Skip to content
‹ Back to IndustriesEngineering & Construction

Importance of Trusting Relationships and Finding Humor While ‘SWFH’

Taz Southerland, senior facilities manager at Walmart, revealed to Hosts Tyler Kern and Greg Crumpton how he brought humor to the ‘work from home’ era of the pandemic, the importance of relationships — whether virtual or in-person — and the unique story around his nickname Taz. When Walmart Corporation moved employees to work from home…

This story was produced through MarketScale. See how Engineering & Construction teams put it to work with Partner & Channel Enablement.

·
Share

Free workspace

Turn your Engineering & Construction expertise into content.

Record interviews, organize footage, and write with AI on a free trial of the MarketScale platform for qualifying companies. No demo required, no credit card.

Try it Free

Taz Southerland, senior facilities manager at Walmart, revealed to Hosts Tyler Kern and Greg Crumpton how he brought humor to the ‘work from home’ era of the pandemic, the importance of relationships — whether virtual or in-person — and the unique story around his nickname Taz.

When Walmart Corporation moved employees to work from home (WFH), Southerland brought light to the situation by connecting with his fellow WFH followers by including the abbreviation WFH in all his social media posts. To up the sarcasm, Southerland decided to celebrate the one-year anniversary to ‘SWFH,’ or still work from home. This commitment to authenticity, humor and ultimately creating human (virtual) connection, is the epitome of Southerland.

Working for one of the most well-known brands in the world, Southerland has enjoyed 20 years of employment with Walmart. He currently sits at the top of the programs for equipment in the stores; analyzes the equipment’s’ lifespan and cost analysis; and still manages workorder requests for 5400 sites.

However, Southerland realizes the importance of creating relationships with his customers — the Walmart stores — and vendors. Developing a trusting, mutual relationship helps increase efficiencies and makes everyone’s job easier.

“I have to be improving the process that takes steps out of their day to day,” Southerland said of his thought process toward relationship building. “What can I do to improve my customers’ lives and what can I do to improve my communication and relationship with my vendors?”

Listeners will enjoy tuning in to hear the story behind his nickname ‘Taz’ — unlike most who are nicknamed after the famed “Tasmanian Devil” for being ‘wild,’ Taz’s story is unique and a glimpse into how he gained his incredible, sarcastic humor.

Psychological Health: The Often Hidden Side of Supporting a Healthy Workplace

Airforce Pilot’s Advice on Finding Your “Wingman” in Business

Your experts belong here

Every story in MarketScale Engineering & Construction starts with a company putting its project engineers, superintendents, and estimators on the record. Buyers are already reading this topic. The only question is whose experts they find.

Owners shortlist firms they already trust, and your field leaders become the reason your name is on that list.

Book DemoSee how it works15 minutes, straight to a calendar.
B2B Weekly

The week in Engineering & Construction, and sixteen other industries, every Monday.

Ten stories, one-line takes, five minutes. Free.

Engineering & Construction: are you visible to AI?

Before they reach out, Engineering & Construction buyers ask AI engines which vendors to trust. Explore how your experts, customers, and partners can become useful content for buyers and AI search.

Free Trial

You just read one Engineering & Construction expert. Your company is full of them.

This article was produced through MarketScale. The same platform turns your project engineers, superintendents, and estimators into the articles, video, and social content Engineering & Construction buyers are searching for. Start a free trial and see it with your own people. For qualifying companies, no credit card, no demo required.

NPS +73 · 1,000+ creators · 38+ countries

What your free trial includes

Hands-on access to the MarketScale platform
Media requests to your crowd, remote recording, AI writing tools
No demo required. No credit card.
For qualifying companies. Company confirmation required.

More Engineering & Construction Insights

Bain Capital's reported $250M minority investment values construction platform Kahua above $1B

Bain Capital's reported $250M minority investment values construction platform Kahua above $1B

Bain Capital's Tech Opportunities fund is putting a reported $250 million into Kahua at a valuation above $1 billion. The deal follows what Kahua says is $100 million in annualized revenue. The bet rests on owner-side program data, with AI features the next sign to watch for hospitals, ports and school builders.

  • 01Kahua is selling AI on the strength of the governed data owners already keep in it. That makes data quality and permissions the place to test any new AI feature it ships.

Oct 1, 2026

Element’s Charlotte lab makes tensile specimens from turbine blade roots

Element’s Charlotte lab makes tensile specimens from turbine blade roots

Element Materials Technology’s Charlotte lab wire-EDMs one-eighth-inch cylinders from the root of a turbine blade and low-stress grinds them into tensile specimens—work value stream manager Daniel Steele says he’s not aware other labs do at this size. The lab, which invested $3.2 million in 2019 according to Aerospace Manufacturing and Design, is adding creep and stress rupture frames under a lease signed in January.

  • 01The extraction know-how has a paper trail: Aerospace Manufacturing and Design reported in March 2019 that Element’s $3.2 million Charlotte investment included EDM plunge machines—and that Charlotte was the first Element lab to install them for extracting cylindrical specimen blanks.
  • 02Deloitte's November 2025 outlook put manufacturing construction spending down 7% year over year by July 2025, so a lab adding floor space and creep frames is growing inside one of the few pockets Deloitte flagged for expansion.

Sep 30, 2026

NMHC survey: 37% raised pricing on projects on hold

NMHC survey: 37% raised pricing on projects on hold

NMHC's September construction survey found 37% of respondents repriced shelved projects upward, versus 17% in June. Starts slowed too: 29% of firms started fewer projects, and a growing share saw labor and material costs outrun inflation.

  • 01Upward repricing of projects held three to six months rose from 17% of survey respondents in June to 37% in September, while downward repricing fell from 38% to 14%.

Sep 28, 2026

Explore More Engineering & Construction Insights

Read more expert perspectives from across Engineering & Construction.

Browse Engineering & Construction Hub

For B2B teams

Your experts could be publishing here

Stories like this one run on content MarketScale captures from real practitioners. See how your team's expertise becomes coverage in Engineering & Construction and beyond.

Book a Demo

Or call us. No forms required. We pick up. 214-945-2512