A Chat with Brendan Kenny, Superintendent at Robins & Morton

By Chris Maday Schmidt

Brendan Kenny, superintendent, began his career with Robins & Morton in 2006 after graduating from East Tennessee State University with his bachelor’s degree in Construction Engineering. His first project as a field engineer was Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 2007, Kenny moved to Huntsville, Alabama, where he would advance to become a key leader in many projects including major healthcare facility renovations and new medical office buildings. Join Construction Superintendent as Kenny talks about the challenges and changes he’s experienced with medical construction, safety and sustainability in the field and insights for the next-generation superintendent.

(Q) What drew you to the construction industry and a degree in construction engineering?

I started doing home construction projects with my dad at a young age and continued through my youth. When I was in middle school, engineering and architecture fascinated me. As a high school student, I was convinced I wanted to be an architect. By the time I got to college, my interest in construction was renewed. I found that being a part of the building’s construction was an important part of seeing the architect’s and engineer’s vision brought to reality. I have always enjoyed problem solving and found that overcoming construction challenges was rewarding.

(Q) Congratulations on recently being awarded 2019 Superintendent of the Year (Category III) by Subcontractors Association of Alabama. Talk about what this honor means to you.

I am very humbled and honored to have received this award. It means a great deal that the Subcontractors Association of Alabama saw fit to recognize my efforts to foster a safe and fair construction site culture.

(Q) Your career spans successful completions of multiple medical facilities. Which project presented the most roadblocks? How did you mitigate these challenges?

I would have to say the project that presented the most roadblocks was the HH Decatur General South Tower demolition project in Huntsville, Alabama. The project required that we build a temporary emergency room in a nearby wing of the hospital, relocate the ER and deconstruct five structural levels off a wing of the hospital, while leaving the bottom two floors of the wing intact. Our major challenges included the presence of high-voltage transmission lines 40 feet from the end of the building, an occupied wing of the hospital 40 feet on another side and the requirement to understand and disconnect three vertical expansions of MEP systems, while not shutting down any systems critical to the hospital’s operation. The two vertical expansion structures were also built in two different eras. This project took a tremendous amount of planning to manage the staggering number of unknown conditions. We instituted daily coordination meetings with the hospital to ensure that our work did not affect the hospital’s operations, while also mitigating any safety hazards. Our team also had to develop procedures to perform work that was outside the norm for our typical projects.

Huntsville Hospital’s administration and plant operations group greatly contributed to the project’s success by lending knowledge of the building systems and providing support throughout the project. We were also fortunate to have a partner in a local engineering firm. Because of this partnership, we were able to overcome many challenges through planning work that affected the construction techniques and code requirements implemented 50-60 years ago by understanding how it was built at that time vs. today’s best practices. The adage that removal is the reverse of installation does not apply between different eras of construction. Another challenge was safety. Our team managed activities like saw-cutting and hoisting five structural levels of concrete, creating unique safety considerations. Keeping several months of those high-intensity operations in motion required everyone on our team to be vigilant with deconstruction operations because any mistake could be disastrous. Ultimately, our team safely removed 5 million pounds of structure from the top of the wing with no major impacts to the hospital’s operations and no recordable or lost-time incidents. This is a true testament to the commitment of everyone who was involved with the project.

(Q) In the past 14 years, what would you say has changed the most in construction—especially in the area of healthcare construction?

I would say the emphasis on safety, both in patient and worker safety. The innovations in these areas are ever changing and improving the protection we can provide.

(Q) Talk about the challenges involved with working on renovations of occupied healthcare buildings.

The challenges vary greatly depending on what patient population you are working near. Infection control and interim life safety measures are always our primary focus. The sensitivity of the infection control procedures and practices are very different between working in, or near, a neonatal intensive care unit versus physical therapy treatment areas. Construction within a healthcare facility requires a different mentality, taking into account other effects of our work like noise, vibrations and odors. All of these things can have an affect on patient comfort and the ability of the hospital’s staff to do their jobs. Taking the time to coordinate our activities with the owner and plant operations staff is absolutely necessary to lessen the impact our work has on the operation of the facility.

(Q) In what ways do you apply your certification and expertise in LEED AP in your day-to-day duties?

Sustainability in construction is a consistent day-to-day effort to reduce our environmental impact on the world around us. Getting my accreditation from USGBC in 2009 and maintaining it through the years has helped increase my awareness of how to build in a more environmentally conscious way beginning in the earliest phases of the project all the way to the daily actions that are as simple as making recycling more accessible, installing LED lights in the jobsite trailer, tracking our waste to reduce it and implementing Robins & Morton’s sustainable jobsites policy.

(Q) How do you ensure a clean, safe and orderly jobsite with your team?

I think it requires buy-in from every person on the project. We work to earn that buy-in during our project orientation by setting expectations for safety and clean-up on the project. As an industry, I think we also need to continue focusing on nurturing pride in workmanship and thanking our employees for a job well done. Hearing from someone that you did a good job fosters an interest in wanting to do more good work. Taking pride and ownership in work leads to caring more about a clean and orderly site.

(Q) What advice would you give to students considering a field in construction?

First, you don’t have to go to college to have a rewarding career in construction. More high school students should explore the opportunities in construction by taking classes in technical schools. As the need for craftworkers increases alongside wages, the opportunity to have a well-paid career gets better every year. Second, if you are going to go to college, graduate from your program with a willingness to learn everything you can from everyone you can. Watch good craftworkers perform their job and understand how they perform their work – it will help you better understand how to build as you grow in your profession. And finally, listen to the stories of your construction elders.

(Q) Looking back at the beginning of your career, what one person has been the most influential and provided you with the most guidance?

After reflecting on my career, I have to name three individuals. Senior Superintendent Rob George helped nurture some of my foundational learning in quality control and code requirements. He also taught me so many great lessons in the fair treatment of all onsite team members and the value in passing down knowledge to the next generation of construction managers. Superintendent JD Johnson also taught me many lessons that have helped me to become the superintendent I am today. One of which includes respecting the invaluable role that our craftworkers play in providing a high-quality product to our clients and that understanding their value contributes to employee retention. He also taught me how to be a builder, not just a manager. Finally, Senior Safety Manager Dennis Peterson has constantly challenged me to become a better safety leader and encouraged me to never accept that our efforts at the moment make the project safe enough.

(Q) Do you play a role in the recruitment and retention of craftworkers and/or are you involved in any type of mentorship program with Robins & Morton?

As a superintendent, I have some involvement in recruiting employees, but my involvement is more in retention of craftworkers. I have not had the opportunity to be involved in Robins & Morton’s craft mentorship program yet, but I have always tried to prioritize mentoring craft employees on my own projects. Any investment we make in helping our craftworkers, helps them to do their job better and take more responsibility, which will make the project better.

(Q) What is the one tried-and-true trade tool you’d be lost without?

There are three items – something to write with, write on and measure with. One of the first superintendents I worked for told me I didn’t have any business being in the field if I didn’t have pen or pencil, a field book and a tape measure. I still do this today.

(Q) If you had to pick just one, which project stands out as your greatest accomplishment? Why?

The HH Decatur South Tower demolition project in Huntsville, Alabama, would probably be my greatest accomplishment. The project was nothing like our company had ever done before. Due to the level that the project operated at for months, I am proud of the fact that it was successful and finished safely.

(Q) How do you like to spend your time when you’re off the clock?

I spend the most time outside of work with my three little girls and wife. I also try to find some time to do woodwork, play golf and work on my old project car.