Left to right: Jose Lopez-Ceja, Dennis Smith, Dave Jarret,
Mike Williams, Sergio Cortez, Jim Brackenridge, Robin Hie, Richard Simi,
Jesus Garcia, Gustavo Elias-Cortez, Tom MacDonald, Milton Ortega, Mark Dorey,
Javier Soria, Jeff Gibson, Adan Guerrero
Left to right: Dennis Smith, Billy Paredes, Tony Grose, Greg
McNeilly, Frank Pena, Paolo Shere, Isaias Rodriguez, Alfonso Ochoa, Allen
Lee, Casey Simi, Michael Jordon, Cleo Nelson, Jesus Ochoa
Left to right: Dennis Smith, William (Smitty) Smith, Rick
Martin, Pat Hinchee, Steve Taylor, Mitch Sweet, Tony Simi, Mike Kashack,
Brian Salazar, Luis Rodriguez, Chris York, Shawn Powell, Chris Stream, Bob
MacDonald, Jr., Juan Gonzales
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Underground Construction Co., Inc. has an excellent
training program. Almost every Saturday throughout the year you can stop
in at the Benicia office and find a class in session. Whether it's for
Competent Person, Laborer Certification, CPR and First Aid, or any number
of other classes, you'll find a dedicated group of Underground employees
teaching and learning new skills or sharpening existing talents.
In addition to the Saturday classes, we offer jobsite-based training
for Flagger Certification, Forklift Operator, Confined Space, and more.
This year, Underground has taken the training program to another level.
We have teamed up with the FMI Corporation, a leading management consulting
firm to the construction industry, and developed a training program targeted
specifically to our supervisors at the foreman level. This select group
of forty-seven foremen is the future of our company, and we intend to provide
them with the management skills to help them succeed with us in the business
of contracting.
"Almost every Saturday throughout
the year you can stop in at the Benicia office and find a class in session."
The curriculum was developed especially for Underground to reflect
our business practices and management philosophy while drawing on the expertise
of the FMI group. The training needs were identified and six classes were
created to meet these needs. The program includes classes on Controlling
Crew Costs, Short Interval Scheduling, Understanding Contracts, Behavioral-Based
Safety, Employee Relations and Customer Relations.
One class is held each month during working hours, and attendance
is mandatory. The logistics of coordinating the attendance while minimizing
the impact to ongoing projects is a challenge, but the enthusiasm for the
classes has eliminated most all of the problems that would be expected in
an effort such as this. The foremen are divided into three groups, with
each group attending a class at a different time. The classes are designed
to last about 3-1/2 hours so that the foremen can still cover their ongoing
work.
Dennis Smith has proven to be an ideal instructor. His experience
as a consultant to construction companies nationwide and his knowledge of
our business specifically has gained him the respect of the classes. The
small class size is ideal for promoting interaction between the class and
the instructor as well as among the foremen. By encouraging discussion,
Dennis has been able to identify specific needs, by group, and is able to
keep his training flexible enough to target these needs. It didn't take
long for Dennis to convince everyone that the skills learned in these classes
will make their jobs easier!
We are confident that the Foreman Training Program will benefit these
foremen individually and as team members. We look forward to the continued
success of our Company by providing our employees with the skills they need
to do their jobs safely and productively.
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