About

Part3 is going back to school! Join Quinton Scales, Construction Admin Manager at WRA, and Part3 CEO Jack Sadler as they explore the critical aspects of educational construction. Quinton shares his expertise on managing educational build projects, discussing effective project planning, scheduling, and the impact of evolving technologies on the industry.

What we covered

• Strategic Planning and Scheduling: Learn how to effectively plan and manage high-volume educational projects with tight deadlines.

• Navigating Challenges: Hear real-world examples of how experts have overcome project hurdles to deliver on time and within budget.

• Technological Advancements: Explore how technological changes over the past decade have impacted educational construction.

• Emerging Trends: Get ahead of the curve with insights into new tools and trends that are set to impact future educational projects.

  
  

Watch it on-demand

Transcript

Jack: Welcome, everybody. Just letting everyone get in for a second and get settled. So it's good to have you all here today. Really excited to do something that's a little bit different, and hopefully super interesting and valuable, and kind of give us an insight into a really specific kind of design and construction. We're going to dive into a whole bunch of things today.

For those of you who don't know me, I'm Jack, and I'm one of the co-founders and the CEO of Part3. I spend most of my time working on the product and working with architects and engineers all across North America. Quinton works for WRA, one of my absolute favorite companies down in Dallas, leading the charge on educational design and construction. Quinton’s got a ton of really, really good stories, anecdotes, and great experience that hopefully we're all going to learn a bit from today. We’ll get an insight into what it’s like to manage high-volume, fast-paced educational construction and design.

It is September after all, and usually, September for most of us means back to school. Back to school for me means running around with kids, picking up last-minute details, and figuring out where I need to be on what day. Back to school for Quinton is very different. It's a massive push and charge to make sure all those schools that we send our kids to are ready for them. Thanks for joining, Quinton. Thanks so much for giving up a bit of your time and sharing some of your experience so far. Why don't you introduce yourself and give us a little bit of background?

Quinton: Sure, thanks, Jack. My name is Quinton Scales. I work at WRA Architect. I am the Construction Administration Manager. I have about eight years in the industry, and I’ve been with WRA for about two. We've been using Part3 for about a year and a half now. We did a big transition, using that as our document control software. It's been going really well. I think we have a really good foundation with it.

That's a little bit about me, and I’m looking forward to talking with you.

Jack: Thanks, Quinton. I didn’t even have to ask you to do that—that was nice! So, what does it involve being a Manager of Construction? You lead a team, right? What do the responsibilities of your team include?

Quinton: Yes, I have a team we call the CA team. They’re a group of field representatives who go out to the field, do field reports, and check that construction is going according to plan. They follow the drawings, keep the project on schedule, and are kind of the extra set of eyes for the architect who can't be out in the field every day. They can report and ensure everything is on track, and help out when needed, whether it’s looking at things or following up on RFIs. There’s really a wide range of tasks, but most of it focuses on being in the field and assisting with construction.

Jack: That's awesome. Let’s get into it a little bit. I’m excited to learn more about what it takes in this world. Why don't we start from the beginning and break into the world of education projects? Obviously, when we think about building schools, we’re talking public money. You’ve got school boards, children in mind during the design and construction phases. So how does your firm approach planning and scheduling for high-volume educational builds in school districts?

Quinton: Yeah, working with schools is definitely a lot different. We're not dealing with private money; it's public funds. A lot of prep work needs to be done upfront with the school district, such as bond planning with them, figuring out their needs, and how much capacity they have. There’s a lot of upfront work before the project even starts. And since it's public money, all of this has to go through an election, and the local community has to agree to pass the bond. We do a lot of work with each district to make sure we get them what they need and can afford.

Jack: Quinton and I were talking about this process a little before the call. It’s super interesting to me. There's a lot of sectors that touch public money and government money, but when you're dealing with school districts, there’s a lot of added elements. The idea that if there's any significant change along the way—whether it’s in the design or construction phase—you've already got an agreed bond. What's the process there? Because changes in construction are almost inevitable, right?

Quinton: Oh yeah. In the design phase, you have an idea of what you can work with, and the involvement with the owner allows you to get them what they want. That’s pretty manageable. Once you get to the construction phase, though, things get tricky. There's already a set scope, budget, and schedule. So if the owner wants to add anything extra, it definitely impacts those variables. It’s hard to get extra time and money when those aren't readily available.

Jack: And speaking of timing, you know what your deadlines are pretty much every year. Before we came on, I mentioned how relaxed you seem this week because everyone’s back at school now. You spend most of your time with really strict end dates, making sure everything's ready for the new school year every September. What are the biggest challenges for your project team in managing those deadlines? How do you navigate them? What tips and tricks have you learned?

Quinton: Summertime is definitely the busiest time for construction, especially with school districts. We’re trying to ramp up because school just ended, while others are finishing up so they can be ready. A lot of the focus is on submittals and RFIs, making sure we get good lead times. That’s where Part3 has been really helpful—keeping all the document management away from email. If we can keep email for sensitive, high-priority topics and handle normal construction processes in the software, it helps a lot. Getting submittals and RFIs handled quickly allows the contractor to order long-lead items and have them installed on time, so we can hit those deadlines.

Jack: Staying organized, staying proactive, keeping on top of documentation—those are the tips. What happens if there’s a change? Like, if you're in full hustle mode a couple of weeks before September, and unforeseen problems come up at the end, what do you do?

Quinton: Oh, it happens all the time! It really depends on the situation. There’s a decision to be made: is it critical or not? Can we do it now, or can it wait? Often, if it affects finishing the project and getting kids in on time, it might get pushed. But if it can be done and managed, it’s crammed into the schedule, which puts pressure on the contractor and subs. It adds stress, but if it’s within reason, we can get it done.

Jack: Do you have any good stories?

Jack: On this, any particularly challenging project that you've managed, or your team's managed?

Quinton: I mean, that all... I’ve been saying, if the job site, if the construction’s going perfect, that’s not normal. So there’s never really been a job site where it’s been perfect and always gone smoothly. But I will say probably—there’s always something unique on each one—but definitely some recent ones. The big things are renovation projects, especially trying to utilize part of it and then renovate one side. That one’s definitely pretty hard. What seems to happen a lot is, you know, these are older schools and they need to be renovated, and the as-builts from, you know, decades ago just aren’t accurate and updated to what they actually should have been. And that’s reflected in the new drawings and causing, I mean, just a change order nightmare and hundreds of RFIs along with that. So that’s definitely something that can really impact just every party at that point. But I mean, I’ve seen it all. It can be on the subcontractor side—they sub out to another sub—and just trying to get that performance done within schedule can really put a detriment to you. I mean, I’ve even, even nowadays, I’ve seen the owner want to mail a check for the pay app. And to me, that’s kind of third world, you know?

Jack: Yeah, that’s speed, right? Speed and efficiency. So what do you do in those situations, though, when you’ve got a contractor that’s stressed, you can see that things are starting to spin out a little bit, and we’re struggling for a deadline? You know, this is an important enough feature or component where you know it’s going to stop kids from coming, or you’re going to have to figure out a way to delay substantial completion. So what goes through your mind there? Are you kind of taking on the management perspective of mediating the team and bringing people together to figure out what’s possible? Or are you trying to immediately find ways to bring in temporary facilities for the schools and keep construction moving?

Quinton: Yeah, we try to control what we can control at that point. Sometimes a lot of it can be out of our hands, just given our situation. But really, if there is something that we can help out and get things expedited, that’s where we can probably help the team out the most. If there needs to be some coordination meetings with, you know, the engineers and subs, that always helps—meeting out on the job site, seeing what’s going on. Just getting eyes on and hands on. Okay, what’s happening? What’s the situation? Get a visual of the schedule. You know, what does the impact show on the cost side as well? I mean, there are many different variables that can come into that. But some things are out of our control. But if we can really be efficient in the things we can control, that’s probably the best way we can handle a lot of the situations.

Jack: Yeah, control is an important component as well. Control is something that comes up a lot in the CA side of things. And it can mean a lot of different things too, right? There’s control over your teams, control over your sub-consultant, control over the schedule, control over the data and everything else that you’re putting into the process. What’s the main strategy for keeping control of the parts that are within you, you know? Like your sub-consultants—that’s your main world. You need to make sure you’re kicking back the RFIs, the submittals, you’re publishing changes as quickly as you can. You’re working with the consultant and owner to give them the answers they need. So what’s the most important aspect of staying in control?

Quinton: Yeah, the main thing that kind of sticks out to me is communication, really. Just kind of having that open dialogue, you know? Talking to people, and you need to see what’s going on. It’s really when there’s a lack of communication flow that it can constrain how smoothly the job site can go. I mean, whenever we’re out in the field and just trying to figure out, “Hey, how are things going?” you know, just with normal construction operations, having that conversation of, “Hey, how’s it going? Everything going all right? I checked out this one area, looked pretty good. This one area, hey, you know, there seems to be maybe a little touch-up needed in that spot there.” You know, just a simple conversation can really help a lot. And especially when it comes to documents, too. I mean, if there’s not a simple way to have those documents just sent out and easily sent to the right person efficiently and quickly so that you can get the answer back, that can also put a hinder on what you can and can’t control. And that’s another thing, too. Again, I always say stay away from email when it comes to just normal document management, because those emails need to stay for more critical things so that you’re not really bogged down. But yeah, it’s communication really, all around. We don’t want to have... I mean, one thing I know we do with our team—we always talk to everybody. You know, we’re not just one-sided. We’re there for the whole project to make sure that we’re helping the owner, the GC, the engineer, subs, everybody, and make sure that we’re getting the project completed. So we’re always there with an open mind, making sure to say, “Hey, we’re here to help.” And, you know, we’re not afraid to speak up just to make sure that things are getting done correctly.

Jack: That’s a good one, too. Collaborate and avoid email when you can—not all the time.

Quinton: Yeah.

Jack: And I imagine this has evolved quite a lot, right? You’ve been building schools a while, you’ve been in construction and in architecture for a while. So as you reflect back over the span of your career so far, and you think about how things have evolved—both in process, the way teams are working, the ownership of certain tasks, the technology and the tools you’ve all started using—if you reflect back since the start of your career, what are the biggest changes you’ve seen, and how has it evolved and maybe impacted your projects?

Quinton: Yeah, I mean, technology has just been exploding recently, of course. I mean, it always seems like the construction industry is a step behind when it comes to technology, but we’re really kind of ramping up. We’re heading there now. Even when I was first learning about construction, everything was still done on print, and everyone had their own set of copies. And the thing is, now it’s kind of like, “Okay, well, which version do you currently have? How outdated is that? And did you already get the work done that should not have been done, and now we’ve got to go do rework?” Which is, of course, a cardinal sin in the construction industry. So everything really has just gone from paper to now iPads. I mean, iPads, you know—iPads and technology, having Wi-Fi, I mean, just our phones now. You can connect to anything now. And being out there on the job site because now you’ve got all the latest information, everything’s typically in a centralized location, and you can find it. Everything’s being cross-referenced. So if you need to find why that revision was done, it can be related back to what the question was. So that seems to be kind of the big thing I’m seeing in the industry. Especially not just along the communication lines, but also with lasers and drones. You know, now you can go scan a building and get aerial images, and that also helps the architecture. So, I mean, that technology is only improving and getting better by the day. And it’s quite fascinating, you know, getting all that information and how much time it saves you, to put the work where you need to put the work and have technology take care of the small tasks that need to be done but that you don’t need to focus on all the time. Sometimes it’s just sitting it back and forth.

Jack: Yeah. How many construction sites have you got where you’re using drones, lasers, and that sort of thing right now, or this year?

Quinton: Oh, I mean, if it's a renovation, we're droning and lasering it. We always like to get a topical site with drones, and if it's a renovation, we do the lasers because, like the story I mentioned earlier, the as-builts are not accurate. That's where we run into those issues. But with the laser, we can get a 3D image of the whole building, and it gives us actuals of what the building layout is, and we kind of work off of that.

Of course, in a new build, you don't need to worry about that stuff. I mean, you get some oversight stuff, but when it comes to renovations, those are definitely hot projects because there's always an extra demand and need. Having that extra technology can help mitigate a lot of the heartaches, and it’s more like it makes them disappear. It's hard to calculate that data, but just knowing how bad it could have been and what I've seen before... we’re just so far ahead that it’s pretty good now.

Jack: How do you think this has helped you manage clients? You have a really specific type of client, right? It's predominantly school work—school boards and public money—which can vary a lot. We've met school boards that have in-house construction management expertise, and we've met school boards that are smaller, with thinner budgets, and they outsource all of it, heavily relying on architects to manage that component. So how do you justify the cost to the project for that type of technology? How do you show them that they're getting the value out of it? Things like lasers and drones—for someone who’s not close to the construction site or doesn’t do construction day in and day out—they might need some convincing to see the benefit of them.

Quinton: Yeah, really, having the history of what we’ve been doing and where we’re heading... we have a lot of precedent projects we can reference. We kind of understand where the square footage is at right now. Okay, you need this size of a building, or you need an addition of that much. We kind of have all that data collected over time and use that to our advantage to give the client a heads-up: "Hey, this is kind of what it seems like you’re needing and looking for. This is kind of where the ballpark number would be." Then that all rolls into having to go into bond planning and figuring out if it's achievable, workable, and all that good stuff.

Having a lot of past history has definitely helped us build relationships and give the client what they need pretty accurately.

Jack: That’s a really good point. I'm going to put you on the spot a little bit because I didn’t let you prepare for this, but would you have any advice for architects who are maybe not as forward-thinking as WRA? I think you’re slightly ahead of the times. Would you have any advice for firms trying to adopt that new technology, whether it’s lasers and drones, Part3, or anything else that’s client-facing and ultimately beneficial to the project? If you're trying to introduce something for the first time, how do you speak to the client and let them know this is truly valuable and worth it?

Quinton: Just initially thinking... it's something that the big companies are already doing. You definitely don’t want to get behind the curve on that. To get to that point, you have to have the vision of understanding how this is actually benefiting the company and the client at the same time. It's just a lot of useful data and information. The work that technology can do now can save so many man-hours. If you can understand that from an operations level, I think that will probably lead you in the right direction.

Jack: That’s brilliant. I think what you’ve done a great job of historically is building long-term relationships with these school boards, right? So they kind of see, over time, how much more effective and efficient you've become using these tools.

Quinton: Yes, definitely. Most of our clients are repeat clients, and that's what we do with WRA. Our motto is "Who you know." We're continuing to work with them because we’re good to work with, and we want to keep working with them. We’re glad they want to keep working with us too.

Jack: As you look forward, do you see any emerging trends or tools that excite you? Anything that you think will help your firm overcome challenges around client management, tight schedules, high volume, or anything else?

Quinton: The biggest thing that’s emerging—and I’m pretty sure everyone’s heard of it in some form or fashion—is AI. AI is here, and it’s here to stay. I’m not going to say it’s going to take your job, but what it’s really going to do is take all that work and data information that would normally take hours, hundreds, thousands of hours for someone to do, and it will do it in minutes.

The thing with all that information you get from AI is that you can then reference it and make decisions without having to put in as much work. Right now, I wish I had AI to the level in construction where I could put all the RFIs we've ever done for the company and have it sort through: "Okay, these are all similar, and they cost a certain amount of money to fix." That way, we could fix those problems and make sure we don’t repeat them, correct our drawings, and prepare for the future. Then you could also see the problems that didn’t cost money, just to get efficiency up.

AI is really interesting in what it can do. It’s going to take a while to make a big impact right away, but we’re heading up that curve. I’m already seeing how it can be used and utilized. It’s a great tool when you need it the most, especially when you don’t have time to do all that strenuous work yourself, and that’s where I really see it excelling.

Jack: That’s a good one. AI is one of those topics. As soon as someone mentions it around me, it’s a bit of a trigger, and I tend to not shut up about it. I won’t go too deep, I won’t bore anyone, but it’s super exciting to see folks like you leading the way in using it. You’re right: AI has a long way to go before it really impacts sites, schedules, and workforce management in the way it should.

But what you’ve given there is a really great use case: figuring out patterns within what is already a massive database. You have a huge number of RFIs—more than a few on each project. Once you take that at scale, every firm will have a unique pattern in how they respond and handle those issues. AI is a future trend, but it’s also here. You’re already leading with thoughts on where it should apply and how you could use it today. Have you seen it creep into any of your projects yet? Any early signs of how AI might impact the day-to-day sooner rather than later?

Quinton: Yeah, it's being utilized right now with document management. It can scan a lot of different forms and pinpoint the spots you need to see and highlight them. It’s got a good start. It still has a while to go, but it can do things like create a submittal log, which, if you have to do by hand, can take hours. With AI, it can create that submittal log right away in just a couple of minutes. The things it can do now are already saving time, and in the future, it’s only going to help a whole lot more.

Jack: That's one example you sort of touched on earlier as well, right? Trying to get ahead and be very proactive in things like submittal schedules and understanding what's coming. But that's a great use of a tool that exists today and can be rolled out and used.

What does your schedule look like today, Quinton? You're done, you're back to school, the kids are in—are you kicking back and chilling, or are you already preparing for the next season?

Quinton: Well, it feels a whole lot better now that summer is over, so I am kind of relaxing a little bit, tapering off, so that feels good. But really, now all I'm focused on is: what about next year? The next wave that's going to be coming. So, I do a lot of forecasting to make sure that we get the projects taken care of ahead of time, and the workloads around that are all managed.

It's always interesting. I always see myself thinking a year in the future, and I'm freaking out. Then I come back to the present, and I'm like, "Oh no, I'm fine, actually. It's going to be okay."

Jack: Well, because you can see yourself, right? You've got PTSD from being out in the hot Dallas sun at those schools, making sure everything moves on plan and on schedule. So you know what it's going to look like in a year, being back in that bit again.

Quinton: Exactly. When you're looking at those early designs and you're planning for the next sort of rush of construction, are there any common gotchas or watch-outs that you tend to look for in the design phase or in the CD phase?

Jack: Yeah, it really comes down to the size of the project and what we're looking at and working with. The location can matter too, because that can influence commute times back and forth. A lot of that comes into play. I'm always thinking about the size of the project, the schedule, the scope and value, and how to maximize how many projects my team can go to within a concentrated area to keep efficiency up.

Jack: So many different things to juggle. WRA Architects are a fantastic firm. How does your firm push the boundaries on what normal school design and construction might look like?

Quinton: Yeah, so one thing I really like about WRA is they make the design for the school very personal. There's a lot of research that goes into the community, the town, the district, and who they are, and they mold the design to fit that. You'll see a lot of input coming from the owner, a lot of research just figuring out, "Okay, who are we dealing with? What are we dealing with?" and incorporating the big ideas from the board and the community into that school.

We don't really do a lot of copy-and-paste projects. Most of them are specific and unique to the client. It gives a very special sense of uniqueness. When I'm going through the projects and seeing what they look like, I get stunned a little too. Of course, from a construction perspective, everything is built with the same material, but what we can do with those materials to give a different feel to the building is really what makes us stand out.

We can give you that $100 million school, but it only cost $50 million in materials and labor because of how the design is incorporated and used. It gives a good relationship with the client but also gives them that personal feeling of, "Yes, this is yours, and it's designed specifically for you."

Jack: There you have it—all the tips and tricks from Quinton, a veteran of educational design and construction. I think there are a bunch of good tips in there: making sure we communicate effectively, managing clients, managing complex schedules, and high-paced construction. Avoiding email as much as we can, being proactive as much as we can, trying to keep control over what we can, and making sure we've got the equipment to take out on-site, whether it's on the cloud, staying connected, and ensuring we've always got real-time drawings handy so we can have conversations.

That's fantastic. I know that Part3 has loved partnering with you and WRA for the last year and a half. We're super excited to see more of the innovations reach construction sites in Dallas and some of these schools as well. I hope everyone else enjoyed it. If you want to reach out and learn a little bit more, we can share Quinton's contact info—I'm sure he'd be happy to share more tips on what you can do in education construction.

Reach out to us at Part3—we're happy to show you how to take control of those construction sites and put a bit more efficiency into your pocket as well.

Thanks, everyone. It was great speaking to you all today.

Quinton: Thanks, Jack.

Jack: Thank you as well, Quinton.