Chuck Tyler Part 1: We Owe Safety to Our Families

Intro:
Today our guest is Chuck Tyler, Director of Operations and Business Development with Phoenix Modular Elevator. Chuck started his career in the field at 18 and with a family history in the trade, every meal he has ever eaten has been provided by this industry. Chuck loves what he does and is excited to be growing in a new niche of the industry.

Summary:
Chuck Tyler, Director of Operations and Business Development at Phoenix Modular Elevator, discusses his career journey in the elevator industry, which began at age 18 with a family history in the trade. He emphasizes the importance of safety as a mindset and responsibility, noting the industry’s shift towards prioritizing safety. Chuck highlights his mentorship by his father and other industry veterans, and the value of planning and efficiency in his work. He advises newcomers to listen and learn, and experienced professionals to find fulfillment in their roles, suggesting that personal satisfaction is key to career success.

Transcript:
Chuck Tyler 0:00
Yeah, I had a safety meeting the other week, and it’s to me, it’s very easy. I’ve had enough experiences in my career where, you know, safety is a it’s a mindset, it’s a belief, and it’s also our responsibility, right? We owe it to our families. We owe it to our co workers families. And I think, you know, one of the things I love about my situation now is I work at a small company. So, you know, the the safety is we can talk about it as a, as a, as a family, not as, you know, kind of a top down initiative. So, and I think that that, that that transition happened even at the at the bigger companies that I worked at, you know, they started really talking about, you know, safety as you know. It’s the reason is we want to make sure that you get home to your family every day. And I think that resonates with people a little bit more that you know, then do it or else you’re going to get sent home for, you know, for the rest of the day, right?

Matthew Allred 0:52
Hello and welcome to the Elevator Careers Podcast sponsored by the Allred group. I am your host, Matt Allred in this podcast, we talk to the people whose lives and careers are dedicated to the vertical transportation industry to inform and share lessons learned, building upon the foundation of those who have gone before to inspire the next generation of elevator careers. Today, our guest is Chuck Tyler, Director of Operations and Business Development with Phoenix modular elevator. Chuck started his career in the field at age 18, and with a family history and the trade, every meal he has ever eaten has been provided by the elevator industry. Chuck loves what he does, and he’s excited to be growing in a new niche of the industry. This is part one, Chuck. Welcome to the show.

Chuck Tyler 1:41
Matt, thanks for having me.

Matthew Allred 1:43
Thank you. I’m excited. I always enjoy talking to you, and I’m excited to get to know you a little bit better today. So appreciate you being here. And let’s just, let’s just start from the beginning. Chuck, how did you get involved in the elevator industry?

Chuck Tyler 1:58
So I think I shared with this you, with you earlier in a conversation, every meal I’ve ever eaten came from this industry. So my pops came home from Vietnam and was lucky enough to fall into the elevator as a part time job until something better came along. And he retired from the industry some 50 years later, a stored adjuster for Dover and Thyssen and, you know, got me and uncles and nephews and my daughter and a lot of us in the trade. So I kind of have always wanted to be an elevator man when I was a kid. You know, my heroes were all my dad’s buddies who seemed to could do anything. You know, they were elevator guys. So when I was 11 years old, my dad decided he was going to build a log cabin and do it himself, you know, buy a kit. And so every weekend, it was him and a bunch of elevator guys from all over Florida, they would come over and help him build that house. And so I was exposed to the, you know, square within an eighth of an inch, and, you know, plumb, within a nat’s butt from the very beginning. So kind of always wanted to be in any elevator business. And, you know, just naturally went into it when I got out of high school

Matthew Allred 3:11
Never even, never even thought of anything else. It sounds like

Chuck Tyler 3:15
No, it was, it was there was never any other, never any other option. It’s what I kind of was destined to be I think, yeah

Matthew Allred 3:22
That’s cool. So when you got out of high school, did you immediately join the union, or what role did you find yourself in?

Chuck Tyler 3:29
So, my dad made me get a job working, you know, to prove myself before he would let me get into the industry. So I had to go work in a construction job as a labor for six months for a buddy of his prove I can show up every day in that and then he brought me in. My dad, at the time, was a superintendent for Arizona elevator on Phoenix, and he hired me on. And I got my opportunity to start in the in the industry, in the field, worked there for, got my six months in and so easier not to work for your dad. I, I’ve transferred over to Otis and worked for a gentleman by the name of Dick Anger. And you know, that was the start of my career there, working as a work on the high rise buildings in Phoenix.

Matthew Allred 4:12
Yeah. So was it? Was it everything you hoped it would be? As you know, it’s like an 11 year old going, Hey, this is what I want to be. Or, or, did you kind of have this realization, or wake up that, oh my gosh, man, maybe I should have been an astronaut after all, you know.

Chuck Tyler 4:27
Well, I never considered an astronaut, but I think it was everything, you know, some of the things that they were frustrating right back when I got in, it was, you know, you had a lot of old school mechanics, and, you know, the helpers only got to see what they, you know, what they let you see. And so, the beginning, I worked on a couple big jobs, and, you know, that was quite frustrating. Didn’t quite understand that, but, you know, so as my career moved along, I tried not to be one of those guys. And, you know, but yeah, it’s, it was always, it was always what I expected. Did it was I’ve been given so many opportunities again, you know, I’ve worked, started out, working in the field, with my hands, with my tools, my family grew and, you know, we decided that we wanted to move, and we were able to reach out and find an opportunity within the elevator industry. With Dover elevator, they helped move us. And we moved to a different place. And, you know, started, you know, started our family growing that way. And it was, it was really a good situation. And then few years later, I got an opportunity to go into the office as a superintendent, a small, you know, just a really small operation. And, and I really just love that. I love the opportunity to to do the setup and support. And, you know, take the little bit of knowledge that I’d gained over the six or seven years I worked in the field and and get the job set up right for the mechanics that we’re going to go do them. And, you know, I found a lot of a lot of passion for that. So being a superintendent was so much fun and a great opportunity, and I was able to do that for a few years. So

Matthew Allred 6:05
That’s awesome. That’s how long did you actually spend in the field before moving to the office?

Chuck Tyler 6:10
So about six and a half years I worked with the tools. Like I said, I started in Phoenix, and we moved to Jackson, Mississippi. So my first, my first four years i i worked as a helper for, you know, some really great mechanics on high rise work. And so that was my goal, was to be a foreman on high rise. Well, moved to Jackson, Mississippi, and there wasn’t a lot of high rises. It was just a lot of Hydros, a lot of traveling city to city. And so that kind of gave me the okay, if I’m not going to be able to run big work, well, I can run a small office, and that’d be like running a big, big job. So that’s kind of, you know, how I worked my way into the office.

Matthew Allred 6:51
Looking back, who were some of the have you mentioned a name or two? What you know, some of the, some of the biggest mentors for you that you felt like really pulled you along, or maybe believed in you, you know, maybe even more than you believed in yourself at the time, anybody like that.

Chuck Tyler 7:06
So the number one, my number one hero in life, is my dad. He’s no longer with us, but some kids worship Michael Jordan. I worship my boss. So he was, he was my number one, you know, and I always worked with my dad even, even when I was in the field, I worked with him as his helper, or he would come and adjust behind me. So, you know, the pressure of having your dad follow, I can’t imagine, judge your work and then have that discussion at the dinner table after work too, right? So that was, he was my number one. But so many people. I mean, early on in my career, there’s a guy by the name of Greg Rustad who is just retired out in Las Vegas. He’s been in the industry forever. And Jim Allen, Stan Snook, Phil Gable. I mean, there’s so many people early on that gave me opportunities. Bob Doyen, and then, you know, I mentioned, I mentioned Rick from Richard from Otis. He was the superintendent there, and he was just, you know, such a great guy came to my wedding and, you know, encouraged me to next time I missed, you know, I was late. I was going to have to pay the price for it now that I was a grown up married man, so, you know. And then I moved to Jackson, Mississippi, and I got to work with Robert Mason, and, you know, he was a legend in the old Dover organization. So that was, that was awesome.

Matthew Allred 8:32
Yeah, yeah. What were some of the early lessons that you felt like really helped you maybe focus more, or just kind of understand that, hey, this is, this is what’s critical here, anything like that?

Chuck Tyler 8:45
Well, again, I think, you know, early on, when I was a kid, I learned that, you know, close wasn’t close enough. You know, the elevator guys always say close is only, you know, it’s only good in horses and hand grenades, right? Elevator business is exact. So I came into the industry with that. I think what, I think, what really the eye opening was, you know, when safety started to become a real play. I got in the I got in the field in like, ’88 area. And it was shortly after that when, you know, Otis and the majors really started to push safety. And, you know, think differently and and then that transition over time, over the next 1015, 20 years, you know that I think that was probably one of the biggest, biggest things I could point to that I would say, you know, I’ve seen a change in the industry. I don’t know that was the question, but I mean

Matthew Allred 9:39
some of the stories I’ve heard from the old, you know, I guess people who’ve been there longer is, yeah, safety wasn’t, wasn’t, maybe prized and valued, as much as I would almost say, heroics from some of the stories I’ve heard of just some, some crazy stuff that went on

Chuck Tyler 9:55
Heroics and lack of fear there, you know, lack of fear definitely. That’s an elevator guy. Used to heights, right? You work in them all the time. So I think it becomes a little less, yeah, causes less anxiety when you’re used to something. So I remember we had a job once that the that the elevators were built, the shanty was on this like p2 and the guys would come in at the lobby and slide down the ropes to the to the car top, and then jump out into the floor where the shanty was at. So again, some crazy things. But I just think from the biggest lesson I learned early on, I would work with some young mechanics and and it was, you know, start of the day, free up and get to your work spot and start working. And then realize, oh, we forgot this tool, or we forgot that part. And then I got an opportunity to work with one of my dad’s best buddies, Jim Cochran. And you know, he would take 15, or 20 minutes in the shanty in the morning, getting everything together, making a plan, making sure he knew exactly what we were going to accomplish. That day, we would get all of our tools together, and then we would walk our way to the machine room, but when we got there, we never had to leave again. So I guess the biggest lesson I learned was, you know, plan your work and work your plan, right? That’s awesome.

Matthew Allred 11:19
Yeah, no time that’s super valuable, right? Because your time is you can’t get it back. And so if you’re walking back and forth to your to your truck, or wherever you got to go, and you don’t have your stuff together, you just wasted half the day because of a lack of a plan

Chuck Tyler 11:35
Right, So that’s why, that’s kind of, I guess, maybe where I started to really think about efficiency, and then once I got into the office, you know, I was, I mentioned I was in Jackson, and then moved to Birmingham, Alabama, large hydro markets, and I had some great mechanics, I mean, some amazing guys that were fantastic. And and our leadership at the time were really looking for, you know, installation processes, and we really pushed to, you know, improve the product, to help with the installation times and so on. So, you know, that efficiency kind of carried through, you know, from the from my early days, you know, my time in the field and then into the office. So, you know, always looking at, you know, how you can be most effective, most efficient.

Matthew Allred 12:18
Yeah, let’s talk for just a minute. You mentioned kind of the shift to safety, you know, that safety mentality, and I’m curious what kind of reception I mean, I’m assuming there was some pushback, right? Some of these guys who kind of prided themselves on being fearless, is like, safety, that’s stupid. We don’t need that.

Chuck Tyler 12:38
I would definitely say that early on in the in the transition from the Old World to the New World, if you will, safety was something that, you know, it was a struggle. I had friend of mine, Gary love and good was the safety guy, you know, came out of the field. Was a superintendent that went into safety and, you know, I remember having many conversations with him, when he would come into town and do safety audits and so on and so forth. I think the transition has been, you know, at first it was the company was pushing it, you know, you got to do things, things a certain way, because they felt it was safer, you know. But, but as time moved on, I think the guys took ownership of it, and really and really started to take it on. And you notice it more with the younger guys, I use gloves as a prime example. You know, a lot of the older guys, you know, I can’t put this together with gloves on, but the young guys that never knew anything different, right? They, they, they never had a problem with it. Same with safety glasses. You know, I remember early on, you know, we asked the guys to wear safety glasses when they were doing things where they needed to wear safety glasses. Unfortunately, they, you know, the guys still didn’t wear the safety glasses when they needed to. So then the rule became, with the big companies, you got to wear them all the time, right? So, you know, the pendulum swung too far, maybe.

Matthew Allred 14:01
Yeah, yeah. I mean, it’s anytime, in my experience, you’re trying to change culture or drive new behaviors, or, you know, there’s going to be some resistance, but that’s, that’s definitely one of those areas where I think, as, you know, as people look back, it’s like, yeah, I’m glad that we’re taking safety serious. You know, more than, more than we used to.

Chuck Tyler 14:22
I think, you know safety now is we? I had the safety meeting the other week, and it’s to me, it’s very easy. I’ve had enough experiences in my career where, you know, safety is a it’s a mindset, it’s a belief, and it’s also our responsibility, right? We owe it to our families. We owe it to our co workers families. And I think, you know, one of the things I love about my situation now is I work at a small company. So, you know, the the safety is, is we can talk about it as a, as a, as a family, not as, you know, kind of a top down initiative. So, um. Right? And I think that that, that that transition happened even at the at the bigger companies that I worked at, you know, they started really talking about, you know, safety as you know, it’s the reason is, we want to make sure that you get home to your family every day. And I think that resonates with people a little bit more that, you know, then do it, or else you’re going to get sent home for, you know, for the rest of the day, right?

Matthew Allred 15:20
Yeah. Well, I mean, it is a dangerous occupation, right? And so I’m sure everybody probably knows somebody that they wish had been a little bit safer, and that that hits home. It’s hard.

Chuck Tyler 15:30
For sure, yeah, for sure. For sure, absolutely, yeah. Had a situation. We had a right after I left Charlotte, North Carolina, my father was still there, a lot of good friends of mine, we had a fatality on a project with a brand new young helper. And, you know, it was, it was a horrendous situation. So, yeah, last thing you ever want is to have a have an accident where or in a fatality. So

Matthew Allred 15:55
Yep, yep, understood. So as you as you look kind of at the future and maybe where we’re at as an industry. What? What advice would you give? I mean, you know, if you were to kind of speak to the entire industry, what would you say?

Chuck Tyler 16:11
So I would say, my biggest advice, I think, you know, I’ve been around for a few minutes now, and my biggest advice would be, if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, find something else to do. This industry is plenty big enough. There’s so many different avenues that you can follow. You know, I, and I mentioned this to you before, I think in one of our conversations, you know, I kind of worked my way up into a position of, you know, I was a vice president of the department for the New York region, and it wasn’t I lost my passion. Because I won’t say I lost my passion. I lost the fun of what I did. I loved going out and working with the customers and and being a part of the team with the guys in the field and and all that stuff. So sometimes I think that, you know, you got to find your lane and stay with it. The big companies, if you work hard and you’re successful, they love to give you another opportunity. But those opportunities aren’t always what they’re made out to be, right? You know, part of part of being able to really be successful is develop yourself in a market, and, you know, develop contacts. And so if you’re constantly moving every time the company needs you to, you know that can negatively affect your personal career. So, you know, my advice to people is, if you don’t feel good with something, or you don’t feel like it’s taking you to a place that feels good to you find somewhere else. You know, there’s, there’s so many awesome opportunities within the elevator industry. It’s not like you have to change, change it change industries. You just have to look for another, another opportunity within the same industry

Matthew Allred 17:57
Or even, or even create your own. You know, it’s, it’s, or create your own Exactly, exactly, clearly, common that somebody will be climbing a corporate ladder. Only realize the ladder on the wrong wall, right? That’s not what I wanted. Or, to your point, you know, I’m so far away from the field, which is what I love, I need to, I need to do something where I can actually be back, you know, closer or, or, you know, kind of experience, the the thrill of being in that space. Because once you get into the some of those jobs, you just kind of removed from what you love.

Chuck Tyler 18:28
Well, my, again, my, you know, one of my passions is efficiency, looking at things and seeing how you can do it more, more, more quicker, faster, more effectively. You know, better the whole nine yards. So when you get to a level where you’re no longer running the day to day. You’re just running people. You lose that ability to feed yourself. So I think that’s, that’s the advice I would give is, you know, just find something you really like. And sometimes it’s best just to develop yourself within that instead of trying to take the next step?

Matthew Allred 19:01
Yeah, yeah. So last question I’ll ask you is, you know, if you were, if you were talking to somebody who’s maybe they’re brand new, you know, versus somebody who’s maybe been in here and they’ve already climbed the long wrong ladder and kind of figured out where they need to be, maybe someone who’s brand new to the industry, what would you say to them?

Chuck Tyler 19:20
I would tell them that brand new to the industry, I would tell them to keep their mouth closed and their ears open and listen and learn. There’s there’s so many people within this industry that are willing to share their wealth of knowledge. All you’ve got to do is listen. You don’t have to be you don’t have to have all the answers. Just go listen and build your network. Participate in and industry events the NAEC. You know your your your local Safety Association, elevator Safety Association, whatever it is, network, get to know people outside of your own company. Don’t, don’t think that just because your company is the one you work for, they’re the only good ones. Network outside. They’re not the enemy. They’re just like us so yeah, that would be, that would be it

Matthew Allred 20:19
Awesome. So Chuck, thank you for taking this time in our next section or next episode, if you will. We’re gonna, we’re gonna look a little bit closer at what you’re doing right now with Phoenix modular. So I’m excited to get into that, and I appreciate you being here.

Chuck Tyler 20:34
Looking forward to it, for sure, for sure. Matt, thanks. Thank you.

Matthew Allred 20:39
Thank you for listening to the Elevator Careers Podcast, sponsored by the Allred group, a leader in elevator industry recruiting. Please visit our YouTube channel at Elevator Careers, or check us out online at elevatorcareers.net. Please like and subscribe and until next time, stay safe.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai