HARRIS ANNOUNCES 2024 EMPLOYEE AWARD WINNERS
(ST. PAUL, Minn.) – Leading mechanical contractor, Harris, recently announced its 2024 Employee Award winners.
The annual awards cover five categories that exemplify Harris: prefabrication, safety, culture, innovation and lifetime achievement. The following 2024 winners were nominated by their peers and will receive a cash award as part of this recognition.
Prefabrication Project Award – Amazon SBN – IW Water Room
“Prefab everything” is an unofficial motto at Harris, with teams nationwide working to maximize the benefits of early collaboration, planning, modeling and effective labor and resource management from design all the way through installation and beyond.
The Prefabrication Project Award highlights projects that excel in modular construction, maximize labor savings and safety, coordinate multiple trades, drive creative solutions and deliver customer value. This year Harris acknowledges the incredible work done by the Design Studio and the Mid-Atlantic team on the Amazon SBN Industrial Water Room project.
Through careful design analysis, logistical coordination and structural detailing, they consolidated all equipment, piping and instrumentation from the “Stick Built” room design onto a single prefabricated system skid. Harris’ team designed the skid for offsite assembly to reduce field hours, increase quality control, boost project schedule, enhance safety for construction teams and improve the footprint.
Thanks to their attention to detail, commitment and follow through, significant savings in labor and installation time were achieved, making this one of our most successful prefabrication projects to date.
Safety Champion Award – Jon Ewing, Vice President + General Manager and Kyle Butterfield, Division Safety Manager
The Safety Champion Award recognizes employees who go the extra mile to create a safe work environment. Recipients exemplify leadership in safety by influencing others, identifying and addressing risks and maintaining a strong personal safety record at Harris.
This year, Jon Ewing and Kyle Butterfield from Harris’ Pacific Northwest team have earned this honor. Their commitment to safety is evident in their team completing 2024 without a recordable injury and having over 650 days without an incident.
They not only ensure safety within their own team but also proactively review incidents from other Harris locations to learn from them and prevent similar situations. They embody Harris’ culture of Safety first, last + always.
“Jerry Dalton” Culture Award – Chris Chewning, Construction Executive
The Jerry Dalton Culture Award recognizes employees who model the strong culture and values Harris has created. Recipients show exceptional dedication and service above and beyond the call of duty, and honesty and integrity when interacting with others.
Chris Chewning has been awarded the honor this year for this exceptional leadership with our Mid-Atlantic team. Chris has been with Harris & RM Thornton since 2007, starting as a project manager and now as a Construction Executive leading our AWS initiative for Mid-Atlantic.
Chris has been able to significantly grow and develop an extremely productive team that holds each other accountable while practicing our values. He consistently promotes positive morale with other employees at Harris and is always willing to help others. Chris lives and breathes Harris culture!
Innovation Award – Glen Wells, BA Application + Design Manager
The Innovation Award recognizes employees who introduce new ideas, technologies or processes that significantly improve Harris’ operations.
Glen Wells from Harris’ Salt Lake City team is this year’s recipient. He’s played a pivotal role in advancing Harris’ national programming capabilities and deploying the preprogramming shop. His leadership in the national building automation programming and design team has improved project turnaround time, saving both time and money.
Additionally, his work in the TCE national programming group has reduced hours and minimized errors in panel wiring and programing, substantially enhancing project efficiency. His commitment to innovation embodies Harris’ vision of simplifying complexity and elevating efficiency.
Lifetime Achievement Robert F. Hosch Award – Scott Nitschke, Vice President, National Operations
Scott Nitschke has been awarded the Robert F. Hosch Lifetime Achievement Award, named after former CEO Robert Hosch, who passed away in 2018.
This award recognizes individuals with a minimum of 20 years of service with Harris who have built strong relationships, empowered others and exhibited humility and selflessness, while earning personal and professional respect.
Scott, currently the VP of National Operations, has spent his entire career with Harris since being hired in 1996. Scott has served and delivered excellent results across several Harris business units, including the St. Paul Industrial Division, Arizona, Rochester and the National Team.
He has spent time traveling across the country serving in key roles wherever Harris has needed him. He was a part of the teams that delivered many keystone projects for Harris over the years, including Solana Solar Field in Arizona, Apple Park in California, Tesla Gigafactory in Nevada and the OSU Wexner Medical Center in Ohio.
Scott has a keen ability for building strong relationships with everyone he works with, from key customers to his own team. He never shies away from difficult situations and is often the first to volunteer to help others out!
He started the Piping Division for the Harris National Group and has been a key leader within the National Team for several years, ensuring financial excellence and accuracy. He’s made Harris a better place with his leadership and dedication.
About Harris
Headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, Harris is a leading national mechanical contractor specializing in design and engineering, construction, building automation, service, manufacturing, conveyors and end-to-end building systems with offices nationwide. Customers who partner with Harris benefit from its national reach, regional offices, local expertise and more than 70 years of experience. From power plants to stand-alone hospitals, stadiums to concert halls, Harris brings a spirit of creative problem solving and a commitment to excellence to every project, no matter the size, complexity or location. The company continues to make itself a destination workplace
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CONTACT:
Sara Warner
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651.260.5588
Angela Mork
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651.602.6538
Categories: Awards, News Releases