Technical, Safety, and Leadership Training Options
Mike Hernandez, Technical Director
In the business of day-to-day operations, it is easy to forget about planning to upgrade the skill set of the whole team. Craftspeople with the potential to become foremen, foremen that could use some polishing to be a superintendent, or training a whole team in OSHA 30-hour. There are many options and strategies from online to internal training to bringing in outside experts or sending staff to remote learning. All come with pros and cons. As we head into the fall, consider the 2024 Q4 and 2025 options for skills development and training for your people to possibly expand the scope or enhance the ability of existing leaders. There are more options than a person can do in a year, so long-term planning and filling in needed skills gaps is the key.
Safety
There are numerous Concrete Safety Links and Training options on the ASCC website: https://ascconline.org/Safety/Links I preferred having several OSHA 500 trainers on staff so that on short notice the team could train 6 hours of the OSHA 30-hour course and they could pull in subject matter experts to not have to speak the whole time. Several rain days or schedule gaps between projects became training days so crews could improve their safety knowledge while not being paid overtime.
Similar opportunities to supplement safety skills are often provided by equipment vendors. They were happy to spend the day making sure specific operators were properly trained on forklifts, aerial boom lifts, and scissor lifts before handing over the keys.
Beyond OSHA, Superintendents have several options based on their scope emphasis. A great general certification is the Safety Trained Supervisor (STS) provided by the Board of Safety Certified Professionals, https://www.bcsp.org/ Also might take an all-day trenching course on soil classification or a fall protection training class.
People and Leadership Skills Development
Some cities have strong craft labor union options, an example is ASCC Member, Operative Plasterers and Cement Masons International Association, OPC-MIA, https://www.opcmia.org/. Union craft leadership training focuses on developing leadership skills in union workers, emphasizing effective communication, conflict resolution, and team management. The training equips participants with the tools to lead their teams, advocate for workers' rights, and ensure a safe, productive work environment.
In non-Union areas, an option is the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER): Among their programs are classes for Construction Superintendents, Carpentry and Concrete Construction in English and Spanish. https://www.nccer.org/. Some programs require in-person training, others can be 100% online.
Dale Carnegie speaking and presentations: Few things make people more nervous than looking foolish in front of a large group of peers or strangers. The Dale Carnegie in-person programs will help transform people from stumbling and nervous to at least comfortable, even confident public speakers. https://www.dalecarnegie.com/en.
For the next generation of senior leaders, the Construction Industry Institute (CII) offers the Executive Leadership Program at the University of Texas at Austin. https://www.construction-institute.org/xlp-2025/xlp-home#tab It is an intensive two-week program that focuses on negotiating, program management, risk modeling, and persuasion acumen. At ~$20,000 for the course, it is a serious investment in a top manager.
Technical Skills Development
ASCC Concrete Polishing Council (CPC) Polishing Tradesman and Polishing Craftsman. Both involve passing a knowledge exam based on the CPC Tradesman Certification Manual. To become a Craftsman also requires 4500 hours of polishing experience.
Print Reading. A webinar on the book and video series “Print Reading for Construction” was presented by ASCC recently. Dan Dorfmueller, FACI, spoke about his book, the most popular blueprint training course published in the U.S. https://www.printreading.us/ A free preview is available on his website: Dan provided a discount code, which Sayde Hindelang or I can provide.
ACI Flatwork Finisher and Decorative Finisher: Classroom training and exam in person on Wednesday, 9/17 at the Annual Conference in Kansas City. ASCC has several members who can travel to a job site to do a Flatwork Finisher Performance Examination, observing the finishers in each task. This second option is typically more expensive, with the benefit of a substantially higher pass rate.
ASCC has several “Personnel Certifications” intended to be targeted towards office staff associated with the ASCC Company Certifications. https://ascconline.org/Certification/Personnel-Certification Among these are the:
Quality Concrete Specialist, based on ACI/ASCC “The Contractor’s Guide to Quality Concrete Construction”
Decorative Concrete Specialist based on ACI/ASCC 310R-19 “Guide to Decorative Concrete”
Polished Concrete Specialist based on ACI/ASCC 310.1-20 “Specifications for Polished Concrete Slab Finishes”
Concrete Flatwork Specialist based on ACI 302.1R-15 “Guide to Concrete Floor and Slab Construction”
Concrete Formwork Specialist based on ACI 347R-14 “Guide to Formwork for Concrete”
NRMCA has supported ASCC in providing the Paving Toolkit, training resources for ASCC contractors, and an introduction to a program that helps designers and owners understand the long-term performance, cost, and environmental benefits of converting from asphalt to concrete pavement parking lots. https://ascconline.org/Technical/NRMCA-ASCC-Paving-Tool-Kit
ACI has numerous training and certification opportunities. Certification options include tilt-up or shotcrete or field testing or adhesive anchor installation technician. Training on various topics through the online portal ACI University and certification through local chapters. Upcoming ACI certification options: https://www.concrete.org/certification/sessioncalendar.aspx
The Post-Tensioning Institute has several craft certifications. Level 1& 2 Unbonded PT installer and PT inspector roles are popular. https://www.post-tensioning.org/certification/fieldpersonnelcertification/personnelcertificationoverview.aspx
YouTube Videos
A surprising amount of great content is available on YouTube on concrete topics from basic ingredients of concrete to advanced admixture interactions. Some of my favorite channels include:
@tylerley, “Concrete Freak” ~105,000 subscribers ~200 videos by Typer Ley, Professor at Oklahoma State University and popular World of Concrete presenter. Exceptional at making complex topics easier to understand.
@IntelligentConcrete, ~10,200 subscribers 757 Videos by Jon Belkowitz, PhD PE, can be pretty technical for the concrete nerds out there.
@concretelogicpodcast, 149 videos by Seth Tandett, concrete contractor. Seth recently started posting his podcasts to YouTube. Each episode of Concrete Logic explores one concrete-related topic by interviewing an industry professional. Up to Episode #96 as of this writing.
@ascc_concrete 21 videos, ASCC’s new YouTube channel. Several “Concrete Talk” interviews by Rick Lobdell and Matt Poppoff about ASCC. Check it out.
In summary, there are more options than anyone can possibly complete. It all comes down to what is important to develop in the individual and the needs of the organization. Adding one skill or certification every year to each key person, pretty soon, you have a team with a diverse set of valuable skills that will learn from each other.