DeAnna Andrews is Sundt’s Small Business Coordinator in California. With small businesses employing about half of the private sector workers and creating 75 percent of the net new jobs in our economy, DeAnna’s role is to engage with that community to ensure that Sundt has a diverse group of subcontractors working on its projects.
DeAnna has a bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University and certifications that include Design Build Institute of America (DBIA), Alliance of Supplier Diversity Professional, San Diego State Green Building Construction, Certified Professional Constructor (CPC) and San Diego State Construction Management Practices.
How did you get into the construction industry?
I came in as a two-day temp file clerk assisting one of the Project Administrators working on a Long Beach project. Two days turned into two weeks and then that PA received a Sundt-sponsored scholarship to the University of Phoenix. When she left, I stepped into the PA role. I am now in my 23rd year of employment. I have worn many hats over the years: Project Administrator, Quality Control Engineer, Project Engineer, Estimator, Project Labor Compliance, Small Business Manager and now California District Small Business Coordinator.
What does your job entail?
I identify the local, small, disadvantaged, minority, women and veteran owned business requirements on specific projects at the preconstruction phase and assist the estimators and Project Managers/Project Superintendents to create a plan to meet and exceed the requirements for the project. Having 12 years of field experience with plans, specs and work scopes allows me the ability and knowledge to break out specific work scopes to provide small business opportunities. I also work closely with the field team and when they have a need for a specific trade or general requirements business, I provide them with companies to contact. My overall responsibility is to make sure we comply with what we promise owners in our proposal responses and identify opportunities for small, diverse business participation on our projects or in our offices.
How important is it to have minority-owned or small business represented among our project subcontractors?
The backbone of our country is small business. As a large general contractor, it is beneficial for us to support and mentor these businesses and help them where we can so they contribute more to our national and especially local economy. Due to the major impact small businesses make on our economy, we must provide opportunity for them to grow.
What does Sundt do to ensure that it has a diverse subcontractor base?
Sundt recently created a registration system to allow tiers, vendors, suppliers and professional service businesses to get in our database. We use this information to provide opportunities for networking with our larger subcontractors on our projects. Since 2013, we have averaged about 25 outreach/networking events in Southern California, mainly San Diego, where we have done matchmaking, formal presentations, hosted or had a booth and have met or presented to thousands of people. Because of these events, Sundt is very well known in the small business community and we have had good results in providing opportunities on the last five projects I have tracked. These five projects have employed more than 800 firms (including subcontractors, tier-subcontractors, vendors, suppliers and professional services firms) and helped small, minority and veteran owned businesses earn more than $320 million.
What kind of feeling do you get when you’re able to bring good, qualified small businesses on to our projects?
I enjoy seeing the faces of the small business owners when they meet me at an event and they are excited to tell me how well they are doing now because of that specific experience with a Sundt project. I also am very proud of Sundt when a small business tells another business that Sundt does what it says it was going to do. I want Sundt to be known in the industry as the company that goes beyond checking the box and we “think SMALL … business.”