Webcor & GCON Engineers Take on New Engineers Will Build (NEWB) at UCSB San Benito Student Housing

Over the last decade, our project engineers (PEs), assistant project managers (APMs), and assistant superintendents have shut down their ThinkPads and thrown on their tool belts for a week of pouring concrete, installing doors, and hanging drywall at New Engineers Will Build (NEWB)—our annual crash course in all things Webcor Craft.

• Known for pushing our early-career Webcorians to new limits, NEWB has evolved into a beloved Webcor tradition immersing participants in the rigorous but gratifying world of Webcor Concrete, Carpentry, and Drywall.
• Over the course of five intense, fast-paced days at a Webcor jobsite, our field experts train NEWB participants (“NEWBs”) on building basics before sending them off to complete the day’s tasks with their teams—typically 5-6 groups of 5-6 participants.

From navigating the consequences of last-minute design changes to pushing through the physically demanding nature of field work, NEWB is always a uniquely humbling experience. As much as most PEs already respect craft professionals, nothing compares to performing the labor, tackling the unexpected changes, and solving the problems themselves in the field.

Assistant Superintendent, Concrete Lucas Decasper and Assistant Superintendent Mac Hammitt, who co-led this year’s NEWB, emphasize that that’s the whole point—gaining a true understanding of field workers’ perspectives through firsthand experience and most importantly, taking those perspectives back to the office.

“Our tradespeople have years of valuable experience, so we need to rely on what they tell us and put ourselves in their shoes,” Mac says. “I hope all NEWBs walked away with a new level of respect for their trades, as well as new relationships with their fellow NEWBs. They’re going to rise in their careers together, so it’s important to start forming those friendships.”

A Year of NEWB First’s

• For the first time in NEWB history, the internal Craft boot camp took place at one of our SoCal projects: UCSB San Benito Student Housing. It was also the second time NEWB’s ever taken place outside the Bay Area.
• This year also marked our first time welcoming GCON engineers to NEWB—Lily Manago, Brett Delaney, and Evyeni Gavriillidis, all of whom traveled from Texas or Arizona.

“I never could have predicted the caliber of training NEWB would provide,” Lily says. “From the team-building events to the level of detail in the planning exercises, the intentional efforts our NEWB leaders/mentors put into providing a great learning environment were outstanding. It was so fun to build relationships with the Webcor team, learn together, share perspectives, solve problems, and celebrate our wins.”

A Week of Hands-on Building With Craft Experts

Since building in-place work wasn’t an option this year, NEWBs spent the entire week building small pods—and new connections—with their teammates:

Day 1 (Monday): Layout, Formwork, Rebar Installation, & Concrete Finishing

NEWB kicked off with an immediate unforeseen challenge: Due to changes in site logistics, they had to shift to a new build area last minute.

• Since the new grade was more sloped than originally planned, each team had to submit RFIs addressing the slope changes before installing some challenging formwork.  
• “Personally, that day was my favorite of the whole week,” Lucas says. “It was the first day, so it kind of ripped off the Band-Aid. It was interesting to see the new PEs struggle through the process and how surprised they were at the difficulty of the work.”  

Day 2 (Tuesday): Layout, Framing, Hanging Drywall, & Taping/Mudding

In anticipation of Wednesday’s 100-degree heat wave, Lucas and Mac decided to extend Tuesday’s schedule so NEWBs could finish early the next day and avoid the peak heat.

• This meant adding drywall and mudding/taping to Tuesday’s original agenda of layout and framing.
• The day was full of lessons for not just the NEWBs (“Make sure your shot pins aren’t too strong for fresh concrete!” Mac advises), but future NEWB mentors/leaders. “Day 2 definitely reinforced the importance of meeting with field mentors and establishing ground rules/expectations before starting construction,” Mac says.

Day 3 (Wednesday): Hanging Drywall & Taping/Mudding

As expected, Wednesday was a real-life lesson in heat illness prevention planning. Between taping and hanging the last of the drywall, NEWBs paused work for regular shade and hydration breaks as the temperature crept into the mid-80s.

• “Fortunately, we were able to borrow a swamp cooler from the UCSB team to help mitigate the heat effects,” Mac says. “Since everyone worked late the day before, they were able to wrap up early after working in the sun all day.”

Day 4 (Thursday): Hanging Drywall, Taping/Mudding, Hanging Doors, & Installing Accessories

In addition to the last of their drywall/carpentry work, NEWBs went through a mock Fire Marshal inspection—a first for several new PEs. After determining that the Fire Extinguisher Cabinet (FEC) was too high, they got to work adjusting it to the Americans with Disabilities Act’s (ADA’s) height standards.

Day 5 (Friday): Finalizing Work & Cleaning Up

To wrap up the week, NEWBs put the last finishing touches on their pods, cleaned up their work areas, put everything away safely, took a site tour of UCSB San Benito, and enjoyed their last day together before heading back home.

For Mac, watching PEs, APMs, and assistant superintendents across so many projects/regions enthusiastically tackle each daily assignment with their teammates made all the months of planning, organizing, and coordinating NEWB logistics worthwhile.

“Whether it was pouring a level slab, standing up studs, patching drywall, or taping/mudding, everyone had a slightly different way of handling the work,” he says. “Watching each team take on their tasks slightly differently was really enjoyable.”