Employee Spotlight: Robert Humker I-4 Ultimate Procurement Specialist
Central Floridians are accustomed to seeing the heavy equipment of the I-4 Ultimate project – the bulldozers, cranes and concrete-mixer trucks that can be glimpsed in safe work zones along the highway. But keeping the huge project moving forward takes the effort of many people the motoring public never sees.
Behind the scenes, for example, the procurement department has processed more than 10,700 requisitions for permanent goods and services since the project began. Though not well-known, it is one of the busiest departments of SGL – the construction joint venture of Skanska, Granite and Lane.
Among those reviewing requisitions for everything from big trucks to small tools is SGL Procurement Specialist Robert Humker.
Highly regarded by his officemates for his good humor and hard work, Humker describes his current assignment this way: “It’s the nonstop processing of requisitions for permanent goods and services for the project, writing contracts and change orders with a good deal of coffee consumption in between.”
A nonstop workflow might not be surprising on a $2.3 billion project that stretches 21 miles and includes the reconfiguration of 15 intersections and the building or renovating of 140 bridges. The project is massive, but Humker knows the construction business inside and out.
In addition to his five years on the I-4 Ultimate project, Humker has an undergraduate degree in architecture from Ohio State and is a licensed general contractor in Florida. His first construction job was driving a ready-mix concrete truck while in college.
Later, he rose through the ranks (management trainee, assistant superintendent, superintendent, project engineer, project manager and senior project manager) during the transition of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Stadium into what is now known as old Turner Field and later converted into Georgia State Stadium in Atlanta and construction of Minute Maid Park in Houston and Gillette Stadium near Boston.
He also has worked on airports, steel mills, parking garages, shopping centers, office buildings and sports facility projects. He’s proud of his history of working hard, including serving in the U.S. Marines from 1968 to 1970.
“I started working at 12 years of age, washing pots and pans at a steakhouse restaurant for 75 cents an hour plus supper, and I haven’t stopped since.”
His off-hour interests include military history, sports shooting, watching football and spending family time with wife Marsha. He has two children and two grandchildren.
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