An Interview with Field Operations Manager Dan Nelson

How long have you been at Haselden? 

When I started in construction as a laborer, it would have been hard to believe that 31 years later I’d still be at the same company. Granted, I’m not a laborer anymore, but I do still love to build buildings. Each building is a prototype – no two are the same and they each bring their own unique challenges. 

What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in the industry over 31 years? 

When I started, building timelines were longer- the technology and demand has pushed us to speed up those timelines. So much has changed in the industry over my construction career that it seems hard to believe we used batter boards to set gridlines for layout and used printed blueprints. For a long time, we communicated with architects by fax machines to get an answer to an RFI. You had to be careful not to leave the rolled-up fax in the sun or parts of the print would disappear. Now that we’ve switched to paperless, I do miss building off paper plans. 

Has anything stayed the same? 

The weather. I still get stressed about the weather from the big snowstorms to the day to day. More seriously, the camaraderie on the job sites and the passion the teams bring have been constant through the years. You might not always expect your work friends to become your lifelong friends, but in construction you spend so much time with your team that those bonds can last a lifetime. I’ve met several of my great friends through work, and now as our field manager I try to help our teams foster those same relationships.

How can a general contractor adapt to changing innovations and technology? 

I think the most important thing is to not be afraid of change. Going paperless felt huge when we switched over a couple of years ago, but now it’s just built into our everyday work. The key is to evaluate each innovation to see if it makes sense for the job. It should help make the team more efficient if it’s going to be implemented. We also focus on teaching our teams the fundamentals so that they have the knowledge and experience to double check those new innovations.  

Do you have a favorite project you’ve worked on? 

That’s a hard one to pin down – there are so many. The one that comes to mind first is One Steamboat. We had a great team, and we just had a ton of fun building that project. Our team, trade partners, and owner were outstanding, and we even finished the project 3 months early. Now several of the guys on that team have become leaders at Haselden and continue to build incredible projects. 

What advice do you have for the next generation in construction? 

Rely on your relationships. If you treat your team, your subcontractors, and your owner how you want to be treated, those teams will work hard to help you succeed. The same is true for the opposite. The relationships you can build can have a huge impact on your construction career.