Breaking Barriers
As a project manager for Turner Construction, Megan Corrie is frequently on job sites, where she oversees all the field and engineering activities.
“I'm responsible for managing the schedules and the budget,” Corrie said. “I'm pretty much responsible for all operations on that construction site.”
Although Corrie likes and enjoys her job, there are times when things can get tricky.
It is not outright hostility nor subtle disrespect that Corrie senses. It's an underlying assumption that she is not or could not be the boss.
“I'll be walking the construction site and somebody will say, 'Well, who are you? Are you the safety girl out here?'” she said. “It's usually a comment like that, in which they don't perceive me as being in charge of the project.”
It can be frustrating.
Corrie, 35, of Cranberry Township, is a woman in what has traditionally been a man's world. That's changing as more women are entering the construction site in positions of authority.One of her biggest issues happens because of the nature of the work: There is always a new job, and that means that she has to prove herself once again.“Every job is different, so you typically work with a different architect, a different owner and different subcontractors,” Corrie said. “As a woman, I am constantly trying to prove myself on every single job that I start. I almost feel like I'm starting at ground zero on the next one.“By the time I get to the end of it, I think everybody realizes that I'm organized. I know what I'm talking about, I can manage a project. But then when I get to the next one, I have to establish that all over again with a completely different team.”Corrie, a 13-year veteran of construction sites, trained for the work at Penn State, where she got her degree in architectural engineering with a focus on construction management.She likes the work, and for good reason.“I like that every day is completely different,” she said. “I'm not stuck behind a desk eight or nine hours a day. Every day and every project is completely different, and you learn something new, constantly.”
Corrie is quick to point out that her employer, Turner Construction, is in her corner.“This is mostly on the field side, and obviously our office at Turner is very supportive of me being in that position, but most of the tradesmen that are actually working on the site, I don't think they've gotten used to a woman being in charge of the whole project,” Corrie said.These days, you can find Corrie working on a building on Centre Avenue in the Shadyside section of Pittsburgh that at one time was a Ford plant. She will probably be wearing khaki trousers, safety boots and glasses, a hard hat and a plain, button-down shirt or dressier top.It may look workaday, but what she wears is carefully considered.“There is definitely a delicate balance,” she said. “You need to watch the tops you wear, obviously nothing that can be seen through. Even shoes. On the construction site I wear construction boots, but just being in the office trailer setting I feel like every day I have to be very conscious about what I'm putting on.”
Amanda Smoker, 30, of Zelienople, is young but a veteran in her construction career.A graduate of Slippery Rock University with a degree in safety management, Smoker is a health, safety and environmental manager for Mascaro Construction Co. LP. One of her job sites is at the new building being constructed at the Steamfitters Technology Center in Harmony. She travels project to project to ensure that everyone is following Occupational Safety and Health Administration, state and local regulations.In short, she makes sure everyone is working safely on the job. Smoker's experiences differ from Corrie's in that she believes that most of the tradespeople on the job respect her, although she has had a few incidents.“I feel like a lot of the employees out here treat me as if I am their daughter, their niece,” she said. “They show me respect in that way when talking to me.”It comes down to her basic philosophy: “If you treat someone with respect, you'll get it back,” she said. However: “Really, no bad apples. I've only had one or two in my 10 years working in the field,” she said.Although Smoker speaks softly, she does carry a fairly big stick.
“Employees think they know all the rules and regulations because they've been doing this for so long,” Smoker said.“As the years grow, everything else changes, stuff becomes more stringent and they feel the need to act out because that's how they've been doing it their entire career,” she said. “I kind of have to train them up and give them some knowledge. (I) talk to them on a normal professional level, and if they're not willing to take that, then we pull them in the office and sit them down ... go over the procedure and if you don't like it, you can move on.”It's important because everyone wants to be able to go home in one piece at the end of the day, and noncompliance with the safety rules is not confined to older workers.“You'll have the older guys, and then you'll have the young kids, the apprentices coming right out of the apprenticeship schools, and you'll have two types,” Smoker said. “You could have, one, (the kind) who has the mentality, 'I'm not going to get hurt,' or, two, they were very well trained in safety protocols when it comes to their work.”
