Dan, Superintendent

After serving in the military, Dan pursued his interest in mechanical construction. "I was accepted into a four year pipefitter apprenticeship, which quickly turned into 35 years as a pipefitter journeyman, foreman and general foreman." When their children grew up and moved away, Dan and his wife wanted to see America. "Cherne has given me a great opportunity to travel across the country as a piping superintendent. They have also given me the respect and leeway to implement my ideas and do my job. I love that. I am very demanding person, and I have a personality that can relate to the craft personnel and field supervision to optimize productivity. On any day, I'm required to be a scheduler, arbitrator, counselor, and last but not least a driver to reach our goal. That goal is to complete our job safely, ahead of schedule, profitably, and to have a little fun along the way."

Cherne superintendents are a vital link in continuing a long tradition of collaboration between management and craftspeople to successfully complete a project. They are employed at Cherne project sites nationwide, and must be willing and able to relocate. Most of their day is spent outdoors on the construction site, with the remainder spent in the project office. Weekly work schedules of 50+ hours are common.

Depending on the project size, superintendents report either to a general superintendent or to a project manager. New arrivals receive mentoring and support from management and experienced project staff, who provide them with the information and resources needed to excel in an environment committed to safety and performance driven construction.

A typical day for a superintendent includes reviews of daily goals and craft work packages with project management and members of the field engineering and safety staff. Job safety is planned into all work activities, and superintendents make sure that craft labor has the proper safety equipment, tools and other equipment needed to perform their jobs. Most of the day is spent observing construction activities, and identifying and removing any potential safety hazards and impediments to productivity. Superintendents and craft foremen collaborate to ensure good performance by all craft employees in areas such as safe work habits, productivity, attendance and interpersonal relations.