Heads In Beds

Last week I had the pleasure of presenting alongside Tom Koulouris, co-owner of KFI, a program management firm that works with healthcare owners to define best practices during planning, design, construction, and operations of their capital programs.

I met Tom when he used to work for HCA Healthcare where he utilized e-Builder to manage a project in Florida. He always had a philosophy of keeping things simple and it contributed to the success of our software on his projects.

Since leaving HCA a few years ago, Tom has taken his best practices and implemented them for other Healthcare owners. His practices have proven so effective that he has been commissioned to write a book titled "Heads in Beds" which deals with what healthcare owners can do to speed the time-to-market for new hospitals, and discusses the relationships between project cost, schedule, and scope as they apply to incremental revenue. The book will be out in the fall.

We asked Tom to share his thoughts in during a webinar sponsored by e-Builder a few weeks ago. For those who missed it, it's worth a listen. Click HERE to open the webinar. Enjoy!

ENR Award of Excellence - 2008

There isn't a week that goes by where someone doesn't makes a comment about the longevity of e-Builder.  After all, the track record for software companies who develop web based applications for the construction industry isn't exactly stellar.  Many disappeared only after a few years of service.  In one case, e-Builder was fortunate enough to acquire one of the companies and grow its user base.  Point is, as I look back at all the wonderful experiences, one event sticks out the most - ENR's Annual Award of Excellence Event.

Having been honored as a past Newsmaker, I was fortunate to experience the magnitude of such an event.  Many of the individuals who I seek out each year are considered friends, mentors, and "good people" with strong ethics and integrity.  

This year I was able to grab my fiance's camera before I left for NYC and take a few shots at the event.

Who can forget Judy Schriener.  She discovered me when I was fresh out of Building Construction at the University of Florida.

Hoyt Lowder, one of the executives at FMI Corporation was also instrumental in getting e-Builder noticed.  Although he did not attend, FMI's new CEO Hank Harris did.   Hank has been equally supportive and is always very insightful.  I still remember first meeting Hank at a conference in Hawaii where we were both speaking.  They don't come any hipper than Hank! 

If it wasn't for Norbert Young, President of the McGraw-Hill's Construction Information Group, we never would have partnered up with McGraw-Hill.  It's hard to believe that was way back in 2000.  Seems like yesterday!  Norbert is like a machine.  He never stops and always has the answers.  He has been a wonderful mentor to me.  Thanks Norbert!

Brian Tonry was instrumental during the .boom and .bomb days of the Internet.  He has perspective like no other and continues to be a great resource and friend on many subjects.

Both Jay McGraw, VP Group Publisher for ENR, and Jan Tuchman, Editor-in-Chief of ENR extend such warmth every time we see them.  It's like being around family and it makes all of us feel good.

Lastly, I would not be anywhere without our President, Ron Antevy.  As you can tell from the last name, he also happens to be my brother.  I am so fortunate to work with such a talented individual.  Our skill sets are complimentary.  For one, he is an engineer and I am an architect!  We always have a great time at the event and we make sure to end it off with a slice of NYC Pizza.

Until next year!!!!!