Heather Soderquist
(Jacobsen Construction photo)
Heather Soderquist was recently named Jacobsen Construction's first ever vice-president of construction innovation, so it must follow that she's pretty sharp about all the new technology transforming the industry. And it's true, she is. But perhaps what Soderquist is even better at is good old-fashioned training.
"I lead all of our training, and what I've found is that you really can't take technology or be innovative if you can't bring your people along with you," Soderquist said. "Training for me has been a real big focus. Construction continues to just get faster; it gets more complex and it really leaves a heavy strain on those people that are out there managing and building the projects."
In her new role, Soderquist launched the addition of a comprehensive technology fair to Jacobsen's quarterly operations training sessions. Leading-edge tech vendor partners and the firm's own in-house tech experts attended the inaugural fair, demonstrating the latest jobsite uses of laser scanning, drones, virtual reality (VR), robotics and more and presenting their insights to Jacobsen project leaders. The tech fair is expected to be a regular feature of Jacobsen workforce training sessions.
Soderquist started in the construction industry with an entry-level job in high school, then majored in college in construction management. She's been with the Salt Lake City-based Jacobsen for 18 years, most recently in the role of director of operations training and development. She also previously worked as a project manager, leading Jacobsen's work on the Heber Valley Hospital campus reconfiguration, University of Utah College of Nursing, Fidelity Office Tower at The Gateway, Varex Imaging expansion, University of Utah Midvalley Health Center and several other major projects She's also played a key leadership role in pioneering Jacobsen's company-wide use of essential jobsite technologies such as building information modeling (BIM), laser scanning, Viewpoint, Bluebeam, Autodesk Build and others.
Her recent promotion comes with the responsibility of "elevating innovative practices as a core competitive differentiator for the firm." Training the crews will be a crucial part of that, though it is one that is often overlooked, she said.
"What we're starting to really see a lot of is automation," she said. "Technology that actually is going to be made to create value ... but then also freeing people up to do what they really are experts in doing. Once you put in this technology and create this automation, you really need to be supporting your teams, helping them understand and trust it. A fundamental piece that a lot of people forget when we're talking about technology activation is employees adopting and trusting the automation."
When employees have difficulty with new technology, Soderquist tries to overcome that challenge by asking for their feedback and then listening and responding to their responses — good or bad.
"We definitely recognize that with persistent labor shortages, our best defense is keeping those project teams focused on the present task and letting the right technology and automation, and handle the rest," she said.
In the future, Soderquist believes projects will rely more and more on modeling, and if companies are going be competitive, they'll need to continue advancing with the rapidly evolving world of technology. The best way to do that, she said, is by having a member who knows the business.
"Having someone like me with actual field experience and an interest in technology would go a long way toward selecting the right technology," Soderquist said. "I think a lot of contractors are concerned about ‘Is this the right technology for us or are we going to waste our money?' And I will say that getting a resource with field experience to help you navigate it will make a big difference."
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