As an established member of the Cap City Crew, Luke Fosket brings decades of experience within the electrical contracting field. Luke sat down to discuss his ideas with us, explaining in his own words what prefabrication is and why CCE has begun scaling up prefab efforts.
“Day to day, we’ve been discovering what more we can do to speed up install. There are a million things that go into what we do regarding building assemblies. A lot of tasks on job sites are done repetitively. Our goal is to capture these tasks and perform that work here at the Prefab shop instead. In doing so, our guys in the field end up being much more efficient as it cuts down on having to look for material and allows for faster installation. In a sense, it even helps younger electricians learn more out in the field. The faster and more effectively we improve our installation methods, the more installation experience they’ll get.
“This constant state of discovery, the need for Teamwork in order to be successful, and the challenge that comes with it all, is why I enjoy doing what I do.”
“Currently, we do pipe racks, boxes, big pipe bends, stands, panels, pole cages, and various other forms of assemblies. Due to the collaborative efforts of our teams in the field who are constantly looking for ways to improve, our list of capabilities continues to grow.”
Luke’s been an electrician for almost twenty years. He was a foreman for fifteen years, before moving to his current position of Prefabrication Manager, four years ago. Luke continues, “My experience has taught me to always think outside of the box. That’s really important. Just because we’ve always done something a certain way doesn’t mean that there isn’t a better way out there to do it. This constant state of discovery, the need for teamwork in order to be successful, and the challenge that comes with it all, is why I enjoy doing what I do.”
As CCE continues its constant growth, the prefabrication department has been busier and busier. For this reason, there have been plans to scale up the department, as Luke explains.
“We have plans for upgrading in the future. We just hired an automation manager, and we are currently looking at building UL-listed panels. The more buy-in we get, the busier we are, for sure. I’d rather have too much work than not enough.
We utilize our BIM team to help us with the more job specific assemblies such as pipe racks and panels etc. It helps ensure that when we install the prefab items out in the field there won’t be any clashes with the other trades, plus it also cuts down on build time. It’s really the little things that can determine a win or a loss on a project. Paying attention to the smallest details can certainly give us a huge advantage. This no doubt takes a village approach to how we do things.”
Luke’s current official title at CCE is Prefabrication Manager, but he’s been impactful in many areas of the company. If you ask around, you’ll also probably hear him described as a kind, helpful friend.
“There’s a lot of teamwork out here at the shop. I feel like I can ask a lot of people for their opinions and really draw on their various levels of expertise, and this helps me. No matter what project we are working on when help is needed, help is given. This is evident from the top down. It’s a great feeling to have people work together, and not just being concerned with themselves. It’s nice to know that we’re all in this together for the betterment of the company.”