“In this industry, people tend to hop around from company to company, but not at Opus,” said Megan Garner, Project Manager. “People stay here for many years, if not their whole career. That kind of longevity says a lot about Opus’ culture.”
Megan is following that trajectory. Two weeks after graduating from college in 2012 she started as an Associate Project Manager in our Kansas City office. She was promoted to Project Manager at about the five-year mark.
As a Project Manager, Megan touches nearly every aspect of a project. From working with the development team and preconstruction, to collaborating with architects, engineers and consultants during the design process, to overseeing construction – the actual building of the project, which involves managing relationships with clients and subcontractors. This requires familiarity with every aspect of the process – preconstruction, design and construction.
“I see it all, and it’s challenging for sure,” she said. “It’s also incredibly rewarding.”
“My father is an architect,” she said. “He spent the bulk of his career working for a small construction company where in addition to managing design, he did a lot of construction project management.”
“He recognized early on that I had some project management skills. He encouraged me to consider it as a career and gave me opportunities to work with him during high school and my first summer of college. We actually shared an office, so I listened to him all day and witnessed everything first-hand. I decided it was a good fit and pursued it.”
Megan achieved a Bachelor of Science in construction engineering and management from Marquette University.
“I knew exactly what I wanted to do, so declared my major early,” she said. “The timing was perfect because the major was offered by Marquette for the first time when I was a freshman. I was the first female to graduate from the program.”
“I’ve been fortunate to manage some relatively major projects over the last eight years at Opus,” she said.
“We recently completed Westley on Broadway, a mixed-use multifamily apartment building in Kansas City’s Westport neighborhood. It’s a small and vibrant entertainment district that I visit often with friends and family, so it’s really cool to be able to say, ‘hey, look at that huge building – I had a hand in making it happen.’”
“We also have an awesome Opus one-team vibe in the Kansas City office. Genuinely liking and respecting my team members makes it really enjoyable to work at Opus, especially when overcoming challenges.”
The Bunge North America headquarters project is a great example of our commitment to client service and turning a challenge into an opportunity. At Opus, safety is a core value, and jobsite safety is a priority. Our jobsite safety practices meet or exceed the construction industry safety standards specified by OSHA. Occasionally clients, like Bunge, have safety requirements that differ from ours and the construction industry. Most often it’s an international company that has simplified safety processes across their entire portfolio to ensure all worldwide jurisdictions are covered.
Bunge had several safety requirements that were more stringent than both Opus and construction industry standards. “To ensure Bunge was 100% comfortable, we adopted their safety requirements and folded them into ours,” said Megan. “Probably the most notable one was tie-off height requirements for fall restraints.”
“The typical construction industry fall protection requirement is six feet, meaning whenever working six feet above the ground or near an excavation of six feet or greater, you need protection such as being tied-off to prevent fall injuries. Bunge has a four foot fall protection requirement. So, that forced us to rethink how we do some things, like off-loading trucks since some truck beds are higher than four feet and using a lot more lifts in the building instead of ladders.”
“We embraced the challenge and ensured the client's requirements were met, including putting two full-time Opus safety personnel on the project from start to finish to monitor and administer safety measures.”
The Bunge project went on to earn a Design Build Institute of America (DBIA) Project of the Year Award for the Mid-America region in 2018. Megan led the award submission process and said winning the award was “super exciting.”
“Megan has a great work ethic and is always looking for ways to expand her knowledge,” said Oscar Healy, Regional Vice President of Construction and Megan’s manager. “Dealing with challenges is part of the construction process and she always maintains a positive attitude while working through them. I appreciate and enjoy working with Megan, and I know our clients, associates and subcontractors do, too.”
Megan’s passion has transcended managing projects to helping the communities where we work. For a few years now, she has actively participated in the Opus Foundation Action Team, responsible for identifying and engaging with local Kansas City area nonprofits with missions that align with the Opus Foundation. She’s also a member of the Opus Volunteer Council where she coordinates local volunteer events and encourages her team to participate and volunteer their time.
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Megan is following that trajectory. Two weeks after graduating from college in 2012 she started as an Associate Project Manager in our Kansas City office. She was promoted to Project Manager at about the five-year mark.
As a Project Manager, Megan touches nearly every aspect of a project. From working with the development team and preconstruction, to collaborating with architects, engineers and consultants during the design process, to overseeing construction – the actual building of the project, which involves managing relationships with clients and subcontractors. This requires familiarity with every aspect of the process – preconstruction, design and construction.
“I see it all, and it’s challenging for sure,” she said. “It’s also incredibly rewarding.”
A Natural Progression
Megan excels at her job partly because it comes naturally.“My father is an architect,” she said. “He spent the bulk of his career working for a small construction company where in addition to managing design, he did a lot of construction project management.”
“He recognized early on that I had some project management skills. He encouraged me to consider it as a career and gave me opportunities to work with him during high school and my first summer of college. We actually shared an office, so I listened to him all day and witnessed everything first-hand. I decided it was a good fit and pursued it.”
Megan achieved a Bachelor of Science in construction engineering and management from Marquette University.
“I knew exactly what I wanted to do, so declared my major early,” she said. “The timing was perfect because the major was offered by Marquette for the first time when I was a freshman. I was the first female to graduate from the program.”
Tangible Rewards
When asked what she considers the most rewarding part of her job, Megan said it’s the tangible evidence of the team’s effort – the buildings.“I’ve been fortunate to manage some relatively major projects over the last eight years at Opus,” she said.
“We recently completed Westley on Broadway, a mixed-use multifamily apartment building in Kansas City’s Westport neighborhood. It’s a small and vibrant entertainment district that I visit often with friends and family, so it’s really cool to be able to say, ‘hey, look at that huge building – I had a hand in making it happen.’”
“We also have an awesome Opus one-team vibe in the Kansas City office. Genuinely liking and respecting my team members makes it really enjoyable to work at Opus, especially when overcoming challenges.”
The Bunge North America headquarters project is a great example of our commitment to client service and turning a challenge into an opportunity. At Opus, safety is a core value, and jobsite safety is a priority. Our jobsite safety practices meet or exceed the construction industry safety standards specified by OSHA. Occasionally clients, like Bunge, have safety requirements that differ from ours and the construction industry. Most often it’s an international company that has simplified safety processes across their entire portfolio to ensure all worldwide jurisdictions are covered.
Bunge had several safety requirements that were more stringent than both Opus and construction industry standards. “To ensure Bunge was 100% comfortable, we adopted their safety requirements and folded them into ours,” said Megan. “Probably the most notable one was tie-off height requirements for fall restraints.”
“The typical construction industry fall protection requirement is six feet, meaning whenever working six feet above the ground or near an excavation of six feet or greater, you need protection such as being tied-off to prevent fall injuries. Bunge has a four foot fall protection requirement. So, that forced us to rethink how we do some things, like off-loading trucks since some truck beds are higher than four feet and using a lot more lifts in the building instead of ladders.”
“We embraced the challenge and ensured the client's requirements were met, including putting two full-time Opus safety personnel on the project from start to finish to monitor and administer safety measures.”
The Bunge project went on to earn a Design Build Institute of America (DBIA) Project of the Year Award for the Mid-America region in 2018. Megan led the award submission process and said winning the award was “super exciting.”
“Megan has a great work ethic and is always looking for ways to expand her knowledge,” said Oscar Healy, Regional Vice President of Construction and Megan’s manager. “Dealing with challenges is part of the construction process and she always maintains a positive attitude while working through them. I appreciate and enjoy working with Megan, and I know our clients, associates and subcontractors do, too.”
Megan’s passion has transcended managing projects to helping the communities where we work. For a few years now, she has actively participated in the Opus Foundation Action Team, responsible for identifying and engaging with local Kansas City area nonprofits with missions that align with the Opus Foundation. She’s also a member of the Opus Volunteer Council where she coordinates local volunteer events and encourages her team to participate and volunteer their time.
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Follow our St. Louis, Kansas City and Indianapolis team on Instagram!
***
Our associates are talented, dedicated and knowledgeable. They streamline complex projects and always deliver value to clients. Read more profiles of our team.