Jordan Construction uses GPS, new earthmoving equipment and new site grading technology to allow it to grade its work sites quicker and with more precision.

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Since its inception in 1969, Jordan Construction has grown to become a powerhouse construction firm operating throughout Texas. The company operates with a number of divisions, including commercial, residential, civil and concrete, and government. Based in El Paso, Texas, Jordan Construction operates additional offices in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, and enjoys a thriving market throughout the state, according to Executive Vice President John Goodrich. “We have major clients who have carried us to other parts of the country, but we would like to continue to focus our efforts here in Texas,” he says.

Goodrich, who primarily manages the firm’s civil and concrete division, says Jordan’s diverse capabilities set it apart. “We have a lot of horsepower here at Jordan,” he says. “We are blessed with the resources of an organization that believes in getting us any tools we need in order to get the job done right. Whenever a general contractor calls on us to complete a job, they know that we have the manpower and equipment to get the job done on time.”

The Infrastructure and Concrete divisions also operate as subcontractors to the firm’s general contracting division, and perform approximately 75 percent of its work for outside clients. “We’re very focused on building client relationships,” Goodrich says. “We have a goal to build lifelong relationships with our clients, and have about 40 to 50 percent repeat business.”

‘Innovation and Resourcefulness’
Goodrich is finding that many clients are demanding that projects be completed on a shorter timeline than ever before. “Schedules have always been a challenge, but now, clients want everything done quicker and quicker,” Goodrich says. “This requires a lot of innovation and resourcefulness.”

Fortunately, Jordan Construction is always on the lookout for new technological innovations. “If we can use technology to expedite a project in any way, we will take advantage of it,” Goodrich states. “We utilize GPS, new earthmoving equipment and new site grading technology, which allow us to grade the site quicker, and with more precision.”

The company owns or services 120 pieces of heavy equipment such as pavers and excavators. In many cases, this fleet of equipment allows the firm to maintain difficult schedules, and overcome budgeting issues. “If we can show the owner or client two years ago, a project that took 90 days now takes only 60 due to the equipment we’ve acquired, we can overcome many budgeting challenges,” Goodrich says.

Safety First
Maintaining safe job sites is Jordan Con-struction’s primary goal in every project. “We’re proud of our safety record,” Goodrich explains. “All of our salaried people must complete the OSHA 30-hour training classes, and our foremen and some hourly people have already completed the OSHA 10-hour class. We also have construction safety meetings daily and a safety training luncheon every quarter.”

The firm’s safety program is based on industry standards and company-based benchmarks, as well. “We actively train our employees on the latest safety practices, regularly reward their performance and utilize leading indicators to measure performance and detect areas in need of improvement,” the company states. “Each month, the vice president of risk management evaluates safety reports to determine if each job is performing up to expectations and to identify potential areas where our employees as well as subcontractors may need extra training.”

As a result of Jordan Construction’s approach to safety, it has earned the recognition of industry organizations throughout the region. In fact, in 2007, the company earned International Risk Management Institute (IRMI) Gary E. Bird Horizon Award  and American Society of Concrete Contractors W. Burr Bennett Award for Safety Excellence.

A Blissful Success
Jordan’s Infrastructure and Concrete Divisions are also providing services for several general contractors at the Fort Bliss Military expansion program. These projects include more than 200,000 cubic yards of concrete paving for government- and personnel-operated vehicles, machine gun ranges and urban assault facilities, subdivision work for more than 3,000 privatized houses, as well as concrete work for building slabs and thin-shell panels.

Several general contractors are involved with the expansion project, each with its own subcontractors, causing a number of coordination challenges. “Any time you have a project of this magnitude, there is a tremendous amount of coordination to make sure everybody can work in harmony and complete their portions of the project successfully,” Goodrich explains.

Jordan was contracted by Greeley, Colo.-based Hensel Phelps to perform specialty concrete tilt-up work, Goodrich says. “This system is a pretty strong variation from the typical construction methods,” he says. “Each tilt-wall panel is two inches of concrete that has embedded metal studs. It is like a standard tilt wall, only significantly lighter. The budget for this type of wall is about the same as the traditional system, but it trims time off the schedule which ultimately helps the budget.” Projects can realize a 20 percent time-savings during the wall construction, Goodrich notes.