Case Study: Columbia Construction Co boosts morale, safety and employee retention with Bridgit Bench

How Columbia uses Bridgit Bench to bolster morale, increase safety and improve employee retention

Columbia Construction Co., a third‑generation, family‑run firm founded in 1925 and doing $400M+ in annual volume (ENR Top 400, #254), faced growing pains as headcount tripled to 190+ employees. Workforce planning relied on Excel and a single operations “gatekeeper,” creating silos, limited forecasting, burnout, lowered morale and heightened safety risks across projects.

In February 2021 Columbia implemented Bridgit Bench to centralize collaborative workforce planning. The tool gave department heads view access, enabled scenario-based 3/6/12‑month forecasting, and empowered sector leaders to manage staffing directly. Adoption turned early skeptics into power users and led to immediate improvements in visibility, planning accuracy, team morale and—according to leadership—better employee retention and safer job sites.

Columbia Construction Co

Shawn Gallant

Vice President of Corporate Development