Semicolons in the Construction Industry

Welcome to “Onsite,” a fresh perspective brought to you by contributing writer Matt Ohley, construction manager at Ajax Paving Industries, Tampa division. In this column, Ohley cuts through the noise and delves into the challenges encountered by those shaping our world through construction. Ohley offers a unique perspective, amplifying the voices of those who experience the daily pulse of life on the job site. Onsite is our commitment to breaking down the barriers and misconceptions that shroud the construction profession. Ohley aims to initiate open and honest conversations, from job insecurity to the transient nature of projects, physical strain and often-overlooked mental health struggles. In this piece, Ohley has a discussion with Bill Cantrell (https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-cantrell-5b0307a0/), operations manager for Hilbers Incorporated Contractors & Engineers. Bill and I met on LinkedIn. He reached out via direct message after reading a few of my stories and wanted to share his story with me. It’s a tragic tale; the kind that movies are made of. In fact, HBO did a documentary on the people that raised him — it was entitled, “How to Create a Sex Scandal.” As is true of so many of my brothers and sisters in the industry, a tragic childhood placed him on the trajectory of a career in construction — and Bill has made it a successful one. Bill is operations manager (as well as general superintendent until he can get one hired) for Hilbers; a GC headquartered in Yuba City, California, that performs work throughout the United States. Q: How did you get into construction? When I was adopted, my adopted father was a contractor and I started working with him. I was a scrawny kid, barely 50 lbs., out there running a worm drive. He was tough. He’d broken his back falling off a 2-story roof and was near the end of his career. He was hard on me, but it helped me build up the body strength to be able to do this kind of work. Bill goes on to tell the story of working for a couple different contractors, climbing up the ladder to a project superintendent role at the age of 20 and eventually landing the role he’s in now as operations manager. Q: Tell me your thoughts about mental health. Anything you want to say? I have a semicolon on the back of my Hilbers truck. Q: A semicolon? Yeah, it’s a symbol for suicide awareness. You know, that point where you want to stop and just end it, but you have to keep going. I’m surprised I haven’t heard of this. Tears start to well up in my eyes. I know that feeling. Perhaps the tears are from his willingness to be so open with me. I’m reminded of how important it is that we have these conversations. Q: Have you had ideations? About 15 years ago or so, I was working out of town and discovered my wife was being unfaithful. We had two kids together. That eventually led to a divorce within the next year or so. I’d worked hard to try and build up the family that I never had. It was like, “nothing seems to go right in my life, maybe I don’t need to be here.” Cantrell’s story is, unfortunately, another common one — construction workers spending long hours on the job, many times away from their loved ones for extended periods of time, ultimately leading to the dissolution of the family. The familiarity of the story is a little painful, truthfully. I find myself having the internal dialogue that I have seen becoming increasingly popular publicly as well. What, if anything, can we do to change this part of the industry? How can we work towards better accommodating the men and women building our world so that this story isn’t so common? As Bill and I were discussing this, he said, “Everyone is becoming more aware of the high suicide rates in the construction industry. I’m glad that’s happening. I have to believe the divorce rates are among the highest of any industry as well. I don’t have any data on that, but it has to be true.” I don’t have any data on that either, but I believe it as well. Matt Ohley is a construction professional with over 27 years in the industry, currently serving as general superintendent for Ajax Paving Industries of Florida's Tampa Division. Matt started in the industry as a general laborer, eventually working into the roles of Foreman, Superintendent, Project Manager, and General Superintendent. He is passionate about the industry and refers to the people in the field as his "tribe." In his time outside of work, he enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife and children in Florida where they live, visiting local springs and kayaking.