Corey Delta, Inc.

Winter 2006

Corey Delta & NCCER Join to Enhance Training Program

The National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) affiliated with the University of Florida, is a non-profit education foundation serving the construction and maintenance industries. Major trade associations, contractors, and industry sponsors support the foundation. Its primary goal is to develop and maintain a training process that is nationally recognized, standardized, portable, and competency based. The high standards and uniformity of accreditation allow individual training to be recognized by organizations and companies nationally. The quality and standardization of NCCER training is accomplished through a formal accreditation process typically found in institutions of higher learning.

Corey Delta is among the first companies in the area that have applied to become sponsors, which will allow us to actively enhance the skills of our workforce. We will also be able to offer people interested in the construction trades a clearly defined career path that includes ongoing learning opportunities. We are excited about where we are going with this program and how it will be beneficial for everyone involved.

For more information, contact the NCCER office at (352) 334-0920 or visit their website at www.nccer.org

In-House Training Program

Dave George manages Corey Delta's Corporate craft training program. His ongoing efforts consist of recruiting and training new workers as well as offering current employees the opportunity to improve existing skills and learn new ones. For individuals interested in a career in construction, an initial class centered on basic construction skills is offered. It is made up of six modules including: basic safety, construction math, hand tools, power tools, blueprints, and rigging. By demonstrating the proper aptitude, a student can progress by attending classes offered in a range of curriculum such as welding, pipefitting, mechanics and millwrighting.

The class modules and instructional materials have been developed by the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER). Dave has been involved with NCCER since February 1998, when he became a certified Craft Instructor. Dave is very committed to this program. "The first NCCER course I taught was a welding class, which covered four modules. I was impressed with how well the curriculum was organized and how easy it was to present." Dave appreciates the timesaving involved with this program. "The NCCER modules are a tightly wrapped package that allows the instructor to focus on student learning and application of that learning through skill improvement, rather than the time consuming task of curriculum development.

Last July, Dave became a Master Trainer, which allows him to train Craft Instructors. This October, he attended a class in Gainesville, Florida in order to become a NCCER certified Assessment Administrator. This is one of the steps necessary before Corey Delta can become involved in offering craft assessment tests through the NCCER. This process allows craftspeople to accumulate nationally recognized documentation of their skills acquired through classes or on-the-job experience.

Dave holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Metallurgy from San Jose State University and an MBA from Golden Gate University and has spent over twenty years working in education and construction.

Corey Delta Participates in the Construction Users Roundtable

The Construction Users Roundtable (CURT) was formed in the summer of 2000 by construction and engineering executives representing major corporations that are among the largest construction consumers in the construction industry. The formation of the association was prompted by a desire to continue the thirty-year effort of The Business Roundtable's Construction Committee. The objective in the new organization is to have a broader owner representation and increased owner input on industry issues.

CURT is an autonomous organization that provides a forum for the exchange of information, views, practices and policies of various owners at the national level. Similar groups, called Local User Councils, function at the local level and seek to address issues of cost, quality, safety and overall effectiveness in their respective area.

CURT stands for improving:
• overall cost effectiveness
• the way construction is planned, managed, accounted for, regulated and executed
• the way workers are motivated, supervised and work

CURT also stands for change; changing and improving what owners permit, require and accept responsibility for.

For more information, contact the CURT office at (513) 563-4131 or visit their website at www.curt.org

Worker Shortages Highlighted at 16th Annual CII Conference

The Construction Industry Institute (CII) held its 16th Annual Conference in San Francisco on August 7-9, 2001, with more than 400 attendees. The primary focus of the conference was to heighten awareness of the critical worker shortage and the lackluster image of the industry itself. Keynote speakers and panelists discussed the growing worker shortage and the poor image of the industry.

Kent Underwood, Manager of Project Management for Solutia, Inc. and former chairman of The Business Roundtable's Construction Committee, told the audience that the owner’s stake in the worker shortage was high and that training was key to the solution. During his speech titled "The Owner’s Stake in Workforce Training" Underwood explained that those in the owner community have stood on the sidelines with the attitude that the work force is a contractor problem. The owners share the responsibility of insuring a viable workforce. The responsibilities cannot be shifted to the contractors like risk provisions in contracts or competently bidding a fixed price project. He warned that the impact of a tightening labor supply and declining skills is producing low quality construction; this will come to roost on the doorsteps of users who pay the bills. "It is not a matter of whether we want to pay the price for training, it’s a question of when and how much. Owner’s should do business only with contractors who are actively investing in training and maintaining the skills of their workers."

Frank Yancey, a long-time Kellogg, Brown & Root executive and now consultant for the firm, detailed what the average construction worker actually makes in today’s market. He said, "If low pay was a felony, I think most of us would be on death row," referring to the $17 an hour a journeyman laborer could earn. "In reality, that worker is left with $29 a week in disposable income. We do not have craftsmen, we do not have apprentices, we have poor people."

For more information, visit their website at www.construction-institute.org

President's Message
By Gene Waken

Of all the issues we face as a service provider to America’s industries, all pale in contrast to that of our declining “blue collar” workforce. In every aspect of today’s life in the United States, competent workers are at a premium. Clearly, we didn’t plan ahead when we axed the trade classes in our high schools. Corey Delta has always provided training classes for both our own as well as potential employees, free of charge. The results, while admirable, don’t begin to offset attrition nor accommodate growth. Every contractor, construction trade organization as well as labor unions are faced with the same dilemma, an abundance of potential business vs. a diminishing workforce. In previous times, robust periods of construction activity were accommodated by overtime as well as by workers who gravitated to the work from other areas of the country. In fact, the Business Roundtable Construction Committed initiated a white paper on the subject titled “the effects of overtime on construction projects.” Wages ballooned, safety went to Hell and productivity was comparable to a traditional straight time equivalent while costs soared. Our industry is comprised of contractors who are problem solvers. We take on a responsibility and, through creativity, experience and sometimes just guts, we persevere. Mistakes occur and those are converted to experience. We at Corey Delta have loads of experience! That equates to surviving lots of mistakes. One of the mistakes we have made, more than once, whether through circumstance or tenacity, has been taking on more than we were capable of accomplishing. Given the above, we are extremely cautious as to the commitments we make going forward. We continue to explore non-traditional methods of attracting /retaining / augmenting our workforce. We have been somewhat successful to date but continue our pursuit of the task. One method is the training of “off-shore” crafts. We invest in training programs, establish criteria for employment and, through the acquisition of visas, bring folks in for peak periods of activity. There are other options in play as well. That said; the potential industrial project sin the US over the next 3-5 years is daunting. In addition, scads of infrastructure projects are planned concurrently. How all of these projects will be built is anyone’s guess. My guess is that some or many will not be built. Corey Delta will continue doing the right things in terms of safety, performance, quality, meeting/ exceeding our customer’s expectations. Our primary focus is on not taking on more than we can do well! On another note, I have been elected President of our California Contractors Alliance [CCA], an organization of Northern California, non-building trades industrial contractors. It is a two year term. CCA has been an effective vehicle in representing our unique challenges of merit shop construction and maintenance. We have proven CCA to be a consistent and credible voice for our industry; I pledge to continue that tradition. One final note; we have move our offices… again. We are now located near the intersection if highways 12 and 29 in Southern Napa County, adjacent to Napa County Airport.

A Corey Delta Success Story

Rafael Tijero began his career at Corey Delta in May 1991. He had very little construction-related experience and somewhat limited understanding of the English language, but he had a willingness to work hard in order to overcome those obstacles. His first job classification was Laborer and, for the next several years, Rafael worked himself up into higher classifications by specializing in mechanical work. In February 1998, he joined the evening welding class offered by Corey Delta. Rafael passed the stick structural welding certification test in November 1999.

The two years it took him to complete the test may seem like a long time, but like most of us there were other things going on in his life. His wife was going to school to become a nurse, he has two sons, and he had job assignments that were located far away from class. In addition to all that, he had absolutely no welding experience when he started taking the classes. When other people might have quit in frustration, Rafael just kept plugging away until he got it right. All welders know that when you learn to weld, you also learn patience. Rafael continued to take classes and his efforts paid off when he passed the six-inch carbon steel pipe test in April 2001. Now he is working on the food-grade fusion test and he will eventually work his way through all the certifications.

When asked what motivates him, Rafael stated, "If you want to get ahead you have to work hard. I have bettered myself by coming to class to learn something that will help me on the job." People who back up their words with an ongoing commitment tend to achieve success. Corey Delta is extremely proud of Rafael and his accomplishments.