¡Viva España! (Spain Wins…Again!)

On Sunday, the Spanish national soccer team accomplished an extraordinary feat: winning a third major tournament in a row.  With their 4-0 drubbing of Italy in Kiev on Sunday, Spain has proven victorious in the last two European Championships as well as the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.  In the fifty-two year history of the European Championships (known as the Euros), no other team has won back-to-back titles. This Spanish team managed to do so in addition to winning on the world’s largest stage in 2010.

Spanish National Team celebrates in Kiev

With the victory, Spain has taken another step toward establishing this set of players as the greatest team in the history of international football. The team will now begin to focus on the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, qualifications for which begin later this year.  While Spain has dominated in recent years, concerns about the increasing age of many key players add some doubt to their quest for another World Championship. Nevertheless, Spain will certainly move forward as favorites in 2014.

Spaniards cheering on a victory

Want to check out this team for yourself? Spain kicks off its World Cup Qualifiers against Georgia on September 11^th. If you can’t wait that long, the Spanish Olympic team (made up of U23 players along with a limited group of veterans) will face Japan at 2:45pm on July 26^th in Glasglow.

Steven Brisley
Marketing Intern

2012 Autism Awareness Golf Outing

Recently, The Hagerman Group proudly participated in the ‘2012 Drive for Autism Awareness Golf Outing’ held at Hickory Stick Golf Club in Greenwood, Indiana.  This was the 8^th annual event benefitting the Johnson County Autism Support Group.  Title sponsor Circle B Construction Systems hosted the outing that included 22 teams battling the summer heat all for a good cause.  Many other companies (including The Hagerman Group) were partner sponsors of the event.  A full listing of all the sponsors, as well as a plethora of information regarding the Johnson County Autism Support Group and their cause can be located on their website at www.jcasg.com. 

If you’re interested in getting involved in autism awareness and would like to find local events to participate in, or other ways to help, check out the Autism Society’s website at www.autism-society.org.

Adam Keller
Project Engineer

Full Circle: An Intern's View of Construction

On Tuesday afternoon, I enjoyed a very special opportunity to gain insight into the construction industry. As an intern, I work with many different people across departments, enabling me to learn tidbits about each of the moving parts within the construction process.  As a result, my touring of the new Hamilton Southeastern Middle School was an interesting glimpse into the full cycle of construction.

This cycle begins (at least as far as I’m involved) with the estimators (conveniently located in the room next to mine) using written plans to determine the approximate cost of completing a project. That estimate is then used to develop a project bid which, if selected, leads us to the pre-construction process.  Following more planning and mock-ups, the construction process starts, the ground is officially “broken,” and the building is built.  Simple, right?

While touring the new middle school, though, I was shocked to see just how much work contributes to the new building.  With this particular project, we’re utilizing the design-build process—a fairly new concept where the architect and general contractor are given more flexibility but are also responsible for the entire building process, down to the smallest details. That means that the planning for this building included not only concrete, masonry, and all of the normal construction-related work, but also the hanging of an American flag in each room and installation of pencil sharpeners next to the teachers’ desks.

Examining the new Media Center

Overall, viewing a nearly-finished product illustrated to me the enormous amount of planning and work required to execute a successful build.  I’m grateful for the opportunity to gain that experience and am sure it will help me in my time at The Hagerman Group. Plus I don’t think I will ever view my middle school the same way again.

 

Clockwise from top left: (Gymnasium, Outdoors, Industrial Technology Classroom, Computer Lab)

Steven Brisley
Marketing Intern

Lean Construction

On September 26, 2011, a group of people interested in Lean Construction made a presentation to the Leadership Team.  The presentation explained the primary goal of Lean Construction: eliminating organizational waste to improve the flow of construction information and material.  A better, faster flow of information and material results in construction projects that have higher quality, higher productivity and are delivered with more owner value and shorter project lead times.

The presentation team made a number of recommendations to promote this “operating system” in The Hagerman Group.  In response, the Lean Construction Team is now one of the Strategies II initiatives.  One recommendation included engaging Consultant WCM Associates in Lean integration training.  As a result, The Hagerman Institute will soon begin to market Lean Construction training to be held in both Ft. Wayne and Fishers on July 24 and July 25, respectively.  In this session, Larry Rubrich will introduce the principles and concepts of lean construction to an expanded group of interested parties.  If sufficient capacity exists, selected subcontractors will be invited to learn alongside The Hagerman Group.

Looking to the future, the Action Plan of the Lean Team includes learning how others apply Lean principles.  To accomplish this goal, the Fishers office recently hosted the Last Planner scheduling session for the IUPUI Neuroscience project, conducted by CM Messer.  Several contractors gathered to schedule this project and all became stakeholders in the schedule, offering a tremendous learning experience.

Lean Construction Team Planning Meeting

Currently, the Lean Construction team is using Lean principles in the development of a new Quality Management Executing Program.  This includes a review of the program to eliminate unnecessary steps and redundancies.  In an effort to combine lean concepts with new technology, the Lean Team will be researching how to utilize iPads and smartphones in the field for quality and safety issues.

The Lean Team is also reviewing various Lean Certification programs.  At this time, Purdue University offers yellow belt, green belt, and black belt certification for Lean Healthcare. 

The Lean Team is one of the largest and most active groups of Strategies II and includes the following professionals:

Jay Bangert
Tony McGlockin
Evan Sutton
Brian Boss
Brad Miller
Tom Werling
Chris Harmon
Brian Hoeppner
John Sondergrath

Bruce Molter, Team Mentor

                                   

Watch for Lean Construction training information from the Hagerman Institute in the near future.  

Terry Greene
Lean Construction Team Leader

Greening the Heartland Wrap-Up

The Hagerman Group had a great time connecting with like-minded companies to dish about sustainable building design and construction at Greening the Heartland last month!  Thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth to say hi and network, and to all the volunteers who worked so hard to put on such a great event!  We are looking forward to doing it again next year at GTH2013!

THG Sustainability Coordinator, Karen Schutte and Sustainability Director, Laura Bailey stopping by the Hagerman booth between educational sessions.

Four Students Awarded Scholarships

Four IPFW students were recently awarded the Theodore F. Hagerman Memorial Scholarship.  This merit-based scholarship, founded in memory of Ted Hagerman, is awarded annually to IPFW students pursuing degrees in construction engineering technology. Jessica Kamdar, Daniel Shaw, Peter Truong, and Christopher Watt each received a scholarship in memory of the former President of The Hagerman Group, who led the organization for more than 30 years.   

Shown left to right: Max Yen (Dean), Jessica Kandar, Daniel Shaw, Peter Truong, Nate Fink (THG)
Not pictured: Christopher Watt

As President of the Hagerman Construction Company, Ted Hagerman led the construction of the first buildings on IPFW’s campus in the early 1960s.  Following Ted’s passing in 1999, his family members and company employees founded the scholarship in his name.  Ted’s son, Mark, joined The Hagerman Group in 1967 and currently serves as CEO.

Take Me Out To The (T-) Ballpark!

This week marks the finale of the 2012 T-ball season.  As always, it has been a fun experience for the kids. While most teams have between five and six kids from ages 3-5, our team fielded eight players due to the size of our families.  All the kids on the team are related as siblings or cousins, including three Whitakers, three Austins, and two Minks. 

At the start of the season, two of our 4-year-olds could hit from a pitch, while the other players used the “T” to make contact with the ball.  Within only two weeks though, all of our kids managed to hit from the pitch and some were even hitting it to the outfield!

Amusingly, the largest coaching challenge consisted of preventing the players from making dirt castles in the infield while the other team was up to bat.  None of them slid into a base, and yet they left each game covered in dirt from head-to-toe.  Nevertheless, we enjoyed popsicles after each game and (as pictured) received medals at the close of the season.

This weekend is the Amo Fish Fry, the league’s only fundraiser, and our team will be riding their Power Wheels thru town in the parade on Saturday.  Ideally the batteries will endure for the entire parade route, but I am sure I will end up pushing at least one car.  Following the parade, the fish fry is capped off by a wonderful fireworks display on Saturday night.  There will be great food, music, games, the parade, and fireworks; so if you are looking for some good family fun, come on out and support a terrific organization!

What: Amo Fish Fry (Cascade Youth League Fundraiser)
When: Saturday, June 9^th (12pm - ?)
Where: Amo, IN (http://goo.gl/maps/uDKC)

Thomas Whitaker
Superintendant