Harris Announces 2020 Employee Award Winners

(ST. Paul, Minn., March 23, 2021) – Harris, a leading mechanical contractor, today announced its 2020 Employee Award winners across five categories that exemplify Harris: Prefabrication (project and region), safety, culture, innovation and lifetime achievement. The following award winners were nominated by their peers.

Prefabrication Project Award: Large Medical Device Company
This Harris crew lowered first time cost, increased job site efficiency, increased safety and lessened impact on the owner’s facility. Charged with constructing mechanical rooms for a large medical device company, the team built structures in Harris’ St. Paul fabrication shop rather than on site. With architectural, structural, electrical, mechanical and controls complete, the rooms were trailered to the job site and hoisted on the roof. Only final connections were needed with all of the piping, pumps, filters, electrical panels and controls in place. The team included: BIM/VDC Senior Manager John Semanko, Project Manager Andy Bloom, Sheet Metal General Foreman Mike Kendle, Pipefitter Foreman Will Perkins, Turnover Services Coordinator Ken Berg, Service Operations Manager Scott Parkos, and Controls Project Manager Scott Rasmussen.

Prefabrication Region Award. Salt Lake City BAS Panel Shop

Criteria for regional award includes proven cost savings, creativity, labor reduction and customer recognition.

Harris’ Building Automation Panel Shop developed a prefabrication method that allows work typically done on-site to be completed off-site, saving hours in the field and maximizing efficiencies. Working on a massive government project, Harris’ Mountain West Salt Lake City Controls team engineered, designed, fabricated and programmed all of the project’s 220-plus PLC and DDC panels months in advance, meeting rigid quality standards and an accelerated schedule. Prefabrication will save nearly 4,000 project hours.

Safety Champion Award: Richard Baker, Salt Lake City Safety Supervisor
Given to an employee who goes above and beyond, has a strong personal safety record and proactively influences others’ safety, Salt Lake City Construction Safety Supervisor Richard Baker has been nothing but outstanding in keeping his Salt Lake City team safe, especially during a year of remarkable challenges. Selected for the role in 2020, Baker’s innovative safety approach helped move the SLC team from a 3.57 RIR in 2019 to 0 RIR in 2020.

“Jerry Dalton” Culture Award: Mark Slagle, Director, National Field Operations

Exceptional dedication and service, integrity, positivity and collabo

ration, these are traits that represent Mark Slagle and the best of the Harris culture – qualities of Jerry Dalton, an exceptional Harris employee who passed away in 2004. Highly respected by his team and clients, safety and morale are top of mind for Slagle. On a national project with temperatures over 100 degrees and 6 to 10-hour schedules, Slagle spent countless hours alongside his nearly 130-member crew providing ice water, cool down areas, early starting hours and COVID-safe celebration lunches.

Innovation Award: Ben VanderSluis, Director, Data Driven Solutions

This honor reflects the impact innovation has on work processes, products and applications, as well as overall company benefit. Considered Harris’ PhD Data Scientist, Ben VanderSluis has been instrumental in developing the company’s new Telemetry Service. Working with teams across the organization, VanderSluis has enabled Harris to now capture, analyze, display and execute on complex facilities data, helping customers operate their buildings efficiently and effectively.

Innovation Award: Isaac Lowe, BIM/VDC Assistant  

Reflecting the impact innovation has on work processes, products and applications and overall company benefit, BIM/VDC Assistant Isaac Lowe developed a custom ribbon in Revit for Harris detailers to use and streamline workflows. He has also created custom tool add-ins, programming in C, a powerful computer language.

Robert F. Hosch Lifetime Achievement Award: Chuck Leach, Purchasing Manager

The Robert F. Hosch Lifetime Achievement Award, named after Harris’ former CEO who passed away in 2018, honors an employee who has built strong relationships, empowers and creates opportunities for others, and shows humility, selflessness and respect. For more than 40 years, Chuck Leach’s goal has remained the same, “how can I help Harris succeed.” With a passion for industry knowledge, mechanical systems, materials, specifications and relentless negotiating. Leach is known for his impeccable work ethic, oversight, guidance, training and resourcefulness.

CONTACTS:
Angela Mork
[email protected]
651.602.6538

Gina Swanson
[email protected]
612.298.2631

About Harris
Headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, Harris is a leading national mechanical contractor specializing in design and engineering, construction, controls, service, manufacturing, conveyors and end-to-end building systems with twelve offices nationwide. Customers who partner with Harris benefit from our national reach, regional offices, local expertise and more than 70 years of experience. From power plants to stand-alone hospitals, stadiums to concert halls, we bring a spirit of creative problem solving and a commitment to excellence to every project, no matter the size, complexity or location.