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Editorial
How diversity has changed
my career
Brian Freeman didn’t always notice the importance of diversity. Now, it’s
central to how he leads our Texas Building operation.
» Our Texas team won USA Building’s 2012 Diversity Award.
When I began my career in construction in the early 90s, the
industry was rather segmented: those in management positions
were typically white men with construction or engineering
backgrounds, craft workers were more ethnically diverse, and you
saw very few women on either side. And truthfully, this wasn’t
something I paid much attention to until Skanska started talking
about diversity.
In 2007, Skanska asked me to move to Texas to help grow our
operations in that state. While Texas was a melting pot of people
from diverse backgrounds, our Skanska team did not reflect that
diversity, particularly in such cities as Houston and San Antonio.
We had opened a Houston office in the early 2000s, acquired a
company based out of Temple in 2003, and opened a San Antonio
office in 2007. But despite those commitments over the years,
we were still viewed by many as an outsider. So it very quickly
became apparent that in order to be successful, it wasn’t going
to be enough to bring in strong talent from other parts of the
Skanska organization. We also had to pair that with local talent that
reflected our communities.
Early on in Texas, we focused heavily on education and
healthcare projects, two sectors that are greatly influenced by
local communities and demographics. As we grew our team, it was
important that we hired people who had strong resumes in those
sectors. But it was also important to look at potential employees
who were bilingual, as well as local individuals from the craft side
of the business with strong talents and a proven work ethic who
were eager to advance their careers and be a part of the Skanska
team. We also brought on a diversity manager to help us better
engage with minority- and woman-owned subcontractors and
vendors, and with local, diversity-focused organizations.
While these efforts have been a learning process, they have
helped our business in several ways: we are a better reflection of
the communities where we work, we have a greater knowledge
gained from our diverse backgrounds, we have improved our
subcontractor base as a result of education, we are helping smaller
and diverse companies grow with us, and we are a stronger
organization because of the unique perspectives our team members
and partners bring to the table.
Today, our Texas team looks very different than it did back in
2007, and I am proud of that. While it will always be vital to have
skilled construction professionals driving our business, looking
outside the traditional pools in which to find that talent has
allowed us to take our business to the next level. ◆
— Brian Freeman
USA Building executive vice president and Texas general manager
San Antonio
A day in the life...
Janine Ruggiero
Equipment operator
USA Civil, New York City
• It’s 4:30 a.m. and I’ve already hit the snooze button three times. Time to rise and shine!
• I quickly get ready so I'll be ahead of traffic on my way to my jobsite, the Catskill/
Delaware Ultraviolet Water Treatment Plant in Valhalla, N.Y. Getting there early
lets me start my day with a peaceful walk around the jobsite: it's exercise and I enjoy
watching the foggy sunrise over the reservoir.
• I take part in Stretch and Flex, and then I check fluids and fill out an inspection sheet
before climbing into my office – the cab of a Cat 966H rubber-tire loader. I turn on the
two-way radio and get moving.
• In the morning, every crew on the job needs something, usually at the same time.
It gets a little hectic, so I make jokes to the crews about whom I’ll be helping next.
Thankfully, it typically calms down later in the day.
• Earlier in the job’s life, I would spend entire shifts doing nothing but loading trucks.
Today, though, I’m doing everything: loading trucks, grooming the stockpile, and
switching from the front bucket to booms and forks to move things like fuel cells,
concrete pipe and geotechnical filter fabric. It’s back and forth like that all day.
• Finally, it’s time for a coffee break – I step down to the ground to stretch my limbs. No matter how many hundreds of people I work around
each day, I spend most of my time isolated in the enclosed cab. So a little face time with my colleagues is always a plus.
• While I’m in the cab, my eyes are on everything all of the time. You’d be surprised how many people walk behind my 26-ton loader when I’m
backing up with the alarm on – it’s like they don’t even see me. I need to pay attention even if they’re not.
• Being a woman operating heavy equipment, I have to be 10 times more careful. No matter how many things I do right, all it takes is one wrong
move for someone to make a comment about women in construction. That’s not Skanska’s culture, but it takes some people longer to adjust.
• Bouncing around in the cab all day is like riding a horse for eight or 10 hours. By the end of the day, my whole body is tired.
• I’ve been operating equipment for 16 years. I love what I do – I’m like a kid playing in dirt all day. But unlike a kid, I get to drive past important
projects like this and know that I helped build it. That’s a great feeling. ◆
What near-miss accident stands out most for you?
Mike Richotte
Senior
superintendent
Seattle
“When I was working as an ironworker
with another firm, we placed a bay of iron
on a foundation that turned out to be
incorrectly built. When we started erecting
the second bay, the first bay collapsed on
my partner and I, severely injuring us both.
We easily could have been killed.”
Analyn Nunez
Environment, health
and safety coordinator
New Orleans
“When working for a concrete
subcontractor, a crane dropped a load of wall
forms from 45 feet up. My boss and I rushed
to the scene, where all but one worker was
accounted for and safe. My heart was racing
as I thought the worst – but then we saw the
missing carpenter walking towards us. He
had taken a break without telling anyone.”
Michael DeMonaco
Field engineer
New York City
“On the No. 7 Line Subway, a piece of
oddly shaped electrical equipment was
being lowered 130 feet down the shaft
when the load struck a work platform
bridge, causing the load to fall about
eight feet to the floor. Fortunately,
there were no injuries. This led us to
implement additional rigging training.”
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