HISHE Healthcare Expo Charts Building Trends Queen’s Health System COO delivers keynote speech The 4th Annual Hawai‘i Healthcare Technology Health System executive vice president and COO (pictured at left), delivered an assessment of the healthcare indus- try in Hawai‘i. Will Braxton, Cynerio “The HISHE Expo is a valuable event for healthcare construction here in Hawai‘i, as the event connects vari-
ous trades and organizations here in our local market,” said Summer Vaimaona, business development representative at Swinerton Builders. Along with HISHE, an association of healthcare building and manage- ment professionals, other presenting sponsors included Cynerio, Johnson Controls Inc. and Koa Restoration & Maintenance. Visit hishe.wildapricot. org to learn more. — Brett Alexander-Estes
account executive, then presented strategies aimed at deterring cyber attacks in the healthcare sector. Breakout sessions included presenta- tions by Kiyana Turner, Scott Parham and Amanda Scott, three Amazon- affiliated healthcare and technol- ogy specialists; Dr. Simi Ranajee of Johnson Controls Inc.; and Christopher Kobus of the University of Washington Medicine healthcare system.
& Facilities Engineering Expo, presented by the Hawaii Society for Healthcare Engineering
(HISHE), took place May 11 at the Prince Waikiki. Keynote speaker Jason Chang, Queen’s
PHOTO COURTESY HISHE
CCIM Hosts ‘Construction Industry Outlook’ Panel Hawai‘i continues to grapple with COVID-19 recovery, labor shortages A lively discussion at the Hawai‘i CCIM Chapter’s May general member- ship meeting had a roomful of 2021 caused supply chains already burdened by the
pandemic to suffer a bigger blow, thanks to Winter Storm Uri. “This setback included Texas chemi- cal plants, which make up nearly 75
commercial realtors, business owners and general contractors thinking hard about the local building industry. “Hawai‘i Construction Industry Outlook 2023: Pursuing Growth in the Face of Economic Headwinds” featured panelists were Nordic PCL President Glen Kaneshige; Albert C. Kobayashi (ACK) President and CEO Michael Young; and Swinerton’s Erin Mori, director of preconstruction and estimating. Moderating the May 19 panel at Cafe Julia was Erin Kirihara, executive vice president at Rider Levett Bucknall. Nordic PCL’s Kaneshige said the audience had to look beyond the COVID-19 pandemic with fluid plan- ning, adjusting timelines and the unpre- dictability of “crazy construction costs.” While most blame COVID-19 for the recent global economic slow- down, Kaneshige asked the audience to consider “the big freeze in Texas … [which caused] all of their chemical plants and factories [to] shut down.” According to Texas Comptroller Glenn Heggar, the Texas Freeze of
Michael Young
Erin Mori
Glen Kaneshige
percent of U.S. chemical production and contribute to the manufacture of ingredients necessary for disinfectants, plastic bottles, fertilizer, pesticides and packaging,” Heggar said in an online report. “The freezing temperatures and blackouts damaged equipment in those plants, further slowing supply lines.” That explains why supplies took between 50 and 80 weeks to get to Hawai‘i, according to Young of ACK. The rowboat-slow arrival of machin- ery parts, fan coils, insulation, wood, cleaners and paints made it difficult to nail down prices for clients, sometimes resulting in contracts being shelved indefinitely. “We now want to sign a contract earlier, pay money earlier to mitigate risk, and prepare and plan lead times for materials,” Young explained. Swinerton’s Mori said one thing that kept her company steadily work- ing “was focusing on renovations in
the hospitality and health sectors and doing more with less.” That could mean not using the first choice in decorative tiles because they take forever to ship, deep cleaning furnishings instead of reupholstering, or driving a company truck a year or two longer. Labor shortages, a constant in Hawai‘i’s economy for more than 50 years, were also discussed. Local unions continue to lose member- ship and aren’t gaining enough trac- tion when it comes to recruiting new, younger workers to fill journeymen positions, such as masons, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, roofers and painters. It’s a delicate dance between general contractors and unions when it comes to new contracts, of which a big one is coming up in 2024. Who will blink first? — Paula Bender
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