Shawn Hickey, President, SiteCast Construction, Ottawa, Ontario, has been named by Concrete Construction magazine, published by Hanley Wood LLC, as one of the five most influential people in the concrete industry. Hickey was recognized for leading educational and promotional efforts for tilt-up concrete both in North America and internationally.

When Shawn Hickey tells you that tilt-up is the best system for concrete walls you believe it because you can feel the confidence and passion that’s behind the statement. For 19 years he has been making this point across Canada and the United States and recently in the Middle East. “I had the opportunity to sit down with King Abdullah in Jordan and his top military guys to present tilt-up concrete. They were interested because of the blast resistance. When I was done, King Abdullah said to his people, we have to get this technology and get our people working,” says Hickey. Another convert to tilt-up!

Back home, Hickey has been teaching about tilt-up at the World of Concrete since 1999 and has given more than 400 seminars across North America. At the same time, he has been running SiteCast Construction, which is thriving. “We didn’t have the big downturn in Canada. We will complete 18 buildings in 2012; we typically have 2 to 4 projects going at any one time. Our board is full,” he says.

SiteCast is a member of the Con/Steel Alliance, which provides marketing and design services for its network of tilt-up contractors. Recently Hickey was recognized by Con/Steel with its Most Valuable Player award for his work with the Tilt-Up Concrete Association (TCA) and for his tireless efforts to promote tilt-up. “Con/Steel has been key to our success,” he says. “Their expertise in structural design and marketing meant we didn’t have to learn those things. There are 35 contractors involved which gives us a peer group network.”

TCA recognized his efforts last year with the Murray Parker Memorial Award. Hickey has been a big proponent of the TCA-ACI tilt-up supervisor certification program. “It adds credibility to the system,” he says. “It tells the owner and the designer that the people they are working with have the required expertise.”

Hickey has also worked to get TCA to develop a quality checklist (see December 2012, Concrete Construction). “We use it to avoid mistakes. We make a checklist of all the mistakes we’ve made and that way make sure we don’t make them again. It’s a training tool and allows guys to move up the ladder from laborer to foreman to superintendent.”

Somehow with all this, Hickey has also found time to play and coach hockey which he brings back to his work. “What hockey has taught me is teamwork. My guys at work are always hearing my hockey analogies. It’s all about the team. I don’t score a goal, the line scores the goal. It’s all about teamwork.”

Concrete Construction will recognize Hickey on February 5, 2013 during the upcoming World of Concrete in Las Vegas, Nevada. For further information, contact Bill Palmer at 773-494-4619 or wpalmer@hanleywood.com