Facebook

Teamwork and Training Drive It Home

Creating a safe work site is no accident – many factors are involved in maintaining the strict standards and regulations all construction sites must follow. A key step to striving for a safe work site is through hands-on training. This is not a new concept, but the trades have taken joint training and teamwork to the next level.

For the past five years, pile driving apprentices from the Southeast Wisconsin Carpentry Training Center (SEWCTC), the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters Training Center, and the Operating Engineers Local 139 Training Center spend a week a year training together in Coloma, Wis.

The purpose is simple – to have the operating engineers and pile driving apprentices work and learn together, a unique concept in union construction.

The training is designed to mimic a job site without the pressures of deadlines. Training begins with classroom theory and includes hands-on pile driving experience. But the primary focus is safety – one of the most important elements of pile driving. Apprentices are required to follow strict Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines, and must wear hardhats, ear protection and appropriate footwear at all times.

Apprentices also have the chance to strengthen any areas where they feel they may need help. At the beginning of the week, they fill out a questionnaire to determine where their weaknesses lie. This helps instructors focus on those areas so that apprentices get the most out of the experience.

Joe Weisling, training director for SEWCTC, organizes the joint training. “It is my job to ensure tomorrow's workforce and future industry leaders have what it takes to do their jobs correctly, efficiently and safely,” Weisling explains. “The first year we did this, we had a lot of non-believers, but we've made believers out of them.”

Don Waite was one of the non-believers – at first. Waite was an operating engineer for 36 years and retired four years ago. He's been involved in the training for three years, but at first he didn't think it was necessary to have the two trades come together for training. Now Waite says, “I'm on board with this 100 percent. It just makes sense to have the apprentices work together and help each other out – our union is stronger because of it.”

The apprentices learn that teamwork is the key component to getting the job done right. If one person isn't doing something correctly, he or she is taught how to do it the right way – sometimes by an instructor and other times by another apprentice.

And employers and manufacturers are paying attention. Companies such as Lincoln Electric, American Piledriving Equipment (APE), Zenith Tech, Inc. and Edward E. Gillen Company were just a few of the manufacturers, construction companies and equipment providers at this year's training. APE even drove a vibratory hammer from New Jersey to give the apprentices unique first-hand experience with one.

Brett Dobrient, carpenter instructor for the SEWCTC, is also an instructor at the training. He helps apprentices learn how to correctly weld and repair diesel hammers. “Seeing what third- and fourth-year apprentices are accomplishing is why I'm here,” Dobrient says with a smile on his face. “This week is so important for our union because the training is something contractors are looking for in today's construction industry.”

Power of One Newsletters