about the post-COVID era?
Hawaii! My wife and I like to go to Maui a few times a year and we’ve really missed it. We’ve had to reschedule a few trips since the pandemic hit, but we’re on track to go again late this spring. We can’t wait.
What else would you like people to know about you?
That I just love this industry and the work we do here at VPCS. As a private citizen, you read in the news all the time about how taxpayer money is squandered. I really enjoy the opportunity to make sure that doesn’t happen on our watch. I’m so proud of the campuses we’re helping create for NVUSD; it’s fun knowing that when we’re done, those kids will be running around with smiles on their faces. I absolutely love this business.
As we close out 2020, we reflect back on this unusual and challenging year. In spite of all the difficulties, we remain grateful for so much: our families, our friends, our community, and our work. At VPCS, we feel fortunate to have been able to operate without interruption on the majority of our projects through the ongoing months of the COVID-19 pandemic. We never take this privilege for granted and we are committed to paying it forward. We send our heartfelt wishes for a safe and healthy holiday season to our loved ones and to the world. Here’s to turning new corners in 2021.
Like Van Pelt Construction Services, the green building movement came to be in the 1990s. The growth of our firm has paralleled the growth of sustainable practices in the construction industry – particularly on school sites. In fact, our founders, Mark and Mike Van Pelt, lent their expertise to California’s utilities prior to the 1999 launch of the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS), a statewide effort to improve energy efficiency on K-12 campuses.
Since then, both VPCS and sustainability have strengthened and expanded. Incorporating environmentally-friendly design features into construction projects has become the new normal in our industry. All of us have become well-versed in the systems and technologies that help make buildings more ecologically sound.
The way I see it, these are the keys to what makes VPCS adept at this aspect of our work:
Education. We rarely encounter any resistance to sustainable practices. However, it’s not unusual to have clients question the up-front costs often associated with such features. When that happens, it’s our job to demonstrate the long-term value (economic, environmental, and societal) of sustainable design and construction. For example, a more efficient HVAC system may cost more to purchase and/or install, but its operating costs will be far lower over the life of the building. As owners’ reps, our responsibility is to prove how sustainability pencils out in our clients’ favor.
Experience. Our depth of knowledge is always an advantage for our clients. When discussing with planning teams how best to incorporate eco-friendly elements into projects, we can recommend features based on what we’ve seen first-hand on previous assignments. From adding modest solar arrays to achieving full LEED Platinum certifications, we’ve tackled a range of green challenges. So we know what is most effective and economical when it comes to different building types, client goals, and budgetary realities.
Ethos. A commitment to sustainability is woven into the VPCS company culture. We make sure all personnel are up to date with the latest approaches, we have a growing number of staff members who have obtained green building certifications, and we have a reputation among our peers for our dedication to sustainable practices.
Interestingly, the coronavirus also has a place in this discussion. As the pandemic has elevated concerns about indoor air quality, most construction project teams are now exploring options for upgraded HVAC systems to enhance circulation and improve filtering. There is even talk about permanently adjusting state building codes to require 100% fresh air systems in school structures, which will lead to upgrades in mechanical systems in schools throughout California. While this is an immediate response to our current infection control concerns, buildings (and their occupants) will reap the benefits well past the COVID era.
Our industry is shifting to accommodate changes in the climate as well as changes in awareness regarding building design and performance. As construction professionals, we have a responsibility not merely to keep up but to lead the way. Improving energy efficiency, drawing from renewable sources, incorporating water reuse strategies, minimizing waste, and opting for less toxic materials are just a few of the ways we can contribute to a more sustainable built environment. It may take a bit more work and a few more dollars today, but the value it will bring to our projects will endure. At VPCS, we believe in being equally good stewards of our clients, our communities, and our planet.
