Message from Doug

Systems for Better Construction

Earlier this year I spoke at the concrete industry’s big annual convention in Las Vegas. One of my presentations showed contractors how to create effective systems within their businesses.

Within your business there are many tasks that should be performed the same way every time. When you take the time to create and document a system for each of those tasks, many great things come from it.

Benefits of creating systems in your business:
¨ Less screw-ups
¨ Increased productivity
¨ Delegation of tasks to others
¨ Less vulnerability to employees leaving
¨ Assigned responsibility
¨ Reduced reliance on key employees
¨ Leverage time and talent
¨ Increased profits

Systems for Homebuilding
When my good friend, Jim Sessoms, was building homes in Cobb County, he had a detailed system for managing his homeowner clients and the selections they had to make throughout the building process. His clients had a schedule that showed them when they had to make decisions based on the stage of construction the house was under. This kept Jim’s houses on schedule. He rarely had to halt construction due to his client’s slow selection process.

Charlie Borg and the other excellent builders at Traton Homes have a system for detailing all of the options and specifics of a project before giving those plans to us and their other trades. This process reduces errors and conveys all of the information in one place.

At Herbert Construction Co., we have created systems for many areas in our business. Some of those systems are complicated and involve hundreds of steps. However, some of our most effective systems within our company are simple checklists and forms that get filled out each time a task is performed.

When we first came to Atlanta, we would occasionally miss items on our foundations – a sewer sleeve here, a beam pocket there. This was an annoyance to our clients and to us. To fix the problem, we created a Foundation Checklist.

Before beginning a new foundation for our client, we asked them the questions on the checklist to make sure we constructed the basement the way they wanted it. The information on that checklist was used to create our custom CAD plan. Our crews used that custom CAD plan to construct the foundation. Everything was addressed on the checklist, and every basement was constructed properly.

The items on the checklist grew and, over time, we began to use that same Foundation Checklist for creating estimates for potential clients. This was back when we would meet them on the jobsite to review a set of paper plans. While meeting with the homebuilders, we would fill out the Foundation Checklist. Then, we would take the plans and checklist back to our office to work up pricing. When they asked us to do the job, we already had the information for our custom CAD plan.

That Foundation Checklist has grown to include more than 44 items and is still used on every foundation we construct today. A simple checklist has reduced our mistakes and made our clients happier.

Where in your business can you create systems that will reduce mistakes and increase your profits?

To Your Success,


Recent Referrals - Thank you!

Open the windows (once the pollen is gone) and let the house air out. Spring is in the air and here in Georgia the view is breathtaking. It’s perfect weather to go out, take a drive and see just how much our surroundings have changed over the last month. Out with the crinkly dead leaves that are still hanging around in some of our gutters, and in with the fresh new flowers and green leafy trees! Ah… refreshing! We would like to thank generously our friends and associates who time and again refer others to our company. You guys are the BEST!!

Bill Holiday, Callahan Consulting Group – Consultant  www.CallahanConsultingGroup.com

Brian Schuster, Peachtree Residential – Purchasing Manager  www.PeachtreeRes.com

Troy Hudson, Geo Enviro Engineering – Engineer  www.GeoEnvironmentalEngineering.com  


Meet Our Team

By: Ashley Hollifield


Linda and Barry Herbert, founders of
Herbert Construction Company
Herbert Construction Company was founded by Barry and Linda Herbert in Southwest Michigan in 1978. It began with one boom truck and enough lumber to build 150 linear feet of hand-made wood forms.

For 20 years the company constructed commercial, residential and agricultural foundations in Michigan. In 1998, we acquired a poured wall contractor in Marietta, GA. Our headquarters are now here in Marietta.

Barry and Linda still operate Herbert Construction with the help of their three children and a really great team of people who care about being the best at what we do. Since its founding, Herbert Construction has built more than 3,400 foundations.





Mike Herbert – V.P of Construction
Heading up our construction division is Mike Herbert, who kicked off his concrete career when he was a young kid. Spending most of his childhood playing and working outside has made Mike an expert in all things dirt-related.

Mike is in charge of our boom truck operations and delivers our forms from our shop to each different job.

He is also largely in charge of our truck purchases and maintenance as well as monitoring the inner-workings of the shop.

He is a very private yet extremely funny guy who enjoys working laboriously on his farm with his wife and six children.

Doug Herbert – President
As Herbert Construction’s president, Doug is at the hub of all things and oversees the company’s business development and strategic planning activities. He is very well versed in the art of communication, in tune with business, encouraging of others and, to top it all off he can run a mean marathon.

Doug began his construction career in his early teens while working on job sites in the summer and on school breaks. An idea he wasn’t too crazy about when he was a kid, but something he quickly became accustomed to. He then studied Construction Management at Western Michigan University and later became a Certified Foundation Technician for the Concrete Foundations Association of North America. He is now a second generation, 26 year veteran of the concrete industry and a highly acclaimed presenter for the CFA, as well as the World of Concrete.

Being the president of Herbert Construction and directing all of the day to day operations for the company doesn’t mean that Doug doesn’t have time for fun. Doug has traveled solo through Asia, rode a motorcycle through Europe, skydived, bungee jumped and ran with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain...TWICE! However, his biggest adventure thus far is being the father to two young children, Ella and Hage.


Amanda Morris – V.P of Operations
Few people are as adept and well organized as our beloved Amanda. She can most likely be seen in front of the scheduling board with her cell phone on her ear making sure that everyone is where they should be and that each job is well sourced for the most effective completion.

Amanda holds a BS in Architecture from Lawrence Tech University and studied civil engineering at Michigan State University. She is the main contact for all concrete deliveries, concrete pump truck dispatches, and organizing and placing our crews on the right jobs relative to skill set.

Amanda is the daughter of Barry and Linda Herbert, and certainly the prettiest of their three children. In her spare time she loves to travel, try as many new restaurants and cuisines as she can and spend time with her husband Josh, and their daughter Amelia.


Tom LaRosa – Controller
Herbert Construction welcomed Tom LaRosa in 2014 and ever since he has been dubbed the king of the “one liner.” He always has a joke or sound affect ready for any occasion and you never know when he will utilize this skill.

Tom has over 30 years of accounting and finance experience as well as a BS in Business Administration from The State University of New York at Brockport and a CMA from Kennesaw State University. If it involves company finances, planning, or analyzing numbers, Tom is the one we count on.

Tom enjoys doing home improvement and landscaping work at his home, spending time with his wife and daughter, (when she comes home from college) and the occasional golf game on the weekend. One fun fact about Tom is that he was in attendance at the original 1969 Woodstock Music Festival.


David Summey – General Superintendent
Our builders who work with David really appreciate his ability to make things happen on a jobsite. He is our “everything” guy that works independently with each builder or contractor to make sure that expectations are met and that quality work is being done every time.

David has over 26 years of experience working with concrete, 16 of those years have been with Herbert Construction. It’s hard to tell if there is anything about foundations that David doesn’t know. He also oversees our crews and helps to regulate our scheduling, so he is pretty important around here and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

In David’s free time he loves to go fishing, work in his garden and play with his grandkids. However, as all of us Herbert staffers know, perhaps David’s favorite thing to do is give James, our estimator, a hard time.


Josh Morris – Senior CAD Operator
Josh is our “behind the scenes” guy who normally would choose to not to be in the spotlight. However, after 18 years with Herbert Construction, he has become so instrumental to our company that we can hide him no longer.

Josh takes each plan that we receive and then creates custom CAD drawings. These drawings, and any revisions that are made, give our Foremen and their crews the detailed information they need to lay out and construct our foundations correctly. His ability to zero in on our most complex plans and make them simple is a talent that not many possess.

Not only is he one of the most detail-oriented people here at Herbert, he is also one of the most well traveled. He and his wife Amanda, our V.P of Operations, have traveled all over the world together from Paris to Bangkok and have recently started bringing their daughter Amelia. What a lucky girl!


Aimee Hageman – Office Manager
Though her chief ambition is to see her Chicago Cubs win the World Series, Aimee busies herself in the meantime managing the daily functions and accounting for our office. Originally from Michigan, she relocated in 1999 with Herbert Construction to help manage the new Atlanta location. She has been with our company for 20 years and counting!

Aimee’s managerial skills are only part of what she brings to the table, she can juggle payroll, credit apps and all employee benefits and accountability while quietly listening to hard rock music in her office. She is truly one-of-a-kind!

In her free time Aimee enjoys hanging out with her son Jack, being involved with her church and rocking her wide selection of work-out videos.



James Armstrong – Estimator
James, a 2013 addition to the Herbert team, does a super job estimating for our company. With more than 10 years of experience in estimating and project management, James is the go to guy for getting our bids out quickly. As long as his coffee cup is full, the bids just keep on going out. 

He handles all communication with established and new builders regarding their upcoming construction plans and projects. Chances are, if you have done work with us recently, you are already familiar with James.

When James is not busy cranking out bids for our clients, he spends his time giving David (our General Superintendent) a run for his money. James is a lover of the outdoors and spends most of his free time on an ATV, hunting, or with his son Tyler.


Ashley Hollifield – Administrative Assistant
Our newest team member is Ashley, she has been here just over a year but is likely the first one you will talk to when you call our company. She takes care of our front office, hires our laborers, and is very involved with the creation and distribution of our monthly newsletter that each of you diligently read each month.

Occasionally you might see her on a jobsite taking pictures for the newsletter, or interviewing a customer. But, most likely she will be in the front office or in the yard giving a group of “new guys” their initial orientation for the company.

Ashley and her husband, Joe, own a shaved ice business that they run on the weekends during the summer for many local community events. When she is not working she enjoys spending time with her husband and their two children, Hunter and Sadie… and reading - Ashley loves to read!


Spring Cleaning Tips

Deep Clean Shower Head
After having a shower, fill a sandwich bag with baking soda and vinegar and tie it around the showerhead using an elastic band.  Leave this to soak overnight then any debris will come off easily with an old toothbrush.


Store Sheet Sets in Pillow Cases
Finding matching bed sets can be a huge time waster but solved easily by organising your linen.  Fold matching bed sets into the corresponding pillowcase so they are all kept together.

Use a Lemon to Clean Stainless Steel
Annoying water stains on your tap and sink? Halve a lemon and use it to scrub stainless steel.  It will also make your kitchen smell fresh and citrusy.
  
Microwave Sponges
If you’ve only got one sponge to do all of the spring-cleaning with, disinfect it quickly and easily by putting it in your now spotless microwave for two minutes.  Just make sure your sponge doesn’t have any metal on it.

Steam Clean Microwave
Had a baked beans explosion? Clean your microwave the easy way by mixing two tablespoons of white vinegar and a few drops of your favorite essential oil with water and blast it for 5 minutes.  You’ll be left with a shiny clean microwave that smells amazing with zero scrubbing required.

Fold and Stack Clothes Vertically not Horizontally
Organize yourt-shirt drawer by folding them and stacking vertically not horizontally.  This way you can flip through to find the one you want easily and minimize creasing which means less ironing, always good.