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O-A-K General Superintendent, PJ Riordan, has spent 32 years in construction. He started as an electrician while still in high school and worked alongside many contractors over the years. Along the way, he started thinking he could do the superintendent’s job himself.
When he talked with his wife about changing careers, she asked him a simple question: if he could go anywhere, where would he go? “It was pretty easy to say Owen-Ames-Kimball,” PJ says.
Today, PJ does a lot of remodel work, including his current project, a five-phase school renovation the team started planning more than a year ago. Construction in an occupied school brings its own set of challenges. “I think the biggest challenge is safety and separating construction from students and staff while they’re trying to still have school,” he says.
Noise is another one. PJ works to schedule drilling and cutting during off hours as much as possible, so learning can continue without interruption. “It takes a lot of prior planning to pull it off, and it takes a lot of working with the administration and the staff,” he says.
The school calendar shapes every decision. “In a school year, you really have three main starting and stopping points,” PJ says. “The only times you can really transition from one phase to the other.” Knowing that rhythm, he keeps an eye out for issues that need attention and adjusts on the fly when plans change. “You know that we’re going to have to take a U-turn here and try to figure out something different,” he says. “I think that’s where I’m good at construction.”
That ability comes from knowing the client. “O-A-K has a high standard of getting to know your client,” PJ says. “I’m always trying to take the client first and what the needs of the school are.” Because he understands each school’s standards, he can work through a situation and keep the project moving without delay.
That’s the approach we bring to every school we work in. Many of our field leaders came up through the trades like PJ, and they pair that hands-on experience with real relationships with the administrators, teachers, and facilities teams around them. It’s how we strengthen communities through thoughtful construction, one phase at a time.
Ready to put your experience to work on projects that matter to your community? Click here to view open positions, or reach out to our Talent Acquisitions Manager, Camila Gumati, at camilag@oakmi.com with any questions.