Bert Carter – Champion of Improvement

Innovation creates value by doing something different. It is looking for new and better ways to do things. In our competitive business environment, the empowerment of our people to be innovative is essential. The story of how George Reed improved their process for manhole repairs and replacements is a great example. It all started with an observation in the field by Bert Carter, Construction Superintendent.  Bert’s curiosity was peaked by his observation of a skid steer attachment that seemed to make it easier to level up manholes as needed in some paving jobs. When discussing an upcoming job that would require several of these manhole adjustments, Bert advocated for a potential purchase of this attachment. Bert and fellow superintendent, Jamie Canepa, were empowered to visit the manufacturer, complete a cost/benefit analysis for the purchase of the new equipment, and then took the lead on implementing this faster and safer way of rebuilding manholes.  Thank you, Bert, for both discovering and then implementing a better way to do manholes.