2020 Women in Construction: Erin Copithorne, Senior Project Manager/Estimator at M.L. McDonald Sales Co. LLC

What was your greatest professional achievement or most notable project in the last 12 months? The Encore Casino was my most memorable project. It was the largest contract I have ever worked on and it was 4 years from budgeting to completion. It was challenging in many ways. The size and complexity of the project, the amount of changes and the size of the crew.

When I’m not working...I enjoy spending time with my grown children and attending my grandson’s sports games. I am at the golf course and beach in the warm months and in the Curling club in the winter months.

What are you doing differently in 2020 that has had a positive impact on your career? I am trying to be more selective with the projects to bid. Too many projects are being bought out from design development documents which never include the entire scope. This becomes very challenging to manage with changes and unclear scope.

What trends are you seeing in your field this year? I see more of the schedules to complete projects being shortened. Building faster is not smarter. Overloading of projects with manpower to complete work sooner is not cost effective and the quality is compromised. Incomplete documents require changes. And this does not necessarily add time to the schedule so everyone on the project is behind which make it difficult to apply finishes efficiently

Who or what inspired you to join the construction industry? My father taught me how to use tools. I loved the smell of cut wood and building things from a young age. I went to the vocational high school in my town, where I learned to be a carpenter and attended college at Wentworth Institute. I dreamed about building and wanted to be successful in the construction industry.