A Chat with Webcor’s John Tuttle

Behind-the-scenes learning, minimizing impact on environment take center stage

By Chris Maday Schmidt

Construction Manager John Tuttle, a seasoned superintendent, carries 14 years of construction industry experience. The last 10 years have been with Webcor. Over the past decade, Tuttle has been a key leader on a wide variety of major projects, including Cal Poly SLO Residential Community, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital & Trauma Center and Genesis Marina. Tuttle is passionate about continuously improving the company’s waste streams and strategizing innovative ways to minimize the construction industry’s impact on the environment. Join Construction Superintendent as he shares the advantages of trade internships, what makes him a quirky travel partner and the project that helped him become a better builder.

(Q) What drew you to an education and eventual career in construction?
I have always enjoyed building things, creating something tangible out of a plan. At an early age, I was building tree houses with my friends and taking several mission trips down to Mexico to build houses.  In high school, I took several architectural drafting classes but was more interested in building than design. A college counselor mentioned the Construction Management major at Cal Poly, so I figured I would take a tour of the department since it was a great mix of business and construction engineering.

(Q) As an intern starting off in the trades, how did this inform your career path?
Interning gave me a good idea of what this career path looked like and really shaped my decision to go the field route rather than project management. My first internship was up in Daly City, California doing a summer remodel of the school district’s restrooms. The different challenges we faced each day and the teamwork-oriented problem-solving really excited me. Each day, though planned out, always had its curveballs and kept things exciting.

(Q) What drove your decision to become LEED Accredited?
It was being pursued by many at the company I was working with at the time, and getting this accreditation allowed me to understand the LEED tracking and point systems that were set up on the projects.

(Q) Your project experience ranges from marina and hospitality, to healthcare, housing and education. Which type of project would you say is your favorite to work on? Why?
I really enjoyed healthcare and building a hospital.  Learning how the entire hospital works behind the scenes and each department’s function was fascinating. At the hospital, we had a mixture of areas to build from ICU, operating rooms, ambulance bays, all the backup services, base isolators for the foundations, seismic cabs, etc. This project taught me a lot and helped me become a better builder. I also enjoyed building San Francisco General Hospital – not only was it a great team, but my cousin did his residency there, which made the experience a little more personal.

(Q) What were some challenges you faced/interesting tidbits regarding working on the historical renovation housing project?
A lot of approvals and aligning expectations, plus mock-ups upon mock-ups. We had to custom make all the windows with all the wood trim/moldings and hardware. Getting that profile to match the early 1930 windows was tough, along with the sourcing and logistics involved with getting products through Hawaii’s stringent shipping inspection process.

(Q) Where do you see yourself in the next decade as far as your role in the industry?
Operations manager overseeing multiple projects while teaching and encouraging all our other superintendents to enjoy this fantastic and ever-growing industry.

(Q) Talk a bit about your involvement on improving Webcor’s waste streams and strategizing innovative ways to minimize the industry’s impact on the environment.
Construction waste is a huge item we’re tackling. At Webcor, we have started pursuing Total Resource Use and Efficiency certification. We are working with our waste haulers on implementing source-separation of trash onsite to ensure 90% of our waste is diverted from landfill. We’re also working with our trade partners and supplier to limit the amount of waste produced by their shipping and fabrication processes. We’re re-using all pallets brought to site, using extra concrete to pour pre-fabricated curbs that can be used onsite, limiting the amount of plastic wrap deliveries, re-using all our trailer construction items and taking care of these items so they can go from job to job. We also started looking at possible ways to work with designers to eliminate formwork at exterior curb.

(Q) Share with Construction Superintendent a little-known piece of information about yourself.
I really enjoy traveling. My wife laughs at me when we travel because I’m always taking photos of all the construction projects. I’m always interested in the logistics and planning being done.

(Q) When you’re not working and ‘crushing TCO dates’ how do you like to spend your free time?
When I’m not working, I enjoy spending time with my wife and two dogs. We live along the central coast of California, so we enjoy the beaches, hiking and wine tasting.

(Q) Which of the projects under your toolbelt stands out as the most challenging or memorable? Why is that?
San Francisco General Hospital because of all the challenging logistics that come with building a new hospital next to an active hospital and all the tie-ins, as well as all the inspections and layering of jurisdictions.

(Q) Share a bit on how you keep safety at the forefront with your crew.
We have daily morning huddles and end-of-day huddles to review what went well that day and what needs to be improved/adjusted for the next day. Safety lives in conversation with the crews onsite and getting to know everybody. It’s also about empowering all to speak up and developing an active caring culture onsite.

(Q) Which tool has been a game-changer in the field for you?
Plangrid and smartphones – being able to view drawings and all documents on your phone and/or tablet. It is a dumping ground and/or net for us to capture all items happening daily and report QC items, providing a single source of truth when creating lists and tracking. Runner-up is total Station with regards to inserting decks and layout.

(Q) What’s the best advice you’ve ever received during your career?
“Go slow to go fast.” Don’t always rush items. Take the time to properly plan the work and think of all angles/aspects of the build. Always “role-play” and think of the “what if” scenario to be prepared to pivot and make changes as needed. The proper plan creates workflow efficiencies.