Underground Construction - June 2018 - 27

because they're afraid of losing
their job to someone who's
ambitious, then somebody got
hurt. Yes, the local halls will
send out people who aren't
qualified, but how do you become qualified? By being out
there. It's the same for Millennial hires we've been talking
about. It's our job to come
alongside those individuals to
keep them out of harm's way
and help them learn our trade.

Clockwise top left: Ron Halderman, Rob Tumbleson, Robert Meadows , Bill Colson

Tumbleson - This process
starts with our safety group and
works its way right down to the
field superintendent. It's their
responsibility to train and keep
people safe and not jeopardize
the health and safety of others
and the reputation of the company. If they can't train them to
be safe, we just can't have them
out there.
Q - As more job opportunities
arise, how do you decide which
ones to prioritize when there
are more than you can handle?
Tumbleson - That's a moving
target. It has a lot to do with
your schedule and which rigs are
available, but as a subcontractor,
there's always the owner and the
GC (general contractor) to consider. We have some we prefer
to work with versus other ones.

like playing a big video game
for them. The problem is, they
don't have the experience to get
to that seat and might lack the
work ethic or drive to get there.
Colson - A team-oriented mindset is another positive, because
that's a big part of our business.
That's your family out there on
that crew. They cook out almost
every day, eat together, work
together and a lot of times stay
in the same hotels. It really does
become a very tight-knit group.

Q - How do you maintain safety when you're rotating crews
and filling in with inexperienced labor?
Colson -I've heard people blame
this for safety problems, but I
believe that falls on us as leaders. We all had a Day 1 out there.
Everybody should take the initiative to learn, but we also have
to take the initiative as leaders
to help those people learn. We've
had people on our crews who
didn't want to teach somebody

Meadows - I think that choosing your clients is also about
looking at the engineering team.
We've had some situations in
the past where the entire project was a struggle and had to be
re-engineered. So if you have a
choice between RFPs, we'll go for
the one that's got a better engineering package and more information and isn't just looking for
the cheapest contractor.
Q - Improved demand can create opportunities for contracting companies to start up and

grow. What advice do you have
for younger HDD contractors?
Colson - Don't be afraid to
ask questions. If you have a
problem or run into something
new, it can be hard to swallow
your pride and call someone
who's faced the same situation.
For a lot of small contractors,
the manufacturers and service
providers are great sources of
advice. And remember when
you're choosing equipment and
suppliers that one of the most
important factors to consider is
service after the sale.
Meadows - Shop around to
make sure you understand your
options and educate yourself. I
agree that service is absolutely
key. You don't mind paying a little more if that service is coming
with it, but you want to be sure
you get that service when you
need it.
Q - Looking ahead, what
excites you the most about
our industry?
Colson - One of the things
that's exciting in the industry
is the amount of work that we
see on the horizon - that you're
not going to have one contractor
getting the whole pie, but all of
the contractors are going to get
a little piece of the pie. There are
definite signs that there will be
enough work over the next few
years for everybody to be busy.
Meadows - I think we're seeing
more projects with better engineering - pressure calculations,
potential locations, the whole
workup of engineered calculations. It's pretty exciting for me
to see that, because it's not just
an opportunity for business,
but to know exactly what's
needed and deliver results we
can be proud of.
UConOnline.com | JUNE 2018

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Underground Construction - June 2018

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