Meet one of our Project Managers in Milwaukee, Devin White!
1. What caused you to get into your profession?
Growing up, I always gravitated towards construction and design, and even took to drafting in high school. I originally wanted to design buildings, but as I learned more about the industry, I found myself wanting to understand how buildings were made and how they breathe and function. After going to college for architectural engineering, I ended up finding myself in the construction management field.
2. What is your proudest achievement?
In March, my wife and I welcomed our first child to the world, Elizabeth “Ellie” Jane. She’s amazing.
My proudest achievement at JP Cullen, however, was building the Milwaukee Intermodal Station shed project, but specifically procuring the trusses. It was challenging enough erecting the shed with freight trains between two buildings, much less getting the material to our site.
There were (16) 3D trusses that spanned about 8 feet wide and weighed about 50,000 lbs. and (2) 2D trusses that spanned about 120 feet that stood 10 feet tall. They were fabricated in La Crosse by Mid-City Steel whose shop luckily was right next to the Canadian Pacific (CP) Railyard. Conveniently, CP had tracks that went from Mid-City’s backyard right through our job site. Since the size of the trusses did not allow us to truck them on site, the railroad was our best option.
We rented flatbed rail cars and worked with CP to ship the trusses down to our site safely. Nothing like this had been shipped via rail so it took extensive communication to figure out how to orient, crib, chain, and stage the trusses. I will never forget the day that first shipment rolled into our site.
3. Who has been most inspirational to you in your career?
Throughout my entire life, my dad has shown me what hard work and dedication is. He inspires me and instills a work ethic that sticks with me every day.
4. What is one thing no one knows about you?
When I was 10 years old, I threw the 1st pitch at County Stadium and also got to meet Brett Favre. I was a lucky kid.
5. What is the funniest moment in your career?
It probably wasn’t very funny for the carpenter at the time, but we were forming grade beams in a spot where seagulls used to nest. One day, he got too close and I could tell the seagull was going to try to attack him. I pulled out my camera and captured a play by play of the seagull nose diving at his hard hat and relieved itself on him, while he desperately tried to defend himself. We all had a good laugh looking at the pictures.
