I recently returned from a trip to Honolulu, where my colleague Diana and I joined a talented film crew to film a concrete pour with ALICE customer Hawaiian Dredging Construction Company (HDCC). Watching their team in action was extraordinary, and I wanted to relay my story of what we saw and why it was so darn cool.
HDCC is in the midst of building a 20 story elderly housing project in Honolulu. Affordable housing is tough to find there, and this project represents an important contribution to the community in a society that deeply respects its elders.
The project is tricky. This structure is being built on a small footprint. What’s more, the lot is sandwiched between two tall existing buildings. In short, this is a tight squeeze!
When Diana and I arrived at the job site early on a Tuesday morning, the crew was ready to pour the concrete slab for the third floor. They had been preparing for weeks to get ready for the pour, and now was the time to execute on their plans. 
A large concrete pump truck was parked on the ground floor, and when the pour began, Diana and I watched as the crew directed the big hose that pumped the concrete into the rebar-filled forms for the floor. Clad in safety gear and neon vests, team members gradually filled the forms, then slowly backed up to fill the next portion of the floor.
The coordination between this group was impressive. Watching this crew was like watching a football team skillfully execute a critical play. Everyone knew where to go and what to do, and they moved as a unit. And as they did, we filmed their progress so that we could tell the story of this project to other companies thinking about using ALICE.
At the end of the day, our main contact told me, “one more floor down – just 17 more to go!”. The scale of the work amazed us, and we walked away with even greater respect for the work this group does, and a much more detailed understanding of how tough it is to do these jobs so well. To our hosts at HDCC, who were so generous with their time in the midst of challenging work, Mahalo!