A Chat with Shawn Morrison, Senior Superintendent at Haselden Construction

Working toward common goal, encouraging accountability help garner team buy-in 

By Chris Maday Schmidt

Shawn Morrison, senior superintendent, has been with Haselden Construction for more than 20 years and is well-respected in the industry. In his role, he oversees all Haselden’s projects in the Western region. He earned his B.S. in management, is a LEED Accredited Professional and certified in stormwater management, CPR and first aid; he also holds Healthcare Construction Certification. Join Construction Superintendent as Morrison talks about his background on high-profile projects, as well as employment alongside his brother, unique challenges working in the Aspen area and how he encourages open communication with his team.

(Q) I understand your brother is also a superintendent at Haselden. Do you ever work together? How is that dynamic?

My brother Brandon and I have worked together off and on for many years. In the early days when he was a carpenter, I was very hard on him. I wanted to make sure that anyone else on the same project understood that he didn’t have it easy because his brother was the superintendent of the project. Now that we are both superintendents and he has many projects under his belt, it’s much easier. We both just finished building the W Hotel in Aspen. He ran all the interior finishes for me and I found it invaluable to have him on the project. He kept me grounded and focused on the goal of the project. The nice part is he is not afraid to share his opinion on my decisions—even when it goes against my thoughts. This always leads to good discussions and better decisions on my part.

(Q) Drawing on your background working on numerous high-profile projects, what projects stand out as your favorite and/or most challenging? Why?

Aspen Valley Hospital was definitely the most challenging, as well as being the most rewarding. It was a phased project that went all the way around the existing building. The project included all new infrastructure throughout the entire site, including around a standalone assisted living/community center. This required weekly meetings with the 20 or so residents of the building along with the lunches they served to the community Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We knew early on that we would need to take special care of these folks, so we made sure we catered to their every need. We changed multiple tires and jumped many cars. We also took the residents out on outings in our project van to help them get away from all the construction work. This project also included a parking structure that required a 40-foot vertical cut outside of their patient wing and the addition of a second floor over the ICU and birthing center. We also had a 350-yard excavation to add structure to the existing building which had to be completely dug by hand because of the proximity to the birthing center. It was also encapsulated inside the building. The last phase we completed was the addition of a new ER and surgery center. Again, we had 20-foot deep vertical excavations right outside their existing surgery center and we were able to accomplish this with minimal interruption to their surgery schedules. As with any phased project, we built it so they could relocate and then we remodeled the space they vacated. In all, we had roughly 15 phases inside the building that resulted in transforming a run-down building into a new, functional and amazing building.

Performing work for an end user like a hospital or a school is special. Getting to see the folks utilize their building and the excitement they show for the new building is very rewarding.

(Q) If you could hand pick a dream project, what would it look like?

Hard question. I love what I do and when I get involved, I tend to lose myself in it. But since I am getting older, I would say I would love to do a project where the weather is always 72 F!

(Q) What piece of technology would you be lost without—and why?

I would say that my smartphone and tablet are the two I would be lost without. Since we utilize Procore and all our documents live there I would be lost without it. It is so nice not having to drag drawings out into the field. Repairing ripped pages… updating drawings by cutting and pasting to the drawings sets. The flow and instant access to the most current information helps keep issues down and production up.

(Q) How do you encourage open communication with your team of project superintendents and subcontractors?

By showing them vulnerability, being transparent and treating them as my equal. Everyone has their part to play and it is every bit as important as the part I play. Once they understand that we are all working toward the same common goal and that we are all in it together they tend to help more. Asking their advice and giving them a voice and empowering them to be part of the decision making encourages everyone to take accountability—especially as it relates to sequence and flow of the project. Getting their buy-in is very important.

(Q) What is the most significant change [you’ve witnessed] throughout your tenure in the industry?

It is the loss of the older craftsmen. Work is taking longer to complete, and it takes a bit more to get the quality where it needs to be.

(Q) At the end of the day, how do you like to spend your time?

I have three sons, so the time I get with them means the world. But since they are older and Dad isn’t cool, I spend a lot of time fly fishing or on the local golf course. These activities require a certain amount of concentration that helps me forget about the stress of the project.

(Q) What type of in-house training does Haselden offer to attract and retain skilled workers? What about mentorship programs?

Haselden just instituted the Haselden Commercial Building Institute. This is an accredited program we have put together to train our up-and-coming superintendents on how to be the next best superintendent. We developed this in-house and a lot of us are the teachers. I get to do my part in the month of November teaching scheduling. We also have it as a goal for every superintendent to develop a training program for the hourly employees. We have had classes on blueprint reading, layout, doors and hardware and general carpenter skills. We also spend a lot of time running our folks through safety training. This is everything from silica safety to fall protection. We want our team members to operate in the safest manner possible so they can return home each night and enjoy the fruits of their hard work.

(Q) Any unique challenges to working in the Aspen area?

Aspen has to be the most unique and challenging places that I have worked. The limited working hours, tight working sites, stringent noise ordinances and limited times of year we can operate in the streets make it extremely challenging. When we started construction of the W Hotel (which was the old Sky Hotel), we had to construct a 16-foot-tall sound fence that surrounded the entire site. It ended up being 1,400 lineal feet of fence. Our Miscellaneous Metals Department, along with our earthwork and concrete crews, helped fabricate and install this fence in just eight days. The posts where installed every 8 feet and required to be installed on a footing. They came up with using big feet and sonotubes. This fence was up until we had the exterior sheathing installed on the building, so maintaining this fence for over a year was definitely a challenge. The other struggle with working in Aspen is just simply getting into town. Everything drops down to single-lane traffic and at certain times of the day it can take over an hour to go two miles. This means getting materials and team members in and out of town becomes challenging. Especially if you’re trying to perform a large concrete pour and are relying on multiple trucks hitting the site.

(Q) What drove you to pursue LEED AP and/or healthcare construction certification?

The simple answer is to understand what we are required to build and to be as educated about it as I possibly could be. Not understanding what we are trying to build and the importance of it could be devastating to a project. Especially as it relates to time and money.

(Q) What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received during your career?

Treat everyone like they are a person and that they do matter.