Supervisory Training Program (STP)

Supervisory Training Program (STP) - Training Created by Contractors for Contractors

The Associated General Contractors of America’s Supervisory Training Program (STP) is a construction-specific training curriculum developed, updated and field-tested by and for contractors. Supervisory skill—or the lack of it—directly affects every company’s bottom line. You make your money in the field, and STP can help you improve your organization’s bottom line.

This comprehensive 6-unit program focuses on the knowledge and skills that every supervisor must have to be an effective manager of people, time, equipment and materials.

Every STP course is activity-based, with discussions, case histories, problems and exercises. Participants in STP courses draw upon their field experience and learn by interaction with others from all areas of the construction industry.

Visit the Events page to register for STP classes coming soon!

AGC of Minnesota offers STP courses four times a year:

  • January/February
  • March/April
  • September/October
  • November/December

Pricing:
The price for each unit is $300/person for members, and $450/person for non-members.

Duration:
Each unit is a five-week course, with classes meeting one evening per week (5:00-8:00 p.m.) at the AGC Office. Classes may be taken via webcast (using Skype for Business) for those who work remotely.  A limited number of webcasting spots are available for each class.

Registration:
Registration for STP classes can be found under Events when available.
Contact Matt Semerad @ 651-796-2192 with any questions.

Who Should Participate in STP?
STP has been the professional development resource of choice for more than 150,000 construction supervisors and managers in the United States. Individuals attending STP courses include anyone on a construction jobsite in a supervisory role from the new supervisor and foreman to the experienced superintendent.

Program Completion Certificate
Upon successful completion of each individual STP course, participants will receive a course certificate. Course participants who complete STP Units 1-6, can submit an STP Completion Certificate Application to AGC of America in order to receive the AGC STP Certificate of Completion. Courses do not have to be taken in numerical order.

Unit Descriptions

Unit 1 | Leadership and Motivation

This course will describe the value of effective supervision of workers and improve the construction supervisor’s ability to lead and motivate others.

  • The dollars and sense of people in construction
  • The role of the construction supervisor
  • Helping people perform better
  • Motivating and leading others
  • Positive feedback
  • Training and orienting crew members
  • Teams and team building
  • Leadership skills in action
     
Unit 2 | Oral and Written Communication

This course presents a body of knowledge and skills that today’s construction supervisors need in order to be effective communicators on their job site.

  • Effective communication
  • Learning to listen
  • Carrying on conversations
  • Persuasion, negotiation, and confrontation
  • Communicating with your crew
  • Putting it in writing
  • Meetings that work
  • Electronic communication
  • Improving communication

Unit 3 | Planning and Scheduling

This course will help construction supervisors understand ways in which planning and scheduling saves time and money, while increasing quality in the construction process.

  • Preparing the project plan
  • Communicating the plan
  • The critical path
  • Computer use in scheduling
  • Using the schedule on the jobsite
  • Updating the construction schedule
  • The schedule as documentation
  • Using planning and scheduling
     
Unit 4 | Contract Documents

This course will provide information about contract documents and construction law to help supervisors recognize the roles and responsibilities of all contracted parties, to develop an understanding of how contract documents can be helpful to solve problems and resolve conflicts, and to develop positive relationships between all parties in the construction process.

  • An Introduction to contract documents and construction law
  • Creating a positive environment through partnering
  • Contractual relationships
  • Contract forms and documents
  • Managing general conditions
  • Good documentation practices
  • Changes
  • Differing site conditions
  • Time impacts
  • Negotiation of resolutions
     
Unit 5 | Improving Productivity and Managing Project Costs

This course covers understanding how project estimates are compiled, how to compare actual project costs with those estimated and how to control costs to meet the estimate. This course also details how productivity is measured, how the supervisor plays a major role in increasing jobsite productivity and how a small increase in productivity can have a significant impact on the time and cost of a project.

  • Construction estimates
  • Who controls project costs
  • Reporting and analyzing actual costs
  • Planning for cost control
  • Cost control strategies
  • Labor cost variances
  • Working with project partners
  • Managing risk and loss potentials
  • Cost control strategies
  • Post-project evaluations
  • Benchmarking construction productivity
  • Improving productivity through pre-planning
  • New skills for effective supervision
  • Personnel management
  • Equipment management for productivity improvement
  • Jobsite productivity, planning and scheduling
  • Quantifying lost labor productivity
  • Record keeping, control, changes, and defect analysis

Unit 6 | Risk Management and Problem Solving

This course will cover the roles and responsibilities of a construction supervisor in accident prevention and loss control.

  • Safety leadership, communication and expectations
  • Planning for site safety
  • Site safety management
  • Site security and protection
  • Multi-employer jobsite safety
  • Construction risk management
  • Safety and human resources
  • Regulatory procedures, record keeping and documents