Michael Kistler is a Senior Facilities Manager with over 15 years of experience in project management and a demonstrated history in facilities services. He began his career with the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, where he managed 13 projects valued at $68 million. During his tour of Afghanistan, Michael completed over 33 contingency construction projects, valued at $2.8 million. He graduated from Penn State University with a bachelor’s in civil engineering.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- The impact of current world events on the defense industry
- Michael Kistler shares his origin story of enlisting in the Marine Corps and the construction battalion he was assigned to
- The importance of laminar airflow in a plant facility clean room
- What are some of the recruiting challenges for a special plant facility?
- How drought and improperly packed soil can affect your building
- Michael talks about the skills needed to begin a career in facilities management
- What resources are available for novice facility managers to learn the essentials?
- Michael discusses a unique manufacturing project in his future
In this episode…
How can you build your skills and trade knowledge to market yourself for facilities management programs? What does it take to become a valuable facilities manager?
Michael Kistler is an experienced facilities manager who began his career in the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, and he uses his invaluable skillsets to help his clients effectively maintain their facility. He recommends gaining broad experience to equip yourself with more responsibilities and tools so you can leverage your know-how for a competitive industry.
In this episode of Watching Paint Dry, Greg Owens sits down with Michael Kistler, Senior Facilities Manager, to discuss breaking into the realm of facilities management. Michael shares the effects of the pandemic and world events on the industry, navigating the difficulties of recruiting and supply chain disruptions, and educational tools for building a career in facilities management.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Greg Owens on LinkedIn
- Katrina Stephenson on LinkedIn
- McCarthy Painting
- McCarthy Painting Contact No.: 415-383-2640
- McCarthy Painting Email Address: info@mccarthypainting.com
- Michael Kistler on LinkedIn
- Stephen Hawking
- W.L. Gore
- Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography by Walter Isaacson
- International Facility Management Association (IFMA)
Sponsor for this episode…
This episode is brought to you by McCarthy Painting, where we serve commercial and residential clients all around the San Francisco Bay area.
We’ve been in business since 1969 and served companies such as Google, Autodesk, Abercrombie & Fitch, FICO, First Bank, SPIN, and many more.
If you have commercial facilities in the San Francisco Bay Area and need dependable painters, visit us on the web at www.mccarthypainting.com or email info@mccarthypainting.com, and you can check out our line of services and schedule a free estimate by clicking here.
Episode Transcript
Intro 0:10
Welcome to the Watching Paint Dry podcast where we feature today’s top leaders, industry experts and more to discuss issues affecting facility managers and property owners. Now let’s get started with the show.
Greg Owens 0:29
Hello, everyone, this is Greg Owens with another episode of the Watching Paint Dry podcast where we are continuing our series of talking to facilities managers, building owners, property managers, and that entire industry. This podcast like all the podcasts are sponsored by my company McCarthy Painting, we do both commercial and residential painting throughout the San Francisco Bay area. I was just down in San Jose yesterday looking at a bunch of projects. And we’ve been doing work for Chase Bank. We’ve done some work for Google lately, Autodesk spin, and many, many other companies. If you would like to learn more, go to McCarthypainting.com. That’s McCarthypainting.com. And I’m really excited to talk to Michael Kistler, who’s a senior facilities manager and one of the big player companies that does tremendous amounts of Facilities Management, and has been in the industry for 15 years. And how’re you doing today, Michael?
Michael Kistler 1:38
I’m doing great. I forgot my schedule. This didn’t realize it was the day after St. Patrick’s Day, but you know, quickly didn’t get too crazy last night, you know, so,
Greg Owens 1:48
right. Yeah, me too. I didn’t realize that either. And I’m I’m definitely my my grandmother was born over there. Do you have any? Are you are you Irish? Do you have any Iris? Ancestors there?
Michael Kistler 1:59
Yeah. Got about about 30%. Irish
Greg Owens 2:02
present? Yeah.
Michael Kistler 2:04
I got the complexion. So
Greg Owens 2:06
right, the 30% that stays out at night and, and toasts to the to the St. Patty’s Day festivities, right? Yeah. Yeah. And how have you been through COVID and all of that. I mean, we’re, as a company where we’re really opened up so much, you know, Omni con, we had a bunch of painters and a bunch of people getting sick, I got, I got COVID to over over the holidays. And now it seems good. And I love just kind of hearing where others are at and with this whole pandemic
Michael Kistler 2:37
is for business for us. The so the client, I worked for their, their vital defense contractor. They do that, you know, amongst other things, so they never really shut down, except for maybe that first three weeks. So we’re always going. And, you know, as far as me personally, I had an exposure to COVID. Myself, I didn’t really get sick. But I was boosted at the time. It was around Christmas time like you. But yeah, I was in Chicago during their when everything was peaking there. Right. Yeah. Luckily, ended up not getting sick. And my wife didn’t get sick, either. So
Greg Owens 3:12
that’s great. That’s great. Yeah, you know, well, the defense industry, they must be going, I just read a thing that, you know, this whole thing in the Ukraine, which is unbelievable. I mean, you’re old enough to know this too, about, like the being coming out of the Cold War and all of that. Yeah. Now we’re like, right back there, it seems in so many ways. And, and I was I reading that the defense budgets have this is gonna, this is going to be a bigger deal than 911 in so many ways of how it changes, everything moving forward. And one of the big changes was like, every country’s defense budget either doubled or tripled, right, like in the last three months here right now. Yeah. Which is just going to be another incredible arms race, you know, all the different things that they’re coming out with now with all the drones and all that stuff, too, is just phenomenal and, and scary at the same time. Yeah,
Michael Kistler 4:07
yeah, I agree. Yeah, it’s a definitely definitely an interesting time. That’s for sure.
Greg Owens 4:12
Right, right. My brother and I have been like reading different articles on what’s been happening over in Ukraine and sort of following along as best we can a little bit and yeah, it’s just it’s just mind boggling to see that all happen. Yeah, it’s
Michael Kistler 4:27
maybe for I wonder I wonder Oh effect our defense spending, you know, like with because we’re typically defenders a Europe for so long and now. They’re increasing their spending wonderful. Spend less, probably not
Greg Owens 4:39
but no. They’re gonna use this as an excuse to spend insane amounts more I would think. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think they released like 60 billion or something like that our government and just like in, in in kind for weapons and that kind of thing to the Ukraine and support and all of that. So, yeah, sounds about right. Yeah. I’m sure they’re going to do a tremendous amount more. But we’ll see. I mean, we’ll see. We don’t know. I mean, there’s so many different things happening all at the same time. We’re just coming out of the pandemic, we’re just entering war. There’s like, teetering on recession. What? What are you feeling like boots on the ground within your industry? And what do you what are you seeing from others?
Michael Kistler 5:19
Um, well, my particular the particular client I work with, they actually do well during recessions. So, so we’ll weather the storm. I mean, just like we weather COVID Um, as far as the rest of the industry, I’m not sure i It seems like it’s still pretty hot as far as the job market, just based on what I’ve seen in LinkedIn postings and open positions within my company. So
Greg Owens 5:43
alright, so you guys, you’re within your company they’re hiring to? Oh, yeah, that’s great. Yeah, I mean, we’re trying to hire people too. And it’s super tough to find people right now that switch jobs or do something or even just come to work, right. Like, I don’t, yeah, it’s a weird phenomenon, right, where we run an ad and we get like six people applying where we used to get like, 60.
Michael Kistler 6:07
Yeah, I guess, um, you know, just just the cumulative effect of COVID COVID. A lot of the older generation, you know, the baby boomers, they, they feel that, you know, I have had enough maybe it is time to retire. So a lot of them got out and, you know, people had died and people with long COVID. So,
Greg Owens 6:24
yeah, and I was wondering, too, because like, I was like, why is all the Starbucks still closed or closing early? And that kind of, because I’m a coffee drinker, like, I need coffee, like all throughout the day, and like, why is Starbucks closed? Three o’clock right in there. I don’t have employees. And I was thinking about it. I was wondering if it’s the, if it’s like college kids not coming back to go to work. And maybe their parents were like, Nah, you don’t need to go to work and expose yourself. Like, we’ll just
Michael Kistler 6:48
Well, yeah, it’s just, yeah, that or maybe they just reexamine their priorities? Like, is this what I want out of life? Yeah, a little bit, a little bit better suited for them? Right. Right.
Greg Owens 7:00
Yeah. And, you know, we were talking before we got on the podcast about how people got into being a facilities manager. And, yeah, they hear a bit about your origin story. And, and they and a bit of this is highlighting how interesting a career opportunity being a facilities manager being a property manager is, right? I really feel like there’s a lot of people out there that don’t realize that this is even as an option and a career.
Michael Kistler 7:26
Yeah, yeah, I definitely. I definitely did not myself. So my origin story is, you know, I have an engineering degree, went to Penn State University. I’m originally from the East Coast. Then I worked on the outside for a year did did some land development design. This was like around 2007. And I got caught up in that, that market crash. So right, you know, it, it was, you know, it was kind of, you know, things happen for a reason. It wasn’t quite suited for me like I was doing a lot of CAD work, and it just, I don’t know, I just you’re
Greg Owens 8:04
you’re sitting behind a desk, you’re sitting behind a computer at a desk doing CAD work and CAD work. I mean, I’ve I’ve done some and it’s, yeah, it’s it’s super challenging and pain. Yeah.
Michael Kistler 8:15
Yeah, it’s not for me. I have a CAD guy right now. And he loves it.
Greg Owens 8:18
I mean, yeah, there’s people that can do it, like all day long, and you know, spend five hours making a box or something. And yeah,
Michael Kistler 8:25
yeah. And he’s, you know, he’s very good. Yeah. Forever. Very good. But, but anyway, from there, I just kind of thought about it. And I ended up joining the Civil Engineer Corps in the Navy. Oh, nice. was in the Navy for 11 years.
Greg Owens 8:41
Civil Engineer Corps, like, is that directly for the Navy? Or is it merchant? Is it it’s directly for the Navy? Yeah, you definitely enlisted. You went through the whole thing? Yeah. Good for you. Yeah.
Michael Kistler 8:52
Navy Marine Corps spent a lot of my time on Marine Corps basis installations, but it was facilities management’s. You manage the base infrastructure, or you could they have their own construction battalions that you can, you can be a part of I did that for a little bit.
Greg Owens 9:09
My my uncle did that. And I was blown away with how much he learned and built and gotten the opportunity. What kinds of things did they have you do within that? Well,
Michael Kistler 9:21
with the Civil Engineer Corps, or you’re the construction, potentially
Greg Owens 9:24
the Seabees, the construction battalion? Yeah.
Michael Kistler 9:27
Okay. So, um, when I was in the construction battalion, a lot of it was getting ready for your deployment. Yeah. And like a year, eight months, that time it was it was during the surge in Afghanistan, so we had a shorter window to prepare. So I was home for eight months or so. Did a few like home port type projects like building like an ammunition shed, or like a garage for like their, you know, heavy vehicles or whatever. diecast stuff like that. Then you do like a field exercise to qualify your So, and then I was in Afghanistan, part of it, as I bought a road, I had a group of guys that bought a road. And then right after that I managed I was on the, one of the one of the major camps there, just kind of managing the CB camp and you know, the plumbing and all that stuff, guys like that under me and whatnot, you know, but once again, building garage type, like a pretty big hangar type thing and a few other items. It was actually like 1011 years ago, so I’m having trouble. Remember? That was a good time. Yeah, they’re, the Seabees are definitely like their motto is can do and they live up to that ethos. Yeah, they’re, you know, they you think, like a Marine, US Marine, right? Like they’re pretty hardcore about infantry and fighting with the Seabees are just as hardcore about instruction.
Greg Owens 10:50
Right. Right. So it’s such a needed element within the Yeah, within the military structure, right. Like the whole, you know, being able to build the roads, bridges, facilities, and then facilities, housing all those soldiers in a foreign land and keeping everybody sort of going. That’s a lot of that’s a lot of skill sets, right there.
Michael Kistler 11:10
Yeah, yeah, definitely is. So but yeah, it was it was it? That was a good, it was definitely a very good, memorable time in my life. Even home, I would try to remember parts of it now. Right? Right.
Greg Owens 11:23
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I’m, I struggle with my memory of the past, also, which is at the age of 51. I’m like, Oh, is this really old timers or something happening? Or is this? Is this just normal?
Michael Kistler 11:38
Getting older, I guess? Right, right. Yeah. So from there, I got out and I accepted a job working for the the major, one of the major facility type companies in the Bay Area. And, you know, the plant I work at now is a manufacturing plant. So it’s pretty interesting. It’s a lot of technical stuff. And within my company, I feel like I’ve kind of got my niche or maybe typecast as, as, I guess, the technical guy, you know, like dealing with manufacturing and whatnot?
Greg Owens 12:08
Well, it makes sense to because you have the engineering background, right. And that comes in handy. And that’s not what I don’t. It’s like the old school sort of building engineer. And a lot of ways it has a lot of those skill sets, and knows about how, you know, actually knows how the mechanicals work from the ground up. Yeah. And there’s, there’s some that are different right now. Nowadays, sometimes there’s a facilities manager, but they just hire people that know those skill sets, you know, and they but they don’t cells don’t know it. You know, it’s just a different different paths, right?
Michael Kistler 12:40
Yeah. Yeah. The guy the guy who was my predecessor before, he was believe he was an electrician. He came up as like a German. But yeah, you have all types. And the client said that the next guy they wanted was a engineer, type. And so I applied and got the job.
Greg Owens 12:57
Right, right. What kinds of stuff do you get? Do you get yourself involved in then within a manufacturing plant? Like its abilities parts? I would I’m assuming like nothing on the assembly lines or anything like that. No.
Michael Kistler 13:10
Yeah. So yeah, a lot of it’s like building envelope type stuff. You know, there’s there’s process for water so we got like one towers we have first we work on deionized water we have that. So the facilities are associated with the ionized water, clean rooms. We are clean rooms here. So have us h back units, that type of thing.
Greg Owens 13:33
Right? So it’s a super safe environment to in ours like COVID and being cleanliness
Michael Kistler 13:39
was a clean room. Yeah, it clean rooms, like one of the safest places you could be. Right? There’s all those air exchanges and HEPA isn’t?
Greg Owens 13:47
Oh, yeah, we’ve done some work for pharmaceutical companies. And it’s amazing of how much complexity we we have to get into as far as the coatings and what’s taking place inside clean rooms and that kind of thing and right and and levels of of checks and balances to make sure everybody did their job correctly.
Michael Kistler 14:07
Yeah, yeah, you get to you have to get trained before you go into a cleaner. That’s it. Yeah, yeah, stuff on it. Take it off. They have like a little mat where you even if even after you put the boots on, you got to get on the sticky mat. Get a little dust particles off.
Greg Owens 14:20
Yeah, it’s so funny because like, I had to visit one and man I just was not it wasn’t easy for me to follow all their rules. Like go here staying here, then do this, then do this. And then I make make a mistake. They’re like, No, you have to start all over again.
Michael Kistler 14:36
Yeah, yeah. And then there’s just how it’s set up to is important because you have too much if it’s too I guess crowded or what’s, what’s the word too cluttered? That that affects the airflow is you want like real solid laminar type airflow going,
Greg Owens 14:52
going down. Right, right. Right. Yeah. Um, what what kinds of challenges Do you see right now going sort of going forward into the summer here, within your industry? What he you mentioned the hiring of people as being one, right? Like you guys.
Michael Kistler 15:10
Yeah. So, especially where I am. So I’m in the North Bay. And it’s, it’s a challenge. People up here, that’s probably actually the biggest challenge though. My team got depleted a little bit, you know, we had a few guys leave for various reasons. But we’re getting it’s a backup, and I had to use some creative methods to, to get some get some people on the team, but our team is actually fairly stable.
Greg Owens 15:38
Um, what were the creative methods? Can you share any of those? Yes. So
Michael Kistler 15:42
I’m just one of the one of the creative methods I use. So within the company, though, advertise, Enter, or open positions within the company. And so if there’s a similar position at another site, I’ll call that manager and say you applied, do you like this guy? Can you give me his resume, and that’s how I got one of my project managers, alumni. So I did that. The other part was just, I have a connection. From my time in the service, he was he was actually a recruiter at a really specialized plant manager position. And that’s a real hard skill set to find skill set lines up really well with being a nuclear Submariner in the Navy.
Greg Owens 16:28
And so that’s, that’s a good, yeah.
Michael Kistler 16:32
The guy I found was, was from this recruiter, like, I got, I attended a hiring conference, and then they don’t bring this guy on board.
Greg Owens 16:41
But and that is creative. I like that. That’s a great, that’s a great thought process to like, what skill sets would fit this and then tap into the military and tap into the military recruiter that knows those guys. Yeah, those are Noah’s Ark and find them knows what to look for. Yeah, right.
Michael Kistler 16:56
Right. Yeah, cuz it’s, yeah, those guys don’t definitely don’t grow on trees. Um, but you knew the other, the other creative or the other things obviously are like inflation with materials, material shortages, um, at some of the stuff we’ve had to deal with, we’ve had difficulty with lead times. We do have, you know, RAM, even with that, you know, you still get caught up sometimes and you have something go up, go down, it doesn’t typically go down. And then you got to wait a little bit long to get it as an effect on your overall production.