It may not be such a stretch from computer information systems to construction management if one happens to meet the daughter of the CM department head, at that time, who shared information about Colorado State University’s Department of Construction Management upon recognizing a lack of passion for the former career choice.

That was the experience of CM alumnus, Chris Smith (’03), in the second semester of his freshman year. He changed his major in 1999 to construction management, and the rest, as they say, is history.

“CSU CM gave me the basics,” said Smith, “and taught me how to be resourceful and how to find information. I feel like I was as prepared as best I could be having only classroom experience; doing the work is the ultimate education.” Over the past 20 years, Smith has worked for four different companies. “At the 20-year mark, I feel like I’m achieving the goals I set for myself,” said Smith.

A ‘baptism by fire’ in marine construction

Smith took a position with General Construction Company, a KIEWIT subsidiary, that operates marine-based construction projects and has a respectable fleet of Derek barges. Smith spent four months in the company’s Seattle estimating department bidding ferry terminals and wharves, and other marine-based construction projects. After four months on the job, the company relocated Smith to the San Francisco Bay Area to work on a bridge project.

It wasn’t just any bridge project, though. He arrived in the Bay Area to find himself assigned to the largest public works project in California history: the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge East Span Seismic Bridge Replacement Project. It was a massive joint venture among several companies. Smith was assigned to the foundation welding group where he assumed a field engineering role for heavy production welding operations.

Smith describes the next three years as, “baptism by fire” with exposure to structural welding on a massive scale, providing Smith with a skillset that still serves him well today. He remained in that position until leaving KIEWIT to join one of the other partners on the project.

The next phase

MCM Construction Company is a heavy civil construction company based in California. Smith moved across the parking lot, and began the next phase of the bridge contract. Bringing both his welding experience and knowledge of welding personnel and equipment from the adjacent contract, Smith went from overseeing welding operations to overseeing all operations as the senior project engineer onsite. Smith remained on the bridge project through multiple contracts to the completion and opening.

Smith describes the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge Projects as not only career-defining, but also memorable. “It’s not often you get to be on the same project for 10 years in construction,” said Smith. “While on the Bay Bridge projects, between the two companies for which I worked, I was exposed to some incredible things. I had a front row seat to the inner workings of a mega project. I’ve been in the mission control rooms coordinating emergency shutdown repair work.

“In my 10 years on this project, I progressed from field engineer to project manager. I wore just about every hat there is on the project. The experience I gained and the relationships I made during my time there have followed me to this day. This construction world is a VERY small world, and it seems like we all know each other by the 20-year mark. I will never forget my time on the Bay Bridge Project. It’s where my career ultimately started; it’s where my family started; and it’s where I cut my teeth and became a bridge builder.”

Career evolution through complex challenges

Smith next landed at Ghilotti Construction Company, a heavy civil construction company also based in California. His role as project manager included some interesting jobs, most notably the South Bayfront

Pedestrian Bridge project. This multimillion-dollar project had a little bit of everything relative to bridge design including a 230-foot arched suspension bridge, two cast-in-place post-tensioned bridge ramps, two traditional span cast-in-place stair structures, two precast bridges, and a couple of concrete walls. Adding to the complexity, the project spanned over a railyard leading into an active shopping mall, with a class 1 toxic remediation scope on an Ohlone Tribe burial site, with intact burials. Smith successfully navigated the safety, cultural, chemical, and engineering challenges.

With Ghilotti Construction, Smith also worked on a massive outdoor mall rehab project. This job was challenging as he dealt with underground utilities, hardscape restoration, and new construction all in the middle of a high-end mall that remained open the entire time. This experience taught Smith an important lesson: commercial construction was not for him. “I’m a bridge builder,” Smith said, “And I’m ok with that.”

Smith was approached by Gordon N Ball, Inc. about a position that did not yet exist – that of general manager. Smith has been with GNB since leaving Ghilotti and describes it as his greatest challenge to date. Going from managing projects to managing managers and field ops personnel was a difficult adjustment, but one Smith is taking in stride and learning along the way.

“I feel like the last 20 years has prepared me sufficiently enough for this moment to be successful if I apply myself, but not quite enough to make it easy,” said Smith. “I currently oversee five project managers and five engineers, who are responsible more than 30+ active jobs working on average about 90-120 craft employees in the field. We run lean, so everyone is operating at max capacity.”

Future goals

To successfully take his company to the next level as the ownership retires and turns the keys over is one of Smith’s goals. “My goal is to build a team and a company that runs efficiently and is staffed appropriately so that everyone has a sense of work/life balance and security,” said Smith. “The goal is also to provide steady jobs for all of us, well into the future.”

Asked about his advice for current or new students in the construction management program, Smith makes four great points:

• “Do not let work define you. Find a work/life balance. Create boundaries around work. It’s easy to work too much. If a person has thick skin and is not afraid of a little hard work, then this industry will afford you a respectable living. Construction is the last thing to go, and the first thing to come back when the economy tanks. The people in the construction industry are a special breed and I’m proud to be one of them and so should you. You will keep this country moving no matter how paralyzed the rest of it gets.”
• “This career is a marathon, not a sprint. Learn to downshift when you can. Learn to grab that next gear when you have to; however, be careful how long you stay on the gas. You’re a human, not a robot.”
• “You may feel overwhelmed; everybody has his limit. When you reach that point, breathe, make a to-do list, take it to boss and say, ‘Prioritize the top five.’ Knock them out, then go back and do it again. Make your boss manage you. A lot of them won’t do it on their own. Good help is hard to find. Be reliable and you will rise to the top quickly.”
• “Be nice to the safety people; it’s a lonely position. Validate their onsite visit. Do what’s right when they’re gone. It’ll keep you in good standing with corporate. Go out of your way to accommodate the OSHA inspector, as that person has the ability to make your life easy or difficult.”

Smith and his older brother grew up in an Air Force family in Colorado Springs. He now resides in California, has two sons of his own, ages 11 and 10, along with Frank, the French bulldog, who goes to work with him every day serving as the “Officer of Morale” at Gordon N. Ball, Inc.

The Department of Construction Management is part of CSU’s College of Health and Human Sciences.