By Michael J. Pallerino
The recent renovation of a six-floor, 210,000-square-foot interior project for a long-time client in Tampa is one of many examples of Cork Howard Construction’s commitment to take on a challenge for their clients. Their client had a hard move-in date with an eight-month schedule for a complete demolition and build out that required extremely long days seven days a week and two shifts for several trades to keep the project moving forward after some permitting delays. While projects of this size all come with their own challenges, Clark Howard’s project managers, superintendents, and Vice President John Handerhan (a 26-year veteran of the firm), did an excellent job of keeping the project on track towards a fast-approaching deadline. The client moved in as scheduled and immediately rewarded the firm with another large café project in the adjacent building on campus.
The renovation of the Southern Regional Medical Center’s state-of-the-art CAT scan rooms in 2020 serves as another example of Cork Howard’s pledge to make a difference in everything it does. The multi-phase project, which was awarded a prestigious “Build Georgia Award” by the Associated General Contractors of Georgia (AGC Georgia), involved navigating between multiple departments and trades. That Mark Williams and his team had to conduct the work seven days a week, in and out of working shifts so that the hospital could continue to operate, is just a day in the life.
For Williams, President and Project Executive of Cork Howard’s Atlanta office, the project also represents everything that the nearly 30-year-old company stands for. For example, along with renovating two existing CT rooms, it also provided major rework and upgrades to mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems. For this project, the work involved multiple crane lifts, electrical shutdowns, Interim Life Safety Measures (a set of health and safety actions that are implemented to ensure that a building maintains an acceptable level of life safety when it is under renovation), and constant communications between construction and hospital staff. To note, during the entire process, there was not one disruption.
“We pride ourselves on our ability to put the right team on the right project and stay focused on the fundamentals,” said Williams, who has led the Cork Howard Atlanta team for the past six years of his 27-year tenure. “To use football terminology, it is what’s called the ‘blocking and tackling’ approach. We focus on the basics with project management and do our best to set the project up for success at the onset of each project. That means identifying long lead items, getting submittals reviewed and released quickly, and developing detailed schedules with everyone’s input while maintaining proper documentation throughout the project.”
In the world of construction, where teamwork is everything, Cork Howard is one of the Southeast’s leading players. The commercial general contractor, which along with having an office in Marietta and Tampa, Florida, holds licenses in Alabama, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee. Founded in 1995 by Gene Cork, the company has successfully transitioned from a two-person organization to a team of dedicated and skilled employees specializing in high-end interiors, healthcare, build outs and renovations, which include large multi-floor construction, and projects with difficult and compressed schedules.
The latter is where Cork Howard thrives. In an industry where collaboration is critical, success hinges on fluid partnerships across all participating teams. Client and owner. Architects and designers. General contractors and subcontractors. Suppliers and vendors. Regulators and inspectors. “You have to maintain solid communication channels with all parties, including weekly team meetings with all trades and vendors on any and every project,” Williams said. “Our project managers and superintendents literally speak daily and use our project management software to discuss any issues as they arise so we can get solutions to the field and all parties involved as quickly as possible.”
The power of team
The Cork Howard culture was built, pardon the pun, on its team-first mentality and the ability to effectively have everyone focus on attention to detail. One of its key strengths remains its ability to consistently construct large and/or complicated multi-phased projects in an efficient and timely manner — a feat that is easier promised than delivered in today’s commercial construction landscape.
“The construction business is very tough, as we have challenges almost daily, whether material deliveries are running behind or lack of skilled manpower prevents a scheduled completion of an activity within a schedule,” Williams said. “These all require solid communication from our team to the client to manage expectations. Hard and difficult projects build character, and the successful completion of projects builds confidence for our team members. That confidence, in turn, feeds our motivation to seek success.”
In a team-based environment, where each person feeds off others’, success is fostered by repeating the same effective process over and over to achieve the same or better results. Williams said that he and his team closely study each project after it is completed to learn where the process can be better. This drive — and that attention to detail — is why the firm has had more than 75-percent repeat customers since its first job. “Our basic approach to any client is that our goal is to make their jobs easier, period,” Williams said. “We want our clients to know that we care about every project, large or small. We do not want to perform just a single project for anyone. Our goal is to build a relationship off that first project that will last a lifetime.”
Reflecting on the heart of Cork Howard’s relationships with its clients, Williams said that the genuine connection of getting the job completed drives excellence. When everyone genuinely enjoys the give and take and communication, there is a mutual determination to deliver exceptional results. Through both established and budding relationships, this authentic enthusiasm propels them to explore innovative solutions for every project’s success.
“We believe that clients understand that not everything will be perfect every time and there will be adversities,” Williams said. “It all comes down to how you deal with those adversities. That is what builds relationships. When a client sees our team members working diligently to complete their project, getting to the job early, staying late, keeping an eye on quality and safety, it puts them at ease and it builds trust knowing that we have their best interest at heart.”
Cork Howard operates under what is called a flat management style, which is designed to offer fewer levels of management between employees and executives. “This style allows us to work in conjunction with each project manager,” Williams said. “We meet bi-weekly as a team to discuss every active project. This gives us the ability to keep the workflow as even as possible and allows us to take the team approach for every project. For example, if someone has some unexpected issues on one project, we can have another project manager jump in and work through the issue or simply review submittals, shop drawings, handle sub-meetings and attend OAC [owner-architect-contractor] meetings to help out. By meeting as a team every other week, everyone is familiar at a high level of all active projects.”
To keep the Cork Howard team in step with the latest practices and standards related to the industry at large, it offers internal classes taught by its management team, and via other project managers and local vendors. Take the Cork Howard safety director, which sets up schedules that require mandatory participation for various aspects of the construction industry. This includes everything from Infection Control Risk Assessment and Interim Life Safety training, accounting classes, lessons learned, project process classes, and various trade training from vendors and subcontractors.
“This is an ongoing process that is scheduled each quarter along with our weekly safety training videos and tests that are incentivized through bonuses given for all consistent attendees,” Williams said. “The diverse background of our project managers, as well as the diverse types of projects we perform on a regular basis, is part of our strength. It is part of our focus to assemble the right team for the right project. Because we have such a diverse background and team members, we can be competitive in many markets. This helps us maintain a consistent flow of work. This versatility is critical for us as a company. We do not have to simply rely on one sector of the market, if corporate interiors work is slow, healthcare could be picking up, if not ground-up projects could be our focus.”
On call, all the time
The ability of the Cork Howard team to circle the wagons in a moment’s notice is one of their endearing qualities. Williams recalled an explosion at a local hospital over a New Year’s break that resulted in a fatality in an emergency department. The incident activated the sprinkler system, which in turn ruined all the equipment, finishes, ceiling, electrical, etc. Called in the next day, Cork Howard met with the hospital staff and its director of construction to formulate a game plan.
“We established a plan and scheduled work two shifts seven days a week,” Williams said. “From the day of the explosion to the day the doctors saw patients in the newly renovated wing was a total of eight weeks. That was during COVID. Needless to say, this was probably one of the toughest projects we have ever done to date when you consider the product and manpower availability and schedule constraints. We still work within that facility today. They are one of our favorite clients.”
For most of their healthcare projects, and a large percentage of their corporate interior work, the Cork Howard team is required to work in active and occupied areas. That is what makes their training with infection and dust control such an important attribute. To help meld the two environments, the Cork Howard team implements the same procedures as the hospital staffs, including HEPA filters to keep dust down for the employee’s work environment, creating “white noise” to help muffle the sound of construction, using walk-off and sticky mats, and scheduling clean sweep times during the day to keep freight elevators and public corridors clean.
“We approach these projects much the same way and determine the tolerable level of noise of the adjacent tenants and patients,” Williams said. “If the noise level is too much on a corporate project, we have the opportunity to implement a night or weekend shift. If the noise level is too much for a healthcare project, we do not have that luxury, as patients need the hospital quiet at night. We then need to coordinate closely with the facilities and floor nurses to establish set work hours.”
While most construction projects in today’s climate are challenging due to material deliveries, manpower shortages or schedule requirements, healthcare construction projects are sometimes the most challenging, especially since the work is mostly done in and around patients. But as any general contractor will earnestly admit, fast and complicated projects take several key “must-have” components — blueprints of success Williams and his team have ingrained into the process.
“Having that strong and open communication is a must,” Williams said. “You must have the right subcontractor and the right vendor to have the right project. Everyone, across the board, must have the buy-in on the schedule. Internally, we set the project up for success or failure within the first week by adhering to that. The more detailed we are in setting the project up, the fewer problems we have during the project. And when we have issues, we act immediately so that we can establish and implement a solution as soon as possible. Time is always of the essence.”
Cork Howard Construction’s rise as a leading general contractor in the Southeast is a testament to its commitment to more than just exceptional craftsmanship. It’s a story of building not only structures, but also a culture where employees are valued as people first. By fostering a team atmosphere that prioritizes balance — delivering excellence on the job while ensuring time for family — Cork Howard has created a legacy that resonates with clients, partners, and its dedicated workforce. This commitment continues to set the foundation for its enduring success.
