Q&A with Bob Tierney, General Superintendent at Tocci Building Companies

By Chris Schmidt

In this issue, Construction Superintendent visits with Bob Tierney, general superintendent at Tocci Building Companies in Woburn, Mass., where he was promoted in 2001 after seven years of exemplary performance as a superintendent. He earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and holds the Massachusetts Construction Supervisors License and is OSHA 30 certified. Tierney possesses a calm demeanor and ability to quickly assess and resolve problems. In his opinion, the single most important quality he would tell an aspiring superintendent he or she must possess to get the job done right is dedication. Here he shares his insights on the ins and outs of BIM, a recent project challenge and the steps taken to overcome the problem.

(Q) Tell us what led you toward a career in construction?

I worked with my father who was an electrician by trade when I was younger; this is when I became interested in construction. Honestly, my father said engineers make good money so I went to school for civil engineering and, upon graduating, I knew I could not sit at a desk so I entered the construction world as a field engineer. I spent a lot of time in the field and that is where I learned everything I know now; I never went back to school for another degree since being in the field consumes all of your available time. But did get my Massachusetts supervisor’s license right out of college. Recently I have been doing safety training and I now have my city of Boston ABC license.

(Q) What do you feel has been the biggest advancement in the construction industry since you began your career?

The biggest advancement is Building Information Modeling.

(Q) How do you ensure that your crew understands and takes full advantage of BIM implementation?

We outfit the job trailers with large screens and review the model at each stage of construction with the particular trade. We start with site setup and logistics, and then do mechanical coordination with BIM. As the job progresses, we use the model to show job progress and tie it into the schedule.

(Q) If you were to pick one pro and one con about BIM, what would they be?  

A pro is that those learning the ropes get to view 3-D shots of a building and get to see different details rather than having to see them for real in the field.   With this, they should be able to learn quicker than spending a lot of time in the field. I still believe there is no substitute for seeing actual field conditions, but they should advance quicker. And when they do make it to the field, understanding it will be easier. I wish I had it [BIM] when I was younger; it was tough to visualize things back then. A con would be that some may rely too much on the model and not think enough about the particular detail, and then they may not see enough of actual field conditions. We all know what looks good or works on paper may not be reality — there are a lot of variables out on a job daily and a lot of field experience is necessary to succeed as a superintendent.

(Q) In your career as superintendent, what has been your most memorable project and why?

Village at Bear Hill in Waltham, [Mass.]. This was a large site with a lot of drilling and blasting of ledge with 60-foot cuts in rock. We developed the site and constructed 24 buildings for a total of 324 units. It was probably the most memorable due to the extensive site work and larger earth moving equipment — like a little kid who loves his Tonka Trucks.

(Q) What is your own personal safety tenet, and how do you sell this principle to your crews on the jobsites?  

Safety should always be your first priority; schedule, quality and cost are very important, but people need to go home every day the same way they came in for the job to be a success.

(Q) Illustrate a recent project challenge and the steps you took to overcome the problem.

Installing a large underground oil tank in between two buildings and very close to an above-ground chiller tower at an occupied hospital. We rented a large trench box, excavated the 16-foot-deep hole and slid the new tank in between the trench box to its final location. After this, we removed and re-mediated contaminated soils from around an existing 20,000 gallon steel tank and also removed the tank itself and loaded it onto a flatbed truck; again, really close to an existing hospital and active gas and water lines.

(Q) In your opinion, what is the most crucial element of a superintendent’s job?  

To succeed as a superintendent, you need to study the job plans and specs and know them inside and out. You need to know your job better than any subcontractor so you gain their respect; if you do not know the job better than them and spend more time on the job than them, they will walk all over you.

(Q) What do you enjoy doing when you”re not wearing the general superintendent’s hardhat?  

I try to go the gym on a regular schedule and I ski a few times per winter. I live on Cape Cod, so when the weather is nice, I go to the beach, take my Sea Doo watercraft out on the ocean and do some kayaking.