Ken VanderJagt
What current project(s) are you working on?
Currently, my biggest project is working on change order estimates for the San José-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility in San José California with Stephen Daly as assistant estimator. We have been working on this project for about 2 years now. The plant is expanding continuously, and these expansions involve several large engineering firms to support program and construction management as well as design needs. Project delivery methods vary from design-bid-build, construction manager at risk, and progressive design-build. Due to these variations, there are different processes to manage change orders as they arise. We have significant experience with estimating from our work in Florida, so these processes weren’t foreign to us. For example, if a change occurs in a lump sum contract, the client will put out an RFP or an RFI, and sometimes estimate costs ahead of time. When that’s the case, we will do an independent estimate and ask the contractor to give an estimate as well. The engineers on site will initiate a resolution between the two estimates. This has required us to become familiar with the current local wage rates. There are prevailing wage rates in California as well as equipment rates from the Department of Transportation that are defined for the project. The rest of it becomes a question of what the material costs are, and we have some ways to figure that out.
What is your career highlight so far?
The relationship I gained with Marriott Vacation Club International in Orlando for Primavera Scheduling services that resulted in PMA staffing a half dozen scheduling positions at MVCI and extended scheduling roles with Marriott contractors Hunt Construction Group, Catafulmo Construction and others. I caught the client’s attention at a local Primavera P3 information seminar by asking questions indicating I knew how to run the software. Marriott’s timeshare division was in a major expansion mode at that time and brought PMA in to schedule projects for them throughout the United Stated, Caribbean and Europe.
What are some thoughts or insights after 45 years at PMA? What has kept you here for your career?
The best thing about PMA is the endless opportunity to get involved in another project with a different scope of work. You are given the autonomy to find your own way and look for your own clients. Honestly, there are so many nice things about PMA that have allowed me to succeed throughout my career. Dr. Gui and others were my partners in establishing great opportunities and I value all the relationships I have built within PMA. It has also been incredibly fulfilling to help other PMAers succeed in their careers and become their finest. PMA has always been about locating good people, bringing them in, and letting them do their thing to help the team succeed. All the experience I have gained during my time at PMA has allowed me to be selected for some top jobs that I find quite interesting.
How has PMA changed over the years?
Notably, I was one of PMA’s first employees, an original pioneer, I’d say. The culture of this company has always been entrepreneurial. The opportunity to pave one’s own path and pursue individual passions has always been a consistent theme of the company. Gui’s ideas and values at the start are still a prominent aspect today.
Initially when I joined PMA, I went where the projects were. First, I relocated to Midland, MI from the Ann Arbor area to work on a project for the Midland Nuclear Plant. At Midland, I honed my skills in scheduling and estimating that have carried me well through my career. I worked there for years and then when we got work in Florida, I moved down there. The job was a wastewater plant expansion for the city of Orlando, but at the same time, we had work with Orange County. We’ve built a good relationship with Orange County over the years and still do work for them. These projects helped me get an office started in Florida and we had some success expanding our reach and building up some clients in the area. Meanwhile, we started expanding to various parts of the country as well. I’ve seen PMA go from a handful of people to the remarkable company it is now. I have enjoyed experiencing its growth over the years.
What is something new or innovative happening in your industry?
One of the most innovative scheduling applications I became involved in recently was the application of real-time planning to implement SAP SE (Systems, Applications & Products in Data Processing), a German business enterprise software solution at Marathon Corporation. SAP was implemented to replace legacy mainframe accounting, management, and human resource programs. Major IT firms SAP, Deloitte, HCL Axon, and Wipro combined with Marathon IT Staff to develop, plan, test, rehearse, and cutover to SAP. I was brought in as a “Cutover Manager” to participate in the planning and scheduling of the effort. We had a 6-person scheduling team that ran real-time schedules 24 hrs a day. Cutover planning involves several phases and rehearsals. Phases include “Preparation,” “Downtime,” “Uptime,” “Go-Live,” and “Post-Go-Live.” These phases generally provide for system backups and security, data downloads, data conversions, loading new programs and converted data, system testing, security closures, and account balancing. The Cutover Managers constantly monitored the schedule and updated it with actual activity starts and finishes based on the emails. Cutover Managers also carefully tracked the Critical Path at all times and inquired with Team Leads for progress reports when completions were due. The objective was to send the next activity email within minutes of its predecessor’s emailed completion notice—hence “Real-Time” scheduling. Performance improved with each rehearsal, and a successful implementation was completed as planned in January 2014.
What university or college did you graduate from?
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, BSCE. Dr. Gui was my professor for CPM Scheduling. I started with PMA immediately after graduation in December 1978, reporting for work on December 26, 1978.
What is your favorite local establishment?
My favorite resort is Marriott’s Ocean Pointe resort in the West Palm Beach area. I stayed there with my wife and daughters several times while I was the scheduler on the successor unit buildings. My family fully enjoyed the beautiful beach, pools and resort amenities. More locally to my residence my favorite feature is the bike trails and bike ways of Orange and Lake Counties. Orange County’s West Orange Bike Trail is just a couple of blocks from my house and provides 30 miles of bike trail as it interconnects with the Lake County trail. Unlike most of Florida, Lake County has hilly terrain, the top hill being referred to as Sugarloaf Mountain. This is a favorite road bike training spot for Fernando Villanueva and I.
Fun Fact!
Is Ken related to politician Guy VanderJagt or NFL kicker Mike VanderJagt? No, but I do like to golf, run, and bicycle and I did complete a sprint triathlon after I turned 50.