Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: So I just get a phone call one day from my dad telling me, because my dad used to work with them.
[00:00:04] Speaker B: Your dad was working?
[00:00:05] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:00:06] Speaker B: Oh, wow.
[00:00:06] Speaker A: So he calls me and he's like, hey, so you want to join the team?
[00:00:10] Speaker C: When Moss Utilities was struggling, that's when he came in. He came in like, I think one of the worst years that we've had. And at the end of the day, we suffered through Moss situation together.
[00:00:19] Speaker A: At the beginning, I kind of questioned that. I was like, man, I don't think it's going to work.
[00:00:39] Speaker B: Well, I just want to thank you guys for coming on board today to talk, you know, a little bit about, you know, your story here at Moss. I know. Julio, you worked at moss construction in 2006, right?
[00:00:49] Speaker A: Something like that?
[00:00:50] Speaker B: Something like that.
[00:00:51] Speaker A: 20, 20 plus years ago.
[00:00:53] Speaker B: 20 plus years ago. A long time.
[00:00:55] Speaker A: That was with the almost old months.
[00:00:59] Speaker B: What was their office back then?
[00:01:01] Speaker A: I think it was up there by 75. I think it was widely W, if I'm not mistaken.
[00:01:08] Speaker B: And how long were you there for?
[00:01:10] Speaker A: So most construction, I was there for four or five years, something like that.
Yeah. So I started, say, labor.
So I just get a phone call one day from my dad telling me because. Because my dad used to work with them.
[00:01:24] Speaker B: Your dad was working?
[00:01:25] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:01:25] Speaker B: Oh, wow.
[00:01:26] Speaker A: So he calls me and he's like, hey, so you want to join the team?
So I was. I was early working. I was. I think I was 17.
And then I.
And I started working with them. So.
So I started laboring, started moving my way up.
So I was a labor. And then a couple of weeks later, I was running the radon compactor.
And then like a year later, I was already running the loader for them.
[00:01:54] Speaker B: Yeah. So the roller is one of the first piece equipments that usually they usually get on. Right. And start transitioning to other.
[00:02:01] Speaker C: And it's helping back to work.
[00:02:03] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So whenever your dad was working there, he was a. A foreman there. He had a crew?
[00:02:10] Speaker A: No, he was the truckload operator.
[00:02:13] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:02:13] Speaker A: Yeah, he was a truckload operator up there.
[00:02:17] Speaker B: Cool, cool, cool. What about you, Reuben?
When did you first start here at Moss?
[00:02:22] Speaker C: So started here at Moss. Whenever the new Moss boss started here with him as the year they opened started on early December of 2016, I believe that's when it started.
Yeah, it was already December. And we were right though. And then once perfect third or fourth crew. Yeah, I was thinking of like third crew.
We'll say if I was working with a competitor.
And then, yeah, I was in labor there For a while and pretty much same deal. I mean, just not happy. Not being appreciated as labor. Not even able to string.
[00:03:00] Speaker B: Move up.
[00:03:01] Speaker C: Yeah. Just the opportunities and then the opportunity here in Moss Open. And then my brother kind of reached out and said, right, Amanda's. You're going to have to be doing the same thing.
Still better pay. And I was like, you know what, let's not even send a brainer. I'm going with you guys.
[00:03:14] Speaker B: So who all was working here other than your brother that you knew that?
[00:03:17] Speaker C: I knew at that time it was just my brother.
[00:03:19] Speaker B: Just your brother. Okay.
[00:03:21] Speaker C: It's my brother. And I was basically. We got started at this and he was not even working here. Like we started that crew when.
When they got the offer to bring a crew out here.
[00:03:31] Speaker B: Y' all both came out here.
[00:03:32] Speaker C: We both came. And Roy his. His. What's the name of his. His corner at the time. And we pretty much started a new crew and then like maybe like two, three weeks after my dad followed up as well. Came from the competitor and enjoyed Moss on our crew.
[00:03:48] Speaker B: Yeah. Was he a foreman here or.
[00:03:50] Speaker C: That was an operator.
So with my brother. My dad was a loader operator and my, my dad was a loader and my brother was a excavator operator.
And then me, I mean I was a pipe layer back.
[00:04:04] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:04:04] Speaker C: And I mean, I do have to say though, all the. The stuff, most of the stuff that I know and it was prayer for my dad and my brother and me just.
[00:04:13] Speaker B: They're kind of your mentors to be able to.
[00:04:15] Speaker C: They're kind of my mentors. I know. I'll be honest. At the time I was. I would get mad because for everything like, hey, Reuben, go. Go shoot this elevation. Get out the ditch. Go do this and all.
[00:04:24] Speaker B: You're the go gator.
[00:04:25] Speaker C: Yeah. Then, man, why me? Why me? Why me? And then until the opportunity came to. To run a punch crew and then I basically knew how to do everything. And I was like, oh, so this.
[00:04:34] Speaker A: Is what I probably didn't tell you, but that was getting you ready.
It was like, let's get this guy ready.
[00:04:41] Speaker C: My brother had the potential to be warmed in whatever he wanted. I mean he, he knew everything, but he just didn't like respon. Not responsibility, but just I guess dealing with people, you know, he just didn't like that.
[00:04:55] Speaker B: When it takes. It takes a person to run a crew, right. I mean from character, knowledge and dedication, like it's not easy being a formal. Give it to you.
[00:05:06] Speaker C: When I took the step, he was like, I Mean, credit for you, you know, take it. But I mean, it's not for everyone. And I was like, no.
[00:05:13] Speaker B: Yeah. So you went from. You start off with labor, right?
Labor pipe layer.
[00:05:18] Speaker C: Labor pipe layer. Then after the pipe layer, I was there. I was in rugby like for a year, year and a half.
Then I ran a bunch crew. It was like for maybe half a year.
And then after the punch crew, I started running a whole crew.
And that's when actually Julio was brought in. Julio was my.
After Parker. Parker was my direct super. And then Parker got moved up to general super. And that's when actually I started with Julio as a. He was my super. And I was in his form and it was.
Remember what year it was? But it was a year I pretty much started.
[00:05:52] Speaker B: That's cool.
[00:05:52] Speaker A: That's cool.
[00:05:53] Speaker B: That's. You. You had a. You have your.
Your stepping stones to get to where you're at now. Right. And then there's Julio. Right. Julio was at moss construction. And I. I don't know how long you were there for. Was it, you know, a couple years or.
[00:06:06] Speaker A: I was there for about probably four years.
[00:06:11] Speaker B: Four years. They were there for a good amount of time.
Good amount of time. So what did you. Is it when you were at moss construction, did you become a foreman there?
[00:06:22] Speaker A: No.
[00:06:22] Speaker B: It was until later on that you became a foreman? No.
[00:06:24] Speaker A: Then I went to a couple of other companies and then I started moving my way up.
So I went from labor to bugfield and then load operator and then from loader operator I went to. So I spent like seven years on the loader.
[00:06:44] Speaker B: Seven years?
[00:06:45] Speaker A: Yeah, I was.
[00:06:47] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:06:48] Speaker A: I love being on that machine.
That's why I guess I spent like.
So I spent like seven years probably on. On that machine. And then.
And then I started with the main line. I was the excavator from Powell probably two years.
And then one day I get the phone call that there was needed me as a foreman on a company.
And then I started doing a foreman.
Then couple of years I get promoted as a superintendent. So yeah, I started moving my way up pretty much from the bottom.
I was laying some pipe also on the ditches, but I was not a pipe layer. I was just helping the guys.
[00:07:35] Speaker B: A little different than what Reuben's experience was. Right. But so. So you started here, you were a laborer and then you moved your way up and now, you know, you're in the position that you're in now. Right. And Julio came in as a superintendent. So it's a little bit different starting here at moss Right. But you both have seen, you know, how it's changed throughout the years, good and bad. Right. I mean, one of the things kind.
[00:08:01] Speaker C: Of going to where he was kind of speaking is that, yeah, even though we, we were on different paths or different situations where he came in and hired as a super and I had to work my way up, at the end of the day, if you think about it, we were, we worked together during the struggles of moss. Like when MOSS Utilities were struggling, that's when he came in. He came in like, I think one of the worst years that we've had.
And at the end of the day, we suffered, you know, we suffered through the, the.
What's the word that I'm looking for? We suffered for, through MOSS situation together.
But yeah, different levels.
[00:08:41] Speaker B: Stick it out and live where we're at now. Yeah. I think these last, you know, two years have been one of best years, you know. And more to come, right? More to come.
And with that being said, you know, obviously different positions, you know, they have you overseeing project managers and you're overseeing, you know, superintendent and foreman in a sense. Right.
And it's changed, it's changed, you know, processes, communication, you know, really trying to hound in on our core values. Right. And, you know, the communication has improved. Right. There's always, you know, we're always going to be working on it. But how has it changed from the beginning that you started here to where it's at now with the communication?
[00:09:30] Speaker C: So from my perspective, I mean, like I said, when I was in the field, even as a foreman, I didn't even know what the project manager did and I even never met one of the project managers. That's how, how bad you could say, or how separated the field was from the office. Like, I never met none of the PMs.
I didn't even know how many we had, who we had. Like, I didn't know anything like that. It was mainly field driven and I think now it's a little bit better where we have the PMs interact a little bit more with the form. It's like you're able to, if the super is not answering or if he's out or whatever. Yes, you're able to go and reach out directly to the PM or you have the PM's number where you can reach out. Before again, I never even had a PM's number. Like, I don't even, I, I didn't even know who was running what job or anything. And now I think the foreman knows since even now we, obviously we have Bigger projects with bigger.
What's it called? We have bigger projects that require more of the PNBN involved, like meetings and stuff like that.
[00:10:35] Speaker B: More complex projects.
[00:10:36] Speaker C: More complex projects. And that's what also helps us because at the end of the day we have to be on those meetings. We have to be face to face and have that communication with the foreman as well.
[00:10:44] Speaker B: And that just comes with time and growth, right?
[00:10:46] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:10:46] Speaker B: Garrett wants these big projects. Right. He wants to do the high profile projects, the complex projects, because we're capable of doing them. Right. And so, you know, you mentioned the PMs that you didn't even know what a PM was. You know, who they were, what they did, how they impacted you on the field. What about estimators or any other department in the company? Was there any communication at the time?
[00:11:14] Speaker C: Again, I didn't even know anybody from the office or who was doing what. And again, I was a foreman, even a bunch of performance, so I really didn't deal with them a lot. But still I never saw anyone or even spoke to anyone. So I think from now, I think now at least the foremans that we do have, they can put a face with your name. They know what you do and they know who to reach out to.
[00:11:37] Speaker B: Yeah, I've seen that, you know, throughout my time being here is when, you know, when we have our meetings, our safety meetings, or we have, you know, just the foreman's meeting or a super meeting or any of the forms that come by the office, you're able to communicate with them, you're able to relate to them and what they do. Right. You know, there's foremans that come in here and they're like, oh, hey, is Reuben still working here? Yeah, he is. And man, I remember he was a laborer and so that speaks volume, that speaks volume that you're dedication to, to Moss, you know, has grown a lot. Right.
I mean there's, there's a lot of processes that not a lot of people are involved in. Right, right.
Like you know, the estimating. Right, Estimating.
In order for us to have work on the field, those guys have to, you know, execute. They don't execute. You know, Reuben would have never.
It's a chain effect.
[00:12:32] Speaker C: Yeah, it's a chain effect. Obviously it has to start from, from the pre construction side to the PM side and then to the field side to execution. I mean, it's just a, it's a whole process and, and that is something that we are working on a day to day just to make it better.
[00:12:46] Speaker B: You know, which which goes back to, like, you know, Garrett's philosophy behind the proven process, Right? Yeah, proven process. And I think it's. It's important. It's important for the guys to understand it and know it, you know, not just, you know, come to work and. And, you know, go back home and learn about the moss history, the mosque culture, the, you know, the growth, the moss, the struggles, you know, the good things, the bad things. You know, no one's perfect. No one's perfect, Julio. I mean, you. When I first started here, you know, you were general superintendent. You know, there's a lot of respect for you out on the field. These guys, you know, they hear Julio and it's like, oh, man, you know, that guy, he. He knows, you know, the work in and out, Right. He knows almost all the details for the projects, you know, you know, the critical projects. You know, they've handed you critical projects. And, you know, I think there's a project in particular, you know, P117, you know, how was. How could you compare the communication to that project now to how it used to be before?
[00:13:52] Speaker A: So I can tell that the communication coordination has changed a lot.
So obviously, just like Ruben said, whenever I started, I think it was one of the rough years for most utilities.
So I can tell that I think I have seen improvement on each department.
So I will say that it has changed a lot. On the PM side, the superintendent side, the field, it has changed a lot.
So, for example, on P117, I can say that takes a lot of coordination, coordination and communication. We had a good superintendent up there, Christian, so he was doing great communication with the client.
And also Ruben, he's the PM on that project. He was getting involved a lot. So it was a combined.
It was a combined. And I think at the end of the day, it was a success.
Was great communication, great coordination, good client.
[00:15:00] Speaker B: Yeah. And how. How would you. So you, you know, you started off, you know, at Moss at one of its, you know, not so good years. Right. How was the communication different then compared to now with that project?
You know, was there any communication? You know, like, was there projects that you struggled?
[00:15:21] Speaker A: There was communication, but it was not as good as now.
So I think.
I think that the field and the office, I don't want to say that it was a split, but from back then to now, I think those two departments come to.
To a.
[00:15:43] Speaker B: Become more united.
[00:15:44] Speaker A: Yeah. And then. So I think everything changed after that because now, for example, I can easily come and talk to, for example, to Rogan about an issue that is happening and he put his input in.
And if there is an issue up there, then we get together, come up with a better solution and go and take care of that.
So I think the communication has been getting a lot better on those two departments.
[00:16:14] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, it's, it's one of our core values. Right. Communication is leadership. And you know, I've heard Garrett say it multiple times, you know, communication is, you know, the answer to majority of the issues. Right. If you communicate, you know, what you need, you know, your expectations, you know, from the top to the bottom, you know, vice versa, bottom up, then it's just, you know, it's going to flow easier. Right. These guys are going to get what they need out the field, you know, and vice versa, back up, you know, to the PMs to be able to execute the project and finalize the project, you know, so it's, it's a big deal to, to maintain that communication.
[00:16:52] Speaker A: But yeah, if you get a, if you get a project and you only get half of that information, then how can you go and do a success on that project? So what we've been doing a little different is that, so I started, we.
[00:17:06] Speaker C: Started.
[00:17:08] Speaker A: Getting familiar with that project, like way before it goes to a superintendent, like I get a lot involved and start looking into the job site and starting the plans and go and visit the site. Started doing some coordination meetings before we arrived to the job site.
We also have meetings before our kickoffs and go through the plans and see if there is some issues or RFIs that needs to be sent out. So by whenever it goes to a superintendent, then pretty much it's, we are super familiar with that project. And also before it goes to a superintendent, we try to get the superintendent involved that way. Whenever we had a kickoff, he already knows that job site where they visit the job site where they visit the client.
And I think back then it was little.
I don't know if it was rushing a little bit.
[00:18:07] Speaker B: It was kind of like years of projects.
[00:18:09] Speaker A: Yeah. And then so, so we provide the kickoff and the superintendent have never been on the job site. So he was like kind of out of, out of the loop on all of that. You know, I think doing everything like little before we hand that job to the superintendent, going full detail. And I think it's been a huge success.
[00:18:32] Speaker C: Even now we have the ability to put the correct superintendent at the correct job.
By that meaning, not that any of them are better than another, but they're more familiar with the city. You know, like if you have, for example, Giovanni He's a forward expert. He's been doing most of the Fort Worth jobs. So if there's a chance to put them out there, we can put them out there. You have jobs like Gerardo for Dallas, Christian for Dallas. You know, now we have that ability to see it up front and be like, okay, let's start, you know, not putting so much job and make. Just make sure that we're prepared for those difficult jobs. We can put the right superintendent. And that's kind of the same thing that we see from the PM side. Like, okay, I think we have a good chance of getting these two or three following projects. They're in different cities. I think this one is the more complex. It's going to require a lot of time, plus, the city is a little bit more difficult.
So we plan ahead and be like. We're able to say, like, okay, you know what, let's start freeing up some of that time so we can award him this job and make sure that he. Everything is under control. So that's something that we also got a little bit better at, you know.
[00:19:42] Speaker B: Planning, planning, planning, planning, planning, and getting.
[00:19:44] Speaker C: The right people, you know, the right time and the right information.
[00:19:49] Speaker B: And it just goes back to the relationships. Right. We. I think Moss is a firm believer about building relationships. Right. Giovanni has a relationship with the city of Fort Worth, and I bet you even, you know, you know, general contractors. Right. You know, I think he's. He's knocked out a couple projects with the same, you know, general contractor and even at that. The same team. Right. Because there's that. That Compass project, having red oak. Yeah. That. I think he's. He's been the one that's been championing that project.
[00:20:17] Speaker C: Actually. Jose started as a superintendent, and then he was promoted to a general super. But ever since, I mean, Giovanni took over that project, and now we're. Right now we're working on the third phase, fifth phase, if you want to count the. The public work that we did.
[00:20:30] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:20:30] Speaker C: But I mean, it says a lot. You know, again, he's like the expert on that city.
He has that relationship with that city and as well with that general contractor. He knows expectations. He knows what to expect. You know, and it's just. Again, it just makes it easier for all of us.
[00:20:46] Speaker B: Yeah. Building relationships.
[00:20:48] Speaker C: Relationships.
[00:20:49] Speaker B: Building relationships.
What's one of.
I don't. You probably won't have, like, a favorite city, but, like, on a year.
[00:21:01] Speaker C: That's a good question. I feel more comfortable with Fort Worth. I have done Fort Worth for pretty much since I started As a PM APM Fort Worth, I feel really comfortable with Fort Worth. I know what they expect and what they. How they do everything.
Dallas is a swing and a miss. I mean, they.
They change a lot of City of Dallas.
[00:21:22] Speaker A: Definitely something different.
[00:21:24] Speaker C: It's something different than that one. You just have to have the right connections and just pretty much, yeah, just having the right connections and just kind of.
[00:21:36] Speaker B: Yeah. I was thinking about what you were saying about, you know, y' all pick a specific superintendent not because of, you know, they're better than the other. Right, but. And y' all pick a project manager. I mean, do y' all even do that with the. The foreman as well? Because they've built those relationships with the. The cities as well, or, you know, and the general contractors? I've heard in the past, you know, it's like, oh, you know, we go to a project and we do a sidewalk and, you know, superintendent that's on site, hey, man, if we get another project, I want.
[00:22:08] Speaker A: You know, there is a lot of general contractors that ask for a certain format that there were before, and sometimes it's something that we can. We can do some movements and send it over.
But, yeah, that is a lot of. There is a lot of good formats up there that the clients want to do some more jobs with them. And just like you're saying that they started sending these gel for bits and they said, hey, I need this superintendent and foreman up there.
[00:22:43] Speaker B: And that speaks a lot, right? Yeah, that speaks a lot. Because it's just relationship building after relationship building, and it's a domino effect from the top, bottom. Right? Yeah, I think even, you know, I've talked to Edwin in the past, too, and he said, you know, you got to build the relationships with. With. With the client. Right? And, you know, they build relationships, estimators build relationships. The PMs build relationships, supers, generals, and, you know, even, you know, the foreman and that just, you know, all of them working towards the same goal, you know, for everybody to. To, you know, go home at the end of the day, you know, it's just. It's pretty cool. It's a pretty cool process.
What are your thoughts on Moss you?
[00:23:28] Speaker C: Moss you? It's a.
It's a great program.
I would have loved to be a part of it back in the day.
[00:23:36] Speaker B: That's the only reason I bring it up.
[00:23:38] Speaker C: I mean, it just gives you knowledge from every single department. Like, not 100%. Right. And it's not like you'll know everything, but you will gain knowledge of, kind of get an idea of what each department does. And once you put all that together, you can know what helps what.
Whenever, let's say, from lawsuit, someone gets hired as a PM or an apm.
As a pm, he already knows what kind of what estimators see, kind of what the field sees. So you can just bring all that information and provide the correct. You know.
[00:24:12] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, mostly was pretty cool.
[00:24:14] Speaker C: Pretty cool.
[00:24:15] Speaker B: You know, I bring. I bring it up briefly just because I know it's. You know, I think you could have easily been one of the first candidates to go through. Right.
[00:24:22] Speaker C: And I think it's. It's a great program.
[00:24:23] Speaker A: I think at the beginning, I kind of questioned that. I was like, man, I don't think it's going to work, but. And then a couple of months later, and now that they finished with the first. With the first round, I was like, man, it was a success.
[00:24:40] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, I just want to recap a little bit, man, just about what we've talked about, you know, and, you know, this is, you know, a lot of the things that we want to push out to the field, Right. You know, we want them to know that they're included. Just like we've talked about how, you know, Moss started, and now it's where we're at now. Right. You know, so you got Ruben that came in as a laborer. We got Julio that started way back when in Moss Construction, and now Moss Utilities, you know, general superintendent, you know, and over the project managers. You know, I appreciate you guys, you know, taking time, you know, talking to me and, you know, putting out that message to the field that, you know, they matter. Right? They matter.
You know. Thank you, guys. I appreciate.
[00:25:20] Speaker C: Yeah, thank you.
