Craig Feller is our IT Manager and has been with JR Merit for two years. He and his team member Brock Sparks look after all things technology, with two primary areas: ensuring systems are running smoothly and securely and the relatively new area of data collection, business intelligence, and reporting.

While Brock is primarily focused on the support side, making sure crews are up and running and hardware is up to specifications, Craig was brought on to help with business reporting.

“I'm in my second year at JR Merit, and I'm still fairly new to the construction industry,” Craig said. “Part of my job is learning what JR Merit teams do and how they go about doing it. From there, I figure out what kind of information we need, driven by the business itself and by what leadership needs to know to make sound decisions going forward. The next process is figuring out the measures and gathering data for that. If we're not already gathering that data, how are we going to start collecting it? And if we are, where is it? Then I consolidate information and structure it so that I can start building dashboards and reports.”

Over his 22 years of experience, Craig has come to understand that IT is all about service.

“Our department doesn't contribute directly to the bottom line, so we're there to support everyone who is out in the field doing the actual work,” Craig said. “Our job is to try to make using the technology as seamless as possible, so as to make the crews’ job as easy as possible.”

Finding this area of IT took many years, several jobs, and a career that started out in banking.

His first job was with Citibank in London as part of the US Dollar Investigations team investigating financial transactions that went wrong.

“Another bank would call with a missing transaction, and I would track the funds, investigate where the transaction went wrong. Sometimes it was a mistake made in account numbers, or SWIFT numbers, or the customer’s name was incorrect.” Craig mused. “We'd try to figure out where the funds transferred to, reach out to that bank and recover the funds.”

While exciting at first, Craig started to feel stuck in a role with very set processes, rules, and guidelines, with little room to grow.

“After a few years I left and, together with my wife, travelled for a year and a half in Southeast Asia,” Craig said. “When our budgets ran low, we moved to Portland, Oregon and I realized I had to start life over again.”

Hesitant to head back into the world of banking, Craig decided to enroll with Portland State University and pursued a computer science degree. After graduation, he worked at a small diabetic supplies company, essentially becoming a one-man IT department. From that role, Craig ended up working at EDS—founded in 1962 by Ross Perot and providing IT management services for other companies—where Craig grew interested in building databases. From there he worked for a company that managed Medicaid in Clark County and got involved in the reporting side of things, building his interest in business intelligence and data warehousing. After a time, he moved into a role at Glen Dimplex Americas where he met JR Merit’s People Operations Manager Alma Serrano, who then was part of their HR department.

“I knew Alma well, so when she moved to JR Merit and said, ‘Hey, there is something good going on over here,’ I had no doubt that it would be a good place to work,” Craig said. “What also excites me about JR Merit is working for a company that is growing. There are plenty of changes going on constantly.”

JR Merit has seen many IT changes since Craig has come onboard. He’s helped implement the use of SharePoint, performed regular, basic digital house cleaning and organized the department and its use of technology to better support the company.

There's also a lot of problem-solving in the role, which is one of Craig’s favorite aspects of the work.

“If you ask us anything, we'll try to answer it for you or figure out who can answer. We see ourselves as the supporting cast members behind the scenes that keep the play running.”

A pleasant surprise has been visiting job sites to support teams in remote locations and have the opportunity to see what crews are up to onsite. Out at Round Butte Dam in Madras, Oregon, Craig and Brock set up a Starlink dish to allow for internet access down by the dam’s powerhouse. At another site visit in Prospect, they set up onsite workstations, installed printers and monitors, and established the internet connection. “From the IT perspective, it's not a huge deal, but it seems to make their lives easier, and it's something that they don't have to deal with,” Craig said. “Most of my job satisfaction comes from being able to help others make their jobs easier.”

In the coming years, Craig plans to keep doing what IT is already doing, which is continuously looking for ways to improve. “We want to use technology to help free people from mundane tasks so they can focus on solving problems instead.”

“My goal is that we get ourselves organized with all the right systems and processes in place, so that as we do grow, we can support these guys in what they're doing without adding a lot of extra bloat,” Craig said. “I imagine the IT department will grow a little, but my focus is to grow the whole company. From an IT perspective, I want to support that growth in any way we can. I look forward to being part of that and seeing how it gets from hereto there.”

When he is not building databases and helping the company grow, Craig likes being at home with his wife of 27 years, cooking meals, riding his bike, working on his cars, and working on home improvements. He is as elf-described “homebody,” with numerous projects in progress.

“My wife and I had our adventures when we were young, and we'll still go on the occasional road trip when we get restless, but we’ve had a lot of experience abroad while growing up and that time has given us an appreciation for this area and where we are right now.”

Craig, we are grateful for your thoughtful problem-solving, commitment to data security, and how you have built and developed systems to bring this company forward. We are delighted that you are part of this company’s growth and can’t wait to see what advances you have in store for us next.