In the course of doing business as consultants, we encounter many different types of companies and managers, with many different styles, methods, and business issues that they’re trying to fix. Of those companies we’ve worked with in the last few years, none stands out more than Wolf Construction in Topeka, Kansas. Wolf is an industrial general contractor, with blue-chip clientele including electrical utilities, petrochemical, and manufacturing customers. I was fortunate to meet Dusty Gary, Wolf’s VP of Operations at a Viewpoint user conference three years ago in Portland. While we didn’t immediately do business together, we sensed a common bond, the passion for achieving better outcomes by joining vision with technology .
What truly sets Wolf apart from its competitors is its unwavering commitment to quality, safety, and accountability to its clients. It achieves these high standards on a daily basis, through laser-focus on its Operations. Nothing happens by accident at Wolf. Dusty, following in his dad Dave Gary’s footsteps, has instituted a culture of attention to core values. By following its rigorous procedures of quality workmanship and attention to detail, the net result is efficient execution down from soup to nuts on every job, for every client, every time.
Wolf inspires a refreshing level of employee commitment we rarely see. Dusty goes so far as to offer employees a bonus each year to quit, preferring to pay cash to anyone not fully committed to the “Wolf Way.” If you can’t handle change, you wouldn’t want to work there. Wolf thrives by doing things better than it did yesterday, constantly raising the bar. Over the past two years, we’ve been fortunate to help improve their Operations processes. The first step was to bring in ProEst estimating, followed by interfacing it to Wolf’s Viewpoint ERP system. We’re currently assisting with an all-new home-grown ProEst database, as well as providing training with Primavera P6 and Viewpoint project management training. And that’s just naming a few. Also on the horizon are weekly real-time earned value reports for clients, and a custom integration between ProEst and P6. One thing is for sure. If you work with Wolf Construction or Cassell Consulting, you’ll get an unwavering commitment to achieving the best possible results, every time. You won’t get bored. But hang on, things WILL change. For the better.
