Teaming Up With The CCC

The months of May and June have been the busiest in the history of TRP. In addition to completing 49 deconstruction projects, we trained 18 California Conservation Corps (CCC) members and supervisors in the art and science of deconstruction. This is a project that had been in the works for many months and when it finally came to fruition, the results were both exciting and gratifying.

Assisting me with the training were Brandy Sosa, Oakland Retail Manager, and Dianne Schilling, instructional designer, TRP advisor, and the architect/writer of the training program. The basic training was accomplished in 12, seven-hour days. An additional two days were spent doing crew chief training for supervisors and those corps members who demonstrated leadership qualities during the basic training.

The objectives the training were to understand the philosophy and advantages of deconstruction, to learn the step-by-step process of deconstructing a building, to practice using deconstruction tools, and to gain experience working on a deconstruction crew.

All of the students had illustrated workbooks, and an animated slide presentation accompanied the classroom training. The students participated in simulation activities and were actively involved in demonstrating safety equipment and tool usage, and removing fixtures from specially designed props in the classroom before trying out their skills on an actual job.

For the on-the-job portion of the training, the CCC had arranged to deconstruct a building belonging to the City of Long Beach. The students removed wood trim, cabinets, plumbing and electric fixtures, doors, windows and oak flooring, and prepared all the materials for shipping to TRP's Los Angeles warehouse.

Back in the classroom on day-seven, the students learned how to remove plaster, drywall, siding, and framing members (rafters, ceiling and floor joists, top and bottom plates, subfloors and studs). Then we returned to the jobsite for the actual framing removal, lumber denailing, stacking and banding. On the final classroom day the students participated in a several experiential activities, including a job-strategy contest, and took a comprehensive quiz (the last of three quizzes). At the close of the day we handed out "graduation" certificates and celebrated with cake and prizes.

The crew chief training focused on leadership skills, job safety, documentation, and bidding. We spent the first day in the classroom and the second in the field, actually bidding a couple of sample jobs. Working in teams, the students developed cost estimates and recycling plans, estimated cubic yards, tonnage and debris disposal costs, and projected crew hours. They also estimated the costs of supervision, equipment rental, and transportation of salvaged materials to a local warehouse for resale. It was quite a challenge, but everyone did a great job.

With proper supervision, these trained CCC crews are now capable of deconstructing public works buildings throughout California on behalf of TRP. Working collaboratively, TRP and the CCC hope to consistently maintain at least one working deconstruction crew. In addition, TRP will assist graduating corps members to obtain crew positions with TRP-certified deconstruction contractors.