The Zachry Craft Experience – Day 5 (Thursday)
Ten members of Associated Builders and Contractors’ National staff are spending the week taking part in The Zachry Craft Experience—a week-long training experience to give office professionals an idea of what it takes day in and day out to be a craft professional. The staff will be chronicling their time learning what our industry is really about. You can read a new entry here each day.
Today we came together as a team to complete our project. We had been taught various skills all week and now we had to put them to use. As we looked at the tasks in front of us, including millwright and pipefitting, we all were able to identify each other’s strengths and assign tasks in order to successfully complete the project. I knew pipefitting wasn’t my strength, so I choose to work on the ironworker crew where we tasked with cutting and mounting I beam.
During the day, we had various obstacles to overcome which at times delayed our project. However, we were able to work as a team and overcome those challenges. While working on the project today, I also noticed how safety-oriented we had all become. We would remind each other to sign in and read the STA if they came over to our jobsite to help. While we wanted to complete the task in a timely manner, we also were very cognizant of our surroundings to make sure we weren’t endangering ourselves or our teammates.
At the end of the day it was a great feeling to complete the project with this group and look back at all the skills we had learned this week. It was clear that our instructors played a huge part in our success; they showed us the kind of passion the craft workers have for the industry and the pride they take in their work. This week has shown me the amount of skills and knowledge the craft workers must have in order to be successful. The talent and skill the craft workers have is remarkable, construction really is an art form.
– Lauren Williams, Manager, Labor, and Employment Policy