Kharkiv delegation arrives in Midwest to learn about construction (06/30/02)

Kharkiv delegation arrives in Midwest to learn about construction

by Jan Sherbin

CINCINNATI - Sixteen Kharkiv architects, contractors and designers have arrived home with plenty of ideas to implement in their industry. They gathered these ideas during a three-week study tour in which construction experts in four Midwestern states showed them their work.

Topics covered during the May 13-June 2 study tour included not just materials and techniques but also project management. Their tour showed them how materials such as bricks and concrete are made and distributed; the features of successful contracts between builders and materials suppliers; how to finance construction projects; and how the process of real estate development works.

"Our goal is to give them tools to develop an organized industry of contractors, architects and designers in Kharkiv and also to formulate school programs to meet Ukraine's new needs for tradespeople in masonry, electrical, mechanical, HVAC [heating ventilation and air-condition] and infrastructure," said Jim Titus, who organized the study tour on behalf of Cincinnati's Center for Economic Initiatives. Mr. Titus is vice-president of CEI and a partner in Dunn & Titus PSC, a Cincinnati design/build architectural and construction management firm.

The Center for Economic Initiatives has been using the study tour method to give Ukrainian businesspeople a first-hand look at modern technologies, management and productivity methods and free-market competition. The study tour was CEI's 13th, and the third covering construction.

During the tours, U.S. businesses showed their sites and explained their operations on a volunteer basis.

Sue Nordin of Florida Tile, who hosted a previous CEI construction group, was excited about receiving a second group. "They are so fascinated by our tile-making process and ask so many questions. We had a particularly active exchange once when we explained our quality control process, and they were amazed at the tiles we rejected," she said.

Fran Dugan of the Dugan & Meyers construction company, who hosted two previous CEI construction groups, said, "We show them everything and are prepared to stop for a more detailed explanation when something catches their eye. The construction industry in Ukraine is so different that they may be fascinated with some process we take for granted and have used for many years."

Study tours are funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The Center for Economic Initiatives models its study tours after those conducted for Western European businesses after World War II under the Marshall Plan. In fact, the man who proposed and implemented this technical assistance component of the Marshall Plan in 1948, Jim Silberman, is an active consultant for the Center for Economic Initiatives.

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