Build America 2015 Tool Safety and Construction Training
Spending Quality Time With the Kids Who Benefit From the Projects
The team members’ day does not stop when the construction stops. The best experience on this journey is in the evenings when team members gather with campers for dinner and other camp activities. This is the time team members say is most rewarding. They get to hang out with the very people who are benefiting from their construction. These are the times that create the special memories of camps and lifelong friends.
There is no experience like Build America and being able to create an emotional connection while leaving a tangible product after departing a camp or community sets this event apart from a typical college summer.
The Ability Experience mission is to build leaders of tomorrow by serving people with disabilities today. This event provides fundraising, service and awareness for the abilities of people with disabilities. The team members forfeit the opportunity for a paid summer job and instead invest in the lives of others. For college students living in a recession, this show of altruism is especially impressive.
What they will accomplish!
In six weeks, the team will build accessible decks, docks, fishing piers, nature trails, climbing walls and many other amenities providing opportunities for campers to experience everything summer camp has to offer. There is no experience like Build America and being able to leave a tangible product after departing a camp which sets this event apart from all other events.
Leadership thru Service
Currently, The Ability Experience utilizes their cycling event as their main vehicle for impact. With our background we were more interested in their smaller event called, “Build America.”
According to Rob, “In 2014 when I first looked into volunteering for Build America,” it seemed to me that BAM was the red-headed, step-child of the Ability Experience. They were under funded, under trained and were not tooled properly for the work they were facing.”
Rob contacted a friend at Milwaukee Power tool and arranged for a massive tool donation to outfit the BAM team. With the help of Phil Benevides, Pi Kappa Phi brother and carpenter, they then inspired Todd Fratzel, structural engineer, contractor and editor of Tool Box Buzz, and band of local contractors, carpenters, an architect, carpentry clients and many others to help him design, implement and host a two-day Build America training program. The program we refer to as BAM Tool Safety Training was designed to teach the BAM team to use the donated tools and deploy them safety and effectively in the field.
Rob’s training goals were simple:
- Teach tool use and safety
- Expose students to building techniques applicable to camp projects
- Build a confidence level in tool use and field application
- Instill problem solving and learn to deal with the unexpected
- Build a comfort level to enjoy their experience and make a difference in camp
Rob made it a point to all of the instructors that this was “not about us, check the egos at the door.” He went on to make sure that we all sprinkled into our lesson plans, problem solving tips and included lessons in leadership traits, such as:
- Integrity
- Respect
- Responsibility
If you ask Rob what motivated him to create such a massive endeavor, he probably tell you, that this years #BAM2015 quote sums it all up: “If it’s worth doing . . . Do It Well!”
Explain, Demo, Do!
These young men came here to historical Concord Mass, to learn about tool safety and received basic construction techniques. The Concord Carpenter and Tool Box Buzz crew started the program by teaching these men the basic safety principles of tool safety, such as:
- The laser rule
- Finger off the trigger rule
- Tool function and operation
- Proper lifting techniques
- Situational awareness
- Basic job site safety
These men were taught how to respect the tools and build their confidence on how to safely operate them through repetition. The instructors led the BAM team through exercises using many instructional aids and teaching methods, but mostly focused on the “Explain, Demo, Do” method of instruction.
An instructor explains and demos a technique and then allows the student to do it, allowing them to learn thru guided and coached repetitions. By the end of the 2 day training, the BAM team showed great improvement in their skills, confidence and were well on their way to becoming effective.
Lessons Based On Projects
Every lesson taught was based on a project these men will encounter. Rob was big on realistic training so he obtained and studied all of the camp projects and then devised a 65 page lesson plan to dovetail tool techniques and building concepts toward the camp projects. According to Rob, “Nothing was left to chance, each lesson, every mock up display and every technique, was all part of our master plan, to keep these guys safe, help them succeed and prepare them for their camp projects!”
The instructors utilized a combination of classroom discussion, visual demos, handouts and a lot of hands on training. In total these young men received over 22 hours of realistic training over the course of 2 days. It was a lot to digest, even for someone with some carpentry experience.
