A Discussion with ESICA REVIEW Editors Brad Power and Tim Harnett

FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE

A Discussion with ESICA REVIEW Editors Brad Power of Owens Corning and Tim Harnett of Hart Insulation

ESICA Board Members Brad Power and Tim Hartnett have served as editors of ESICA   REVIEW for a number of years.  They have proven to be an invaluable source of knowledge and information in making our Journal an interesting and enjoyable publication for all of us.

As we begin to emerge from the COVID crisis that has affected our lives so dramatically, we reached out to Brad and Tim for their perspectives in several important areas.

Read on and hear what they have to say about industry challenges, the recent Spring Conference, and their hopes and expectations for ESICA.

ESICA: What do you consider the #1 challenge facing our industry today?

Brad: Unquestionably, labor. As a manufacturer, I see how difficult it is to get those employees back to work. Government incentives and a retiring workforce have diminished our labor pool, I hear it from the engineers I work with who are designing complex systems. New labor is coming in, but they lack knowledge and experience which is impacting productivity at the jobsite.  

Tim: From my perspective the #1 challenge is uncertainty in the future.  Right now, there is still a significant portion of the workforce that is not back in the office. The uncertainty related to the workforce and how companies are going to remobilize will have a big impact on the industry.  Are they going to reduce office space? Will they maintain a home workforce with less office space requirements? Will they refurbish what they have? This all impacts construction going forward. At this point, we don’t have a clear understanding of what’s going to happen.

ESICA: What do you see as the greatest post-COVID-19 impact on your company and the industry?

Brad: Supply Chain Strain!  The supply chain is undergoing a reconfiguration, from manufacturer to end user.  As a result of COVID, trucking companies are charging a lot more and this is impacting our margins. It’s a question of supply and demand. 

Tim: Aside from the uncertainty I spoke about, we seem to have gotten into a situation where labor costs are going up and materials costs are skyrocketing across the board.  This could be the result of the labor shortage, or disruptions in the supply chain because of the storms down in Texas, add this all together and it has significantly impacted all of us.

ESICA: As a manufacturer -- and a contractor -- what lessons have you learned over the past year?

Brad: We’ve learned how to handle a crisis of immense proportions. None of us has ever faced the severity of an economic shutdown like we had in 2020. What can be worse?  Activities were turned upside down. We now know we can handle it.  We learned, along the way, how to deal with the crisis day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month. Everyone who survived adapted.

Tim: I agree with Brad: You had to be able to adapt to the situation. Who would have known prior to this that for 15 months our economy went through an unprecedented downturn? It’s coming back now, but for a very long time the amount of work was drastically reduced. It seemed as though the switch was flipped off in one day.  I adapted in the most basic way … everything became virtual. Prior to this, I had never been on a video conference or a zoom meeting before.  It’s now a common occurrence.

ESICA: Do you believe we will ever return to the way things were in our industry?  

Brad: I don’t think we’ll ever go back to the ‘old’ normal.  We have created a new normal with new ideas, new functions and new ways to sell remotely, all that has changed the way we do things and I think it is forever. It is, in fact, the ‘new’ normal and it is still changing.

Tim: Many things have changed. The industry will continue on, for sure. Will it come back? Absolutely. But nothing ever goes back to the way it was. Just by the experiences we went through, and all that we learned, there are new ways of doing things that will go on. Virtual will not disappear. It doesn’t mean that it’s a disadvantage.  You can definitely use it to your advantage.

ESICA: Let’s switch gears for a moment and discuss the recent Spring Conference. What were your impressions of the event?

Brad: I was 150% into having it … and it exceeded my expectations. So many other organizations either delayed or cancelled their events and it was a painstaking decision to schedule the conference. ESICA staff went above and beyond to see this through. We began the process by sending out a survey to get the ‘buy-in’ from members, then went ahead and planned it. Members were eager to get back to face to face … to participate in discussions and to meet and greet their friends.

Tim: I thought the conference was fantastic.  We really just wanted to break the ice and get things started up again. Initially, we didn’t anticipate a big turn-out, but we felt it was important to host it regardless and prepare for the fall conference.  We were amazed at the overwhelming response and the success of the event.

ESICA: One of the most popular events at the conference was the panel discussion.  As panel members, together with Jerry McCaffrey and Marc Napolitano, what were some of your key ‘take-aways’?

Brad: We got great response from the audience during and after the panel discussion.  We were there, not as ‘the experts’, but to facilitate the broader conversation and get the dialogue started. A small question often blossomed into a full discussion. I think we should continue with the panel discussion. It got everyone talking. 

Tim: Across the board, we heard about the many concerns coming from both contractors and the manufacturers.  You could see clearly from the manufacturers, that labor shortage is a major concern for them. On the contractor’s side, it goes back to uncertainty of the future.

ESICA: As active, involved Board Members of ESICA, what is your greatest hope for our organization, now and in the future?

Brad: I want us to be able to continue to expand our network within the industry.  We need more contractor members. We must continue to grow and promote all the benefits of our organization as well as expand the opportunities available to our members. We represent a truly great networking forum.

Tim: We need to see our contractor membership grow … and we must encourage the current membership to participate in our meetings, conferences, and discussions. It will only serve to benefit them.

ESICA: Why do you believe it is essential to join ESICA … and what do you tell potential members?

Brad: By joining ESICA you become a business resource within the industry. As you get involved and network, you become a known entity – a trusted and reliable source. People feel free to contact you … they rely on your knowledge and experience. You’ve added yourself as an important business resource to many people at one time.

Tim: The contacts you make at each event … the people from across the industry you meet … you would not have this opportunity in an informal environment anywhere else. The knowledge you gain is invaluable. Whether you are a contractor, supplier, distributor, or manufacturer, ESICA membership gives you the confidence to be able to call somebody you met and know that they will respond.

We join together in thanking Brad and Tim for their great perspectives … for continuing to support our organization with their time, efforts and knowledge … and for helping to make ESICA REVIEW a valuable source of information for all of us.