With 33 years of experience, Dave Seastrom has seen the construction industry evolve with greater respect and perceived value shown toward contractors, specialty subcontractors and trade partners.

With this evolution also comes increased responsibility and the need for superior execution to meet today’s quality, schedule and budget demands.

CAREER AND INDUSTRY EVOLUTION

What started as a fascination with his father’s industrial engineering work, laying out manufacturing plants, eventually led Seastrom to pursue a degree in civil engineering with an emphasis in construction from the University of Southern California (USC).

“Early on, I knew that calculations and engineering design were not my passion. It was being involved in the actual implementation that was exciting,” said Seastrom. “Even after all these years, I still marvel at the progress project teams can make on a job in a day, one week or a month.”

THEN VS. NOW

Since joining DPR in 2004, Seastrom has seen exponential improvement in the industry. “There’s been a shift in the emphasis of planning a project,” said Seastrom. “Lean practices, construction technologies, prefabrication and modularization strategies have improved efficiencies in the field.”

Seastrom remembers the days when it felt like teams needed to “influence” customers to allow builders to implement new techniques and strategies on projects. “Today, you can feel the change as many of our customers now push us to see how far we can go, providing us the opportunities to try new things to deliver projects with higher efficiency,” said Seastrom.

CUSTOMER CHALLENGES

Construction in California and the nation has risen, which can impact projects in ways that are not always immediately identifiable, according to Seastrom. The increased demand for materials (e.g., steel and glass) and qualified labor affects strategic thinking and planning for owners on all major projects.

“Our job is to advise our customers about potential risks and mitigation factors,” said Seastrom. “Planning, safety, quality and schedule are not independent activities, but all connected. Upfront planning in preconstruction, which includes procurement strategies and construction sequencing to address changing market conditions, allows us to provide creative solutions and deliver projects that meet our customers’ needs.”

DPR’s Southern California region consists of offices in Newport Beach and Pasadena.