You’ll be hard-pressed to find a city in the US with a deeper connection to its historical roots than St. Augustine, Florida. The city holds the honor of being the oldest continuously occupied settlement of European origin in the United States, and it shows: just taking a stroll down one of the city’s many cobblestone streets invokes the type of old town, coastal-colonial that feels as if you just stepped off a time machine.
Preserving this moment in time would be impossible if not for the help of the city’s extensive zoning regulations and efforts. The plans are designed to preserve the historic character of many buildings in the area through a series of compliance checks that are regulated via the city’s historic preservation board. Due to the intricate nature of many of the board’s regulations, the city regularly pulls from a select pool of contractors that are familiar with Architectural Guidelines for Historic Preservation (AGHP) when undertaking new restoration projects.
For local contractor Behst Builders Inc, historic preservation is embedded in the company’s DNA. Prior to opening Behst, Owner, Jon Benoit spent years working as a project manager for a non-profit housing development corporation that specialized in rehabilitating single-family homes within historic neighborhoods. Thanks to his expertise with historic renovations, the contractor is now recognized as one of the city’s go-to resources for historical projects. However, Jon can’t take all the credit for the company’s success: Carey Murphy keeps the business running by filling the vital role as the company’s Office Manager.
A few months ago, Carey reached out to the team at Magnatag Visible Systems® when Behst’s online project management software failed to meet their needs. After scouring the web for a project management system that could propitiate everyone on staff, Carey discovered Magnatag’s Project StepTracker® Magnetic Whiteboard System and quickly incorporated it into their internal communication strategy.
The whiteboard system is designed to list active projects vertically along the left side of the board, with individual project milestones adjacent to each project. Once a specific construction phase is complete, the designated Project Manager takes one of the system’s double-sided magnets and places it below the completed project milestone, communicating that the team is ready to move on to the next phase of construction. In addition, the company also uses the board’s notes section to highlight and sign off on any extra expenses that may arise during a project’s development. If an additional expense is needed, Project Managers are required to make a note of it on the board, which Jon approves in between shifts.
“We were looking for something that our team could use as a focal point for discussing projects; the StepTracker® whiteboard is the perfect tool for us. When you work in an office where people are constantly juggling their time between being on location and in the office, it’s essential to have a space in your building that’s strictly dedicated to discussing project developments. Having something that you can walk to and manually update should be a standard for anyone in the construction industry,” notes Carey.
If you’re looking to rethink how your company develops and tracks projects, please visit magnatag.com/project or give us a call at 800 624 4154.