Building Smarter Crews shows up after hiring, when new employees and experienced operators alike are expected to perform complex work with limited time for structured workforce development.
Workers are often most vulnerable early in their careers. One study of workers’ compensation claims found that 34 % of workplace injuries occur during an employee’ s first year on the job. Where crews operate heavy equipment near energized lines and buried infrastructure, mistakes can escalate quickly. Managing that early career risk is more complicated when crews are dispersed and training conditions vary from one jobsite to the next.
For Sellenriek, that challenge was amplified by scale. Crews were spread across multiple states, operating different types of equipment in widely varying jobsite conditions. Weather could disrupt on-the-job training, and production equipment wasn’ t always available to pull aside for practice. Under those conditions, informal learning often led to uneven standards from one crew or region to the next.
Beyond Seat Time
Historically, many equipment operators train through a watch-and-learn model. New hires observe experienced operators, gradually take on more responsibility and build confidence through repetition in the field.
The watch-and-learn approach can build familiarity, but it can also allow inefficient habits or inconsistent safety practices to take hold.“ Experience alone doesn’ t guarantee strong operating practices,” said Mark Woodward, director of training and safety manager for Sellenriek.“ We needed a scalable training system that could bring new hires up to speed quickly while reinforcing standardized practices for experienced crew members.”
To address that challenge, Sellenriek developed the BUILT program, short for Building Utility Infrastructure Leadership Training. The four-day program was originally designed for new hires, but leadership soon saw its value for the broader workforce as well. Bringing experienced employees through the training created an opportunity not only to refresh safety practices, but also to align expectations across crews and regions.
“ We’ ve had 35-year employees come through the program and they feel that it was a tremendous benefit to them.” Woodward said.“ What we quickly realized was we wanted existing employees to come through the program as well to reset safety training.”
That shift changed BUILT from a basic onboarding effort into a broader workforce development model. Newer employees gain a structured introduction to the company’ s expectations, while more experienced workers help reinforce those standards and model leadership for the people around them.
The curriculum spans several core areas:
• Safety procedures and hazard recognition
• Quality assurance and quality control practices
• Equipment maintenance expectations
• Leadership and communication on the jobsite
Woodward said the impact has been measurable, with a 43 % reduction in incidents among new hires and an estimated 65 % drop in company-wide incidents, including recordable and lost-time events.
The value of the program goes beyond technical instruction. It helps establish a common operating standard for their workforce, regardless of their location or the nature of their work, supporting fiber installation in one market and underground or overhead utility work in another.
Training Flexibility
Simulation became a key part of that model because it gave Sellenriek the flexibility to deliver training on multiple types of equipment while reflecting the actual demands of its business. Crews are not all doing the same work on the same equipment. Depending on the role and region,
During simulation training at Sellenriek, participants complete task-based modules aligned with their roles, completing exercises that match the equipment they use.
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