MarkWester is growing its self-perform concrete and structural steel crews. More of the work that sets the schedule on our projects will now be done by our own carpenters, ironworkers, finishers and laborers, under our own foremen, on more of our sites.
Why concrete and steel
On most buildings the structure is the critical path. Footings, foundation walls, suspended decks and the steel frame decide when the building is dried in, and every trade that follows is waiting on them. When that work slips, everything behind it slips too.
Self-performing the structure gives our project teams direct control over the activities that matter most. Our superintendents can move a crew from one deck to the next without a change order. They can add a second pour shift when the weather window opens. They can resequence a steel erection plan around a late delivery the same afternoon, because the people making the call and the people doing the work answer to the same project team.
It also helps on price. When we carry our own labor in an estimate, the numbers come from our own production history, not from a single bid on bid day. Owners on GMP and design-build work see that in tighter early budgets and fewer surprises when the subcontract packages come in.
What the expansion includes
- Additional concrete crews for foundations, cast-in-place walls, suspended slabs and site concrete.
- Structural steel and miscellaneous metals erection crews, working from our own lift plans and crane picks.
- More equipment owned and maintained in house, including forming systems, shoring and finishing equipment.
- Expanded field leadership, with foremen and general foremen developed from within our own craft ranks.
- Added training in formwork, rigging and signaling, fall protection and quality control for placement and finishing.
Our VDC team will model formwork, pour breaks and steel sequencing alongside the design, so crews arrive with a plan that has already been checked against the MEP coordination model and the site logistics plan.
When our own crews pour the decks, we stop managing someone else's schedule and start building our own.
Self-perform operations leader, MarkWester
What it means for trade partners and owners
Self-perform does not replace our trade partners. Mechanical, electrical, plumbing, envelope and finishes work will continue to be bid to qualified specialty contractors, and our Rising Trade Partners program continues to grow the firms we work beside. The change is focused on the structural scopes where direct control pays off most.
For owners, the result is simple. One accountable team for the work that sets the pace of the job, crews who know our safety and quality standards before they reach the site, and a superintendent who can make a decision about the critical path without waiting on anyone. That is the kind of control we want on every project we build.
