CMiC Team Member Spotlight: Seth Knight

nkreeger • October 17, 2024

As we put together our CMiC Core Team, we recognized the importance of selecting members with a wide range of skills and experiences, knowing that CMiC will impact team members in every department and business unit across the company. Seth Knight, Director of Project Controls, is a key member of the team, responsible for helping guide our operational groups through the implementation process and leading decision-making on new processes, standards, and workflows.

 

Seth graduated with his Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering in 2010 and began his construction career full-time at the Illinois Department of Transportation as an Engineer Tech. He then transitioned to White Construction where he served as a Project Engineer, assisting in project management for the construction of wind farms, providing support to superintendents and subcontractors with scheduling & production. He also helped with maintaining cost control, document control, change orders, earned value, production, forecast, and billings for assigned projects. In 2015, Seth joined the Keeley family as a Project Manager, working on projects across Missouri and Illinois. He was quickly promoted to Project Controls Manager where he developed a project controls program for the Civil Group. He revamped & managed the job cost review to bring enhanced information to leadership, instituted the MFR process to create visibility into the risk in major projects, and developed & managed a procurement process to reduce risk in subcontracted work and purchasing. He also implemented a new cost code format for better cost control & production tracking, and managed the forecast, business unit scorecard, and opportunities to drive accountability. After serving in this role for four years, Seth was promoted to his current position as Director of Project Controls. Seth and the Project Controls team within each business unit are focused on standardizing processes across the company, maintaining accountability in operational financial reporting & forecasting, leading analytics around KPI development & reporting, driving risk awareness in operations, and providing expertise in applying our business processes to software tool selection and implementation.

 

In his role on the CMiC Core Team, Seth serves as a trusted liaison between the Core Team and Operations. His experience from both the operational and financial sides of the business will allow him to ensure all processes are fully implemented, standardized, and streamlined as they are built out within CMiC.

 

“CMiC will provide a whole new level of visibility and standardization in our organization.  With everyone providing the same information in the same place, we will be able to provide metrics at every level of the organization to make business decisions at a faster pace than we can today.  The increased efficiency will show in our bottom line as we become more proactive and accountable around the risk in our business.”

 

Seth’s construction operations experience and project controls expertise will pave the way for a successful implementation and rollout of CMiC that all Keeley’ns can be proud of. If you have any questions or want to learn more about the process and what it means for you and your team, you can reach out to Seth directly at sknight@keeleyconstruction.com

Salesforce + CMiC Integration Details

By Jonathan Cox • August 14, 2025
This integration will share opportunity and account information between CMiC and Salesforce. Once an opportunity is created or updated in Salesforce, all relevant opportunity and account information will be automatically passed to CMiC. Updates to opportunities in CMiC will also be automatically passed to Salesforce. Once a job number is created in CMiC, it will be sent back to Salesforce automatically. It is important to note, however, that opportunities created in CMiC will not be passed to Salesforce, so all opportunities must be created in Salesforce . How the integration works: When an opportunity in Salesforce reaches the Proposal stage or beyond, its data is automatically synced to CMiC. Data from Salesforce to CMiC will be synced every 10 minutes at the :01 mark – ex: 11:01, 11:11, 11:21, etc. Data from CMiC to Salesforce will be synced every 5 minutes on the :00 & :05 marks – ex: 11:00, 11:05, 11:10, etc. The following fields will sync between the two systems: Salesforce ID (Links the opportunity across both systems) Organization / Business Partner Name Current Sales Stage Opportunity Financial Fields Key Dates Organizational Details (Department, Division, Office) Required Opportunity Fields Site Address Important Note: If an opportunity comes over from Salesforce to CMiC and the customer does not exist in CMiC as an Organization – then the customer will show as “New Organization”. If that is the case, then the customer either doesn't exist in CMiC or the Salesforce Account is not linked to an existing CMiC customer. First, search for the customer in the lookup for assigning the organizing. If the customer does not exist in that list, then the customer will need to be set up by Accounting. Please reach out to Sean Fleming for support. With questions or concerns regarding the integration between Salesforce and CMiC, you can reach out to your Operational Finance Team or submit a helpdesk ticket by emailing helpdesk@keeleycompanies.com

AP Process Changes

By Jonathan Cox • August 14, 2025
The transition to CMiC has uncovered some challenges to our AP processes for project and accounting teams. Over the past 90 days, we’ve been working through these challenges to improve the speed & efficiency of our process. See below for some highlights of these major changes & improvements. New Commitment Policy for Purchases over $25K As of August 1 st , Project Accountants have been rejecting any invoices over $50,000 that lack a valid commitment. As of September 1 st , this threshold will drop to $25,000. This means that commitments will be REQUIRED for all purchases over $25,000. This is a critical change aimed at enforcing procurement discipline and improving visibility over large expenditures. Workflow Adjustment for Invoices Less than $2,500 Invoices under $2,500 are now being routed to the PM only for approval and the Project Accountant is no longer part of the workflow. Approximately 70% of our invoices fall below this threshold, so this change is expected to significantly reduce the volume of approvals and streamline processing for small-dollar invoices. As a PM, please exercise extra discipline in the approval process since you are the last set of eyes on the invoice before it gets paid! Ability to Change/Reassign Invoices Users in operations have the ability to change the job number in the flysheet (header) in Image Manager within CMiC. This means less invoices should be returned to data entry and should result in a quicker turnaround on invoice processing and approval. Users in operations can also reassign invoices to others, rather than needing to reject them back to AP to be redirected. Additional training on this process is taking place in each of the business units. If you miss that training, please reach out to the Operational Finance Team (formerly Project Controls & Project Accounting) within your business unit for support. Importance of Quality Rejection Notes Users in operations will now be asked to categorize their rejections to clear up confusion and streamline the AP process. The three buckets in which you can categorize your rejection are DO NOT PAY, DATA ENTRY, and VENDOR ISSUE. Providing productive comments when rejecting invoices is extremely helpful in getting the invoice corrected or reassigned. If you have any questions regarding how to reject invoices or leave comments, please reach out to the Operational Finance Team (formerly Project Controls & Project Accounting) within your business unit for support. 

Solar 101: How It Works and Why It’s Worth It

By Jonathan Cox • June 25, 2025
The Future Is Built on Sustainable Design The construction industry is undergoing a transformation. As the global demand for renewable energy grows and infrastructure becomes more environmentally accountable, solar farms and sustainable construction are taking center stage. At Keeley, we’re not just keeping pace with the future—we’re helping build it. Solar 101: How It Works on a Larger Scale Solar farms, also known as photovoltaic (PV) power stations, use large-scale arrays of solar panels to generate electricity. Unlike rooftop systems, solar farms are designed for grid-level energy production, often covering acres of land with thousands of interconnected panels. Here’s how it works: Solar Panels: Mounted on ground-fixed or tracking systems, these capture solar energy efficiently across large areas. Inverters and Transformers: These convert the DC output from the panels into AC power suitable for grid transmission. Grid Integration: Power from solar farms is fed into utility grids or microgrids, providing energy to thousands of homes, industries, and facilities. Energy Storage Systems (ESS): Battery solutions allow excess energy to be stored and released when demand peaks or sunlight is low. Why It’s Worth the Investment Scalable Power Production: Solar farms can generate anywhere from a few megawatts to hundreds, supplying clean energy on a massive scale. Long-Term ROI: Though upfront costs can be high, operational expenses are minimal, with low maintenance and zero fuel costs. Regulatory and Tax Incentives: Governments continue to back utility-scale renewables with grants, incentives, and favorable zoning policies. Land Optimization: Underutilized or non-arable land can be repurposed for solar farms, creating economic value while preserving agricultural zones. Carbon Offset Benefits: Solar farms dramatically reduce emissions compared to traditional energy sources, aligning projects with ESG goals and climate commitments. The Future Is Built on Sustainable Civil Design Sustainable design isn’t limited to buildings—it’s revolutionizing civil construction , too. Whether it’s roads, bridges, or public infrastructure, sustainable practices are reshaping how we approach large-scale projects: Low-Carbon Materials: Incorporating recycled aggregates, low-emission concrete, and eco-asphalt into construction workflows. Stormwater Management: Designing with permeable pavements and green drainage systems to control runoff and improve water quality. Site Optimization: Minimizing land disruption and integrating renewable installations like solar or wind within transportation and industrial corridors. Energy Infrastructure Integration: Combining civil works with utility-scale solar installations to power public infrastructure directly from renewable sources. By embedding sustainability into every stage of the civil construction process, we not only meet evolving regulatory demands—we also help future-proof infrastructure for the next generation. The future of construction lies at the intersection of energy, infrastructure, and environmental responsibility . Check out Keeley’s Solar projects here: https://www.keeleyconstruction.com/projects/engie-solar-panel-farm https://www.keeleyconstruction.com/projects/7v-solar-ranch https://www.keeleyconstruction.com/projects/cofeen-solar-farm https://www.keeleyconstruction.com/projects/baldwin-solar-farm