|
Independent Study Enhances HBI’s Superintendent Training
 The Home Builders Institute (HBI) has expanded its popular Residential Construction Superintendent (RCS) designation training with the publication of independent study manuals for each of the eight RCS courses.
The manuals provide home builders associations with a new opportunity to increase their non-dues revenue through the RCS courses, reducing the financial and time commitments of offering the training as a service to their members.
The independent study provides HBAs with an alternative to hiring certified instructors and hosting RCS classes, although the traditional classes are still being encouraged.
Students who pursue the independent study buy the course materials directly from the association, learn at their own pace and return to the HBA for a final exam. The courses are administered through a streamlined five-step process:
- Associations purchase manuals for $50 per packet from HBI.
- They then sell the manuals to individual students at their own price.
- A final exam date is scheduled with the student.
- Students study at their own pace and return to the HBA office for a final exam.
- The exam is sent to HBI for scoring.
“The RCS designation has been a great program for HBI as well as HBAs across the country,” said HBI Chairman John Moffitt. “The independent study manuals make offering the RCS more convenient for HBAs and will enable more site supervisors access to the training and the designation.”
The eight courses leading to the RCS designation are arranged in four-hour modules covering subjects identified by NAHB members as critical to the field or site supervisory job.
The designation was developed by HBI in 2003 to improve the skills of up-and-coming field superintendents and onsite personnel. Since its inception, approximately 1,000 students have earned the designation and more than 16,000 students in 35 states have enrolled in at least one RCS course.
The RCS Designation course topic areas are:
- General Project Management
- Planning and Scheduling
- Budget Management and Cost Control
- Customer Service and Home Owner Relations
- Safety and Security
- Codes and Quality Control
- Hiring, Training and Supervision
- Office and Trade Contractor Relations
The new independent study will enable RCS instructors to increase their focus on teaching the Advanced RCS (ARCS) curriculum, which was created in response to the demand by association members. The ARCS is composed of 12 courses in three tracks — Professional Growth, Building Leaders and Technical Proficiency.
For more information on the RCS and ARCS designations, e-mail Kevin Thorn, or call him at 800-795-7955 x8928.
Home Builders Institute Offers New Program to Teach English to Spanish Speakers
Sed de Saber™-Construction Edition is an easy-to-use, take-home learning tool created by Home Builders Institute (HBI) to improve job site communication, construction quality and safety by teaching English to Spanish-speaking workers, who make up 25% of today’s construction industry workforce.
 Sponsored by Lowe’s Commercial Services, Sed de Saber™-Construction Edition was developed by a team of subject matter experts — including superintendents, craft skills experts, remodelers and builders — to ensure that its contents was relevant to today’s home building workforce. HBI also created a seventh book based entirely on the NAHB-OSHA Job Site Safety Handbook to address job site safety issues related to the language barrier.
 Sed de Saber™-Construction Edition uses proven LeapFrog technology to allow learners to listen, record and play back their pronunciation of more than 500 vocabulary words and 340 phrases. Participants who practice 30 minutes each day will complete the program in about five months. Learning at home, on their own time, also eliminates scheduling conflicts.
NAHB members can purchase the learning system, all seven books and a skills assessment to chart progress for $395 per kit. The non-member price is $495. Order today at www.seddesaberconstruction.com or at www.lowesforpros.com.
|
