Team,

I hope you enjoyed participating in the company’s third annual Construction Inclusion Week (CIW). Your thoughtful engagement, willingness to step out of your comfort zone, and openness to learn something new are recognized and greatly appreciated. While we covered a lot of ground in a week’s time, there’s no question the topics explored last week – holding one another accountable, cultivating a sense of belonging, diversifying our suppliers, fostering a strong workplace culture, and engaging with our community – are central to who we are and how we operate as a company.

Considering these DEI principles are woven into the very fabric of our organization, this weeklong celebration of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is just one of many ways our company is intentionally investing in this realm. Earlier this year we launched Weitz University, an educational programming series which aims to eliminate barriers to success for emerging and underrepresented construction entities. Our business units have also been busy hosting outreach events throughout 2023 to establish and strengthen relationships with diverse suppliers. Additionally, Shekinah Fountain, our Senior DEI Associate, attended the National Minority Supplier Development Council conference last week to grow our network of minority business enterprises and identify mutually beneficial partnerships moving forward.

Whether or not you have been directly involved with these formal DEI initiatives, it’s critical for you to remember you are the true change agent when it comes to making our company a welcoming place for all. So, what’s next?

First, if you have not done so already, please complete this brief survey to share your thoughts regarding CIW. Your feedback will allow us to hone our efforts for next year’s celebrations, while providing helpful insight to inform the DEI Council’s work for the upcoming year.
Next, connect with your General Manager and DEI Councilmember to share your support and inquire on how you can best support inclusion efforts within your unit.
Finally, challenge yourself and your team to identify and implement one way to strengthen our culture and foster a sense of belonging before the end of the year. This can be as simple as committing to learn the names of everyone on your jobsite or eating lunch with someone new.

I hope CIW was a reminder that we are all responsible for fostering inclusion every day and a reinforcement of the fact that what we say and do matters – because in the end, our day-to-day actions and interactions are what make the real difference. Knowing that, our leadership team continues to identify avenues for all of us to impact DEI each day and will communicate about these exciting company efforts in the coming months. I look forward to hearing how you and your team continue to live out “respect for people” as we all work together to bring about lasting change within our company, our communities, and our industry.

Regards,

Kevin McClain

President & CEO

Orascom Construction USA, Inc.

our commitment to lead with safety

Making the Most of Mindforge Mobile!

Have you downloaded the Mindforge mobile app yet? Are you actively using it at your jobsite to help keep field folks and your trade partners in-the-know? The use cases for this mobile app are endless. With its ability to send real-time push notifications to everyone on your project site, it's a great tool to elevate safety. Change in site conditions? New delivery timing for material? Want to spotlight someone for their exceptional safety performance? Do all of this and more with Mindforge!

Follow these simple steps to install the Mindforge app today:

Download the app here!
Next, launch the app and tap "Sign Up" to create a new account, following the prompts to create a username and password.
Enter the onboarding code for our company: TBIZJY
Complete your profile by adding your photo and job title.

How Do You Own Safety?

During the October Lead with Safety call, Emily Kessinger, Senior Business Development Manager – National & Aviation, reminded us that no matter our role, we each own safety and are responsible for keeping one another safe!

During the call, she spotlighted employees from throughout the company that embody this sense of ownership and shared what each of these team members have done to elevate safety within their units. Kudos to Shannon Doran, Crystal Gonzalez, Emily Biedenfeld, Mikayla Page, and Ally Schaer for owning and Leading with Safety every day!

View Here

Set aside 10 minutes to watch the recording of the call and reflect on the question: "How do YOU own safety?"

3 Million Hours Worked Without a Recordable at IAD!

Major congratulations are in order for the IAD Mission Critical team as they recently celebrated 3 million hours worked without a recordable! This phenomenal achievement epitomizes Lead with Safety, showcasing what happens when we all take ownership of our role to keep ourselves and one another safe. Kudos to this team for their unwavering commitment to safety!

our company updates

Ready, Set, Open Enroll!

Open enrollment for 2024 benefits started yesterday! Any changes made during this period will be effective January 1st, 2024. This is a passive enrollment year, which means not all employees are required to complete open enrollment. For those who do not complete enrollment, benefit elections will carry over from 2023 to 2024. Do note, if you have an FSA and/or Trustmark products, you must complete enrollment to have those products in 2024. If you take no action related to these products, they will end on December 31, 2023.

However, we highly encourage all employees to complete enrollment and review your options to ensure you make the best choices for your benefits! As a bonus, we will raffle off prizes for those who complete open enrollment! Just complete the enrollment process to receive an entry into the drawing for prizes. There will be multiple raffles throughout the open enrollment period, so the earlier you complete your enrollment, the more chances you’ll have to win!

Not sure where to start? Use this helpful checklist to keep track of everything you need to do during open enrollment: Salaried Checklist or Hourly Checklist.

Tech Tuesday: Build a Better Profile

Thank you to those who joined the Tech Tuesday: LinkedIn & Photo Safety webinar! We all have an important role to play in promoting our organization’s brand online and spotlighting our available career opportunities – and a platform like LinkedIn gives us the perfect place to do both. Set aside some time to watch a recording of this Tech Tuesday to help you build a better LinkedIn profile!

Watch Here

Psst… check out these extra resources to strengthen your online presence even more!

Company branded cover photos are available here!
Looking for branded Zoom backgrounds? Check out this link.

BuildUP Soft Skills: Self Awareness

Having a keen sense of self-awareness is closely attributed to high levels of personal and professional achievement. This month we learn how to develop our self-awareness so that we can understand how others see us and better align our actions with our intentions.

Developing Self- Awareness

Managing Your Emotions at Work

Self-Awareness, Authenticity, & Leadership

Next month, on our journey through Emotional Intelligence, we shift our focus to empathy and compassion. Click here to get started in Absorb!

¿Hablas español?

Learning a second language has been shown to improve both focus and memory, while also slowing cognitive decline. If you’re looking to learn a bit of Spanish, LinkedIn Learning has a great resource: Essential Spanish on LinkedIn Learning (2 Hours).

You can also check out this list of free Spotify podcasts to support you in your efforts to learn a new language (click on the course of interest via your phone):

Exhibit G Updated

Newsflash! The Exhibit G for our General Liability Workers Compensation Contractor Controlled Insurance Program (GL WC CCIP) projects has been updated to include new language regarding drug testing.

Check out and download this new exhibit on Sharepoint.

View Here

Budgeting Basics

Creating and sticking to a budget can be a great first step in establishing healthy money habits. The practice of budgeting can also help you achieve your short and long-term financial goals, like paying off credit card debt or saving for a down payment on a home.

Register for Principal’s monthly webinar on Wednesday, November 15th from 2:00 to 2:30 EST to learn some budgeting basics!

Still Time to Save!

How does some extra cash in your pocket sound? Don’t miss out on your chance to save up to 15% on your medical plan premiums for 2024! Remember, physician forms are due November 30th and must be uploaded to the Build a Better You Wellness Portal by that date to secure your savings for next year.

Physician Form

All About AI: Policy Update

There’s no question that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here to stay and that it is going to become more involved in every part of our lives – at home and at work. As we look to both manage and maximize this technology within our organization, leadership has updated our Electronic Communications Policy to address the challenges presented by AI. The following verbiage was added to this policy:

If using tools such as ChatGPT, Bard, Bing Chat or other AI tools, employees are prohibited from entering confidential or proprietary information of any kind into AI chatbots or language models.This includes, but is not limited to, client names or identifying information, project names, contract amounts, financial information of any kind, employee personal information and performance reviews. In general, any information that you would not want to appear in a national publication, should not be entered into an AI tool.

Please refer to Sharepoint to review the Electronic Communications Policy in its entirety by clicking here.

IT updates

Cybersecurity Awareness Month Concludes Today!

Cybersecurity Awareness Month comes to a close today! Hopefully the trainings spotlighted throughout the month helped you harness your cybersecurity skills so you can do your part to defend and protect our organization's data. Missed a week or two of the trainings? No worries, you can still access and complete the modules in your Knowbe4 dashboard.

Visit KnowBe4

Premier Passwords

Why do computer and online passwords need to be so complicated? Check out some of these scary stats on Americans to learn why password complexity is critical:

24% have used passwords like “password” and “123456.”
59% use a person’s name or a family member’s birthday as a password.
Only 34% say they change their passwords regularly.
40% have had their personal data compromised online.
80% of all hacking-related breaches are linked to compromised passwords.

As we all know, the company has complexity and expiration requirements for passwords to protect business data, but it’s also wise to apply the same password creation formula and rules to your personal accounts.

Create a password of at least 8 characters using a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
Create a unique password for all your online accounts.
Change your passwords regularly and do not reuse previous passwords.

Passwords protect our most important and confidential information. Whether it’s company data, or your personal banking information and medical details, your password is typically the only defense standing between you and a hacker.

our team updates

Props on the Promotion!

Congratulations are in order for the following employees who were recently promoted! Join us in celebrating their exciting achievements and wishing them great success in their new roles. If someone from your office is on this list, be sure to stop them for a high five!

Adam Brzozowy: Sr. Project Manager

Adriene Bassett: Accountant II

Amgad Ibrahim: Preconstruction Director

Aricka Lambson: Accountant I

Ben Bunge: General Manager

Carli Leverance: Project Superintendent I

Christian Santiesteban: Project Engineer II

Chris Schweers: Sr. Project Manager.

Cleo Andaya: Project Engineer II

Corey Pugh: Field Superintendent

Creighton Ross: Project Engineer II

David Germani: Sr. Project Superintendent

David McCoy: Project Manager I

David Newell: Project Superintendent II

Emma Rottinghaus: Project Safety Manager

Fady George: Field Superintendent

Fady Sobh: Project Executive

Gregory Cowan: Project Manager I

Hyrum Jacobson: Field Superintendent

Jacob Thorpe Swihart: Project Engineer II

James Comisky: Sr. Preconstruction Manager

Jon Meister: Sr. Preconstruction Manager

Josh Marriott: VDC Director

Joshua Franke: Assistant Project Manager.

Keith Harkins: Sr. Safety Manager

Leslie Dalbey: Project Engineer II

Lukas Gronewold: Project Safety Manager

Mark Vibber: Sr. Project Superintendent

Mary Mansour: Administrative Assistant III

Mason Wubben: Field Superintendent

Megan Kaestner: Sr. HR Generalist

Michael Daoud: Sr. Project Controls Manager.

Mike Thomas: General Manager

Mohammed Khalifa: Sr. Contracts & Scheduling Manager

Nathan Snyder: Assistant Project Manager

Olivia Michael: Marketing & Proposal Associate

Oscar Escamilla Banos: Project Safety Manager

Robert Steggall: Assistant Project Manager

Ron Wood: Field Superintendent

Ryan Hullihan: Sr. Project Manager

Sargon Nissan: Project Engineer II

Taylor Kegley: Sr. Project Manager

Wendy Hudson: Health & Wellness Manager

William Mosher: Assistant Project Manager

Welcome to the Team!

We're growing, and fast! There's no question 2023 has been another year marked by exciting expansion and lots of hiring. Check out the list below to see who was recently added to our roster and welcome them to our team!

Aviation

Josh Hagerman: Project Superintendent I - Orlando, FL

Thomas Kratz: Project Safety Manager - Orlando, FL

Commercial

Ashraf Shehata: Quality Control Manager - Des Moines, IA

Dallas Steil: Field Superintendent - Des Moines, IA

Elyas Kamyab: Project Engineer I - Phoenix, AZ

Jacob Turner: Project Superintendent II - Denver, CO

Jennifer Lewis: Project Coordinator - Des Moines, IA

Kendra Davis: Project Coordinator - Des Moines, IA

Nick Hanson: Project Engineer I - Gainesville, FL

Rob Cortazzo: Operations Director - Phoenix, AZ

Robin Hainsworth: Sr. Human Resources Generalist - West Palm Beach, FL

Ruben Bravo: Business Development Director - Ft. Lauderdale, FL

EPI Power

Abdalhay Abdallah: Project Safety Manager - Des Moines, IA

Bishoy Dawood: Project Manager I, Commissioning - Des Moines, IA

Byron Prosise: Safety Manager - Des Moines, IA

Jacob Fry: Project Safety Engineer - Des Moines, IA

Marina Malouka: Assistant Project Engineer - Des Moines, IA

Mashara Quintana: Administrative Assistant I - Des Moines, IA

Melinda Watts: Craft Resource Manager - Des Moines, IA

Veronica Gomez: Project Coordinator - Des Moines, IA

Industrial

Gregory Schares: Estimator III - Cedar Rapids, IA

Mission Critical

Anan Katepoo: Field Superintendent - Goodyear, AZ

Anthony Fam: Project Engineer I - Goodyear, AZ

Ben Thomas: Project Superintendent I - Goodyear, AZ

Bryon Peterson: Senior Project Manager - Des Moines, IA

Courtland Pfaff: Project Superintendent II - Des Moines, IA

Jalen Connell: Project Engineer I - Goodyear, AZ

Jason Kemna: Field Superintendent - Goodyear, AZ

Jeremy Dyvig: Business Administrator - Des Moines, IA

Mina Shamsoun: Project Manager l - Goodyear, AZ

Mseke Asani: Project Safety Engineer - Des Moines, IA

Nick Woodard: Project Manager II - Des Moines, IA

Shawn Robertson: Project Superintendent I - Des Moines, IA

Zach Smith: Project Manager I - Des Moines, IA

National

Mauricio Deleon: Field Engineer - Healdsburg, CA

Noemi Portilla: Project Engineer I - Healdsburg, CA

Zachary Zyhailo: Field Engineer - Healdsburg, CA

Shared Services

Ashlei Gressman: Accountant I - Payroll Des Moines, IA

Richard Leitch: VDC Engineer I Orlando, FL

Tecnico

Gerald Smith: Project Engineer I - Arkansas City, KS

James Holloway: Senior Project Superintendent - Sterling, IL

Stay in the know for changes like these, from who moved in to who moved on, by checking out the recent personnel changes page on SharePoint.

Employee Spotlight: Sami Lettow

This year our monthly employee profile will feature a Wellness Committee member from around the company. These spotlighted employees have stepped up to support their co-workers and unit's wellness efforts. Check out the profile below to meet another person you have in your corner on your journey to "Build a Better You!"

Business Unit: Iowa Commercial & Aviation

Job Title: Human Resources Generalist

Why are you passionate about health & wellness? Wellness, to me, is about taking care of your body and mind, and it’s the foundation for a happy, energetic life. I want to inspire others to join me in this journey to live their best lives.

Favorite food? Sushi

What wellness advice do you have for fellow team members? Prioritize your mental and physical well-being. Even when life gets hectic, set aside a dedicated 30 minutes each day to focus on yourself.

What are some of your favorite ways to de-stress? You know what's a little quirky, but super effective for me? Dancing my stress away, even if it's just a quick 5-minute groove session. I swear, I always feel so much better afterward!

If you could win an Olympic medal for any sport, real or fake, what would it be? Summer's all about sand volleyball for me. I play on several teams, and it’s a great way to get some exercise. While my teams might not win gold for skill, we would definitely win gold for having the best time.

our operations updates

Brilliant Bridge Work!

This time-lapse video compresses the six days of work to set four bridge spans for the new pedestrian walkway at the Bainbridge Island terminal into two exciting minutes. It offers a great overview of our team's exceptional work that went into the monumental task! Kudos to the Contrack Watts Gig Harbor team and all who were involved!

The Talk of the Industry

Purdue Engineers Develop Intelligent Architected Materials

Building Design + Construction

Dropping Out of College to Join the AI Gold Rush

The Wall Street Journal

Ford Delays Construction on Second Kentucky Battery Plant

Construction Dive

Intel Announces Massive Oregon Expansion, with Very Few Specifics

The Oregonian

Are you aware of or concerned about unethical, illegal, dishonest, or fraudulent activity? If so, submit an anonymous report online by using the EthicsPoint button or by calling our Ethics Hotline at 1-844-965-1242.

EthicsPoint

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