January 3, 2022

Why Unify - Part 1: Construction is Cyclical

**Why Unify: The Drivers Behind Our Unified Project Delivery Approach**

As a national Design Build Multi-Trade Contractor, Power Design has sustained consistent growth over the last three decades despite the challenges of an industry facing everything from labor shortages to supply chain issues, and change-resistant counterparts. A major driver behind this growth has been a customer-centric and consultative approach to relationships, which affords Power Design the ability to expand scopes, geographies, technologies, and processes based on the needs of their partners.

We sat down with senior leaders to understand how this passion for filling gaps and leading with agility has prompted the company’s shift to a UPD (Unified Project Delivery) model, delivering its range of multi-trade services through a streamlined process that creates a seamless experience for trade partners. The team discussed the cyclical nature of construction along with advances in technology and efficiency that have led to the next step in Power Design’s progress.

**Part 1: Construction is Cyclical**
Power Design CEO, Frank Musolino, began our conversation over coffee with insights from the past.

Construction in and of itself is a very change-resistant industry. People have been stacking brick on top of brick for decades and centuries, so it's hard to imagine things changing too quickly. But, it feels like there's a cyclical shift emerging.

Frank Musolino |

CEO

Musolino added: “We’re heading back to the master builder concept where for a while, one guy could build his own house from start to finish; he’d lay the foundation, he’d build the walls, he’d put everything in it. From there, it went to an assembly line process during the industrial revolution where everyone had their place.”

I feel like the pendulum is swinging back now due in large part to the convergence of technology, assemblies and modularization, and everything coming together— you need someone who can put it all together.

Frank Musolino |

CEO

Supporting Musolino’s technology convergence point, VP, Misha Zeltser, added: “The technology of buildings and construction started to get more complex, leading us to see a divergent and siloed approach.”

With today’s communication and information sharing technology, it allows those complexities to converge because we can so easily share information. We can freely communicate at a speed that allows us to become that master builder again.

Misha Zeltser |

Senior VP of Engineering

A master builder concept was born out of a need for simplicity, but was broken up by complexity. Its return brings relevance to Power Design’s approach of providing closely related scopes such as mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and systems all under one roof.

“I mean, the Empire State Building was built by a master builder,” Musolino concluded. “That was in 1931, so we’re due for another hundred-year cycle here. Our role is to embrace that and start doing it on our own so that once the industry gets there, we’ll be ahead of it.”