Two days after hosting a visit by RIT students, the Rochester General Hospital project team had some younger visitors – Cub Scouts from Pack 30 in Canandaigua. Ryan Berner, their scout master, works for RGH Facilities and had approached LeChase Project Executive Jim Scheirer about giving the kids a tour.
That session kicked off with a discussion of how safety always comes first in construction and an overview of what’s involved in a project of this size. The team even described Pull Planning schedules in terms the kids would understand. “We explained that we use Post-It notes and markers and draw pictures, just like they do,” explained Senior Project Manager Mike Morris. The kids also got an opportunity to have their pictures taken sitting on a bulldozer, but even that wasn’t what they found most exciting part of the tour. “Most were truly amazed by the sheer size of the tower crane… and wanted to climb it,” Mike said. He added that the parents on the tour were also impressed – not necessarily by the crane, but about how neat and organized workers kept the site.
The team was unsure how nine- and ten-year-olds would respond to the tour; however, when they received handmade thank-you cards – many featuring hand-drawn tower cranes – they knew they had made an impact. “Ryan said the tour was all the kids wanted to talk about at their next Cub Scout meeting,” Mike noted.
Thanks to Mike, Superintendent Tony Rorick and Project Executive Jim Scheirer for giving the kids a glimpse at what happens in a construction project.
In the photos below, Mike explains Pull Planning to the scouts, who put on proper PPE to take a tour of the site with Tony, Mike and Jim.
