Vertical Construction

Having built multiple turn-key Design Build infrastructure mega projects, he has supported the design and construction of 100’s of millions of dollars of construction of elements on these mega projects. These projects have included a bevy of highly intricate stations, rail maintenance facilities, and tolling centers.

His experience is not limited to transportation, he updated and refurbished 9 missile alert facilities, and hundreds of nuclear missile launch facilities at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota.

With experience ranging from the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York to intricate station facilities in Hawaii, James is comfortable in all facets of construction.

Rail

Rail, both Light and Heavy (Class 1), has been an integral part of his career over the last 4 decades. He has built many miles of main line track and sidings from the ground up for Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific Railroad. His experience is not limited to main line construction, he has worked on some of the busiest intermodal facilities in North America.

His light rail experience is very extensive, with projects in Hawaii, Texas, and Washington. These projects have included the design and construction of all the infrastructure including life safety, electrification, maintenance, communication, and the integration of control centers.

Dams

Having worked on several dam projects James understands the unique requirements and quality systems necessary for dams and levees. His experience is varied, ranging from re-coring and new construction to decommissioning and dismantling. His background covers a large geographic foot print, including Colorado, Wyoming, California, and Texas.

Team Creation

James has over 40 years experience in various construction management roles. These roles range from operations and construction to executive roles at an ENR top 25 construction company.

He has led crews, segments, projects, regions, and companies without ever compromising safety, quality, or environmental standards. He has always prided himself on building high performing teams. He has been fortunate that his teams have produced some of the most iconic and challenging projects in the United States. It is to these teams that James owes his success.

James creates teams that are a mosaic of skills and personalities. This variation allows a team to be nimble and highly productive. This approach not only creates an environment that is satisfying to the members individually but also turns customers into clients.

Project Controls

Project Controls in many companies is a measurement of the past. James’ philosophy differs greatly in this respect. He believes the purpose of Project Controls is to create tools that effectively manage operations and increase productivity. The systems he has put in place are geared toward proactive management, not simply reporting how quickly or slowly a project is progressing; or, reporting financial results.

James’ approach to Project Controls is comprehensive in all aspects of the project life cycle. It encompasses not only the traditional areas of project controls (Cost, Schedule, and Document processes) but also draws in safety, quality, and environmental standards through thorough planning and adjustment. He subscribes a project approach in which slow (taking the time to plan) is smooth (a deliberate plan communicated), smooth is fast (execution is as planned) allowing for optimization (a Six Sigma approach). This approach has allowed him not only to have success throughout his project management career but has also created success at a $3.5B company.

Estimating

In many companies estimating is viewed as a department whose sole purpose is to secure backlog. James’ approach varies from this typical standard. He is a thorough believer that Estimating should be a reasonable projection of project cost. He expects an estimate to be built from the ground up using a probabilistic approach to risk assessment. His vast experience from being an Estimator, Chief Estimator, as well as having multiple roles in operations, validate this approach. Most recently James has set policy and procedure for estimating in conjunction with the Director of Estimating (a direct report) to create scalable systems that could handle estimating 10,000 plus projects per year with over a 25% hit rate.