Winner Capitalizes on Project Management Skills

The 2001 Nisqually earthquake changed the next three years of Marvin Doster's life.

Doster, who works for Mortenson's Seattle office, had been scheduled to manage the Washington State Capitol Building project in Olympia for the next six years. Planned as a series of projects, the job called for complete restoration and upgrade of the building "to make it useable for the next 75 years."

The $80.8 million project had all the hallmarks of historical renovation: Craftsmen had to be found who could restore the old finishes. There also was a need for people who could install the most current data and security systems available.

When the temblor rendered the building too unstable to occupy, "it was just part of the fun and time to come up with a new game plan," Doster said. The project schedule was completely overhauled. The Legislature agreed to move out of the building for three years

That kind of enthusiasm for an immediate challenge, the ability to work with an owner and the public in a fishbowl environment and to lead a team through a morass of unknowns won Doster the Project Manager of the Year honors. Northwest Construction grants the award annually based on nominations from major contractors in the Pacific Northwest.

Doster's first concern was meeting the timeline for the project, even though earthquake damage added a significant amount of work. Now, in addition to the complete overhaul of the mechanical and electrical systems and restoration of the historic finishes, crews would have to repair the damage done to the Capitol Dome, one of the biggest such structures in the country.

advertisement

"We started by hiring the number of workers it would take to meet the timeline," Doster said. "We planned for lots of overtime in our budget."

Much of it was necessary because it "quickly became apparent that the original drawings were completely unreliable," said Ned Gebhert, project director with the mechanical contractor on the project, McKinstry, based in Seattle.

Spaces that were slated to hold mechanical and electrical systems turned out to be much smaller than anticipated, and redesign of the systems became critical. Asbestos removal turned out to be much more extensive than originally planned. And security systems that protect sensitive data had to be upgraded considerably after the events of September 11, 2001.

While many projects become turf wars at this point, Doster kept the subcontractors focused by reinforcing that the team had to do what was best for the project

"Marvin kept all the subcontractors positively motivated." said Gebhert. "He was a good communicator, which is what we subcontractors needed."

Being demanding and at the same time supportive of subcontractor needs earned him the trust he needed to pull the project in on time.

"Early on, he emphasized that this was a team," said Steve Henricksen of D.L. Henricksen, the company that restored many of the building finishes. He remembered being with Doster inside the building.

"He told my brother and me, 'You will remember this project for the rest of your lives. Let's make it good,'" Henricksen said.

Henricksen said Doster could be difficult when he needed to be. "But he also always asked what he could do to help us get the job done," Henricksen added. "He always was willing to answer questions and walk the site with us."

Doster walked the site with many others as well, including state legislators and reporters who wanted to know more about the building. At one point he had legislators carrying rebar up to the top of the Capitol Dome so they could see how difficult it was and appreciate the intricacies of the project. Doster first started his construction career more than 25 years ago after receiving a degree in architecture and construction engineering.

"My dad had been a concrete worker and I saw the toll it took on his body," Doster said. "I love construction but knew I didn't want that to happen to me."

Since then he has held a wide variety of positions, including marketing and project management for other national companies such as Turner Construction where he worked on Seattle's Two Union Square in the late 1980s. But when offered a promotion tied to a transfer to California, he decided he wanted to stay in the market.

"This has been my most challenging project ever, and with those challenges have come rewards," he added. "It is a crown jewel in a career."

J.E. Dunn Construction's Michael Moore named 2004 Project Manager of the Year