Kris C. Manning
Vice President
Clark Construction
- Alma Mater: University of Delaware and University of Maryland
- Fun Fact: Manning swam in the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean on the same day, less than 20 hours apart
- Favorite Book: "Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?"by Seth Godin
- Favorite TV Show: "Shark Tank"
- Favorite Movie: "Glory"
- Favorite Hobbies: Golfing, coaching soccer, running and mountain biking
When Kris Manning was growing up, construction was always part of his life. His father spent more than 40 years in construction and would take him to job sites or work with him around the home. Manning said his grandfather, who lacked a high school diploma and worked in a factory, could show college educated engineer’s solutions to problems, so he knew engineering is in his blood.
Manning is vice president at Clark Construction where he spent nine years working on projects in Washington, D.C., then spend four years with Clark Concrete, before transferring to Clark Civil-West to focus on civil, rail and mass transit work in the California region.
Since making the change, Manning was named chair of the Lean Construction Institute’s Community Practice in Los Angeles, and a member of the group’s National Standards Committee. His duties include educating Clark employees about lean construction principles.
Manning recently led construction efforts of the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC) in Anaheim, California. Under his direction, the company was able to identify wasteful areas of construction, such as employee motions, material handling time and waiting for a supporting function. The final weekend of work was completed in 48 hours.
Manning said projects like the ARTIC allow him to see the tangible benefits of what he does when it’s turned over safely to the public folks who use the facility. You see them smile and compliment the work and he said it brings a great feeling.
Manning said he wants to see transit get more of a “cool” factor to it and to make it more accessible and more available across the nation. Teens still view drivers licenses as a symbol of personal freedom, but each new driver means another car, more need for expressways and parking. It could take generations to change that mindset, but Manning said it’s something he’d like to see changed so more people view buses and trains as a positive thing.
“It’s the comradery of the people I work with every day. The folks in the transit community are so special and good at what they do. We build projects to improve the community. It allows us to show off what we can do to benefit the community and I think that’s pretty special.”
