Brandon McCullough knows a thing or two about building something from nothing in the facilities world.
After a career in construction at Habitat for Humanity, where he oversaw the construction and rehabilitation of more than 200 homes in the Detroit area, McCullough jumped to Novi, Michigan, as the city’s first facility manager.
“Novi, at the time, did not have anything in place to manage the facilities properly, and I had the opportunity to create a functioning division,” says McCullough, a 2022 Facility Champion recipient. “Within three years the division was providing a standardized FM service to the entire city that included City Hall, police, fire, public works, parks and an ice arena.”
Eventually, McCullough’s role expanded to the Park Maintenance division, which included bringing in more than 30 employees under his management as well as serving as the city’s representative on projects such as construction of a new Department of Public Works Building, a police gun range classroom addition and an ITC storage facility — three projects totaling more than $11 million in value.
The Public Works building, a $9.8 million project, is one of McCullough’s proudest achievements.
“The project was hard-bid and took up an immense amount of time to ensure the project maintained the city’s best interest, while keeping on scope and within budget, both of which were achieved,” he says.
Other communities were taking notice. In September 2020, he was recruited to another community, nearby Northview Township, to overhaul its building maintenance department. He also serves as a city council member in his hometown of Livonia, a city of 93,000 people and was recently appointed to the Michigan Municipal Services Authority Board by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The board works with fellow municipalities across the state to collaborate on programs, enhance services, and lower costs for residents.
Among the upgrades McCullough has completed at Northview are:
The programs have already saved the township thousands in energy savings and maintenance tasks.
McCullough’s background as a local politician helped reach the people who are most important in local municipalities to get tasks completed – the people who are in charge of funding projects and getting their approval.
“I think that his political road plays a large part in (his success) as he has been able to put FM on a way larger platform,” says his wife, Kacie McCullough, who nominated him for the award. “This is one of his strongest attributes and should be a strong case for his leadership.”
No matter if McCullough’s future includes another building job or something else as his career journey unfolds, he will continue a few basic focuses.
“Keeping up with industry trends and new practices,” he says. “With new tech, it’s extremely important to stay up-to-date, and is needed during capital planning. We also need to continue to lower our carbon footprints. That needs to be a priority. I can’t think of anything better than promoting sustainability while lowering operating costs.”
Brandon McCullough is the fifth in a series of 2022 Facility Champion profiles sponsored by Ferguson Facilities Supply. McCullough and other champions were recognized for their leadership and creativity in Facilities Management by FacilitiesNet. Honorees have been invited to participate in a Facility Champions Roundtable at NFMT Remix at Paris Las Vegas Resort, Nov. 2-3.
Dave Lubach is managing editor of the facility market.
