CMiC Team Member Spotlight: Layne Black

nkreeger • October 16, 2024

Everyone on the CMiC Core Team brings a unique perspective to this complex project, providing skillsets and experience to ensure a smooth implementation, rollout, and transition. Layne Black, Director of Change Management, brings his Marketing & Communications experience to the team with an unmatched focus and dedication to the people side of change.

 

Layne graduated from Maryville University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. In 2017, Layne joined the Keeley team as an intern where he spent his summer rotating between every functional group across both Keeley Companies and ADB including Marketing, HR, Recruiting, Accounting, KeeleyU, Safety, and Business Development. Following the conclusion of his internship, Layne remained on the team as a part-time Co-Op in Marketing until graduating from Maryville in 2018.

 

Upon graduation, Layne joined full-time as a Marketing Assistant, providing support to all areas of Marketing. In 2019, Layne was promoted to Communications Manager where he managed all marketing efforts for functional groups & cultural pillars, as well as all internal communications and PR efforts. After taking over all digital marketing efforts and events, he was promoted to Director of Communications in 2021. During his time in this role, Layne managed a team of five responsible for all Digital Marketing, Internal & External Events, Internal Communications, PR Efforts, Marketing Analytics, Marketing Support for cultural pillars & functional groups, Marketing Support for the M&A process, Market Research, and overall Marketing Strategy & Support for the MAP Process. He also served as the marketing account manager for ADB Companies – participating in strategic planning and managing all ADB and subsidiary marketing & communications initiatives. Layne was a valued member of the ADB M&A team, providing support from diligence through integration for six completed acquisitions. He managed all marketing & communications efforts and participated in all aspects of the integration process alongside other functional & operational leaders.

 

Most recently, in September 2024, Layne transitioned out of Marketing into his new role as Director of Change Management where he will be focused on bringing the change management framework that we are building out alongside the CMiC rollout to other major organizational changes such as M&A integration, software rollouts, pioneer investments, market expansion efforts, and any other major changes within specific groups or companywide. Layne received his designation as a Prosci Certified Change Practitioner in 2024.

 

As Director of Change Management, Layne is dedicated to helping the company navigate major organizational changes with a focus on people. His top priority currently is the successful rollout of CMiC, focused on ensuring the organization is ready to adopt the change. This includes creating & leading the communication strategy, training processes, collaboration with stakeholders, and any overall organizational readiness activities.

 

“Improving our systems & processes and adopting smarter, more scalable solutions is incredibly important as we continue to grow. In order to be a billion-dollar company and beyond, we have to operate like one – and systems like CMiC that help streamline & standardize operations are key to helping us get to the next level.”

 

People are our most important asset and Layne is ready to make sure that Keeley’ns have the awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement they need in order to navigate and adopt this major change. If you have any questions or want to learn more about what CMiC means for you and your team, you can reach out to Layne directly at lblack@keeleycompanies.com

Solar 101: How It Works and Why It’s Worth It

By Jonathan Cox • June 25, 2025
The Future Is Built on Sustainable Design The construction industry is undergoing a transformation. As the global demand for renewable energy grows and infrastructure becomes more environmentally accountable, solar farms and sustainable construction are taking center stage. At Keeley, we’re not just keeping pace with the future—we’re helping build it. Solar 101: How It Works on a Larger Scale Solar farms, also known as photovoltaic (PV) power stations, use large-scale arrays of solar panels to generate electricity. Unlike rooftop systems, solar farms are designed for grid-level energy production, often covering acres of land with thousands of interconnected panels. Here’s how it works: Solar Panels: Mounted on ground-fixed or tracking systems, these capture solar energy efficiently across large areas. Inverters and Transformers: These convert the DC output from the panels into AC power suitable for grid transmission. Grid Integration: Power from solar farms is fed into utility grids or microgrids, providing energy to thousands of homes, industries, and facilities. Energy Storage Systems (ESS): Battery solutions allow excess energy to be stored and released when demand peaks or sunlight is low. Why It’s Worth the Investment Scalable Power Production: Solar farms can generate anywhere from a few megawatts to hundreds, supplying clean energy on a massive scale. Long-Term ROI: Though upfront costs can be high, operational expenses are minimal, with low maintenance and zero fuel costs. Regulatory and Tax Incentives: Governments continue to back utility-scale renewables with grants, incentives, and favorable zoning policies. Land Optimization: Underutilized or non-arable land can be repurposed for solar farms, creating economic value while preserving agricultural zones. Carbon Offset Benefits: Solar farms dramatically reduce emissions compared to traditional energy sources, aligning projects with ESG goals and climate commitments. The Future Is Built on Sustainable Civil Design Sustainable design isn’t limited to buildings—it’s revolutionizing civil construction , too. Whether it’s roads, bridges, or public infrastructure, sustainable practices are reshaping how we approach large-scale projects: Low-Carbon Materials: Incorporating recycled aggregates, low-emission concrete, and eco-asphalt into construction workflows. Stormwater Management: Designing with permeable pavements and green drainage systems to control runoff and improve water quality. Site Optimization: Minimizing land disruption and integrating renewable installations like solar or wind within transportation and industrial corridors. Energy Infrastructure Integration: Combining civil works with utility-scale solar installations to power public infrastructure directly from renewable sources. By embedding sustainability into every stage of the civil construction process, we not only meet evolving regulatory demands—we also help future-proof infrastructure for the next generation. The future of construction lies at the intersection of energy, infrastructure, and environmental responsibility . Check out Keeley’s Solar projects here: https://www.keeleyconstruction.com/projects/engie-solar-panel-farm https://www.keeleyconstruction.com/projects/7v-solar-ranch https://www.keeleyconstruction.com/projects/cofeen-solar-farm https://www.keeleyconstruction.com/projects/baldwin-solar-farm

Integrations Updates

By Jonathan Cox • June 13, 2025
Our User Experience, Accounting, People Operations, Project Controls, and CMiC teams continue to work hard to get the initial CMiC integrations across the finish line as quickly as possible. The integrations are incredibly complex, and the UX has battled through numerous challenges to get these integrations up and running. Please see below for some important updates regarding the integrations that are currently underway – including what those integrations will entail once complete. If you have specific questions regarding integrations or how they impact you, please reach out to the Project Controls team within your business unit. Concur Integration Live as of Friday 6/13 Good news – the Concur integration is officially up and running! Keeley’ns should be able to once again access to Concur to code & approve expenses. The integration between Concur and CMiC will ensure job numbers and cost codes in Concur match the information in CMiC for accurate coding. The integration runs nightly, so if a job, cost code, or category is set up, it will be available the next day. The Project Controls team will set up any cost codes that are missing on the appropriate jobs in CMiC. Please code and approve all expenses in Concur ASAP to help us in getting caught up from the extended dark period! Single Sign On (SSO) Anticipated Rollout June 19 As of next Thursday, June 19, we will be rolling out SSO to all CMiC users. This means that the login credentials you created to log into CMiC will be overridden by your Microsoft 365 SSO login (the same username & password as your other Keeley accounts). All users will receive an email the morning of the launch with further instructions for signing into CMiC using SSO. Salesforce Anticipated Rollout: Mid-June As some may know, the Salesforce integration was launched last week – but after experiencing some issues with data moving from CMiC into Salesforce, the integration was shut off until the issue is resolved. The Salesforce integration with CMiC will share opportunity information between the two systems – meaning an opportunity created in Salesforce will be shared to CMiC. It will also share job information (such as job number) that is updated in CMiC to Salesforce once a job is initiated. The current integration will NOT transfer opportunities that are created in CMiC into Salesforce. The preferred place to create opportunities is Salesforce, and any new opportunities that are created in CMiC will not appear in Salesforce. Stay tuned for any additional info you need to know regarding the Salesforce integration as it is (re)launched. UKG Anticipated Rollout: Mid-July The integration between UKG and CMiC is quite intense… Many functions being completed in UKG need to be automatically pushed into CMiC – employee creation, direct deposit updates, tax information, etc. This integration does just that! Currently, this information is being shared through manual data entry. This integration will be a major step forward for our Payroll, People Operations, and IT teams! Redlist Anticipated Rollout: Late June-Early July Redlist is used to track equipment information as well as time entry for the Fleet team to charge time to trucks and equipment. The integration between CMiC and Redlist will ensure that all job information is correct in Redlist, and that all equipment information is correct in CMiC. It will also automatically share the time entry data from Redlist to CMiC for Payroll processing. Fieldpoint Anticipated Rollout: Mid-Late June The Paving group uses Fieldpoint for work order management and time entry within the national/maintenance teams. This integration will push time entry data from Fieldpoint into CMiC as well as employee data from CMiC into Fieldpoint. It will also send work order information from Fieldpoint to create jobs in CMiC. The only remaining piece of this integration that is not yet complete is the automatic transfer of time entry data from Fieldpoint into CMiC – which is expected mid-late June.

Temporary PO Invoice Processing Update

By Jonathan Cox • May 29, 2025
Friday, May 30th | The CMiC team has officially gotten POs working in the system! The Accounting team also worked hard yesterday to push through roughly 1,000 invoices into users’ queues! However, any PO invoices entered yesterday were not able to be tied to a PO due to the issues we were previously experiencing. There are roughly another 3,000 invoices remaining to be entered and assigned to users. With the PO issue fixed, these 3,000 should now be able to be entered into the system properly. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR USERS:  There will be some PO invoices in your queue in CMiC (the ones entered yesterday) that will need to be coded & approved following the temporary process put in place on Wednesday – code the invoice and enter the PO number as a comment on the invoice. This process will ensure the Accounting team can properly tie that invoice to the PO on the back-end. If your PO invoice comes over without any automatic coding, this is the process you will follow. For any PO invoices entered beginning today, the invoice should already be automatically coded according to the PO. For these invoices, you’ll just check for accuracy and then approve. For additional training resources regarding how to code & approve invoices, visit the Keeley’n Hub. If you have any questions or need direct support on AP coding & approval, please contact the Project Controls team via your CMiC Teams Chats, or the Project Accountants for your Business Unit. Wednesday May 28th | , CMiC is still not working as intended as it relates to quantities on PO invoices. This has resulted in a delay in getting PO invoices uploaded into CMiC and into users’ queues – which impacts both AP and T&M billings. In order to get vendors & partners paid in a timely manner (according to our terms & contracts), as well as get T&M bills out as soon as possible, we are going to move forward with uploading PO invoices into CMiC without tying them directly to a PO – essentially turning them into Misc invoices. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR USERS: There will be a slight temporary change to our process. Effective immediately, all PO invoices should be treated as Misc invoices. We are working diligently to get CMiC working properly and begin the normal process ASAP, but in the interim users should follow the same coding & approval process for PO invoices as you do for Misc invoices – with the additional step of adding the PO number as a comment on the invoice. As of Wednesday evening May 28th, users will start seeing more invoices hit your queues to code and approve. Over the next week, please make sure you are coding & approving invoices as quickly as possible while we get caught up on AP & AR in CMiC. You can follow the below steps to complete this. Your first step is to code the invoice appropriately – this will be the case whether your invoice is for a PO or not. If your invoice IS for a PO – you should enter the associated PO number as a comment on the invoice. Once coded and the PO number entered in the comments, you can approve your invoice. If you have any questions or need direct support on AP coding & approval, please contact the Project Controls team via your CMiC Teams Chats, or the Project Accountants for your Business Unit. We appreciate your patience and flexibility as we ensure we are continuing to take care of our people and our partners throughout this massive change.