On any given day, at a job site just west of Oklahoma City, you will find ShoeValDoc Construction owner, Cody Hill, overseeing soil stabilization and earth moving efforts in advance of construction for a 2 million square-foot Hobby Lobby distribution center. That, in itself, is not noteworthy. Neither is the fact that he is relying upon advanced GPS-based technology to ensure that both of those facets of the job go off efficiently, accurately, and within the prescribed timeframe. What is noteworthy, however, is the fact that Hill, a U.S. Marine Corps Iraq War veteran, oversees the projects despite being classified as 100% disabled. Critically injured by a landmine explosion that destroyed their Humvee, killing three of his fellow marines, Hill is a testimony to the triumph of the human spirit. And it’s on display six days a week at the Hobby Lobby site and others at which you will find him. Disability? It’s not even in his vocabulary.
The Name Game
First of all, the name: ShoeValDoc Construction. While it’s unique and it’s eye-catching, it immediately appears as if there’s a story behind it — and it does not disappoint. According to Hill, the moniker is a contraction made up of the names of the three fallen comrades he served with in Iraq.
“Their names were Corporal Jared Shoemaker, Lance Corporal Eric Valdepeñas (both USMC), and Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Christopher “Doc” Walsh, a U.S. Navy corpsman assigned to our unit,” he said. “The four of us were inseparable during our tour in Iraq. In fact, while other teams were constantly being shuffled to avoid personnel from getting ‘short’ with each other, we insisted on staying together — we were that close. So, when that IED took their lives, but spared mine, I felt it only right to honor their memory by naming the company Shoe (Shoemaker), Val (Valdepeñas) Doc (Doc Walsh).”
Upon returning from Iraq, Hill underwent repeated surgeries and a lengthy rehabilitation to help repair the damage done by the blast — injuries that included burns to 56% of his body, as well as loss of both his left ear and sight in his right eye.
From left: Trenton “TK” Keene, GPS specialist; Cody Hill, ShoeValDoc founder/owner; and Jake Creel, Topcon regional manager.
“But I came through it all, separated from the Marine Corps and began the process of rebuilding my life here in Oklahoma City,” he said. “In 2012, I started the business with just me, two others and five pieces of equipment. Today, we employ 85 people, operate more than 100 pieces of equipment, and perform about $18 million in projects each year, including almost all of Hobby Lobby’s site prep work and a good deal of projects for the Oklahoma DOT. We’ve come a long way.”
"When that IED took their lives, but spared mine, I felt it only right to honor their memory by naming the company Shoe (Shoemaker), Val (Valdepeñas) Doc (Doc Walsh).”
Cody Hill
All About Stability
ShoeValDoc has, indeed, made its presence known in Oklahoma City and surrounding areas. After starting out doing small earthmoving and soil stabilization projects, their work ethic and commitment to quality began to get the attention of prospective customers.
“We had years where we doubled in size and years when we just maintained,” said Hill. “But 2017-18 was really our growth period, a time when we landed a big wind farm project which helped us make a name for ourselves in soil stabilization. From there we expanded our earthmoving/site prep capability and quickly became known for that as well.”
On most of their projects, ShoeValDoc will perform both soil and earthmoving services and the Hobby Lobby site referenced above is no exception. That project, located adjacent to ShoeValDoc’s corporate offices and shop, is just one of Hobby Lobby’s many such distribution centers located in and around Oklahoma City — the company currently has over 10 million sq. ft. of space dedicated to supplying their stores nationwide. “We feel we do a good job for Hobby Lobby and, in return, have become their go-to contractor for site prep on larger jobs,” said Hill. “We value that relationship greatly.”
Taking Control of Things
It's no surprise that the OKC-based hobby giant turns to ShoeValDoc. The contractor has consistently proven itself, providing reliable, on-time, accurate site prep performance. While Hill attributes a good deal of that success to the dedication of his crew, he is also quick to give credit to the machine control technology they’ve embraced.
“When I first started the business, we were actually partners with another company,” he said. “I was working on a project and found myself in need of some additional iron, so I went to them for help and they were gracious enough to send over a dozer — with Topcon machine control on it.”
Although Hill and his crew had no experience with GNSS-based machine control, he said the partner was helpful getting them up and running. One of the first operators of that machine was a seasoned, old-school proponent who, upon being told he’d be running a dozer with machine control, absolutely hated the idea.
“By day three, however, he was singing the praises of the technology and still is to this day,” added Hill. “He loved the fact that he always knew where he was at on the job and could always tell what needed cutting, what needed fill. That’s been the case with every ‘seasoned’ operator; they all love it now. And, in addition to that first dozer, we also currently have Topcon machine control on six motor graders. It’s a key part of the operation now.”
“We feel we do a good job for Hobby Lobby and, in return, have become their go-to contractor for site prep on larger jobs.”
Cody Hill
Getting the Job Done
The site prep facet of the Hobby Lobby project consists of 70 acres of earthmoving and soil remediation. ShoeValDoc will be moving more than 1.3 million cu. yds. of material, all of which will remain onsite. Grading will include placement of 3-feet of select fill and stabilization of the top 8 inches, followed by a 4-inch layer of 1 1/2” ODOT Type A agg base. It is all being done using a Komatsu D155AXi dozer and Caterpillar 140M motor grader, both running Topcon machine control. At the time of this writing, the company was about two months ahead of schedule, a fact that Hill attributes equally to the dry weather they’ve had in the area, and to the technology they’ve put into play.
“There’s no denying the impact machine control has had on our efficiency,” he said. “We're much more calculated now than ever before; the guesstimates are gone and so is the need to re-do things. On a job like this, being just an inch high or low could cost us upwards of a quarter million dollars — the Topcon solution removes that risk. In addition, our reliance on surveyors, and the unfortunate delays, that can sometimes cost has all but been eliminated.”
He added that they are so pleased with the technology that they’re considering putting Topcon machine control on several of their scrapers. “Giving our lead scraper that kind of advantage could be huge for us.”
The Dealer Wins
“There’s no denying the impact machine control has had on our efficiency,” he said. “We're much more calculated now than ever before; the guesstimates are gone and so is the need to re-do things. On a job like this, being just an inch high or low could cost us upwards of a quarter million dollars — the Topcon solution removes that risk. In addition, our reliance on surveyors, and the unfortunate delays, that can sometimes cost has all but been eliminated.”
He added that they are so pleased with the technology that they’re considering putting Topcon machine control on several of their scrapers. “Giving our lead scraper that kind of advantage could be huge for us.”
To illustrate the level of support they get, Hill cites an incident that occurred several years back, when one of their motor graders was vandalized in southern Oklahoma. “I was already considering talking to ODOT to tell them to consider shutting down the job,” said Hill. “But Ozark moved heaven and Earth to get some equipment to us so that we could keep productive. They had us back up and working in a matter of days which, to me was just incredible.“
“I was working on a project and found myself in need of some additional iron, so I went to them for help and they were gracious enough to send over a dozer — with Topcon machine control on it.”
Cody Hill
Surrounded by the Best
Within the organization, Hill said he feels extremely fortunate to have the people he has with him right now — a time when finding good workers industry-wide is often a challenge.
“I hear what others are going through and know that it’s a serious situation for some,” he said. “But we are blessed that our turnover rate is really small and I have some of the best employees a business owner could ask for. Darrell Robbs, my superintendent, has taken us to another level of mass excavation. Trenton “TK” Keene, who started as a water truck driver, is now both our GPS guru and heads up some of our larger jobs.”
He added that his senior people, like James Pennington and Bud Jeffers, bring them the best of both worlds: old-school knowledge and a comfort level with the Topcon GPS technology.
“That kind of experience is invaluable,” he said. “In addition, I have a pipe foreman named Jonathan Herrera who's only 22 years old but can put 250 pipes in the ground per day. I could cite examples of how great our people are all day long. But the bottom line is, In business today it’s all about putting together a great team — with the right tools — and relying on each other to do a good job.”
Somehow, you have to believe that Shoemaker, Valdepeñas and Walsh would approve.
