Construction Superintendent Certification Program
Superintendents have always been at the forefront of jobsite leadership – expected to expertly balance the complexities of risk management and relationship building on every project. NCCER’s Construction Superintendent Certification Program acknowledges the diverse and essential skillsets superintendents need to excel in both business and people management. Created by a team of seasoned superintendents and experts in the field, this program speaks directly to the superintendent, helping them understand how to master the challenges they face on the job each day.
About the Program
- NCCER’s Construction Superintendent Certification Program, covering 16 core competencies, provides comprehensive technical training designed to meet the high standards of today’s field leaders. The program aims to assess learners’ knowledge while establishing a baseline for the critical leadership responsibilities expected of superintendents.
- Each course is designed by industry experts and incorporates interactive, real-world scenarios, ensuring that the content is relevant and practical. Students will learn to assess and mitigate jobsite risks, build confidence in their leadership roles and develop stronger relationships with their teams, owners and trade partners. Moreover, they will gain valuable resources for continuous learning and professional growth beyond the course.
- The work of superintendents is vital to the success of construction projects. Through completion of the program, companies can expect their leaders to enhance daily planning processes, drive business success and uphold the highest standards of jobsite excellence. This certification elevates the superintendent role, setting a benchmark for industry expectations and professional achievement.
Watch a video by Boyd Worsham, CEO of NCCER, whose personal passion led the development of this program:
Program Snapshot
Overview
The 16-course program assists contractors in developing and certifying qualified construction superintendent professionals who oversee the operations of a construction site, from planning to completion. This online program provides expert insight to learners, whether they are current project leaders looking to hone their skills, craft professionals seeking advancement, or recent graduates beginning their career.
For new and existing superintendents:
- Equip seasoned professionals with new strategies and knowledge for better results.
- Shorten the learning curve and help trainees grow into highly effective superintendents more quickly.
Anytime, anywhere
- Online, self-paced training provides flexibility for busy field leaders to learn where and when they choose.
- Create an instructor-led program if you prefer a facilitated model.
This program is designed for:
Build a qualified and certified team of field leaders. Click the link below to schedule a free consultation to discuss your goals and how NCCER can help you achieve them.
Master all 16 core courses at your own pace with the complete online program. Start building your construction leadership skills today! Click the link below to get started.
Program Components
What's Included
Each of the 16 courses in the Construction Superintendent Certification Program engages participants with:
- Text, audio and “interview with the experts” videos that provide practical and actionable lessons on key topics.
- Apply and reflect activities for participants to apply their learning.
- Tools and guidelines that can be used on the job.
- Review questions for practice before taking the Construction Superintendent Certification Assessment.
- Downloadable lectures, code and design assets for all projects.
Certification Assessment
Any participant who passes this rigorous program-level assessment and demonstrates four or more years of verifiable, qualified field experience earns the NCCER Construction Superintendent Certification.
Robust Online Learning Courses
Each of the sixteen courses in the Construction Superintendent Certification Program engages participants with text, audio and “interview with the experts” videos that provide practical and actionable lessons on key topics. The courses also include:
- Apply and Reflect Activities for participants to apply their learning and Tools You Can Use templates and guidelines that can be used on the job.
- Continue Learning content for participants to deep dive into a topic.
- Practice and Review questions for practice before taking the Construction Superintendent Certification Assessment.
Courses can be taken in any order.
Leadership, Ethics, and Communication: Succeeding as Project Steward
In the Leadership, Ethics, and Communication: Succeeding as Project Steward course, you’ll examine your leadership role on a job site as superintendent. You’ll explore the connection between ethics and leadership, learn about the qualities and principles of leadership, and dive into the challenges of managing projects and people. You’ll examine the key role communication plays in effective leadership, and some of the specific communication challenges you’ll face as a superintendent. Finally, you’ll learn how to create your own personal leadership development plan.
Quality: Delivering Excellence
In the Quality: Delivering Excellence course, you’ll learn where to find the definitions of quality for your project and scope of work and how to apply quality requirements. You’ll recognize how you can build and support your team’s quality work as a project leader. Finally, you’ll have the management tools you need to support a quality culture on your projects.
Information Management: Delivering Accurate and Timely Information
In the Information Management: Delivering Accurate and Timely Information course, you’ll learn what information management means for you on a project team; how to identify important information; and how to document processes for information creation, storage, dissemination, review, and approval. You’ll also learn how a team develops an information management plan and how to clearly define the roles and responsibilities associated with every document, in addition to learning the capabilities of information management processes and tools.
Scheduling: Developing and Managing the Project Timeline
In the Scheduling: Developing and Managing the Project Timeline course, you’ll learn how to develop a schedule, use the schedule as a tool, and address schedule delays. You’ll also learn the purpose of schedule maintenance and reporting and analyze other uses for the schedule.
Work Planning: Ensuring Safe and Productive Workflow
From the Work Planning: Ensuring Safe and Productive Workflow course, you’ll be able to participate in preconstruction planning to ensure a design is constructable. You’ll master how to lead medium-range and short-term construction planning, breaking down the work into finer details as you go. You’ll be able to utilize your planning skills, knowledge base, and field experience to ensure the success of every project you lead.
Cost Control: Monitoring and Influencing Project Spend
In the Cost Control: Monitoring and Influencing Project Spend course, you’ll learn the fundamentals of estimating, cost control, project accounting, and cost reporting. You will learn how to review a cost report critically and to use earned value and productivity methods to help manage craft labor costs. You’ll also learn techniques like managing materials, logistics, and waste minimization to control and reduce project costs.
Contracts and Procurement: Understanding and Implementing Project Agreements
The Contracts and Procurement: Understanding and Implementing Project Agreements course covers the importance of contracts in any construction project, arming superintendents with the contract knowledge you need to protect both the project and the company. You’ll leave this course able to identify the advantages of each contract type. You’ll learn how each contract clause is related to the superintendent role. You’ll also understand how to manage procurement of equipment, materials, and subcontracts.
Resource Management: Optimizing People, Materials, and Equipment
The Resource Management: Optimizing People, Materials, and Equipment course covers key topics around project-level planning and the labor market, including assessing project labor needs and costs. It also provides strategies for managing equipment, tools, and material needs. Finally, the course covers the benefits of project training programs.
Human Resources: Building a Strong Team
The Human Resources: Building a Strong Team course covers the superintendent’s HR responsibilities, the responsibilities of the Human Resources department, and how a superintendent works with them to build a strong team. The course covers recruiting and onboarding techniques, as well as strategies for evaluating, retaining, and transitioning employees. The last section gives an overview of key laws that affect the way superintendents work with employees.
Change Management: Minimizing the Impact of Change
In the Change Management: Minimizing the Impact of Change course, you’ll learn to define project scope, identify, and assess the impact of changes, and assign responsibility for changes. You’ll learn how to lead a team prepared to recognize change, follow the proper change control documentation process, and carry out an effective change management system.
Risk Management and Claims Prevention: Protecting Your Business
The Risk Management and Claims Prevention: Protecting Your Business course covers how to develop a comprehensive risk management plan. Superintendents will leave this course understanding how to identify, mitigate, and manage risk with confidence. You’ll also learn how to prevent claims and your role in defending a claim, when necessary.
Legal Concepts and Regulations: Understanding Construction Law
The Legal Concepts and Regulations: Understanding Construction Law course delves into the basics of contract law and how it plays into day-to-day work on a construction site. The course makes sense of essential legal terms and conditions that will make understanding a contract easier. It covers claims and how to manage them as a superintendent, from documentation to contractual notice, all the way through dispute resolution. The last section covers key laws and regulations.
Constructability: Integrating Construction Knowledge into Design
In the Constructability: Integrating Construction Knowledge into Design course, you’ll learn what constructability is and why it matters. You’ll learn about the key considerations to incorporate in your constructability analysis and how constructability fits into all phases of a project. You’ll also learn about constructability reviews. Finally, you’ll explore case studies illustrating constructability in practice.
Site Logistics: Coordinating Project Resource Flow
In the Site Logistics: Coordinating Project Resource Flow course, you’ll learn about the key elements of a site logistics plan, just-in-time delivery, and how to develop a site logistics plan. You’ll also learn about the connection between the site logistics plan and project goals, including safety, quality, production, and schedule.
Project Closeout: Finishing Strong
In the Project Closeout: Finishing Strong course, you’ll learn why closeout is so important and why you must begin planning and organizing for closeout early in the project. You’ll be prepared to make a smooth handoff to the owner by ensuring that you and your team deliver a facility that meets all requirements and that you deliver all other contractual obligations, including all documentation.
Safety and Health: Protecting People
The Safety and Health: Protecting People course covers key concepts related to your role in safety as superintendent. You’ll learn about topics such as leadership in safety, the cost of incidents and injuries, OSHA inspections, safety best practices, hazard recognition and remediation, safety education and training, and incident and emergency preparedness.
Program Facilitator's Guide
- Enables any organization, association or training center to deliver a facilitated program, supported by online learning.
- Allows your organization to add its own content to the program.
Contributing Subject Matter Experts
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) are a vital part of NCCER’s program development process. We would like to thank the following SMEs for writing and reviewing the course materials, providing jobsite photos, giving us permission to share their content, creating videos and sharing their expertise. You are the heart of this program, and we appreciate your drive and passion to help NCCER certify the next generation of construction superintendents.
Adam Hoots, Lean Construction Shepherd, Construction ACHE Solutions
Alastair Boulding, Professor of Practice, Clemson University Department of Construction Science and Management
Andy Odell, Scheduler, CRB
Benj Van Donge, Director, Workforce Operations, Interstates
Bob Bertig, Manager, Project Management, Tampa Electric Company
Bob Seegmiller, Senior Project Engineer, Cianbro
Bradley Opell, Site Director, Gray Construction
Brian Collings, Senior Superintendent, McCarthy Building Company
Brian Roundtree, Director, Corporate Safety, The Haskell Company
Buddy Brumley, Senior Superintendent, Skiles Group
Carl Heinlein, Senior Safety Consultant, ACIG
Carla Thompson, Workforce Development Manager, Turner Industries
Carolyn Milliron, Director, Client Engagement, Exceed Safety, LLC
Chad Bradley, Vice President, Construction Division, Turner Industries
Christi Powell, WBE Lead, 84 Lumber
Christopher Cobb, Managing Partner, Cobb & Gonzalez, PA
Clay Kubicek, Owner, DTT Development
Construction Industry Institute (CII)
Construction Safety Research Alliance (CSRA) at the University of Colorado
Daniel Lund, Construction Lawyer, Partner, Phelps Dunbar, LLC
David Cook, President, Safety Solutions & Supply
Debbie Rodriguez, Owner, Quality Labor Management
Emerson Dority, Lean Superintendent, Gilbane Building Company
Emilie Bell, Assistant General Counsel, Sundt Construction
Engineering News-Record (ENR)
Harry Schmidt, Director, Business Strategy, O’Shea Builders
Heather Brown, Vice President, QA/QC, Irving Materials
Henry Nutt, Preconstruction Executive, Southland Industries
Holly Szakovits, Senior Manager, Corporate Development, Kwest Group
Howard Davis, Field Training Administrator, Brasfield & Gorrie
Jack Callahan, General Superintendent, WG Yates
James Shay, President & CEO, American Contractors Insurance Group (ACIG)
Jason Schroeder, President, Elevate Construction LeanTakt
Jeff Messer, Corporate Training Coordinator, ISC Constructors, LLC
Jeff Miller, Vice President, General Counsel, The Haskell Company
Jeff A. Miller, Dean of Instruction, Ridgewater College
Jennifer Castenson, Vice President, Ambassador & Partner Programs, BuildExact
Jessica Rhodes, Senior HR Generalist, M.C. Dean
Jim Leftwich, Project Superintendent, Retired, The Haskell Company
Joe Cook, Partner, Catalyst Construction
Joe Donarumo, Vice President, Field Operations, Linbeck Group
John Bolt, Vice President, HSE, S&B Family of Companies
Justin Uyar, Project Superintendent, Shelco, LLC
Kabri Lehrman-Schmid, Project Superintendent, Hensel Phelps
Kevin Rice, Chief Visionary Officer, Elevate Construction LeanTakt
Kevin Kett, Director of Quality, The Haskell Company
Kimberly Spain, Senior Engineering Specialist Supervisor, Florida Department of Military Affairs
Kyle Potts, Senior Superintendent, Archer Western Construction
Leslee Montomery, Mental Wellness Architect, Humanology Partners
Manny Hoyo, Senior Superintendent, Skanska USA Building, Inc.
Mark Chadwick, Project Manager, Jacobs
Matt Brown, Senior Site Manager, Gray Construction
Matt Marino, Preconstruction Manager, Oelrich Construction
Matt Meaker, Vice President, Assistant General Counsel, Sundt Construction
Mike Biskie, Human Resources Director, B&I Contractors
National Safety Council (NSC)
Nick Clemens, Senior Superintendent, O’Shea Builders
Nick Guidry, Engagement Manager, Construction Career Collaborative
Paul Smith, Head of Training, Baker Construction Enterprises, Inc.
Procore
Ray Issa, UF Distinguished Professor & Director, University of Florida ME Rinker Sr School of Construction Management
Ricardo Menchaca, Craft Training Superintendent, Marek
Rick Craven, Superintendent, The Haskell Company
Ricky Buxton, General Superintendent, PPI Construction Management Company
Rob Hunt, Safety Consultant, ACIG
Rob Kaltenbach, Director, Quality, Gray Construction
Robert Deatherage, Global Industrial Relations Manager, Bechtel
Robin Renschen, Director, Learning & Development, McCarthy Building Company
Ron Duce, Sr. Project HR Manager, Kiewit & TIC
Ron Lindsay, Safety Consultant and Master Trainer, Palmer Engineering & Forensics
Ron Sokol, Advocacy & Governmental Affairs, Safety Council of Texas City
Ron Stuff, Sr. Vice President & General Counsel, Sundt Construction
Rudy Ramirez, Vice President, Human Performance and Development, Zachry Group
Ryan Ahern, Director of Field Operations, ReArch Company
Sabra Phillips, Director, Org & Talent Development, Marek
Scott Mims, Industrial Group HSE Manager, Sundt Construction
Sean B Ray, Vice President, Craft Workforce Development, Sundt Construction
Stacy Bell, Director of Human Resources, MOR PPM, Inc.
Stan Spence, Construction Manager, ISC Constructors, LLC
Steve Halverson, Retired Chairman & CEO, The Haskell Company
Steven Derbyshire, Corporate Safety Director, S&B Family of Companies
Teresa Magnus, Principal Consultant, Magnus & Company
Tim Thompson, Superintendent-Training Program Director, Robertson Construction
Todd Miller, President, Bolt Construction
Tommy Weeks, Superintendent, Marek
Tracy Amos, Construction Superintendent, M.C. Dean
Trimble, Inc.
Vincent Rankin, Shelby Erectors, Steel Erectors Association of America
Contact Us
For more information or to schedule a product demo, contact us by clicking the “Contact” button.