Turner Construction and the University of Houston, specifically the Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) department, recently partnered together for the renovation of the newly renamed Fertitta Center as well as for the Turner Advanced School of Construction Management program.
The HUB program at the University of Houston was established to assists HUBs in the bid process in hopes that these businesses will receive more contracts and subcontracts. Their mission is to expand business opportunities to promote the successful development of growing businesses and encourage outreach that gives back to the community.
These two entities collaborated in an effort to afford various business opportunities to HUBs in the construction industry. One way they are doing that is through the renovation of the Fertitta Center, which seeks to improve fans’ experience and serve as a tool for recruitment. Turner has taken this opportunity to work with the University of Houston to employ HUB subcontractors for different aspects of this project. In turn, this project is coming in on schedule, on budget and exceeding Turner’s HUB goal.
“Successfully executing on all three aspects can be a challenge on unique projects like this,” Jim Brownrigg, Vice President and General Manager of Turner Construction, said. “But putting those pieces of the puzzle together are critical for the success of the program.”
David Oliver, Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities and Construction Management at the University of Houston, agreed that time and budget are the main source of trouble for construction projects, but this collaboration has helped the Fertitta Center project beat the odds.
“This is the kind of project that just takes a partnership,” Oliver said. “And as you saw it is just a huge effort on everybody’s part, and the collaboration is what makes this project successful.”
The other way that Turner Construction and University of Houston are looking to assist HUB vendors is through the Advanced School of Construction Management program. This school is a three-day course that is based on the foundation of the Project Management Professionals Certification but is tailored specifically to construction. Turner has subject matter experts come and highlight certain topics for participants. One of the largest challenges for Houston is there are plenty of firms, but they do not have the capacity to keep up with all the opportunities, especially when they are up against larger companies. The goal of this program is to bridge that gap and grow the capacity capabilities of the HUBs.
“With these subject matter experts that Turner is bringing in, plus the voice for the University, I think the project is really just going to be a great success,” Maya P. Thornton, director of University of Houston’s HUB program, said.
Brownrigg said another perk of this program is that it will introduce high-quality HUB subcontractors to the University of Houston and Turner Construction, and a lot of the participants come to learn about construction but also to grow their relationship with the University and Turner.
“If I was in their shoes, I would do the same thing,” Brownrigg said. “It is a great opportunity to get to know a lot of people, so you have an opportunity to win more projects. You’re going to get exposed to the University of Houston and Turner and learn how to grow your business.”
Raymond Bartlett, Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance at the University of Houston, said that this is a way for the University of Houston to think long term and invest in these HUBs so that they can one day give back and pass on what they gain from the program.
“You can take a firm, develop them, give them the additional skills that they need and they, someday, will be able to return the favor and give back by becoming a mentor themselves,” Bartlett said. “That’s when you know you’ve achieved success.”
Thornton says one of the main purposes of this school is for it to become cyclical, despite the widespread mindset that companies are just looking for a way to meet their HUB requirements and “check it off the list.”
“We look at it with an outcome of they are not only going to meet their numbers, but the skills that they learn at the school can be taken and utilized at the University of Houston or other jobs and opportunities for them as well because then it becomes cyclical,” Thornton said. “Now their business is growing, they can feed their employees, their employees have kids, their kids can attend the University of Houston. We want the full circle.”
Both Turner Construction and the University of Houston consider their first collaboration a success and hope for more in the future. These entities place high value in their HUB programs and are looking for opportunities to better them.
“HUB is very important to this University, it always has been and always will be,” Bartlett said. “And we will continue to look for ways to improve upon what we are doing. We are looking for those opportunities to do better and exceed our goals.”
