Guest Blog by Chairman Dean Gwin: The ROI of PCI Foundation

Like many of you, when I look at spending money on behalf of our company, one of the first items I evaluate is the return on investment (ROI). In some cases, it is a simple formula looking at how many pieces we need to fabricate to pay the cost of a form or special materials before we start making a profit. And yet, in other cases looking at the ROI there is no clear formula. But make no mistake, an investment in the PCI Foundation has some immeasurable benefits to the industry as a whole, but in greatest measurement to the local partners. 

I don’t think I can say it better than Doug Noble, who wrote recently about his experiences with the PCI Foundation. Doug shared, “I have been at the USC School of Architecture for 25 years. In the first 20 years, I doubt if I ever heard the word “precast" in our building. Now we have 120 faculty members and almost 800 students who hear about precast all the time. In just the past three years of partnership with the PCI Foundation, we have, held three upper division architecture design studios focused on the advantages of precast for extreme climate and the special construction requirements of a National Park.” Additionally, USC has 

• Hosted several precast “building enclosure” conferences for professionals 

• Published a FACADE TECTONICS journal entirely on precast concrete

• Taken students on tours of precast plants and taken hundreds of students on precast building construction site tours.

• Had precast presentations by PCI West director Doug Mooradian

• Attended four PCI Conventions 

• Supported Ph.D. research and given 5 scholarship prizes each year for students in a precast design competition

• Introduced precast into the first “materials and methods” course that architecture students take

• Started a book project on inspirational architectural precast projects (aimed to inspire architects), and