Classes from January thru April 2008

Classes from January thru April 2008

In the Level I course, you learned that supervisors are the indispensable link between management & craft people. In Level II, we’ll see that both Management and Craft Workers are all part of a TEAM. You’ll learn the different stages that teams go through. How effective is your team? What are the attributes of high performance teams?

In Levels I & II, we emphasized the importance of supervisors understanding their role as managers and part of a team. It is equally important for supervisors to recognize their roles as LEADERS. Are you like Attila the Hun, or more of a democratic leader, or somewhere in between? There are strengths and weaknesses in various styles that you need to be aware of. Leadership skills can be learned and improved upon! Using these skills while trying to build effective teams can be a real challenge.

In Level I, supervisors learn they spend as much as 80% of their time communicating. It’s critical, time consuming & pervasive. In this session, you’ll come to understand the importance of active listening and how to use those skills when it comes to dealing with all of your different customers. Visible costs of incidents and accidents are just the tip of the iceberg. Are you aware of all the indirect dollars that are involved? This course will lay out a 3-phase process to implement a safety program and provide you with a 3-step process to eliminate jobsite hazards.

Stages of the Pre-Construction Planning Process, Pre-Construction Planning Process Activities, Team Members in the Planning Process, Strategies for Successful Implementation Pre-Construction Planning Process. Stage 1: Bid Preparation, Planning, and Introduction to Bid Preparation Planning, Scope Review, Schedule Review, Management Review, Cost Estimating and Bid Submission. Stage 2: Pre-Construction Planning, Introduction to Pre-Construction Planning, Team Selection and Turnover, Scope and Contract Review, Administrative Setup, Buyout Process, Material Handling Plan, Budget Preparation, Layout and Sequencing Plan, Schedule Development, Tracking and Control and Construction Execution Kickoff. Stage 3: Jobsite Management Planning, Introduction to Jobsite Management Planning, Mobilization, Administrative Setup, Scheduling and Reporting, Labor Management Plan, Installation Procedures, Safety Procedures, The Planning Assessment Process, Evaluating a Project’s Characteristics, Using the Planning Effectiveness Scorecard and Evaluating Your Planning Effort.

In Level I, supervisors learned they spend as much as 80% of their time communicating. It’s critical, time consuming & pervasive. In this session, you’ll come to understand the importance of active listening and how to use those skills when it comes to dealing with all of your different customers. In Level I, the various key jobsite documents were reviewed, including job logs, time cards, record drawings and field authorizations. Level II will give supervisors an understanding of the importance of pre-planning for jobsite safety, enable them to recognize and correct unsafe behavior, and re-familiarize them with “new worker” safety orientation.

Proper verbal communications can go a long way in helping to build a support network for successful supervisors; networking is the informal process of getting to know, and to create confidence amongst other people --- for mutual benefit of career advancement. Do you know how to take full advantage of this tactic? In earlier modules on written communications, we went over documents supervisors created and documents developed by the company off-site. In Level III, we’ll go over project documentation from outside the company and how to effectively track and organize them. In the previous safety classes, safety fundamentals and developing a jobsite safety plan were outlined. In this safety segment we’ll focus on keeping the jobsite safe --- practices which enable employees to become proficient at avoiding hazards and unsafe acts.

Legislation, as it is related to EEO and Affirmative Action, will be reviewed. Do’s and don’ts of interviewing and termination procedures will also be discussed. The investment a contractor makes in tools is considerable. The cost of tool loss, damage and repair can be as much as half the profit on a job. Material can represent 40% to 60% of a project cost and just a small amount of waste in this area can eat up most of the profit. Do you see the contract for your jobs? Should you see the contract for your jobs? Do you get into contracting situations in the field? What does the contract achieve? What are the contractual expectations? All these questions will be answered in detail. \

Will talk about the importance of evaluating performance. This kind of appraisal is an opportunity for supervisors and employees to monitor achievements and to review or set new goals. This process can either be formal or informal, as needed. Will discuss how more and more materials on jobsites can present hazards to the workers. Electrical Project Supervisors must know what these materials are and the proper handling equipments of each of these. In Level I of Part A, the various key jobsite documents were reviewed, including job logs, time cards, record drawings and field authorizations. In Level II, we’ll address the differing needs of internal and external customers.

Intermediate Estimating Course – Part 1 MUST ATTEND ALL CLASSES - $150 per person/limit 15 students

Session Two will concentrate on how to build effective and meaningful assemblies. Session Three will apply assemblies to unit pricing and complete estimates.

Procedures were reviewed on do’s and don’ts of interviewing, as well as termination procedures in the earlier labor relations modules; this module will deal with managing diversity in the workplace, we’ll focus on steps and methods you can use to manage jobsite materials. A material handling checklist will be gone over and you’ll discuss special handling requirements. What can be done to minimize repetitive material handling?

Intermediate Estimating Course – Part 2 MUST ATTEND ALL CLASSES - $150 per person/limit 15 students

Session Two will concentrate on how to build effective and meaningful assemblies. Session Three will apply assemblies to unit pricing and complete estimates.

The objective of this class is to introduce basic concepts about the design of operations so supervisors can apply them, in order to analyze and improve operations. A number of analytical tools used to evaluate and improve operational efficiency will be introduced.

Intermediate Estimating Course – Part 3 MUST ATTEND ALL CLASSES - $150 per person/limit 15 students

Session Two will concentrate on how to build effective and meaningful assemblies. Session Three will apply assemblies to unit pricing and complete estimates.

In Level I, you found that studying operations can make improvements and first line supervisors can have a significant impact on their job by studying and improving the production of their crew. During this session, you’ll learn the importance of paying more attention to the design and management of operations and techniques for doing so.

One conclusion we came to from Levels I & II: supervisors can have a significant impact on their job by studying and improving the production of their crew. In this course, some objectives will be to understand the importance of reliability in planning construction operations and to continuously improve upon that reliability. Models will be gone over showing the value of a Linked System, forming Weekly Work Plans, and the Last Planner System.

The intent of this course is to acquaint you with the basic elements of scheduling. This will include: definition, importance, and context of construction schedules, the Bar Chart and Network or Arrow Diagram schedules. This is an introduction to and basic understanding of the Estimating Process. There is a cycle that ties together estimated costs, contract amounts, project budgets, cost reports and historical data concerning costs. Participants will come to understand the relationship among all these components.

Previously, we defined the schedule, gave you the various elements, and helped you to understand who needs it. During the Level II portion, we’ll give you an overview of the various types of schedules and go over the concept of Critical Path. In the first class, we described the different types of estimates and learned the elements of a detailed or bid estimate. In this Level II module, we’ll review cost accounting, budgeting, cost control and come to a better understanding of the Project Budget and the development of Cost Codes for a project.

In the earlier modules, you learned about PLANNING as a MANAGEMENT tool and SCHEDULING as a PLANNING function. We will review some of the terminology and methodology learned earlier and at the same time add two additional concepts – resource loading & leveling. Practical applications and relevance of these ideas will be demonstrated.