Photo courtesy of TxDOT
Current AGC of Texas President Wade Miller views the current highway industry as benefitting from “the golden age” because of historic funding levels driven mostly by the tens of billions of dollars flowing from voter-approved Prop 1 and Prop 7 issues on the 2014 and 2015 Texas election ballots.
The newly-appointed AGC of Texas President Wade Miller plans to keep the association focused on some big issues in the year ahead: highway funding, workforce development and industry safety.
Miller thanked outgoing President Stacey Bryant and expressed humility and gratitude after becoming president at the January AGC of Texas Luncheon at the Hyatt Regency.
The president of family-run Big Creek Construction reflected on the status of the industry and shared his ideas for the next year, which is especially important, he noted, because it coincides with the 100th anniversary of AGC of Texas. Miller becomes the 80th president of the highway chapter of AGC of Texas. Some of his predecessors served multiple terms.
Photo courtesy of TxDOT
Miller views the current highway industry as benefitting from "the golden age" because of historic funding levels driven mostly by the tens of billions of dollars flowing from voter-approved Prop 1 and Prop 7 issues on the 2014 and 2015 Texas election ballots.
He noted that TxDOT letting will average more than $13 billion a year over the next decade.
"As a contractor, I am truly thankful for the opportunities now in front of us. … We've got to figure out to build out this work," Miller told colleagues. "And the only way we're going get this work done is by having workers to build it. So, we got to really focus on workforce development."
An aging construction workforce amplifies the need for AGC of Texas leaders to find better ways of attracting and retaining younger people, Miller emphasized.
The AGC scholarship is important and helps steer at least 25 younger people into the industry, he noted, but many more are needed – as in "thousands."
AGC of Texas, TXAPA, and TxDOT have joined a workforce coalition designed to recruit and train construction workers as part of a three-phase program. It starts with a marketing blitz followed by school visits and job fairs to help inform and interest students in a potential career in highway construction. A training program will prepare them to run heavy equipment while learning more about the industry.
"And that's a big task. We need thousands of workers. It's still in the early phases," Miller said of the initiative. "I tell our folks you just never, never stop hiring … You just never can get complacent on hiring. Do they all work out? No. As a matter of fact, most of them don't work out. But you got to keep trying."
Miller got his start in the highway industry doing grunt work for F.M. Young's Young Construction company, where father, John Miller, worked for more than 30 years.
The senior Miller started Big Creek Construction with 30 employees in 1997.
It has some 600 employees today, evolving from a modest, start-up company concentrating on small rehab and maintenance into a vertically integrated heavy highway construction company. Big Creek Construction has multiple plants and quarries in Central Texas and works in 9 of TxDOT's 25 districts.
It's a family business with the senior Miller still coming into the office, which Wade's wife, Kristi, manages. A brother and oldest son are involved in the business with two other sons considered prospects for joining once their education is complete.
"Our biggest blessing is having really good people. We've been able to grow because of great people. Many of these employees have been with us for a very long time," Miller said.
Industry leaders recognize that safety remains a perpetual priority and should be part of workforce development, Miller said.
"Not only do workers need to be trained for the job, they need to be trained to do the job safely," Miller said. "Our business is a dangerous business. We work in traffic, we work on top of bridges, we work down in trenches. We work on heavy equipment that goes back and forth all day long."
Photo courtesy of TxDOT
New workers might not understand the ever-present dangers, he added, which is why he's going to revive the AGC of Texas Health and Safety Committee to help members share safety-related experiences and ideas "to help us all get safer."
Work zones are especially hazardous with more than 25,000 accidents in those construction areas and around 200 fatalities each year. Texas has not seen a fatality-free day on the state's road system in more than 23 years.
Miller reminded colleagues what everyone knows: Safety is big business, meaning high insurance rates and defending lawsuits. Every third-party accident in work zones invites litigation regardless of severity or fault.
"Every contractor in this room and across the state is defending multiple lawsuits right now. Texas is a very litigious state. Plaintiff lawyers are feasting off contractors in this state. They are swinging for the fence in every case. Nuclear verdicts are being awarded, Miller said.
"If a contractor does not have enough liability insurance or a strong enough financial position, they can lose everything," he said.
That's why it's imperative for the industry to work with TxDOT to help identify unsafe or unclear situations in our work zones, he said.
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