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in the development of a strong set of drawing and production standards, but it takes a continued
commitment to keep up with those standards. Kudo’s to TAG and everyone who has been active
in these efforts. TAG also participated in several FGM U’s throughout 2017 including the changes
to the Illinois Environmental Barriers Code, legal aspects of architecture, focusing on Construction
Administration, what to draw and “cartooning” work sets. TAG also completed an update on
FGM’s standard sheet notes and continued to update details and specifications as issues arose.
Looking forward for TAG, FY18 goals include REVIT training, complete review of REVIT Key Notes,
updating the FGM Specifications, room finish schedules, continuing Lessons Learned and updating
Details. Thanks to TAG for all their efforts in 2017!

Operations Team

The Operations Team had a few changes to its makeup in FY17. As John Ochoa mentioned
earlier, Diane Gilmartin joined the firm in the first quarter of FY17. She very quickly became an
active member on the Operations Team. Also, Dave Yandel and Josh Czerniak joined the
committee in their first year of a two-year term, while Dean Manasses and Brian Wright rotated off.

Alternative work hours, put in place from a Tiny Pulse suggestion, continue to be a permanent
option for everyone in the firm offering flexibility and work/life balance.

During the course of the year, FGM continued its strategic initiatives to encourage more
movement of staff across all the markets where needs arise. We believe this has been valuable
for many reasons, but the primary benefits we see include building a stronger firm-wide knowledge
base in each and every practice area, which allows diversity and strength to the staff as a whole
as well as the beginnings of stronger bonds between staff in all practice areas.

Staff sharing between Regions continued throughout FY17. The two Regions collaborated
successfully on a number of great projects including a New Elementary School at Fort Jackson,
South Carolina, a new Army Reserve Center for Arlington Heights and a new Golf Clubhouse and
Banquet Center in St. Peters, Missouri to name a few.
Staff changes were apparent throughout FY17 with 20 new faces joining the firm, while we had 11
move on in their careers. This change represents 24% of the firm being at FGM for less than a year.
The short term of this change means added time to train and mentor our team, but the long-term
benefits of this change is a healthier ratio of Junior to Senior staff and giving existing staff the ability
to move up into increased roles and responsibilities. We encourage everyone to practice
patience and be a strong teacher, mentor and coach to these great young talents.
Upcoming for the Operations Team in 2018 include working with TAG and the IT Department on
the rollout of new Autodesk Software and workstations. As mentioned in the Technology section
of the report, an evaluation of our production software and process was completed by
Mastergraphics. This report included recommendations to improve our overall efficiency by a
combination of new software utilization and specialized training on those softwares.
Regional Updates

Northern Region:

The region saw 11 new faces and one returning employee in just one year. Scot Fairfield re-joined
FGM after a 10-year hiatus to the construction industry to become our Corporate Practice Leader.
The region added two experienced project managers in Matt Toepper and Gary Mathews. Seven
of the new hires were Arch I’s that were desperately needed to help complete the larger workload
for the year. They included Kelly McCaffrey, Robert Skinner, Jake McLaughlin, Katherine Kimmel,