laborer

fitter

Kinsley Construction

A typical day at Kinsley depends who you work for and what office you are out of, I was out of the Hagerstown, Maryland office on Site Division with a Pipe Crew installing and setting structures or "manholes" for storm drain systems, water line, sewer line and electric conduit, so every day was different and can be pretty dangerous keep your head on a swivel at all times.
  While I was employed with Kinsley, I learned a few things and fine tuned the stuff I already had an idea of. The things I did learn to do was more of the math and grades which for the most part is the job of the Foreman. One of the tools was a transit/level which is used to get your line for your pipe coming out of a manhole which is very important, the grade pole is in 1/10ths just takes some practice at reading to be quick with it. The cut sheets which have all of your grades on that's provided by the surveyor or his company, also on the grade-stakes there is an offset on to find the center of your ditch just measure the distance and mark it with spray paint for the Track Hoe Operator.
  I was fortunate enough to have very good Track hoe and Track loader operators on my crew that did not mind me asking questions, giving me pointers and advice to succeed. Unfortunately there are also some employees that I myself have had run ins with that will watch you struggle, mislead you on purpose and hope that you fail at whatever it is you are doing so that it makes themselves look better.
   The hardest part of the job for me was being taken advantage of because of how hard I worked everyday, so other guys on crews thought they could do less and less each day. Some Pipe Foreman did not have a clue what they were doing always making horrible decisions in vital situations and never learning from their mistakes. Some not being able to shoot grade accurately so either we were way too deep or too shallow I have also been put with one Pipe Foreman's that do not know the difference between certain kinds of pipe like water line ductile and sewer line ductile.
  The Management is horrible in the Hagerstown, Md office the Supervisor has his favorites which were some of the Foreman that I had the displeasure of working with that cost Kinsley thousands and thousands of dollars, but they will get away with it everytime. If you have the choice of where to go pick the York Office. Kinsley is a company of favorites and suck ups. If anything would ever happen on the jobsite and it is your word against the Foreman's you will not be acknowledged or listened too, because the Supervisor goes off the word of the Foreman you could very well be terminated, because the Foreman put the blame on you so it did not come back on him. 
    I worked with a handful of cool and genuinely good guys that taught me a lot and were always looking out for me I will always appreciate that and I am still friends with them today. I once took pride in working for Kinsley and defended them when others would say negative things about them, but now From my personal experience at Kinsley and the some of the employees and Foreman I worked with to the Management it was terrible and after what they did to me I would never recommend them to anyone because I don't want the possibility of it happening to anyone else.

Started the job with no experience whatsoever in the field. Freshly 19 years old. Moved on from the company at 24 years old (5 years) an experienced tradesmen. (Pipelayer and equipment operator) My only reason for leaving was relocation. If it wasn’t for that, I’d still be employed there. No previous or current job comes close to what I enjoyed at Kinsley. Fair pay, generous yearly raises, benefits package is great. Especially the time off. 3 weeks of PTO in less than a year of employment is unheard of almost anywhere and especially in this industry. Overall a great place to work. Every job has its bad employees and management, and day to day headaches. They is no such thing as the perfect career, but for me, and my experience with this company, it’s pretty darn close. Would highly recommend to anybody interested to submit an application.

What is the best part of working at the company?
I loved the customer interaction and working in fast paced environment 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Having a supervisor that never had your back. Would say one thing and do another. A supervisor that will throw any employee under the bus just so he looks better. Doing the work of others all the time

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Cut throat work environment.  Most days very hostile.  Supervisors that do not have a clue about how to do your job but try micro managing you

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
5:15am start. Approved driver times. 6am started answering phone.  Dispatch drivers, put in work orders.  Make sure drivers aren't lost. Communicate with rest of concrete team on any concerns. Deal with driver issues and concrete issues.

What is the best part of working at the company?
They don't treat you like a number. They do whatever it takes to keep the employee happy. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
As a driver, you have a certain amount of drama. Some drivers just can't work with anyone. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Equipment is in good shape and the culture is positive. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Arrive 0600, get your job assignment for the day. Open you truck hood, check fluids. Start truck, turn on lights and proceed to do walk around, checking tires and lights.  Climb into truck and proceed to assignment. Do what is asked by the sister supervisor. Could be hauling stone, dirt or sand.

Started with pipe crew, learned a lot. Moved onto heavy equipment operator not long after start because of work ethic,learned a lot. Got moved to a crew that was struggling to give support. It  then became alittle difficult because of the constant travel, and dealing with the elements,things weren't as secure as I would have wanted them, and the economy was taking a turn towards construction. So it was time to look for a more secure position. I got along very well with my co-workers, and I thought management was very good. The hardest part was not being able to advance any further at a faster pace, and blame that mainly on the economy.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Great company nice equipment for the most part but the crews are very cliquey and the PA guys seemed threatened by out of state workers who know what’s going on it be a great company if the didn’t have that 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Having to worry about people throwing others under the bus to make themselves look good 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It is very cliquey they’ll act like your friend but talk you down to the bosses 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Varys you could be running equipment very day or laboring every day

My experience with Kinsley construction has been a great learning experience.  They provide great job security, good benefits, while these are the primary considerations when looking for a job in this industry the pitfalls that come with the commitment should be considered. I have been fortunate to be provided job sites in my area, although for some the travel is vast. The demand for work is consistent and be prepared for a full-time commitment, arriving at job sites early and sometimes OT. That being said, they provide a good learning environment for employees who are self-driven. The transactional leadership style does not ascend the management of job site foreman.

I learned a lot of handy things that I took home with me such as basic hand tool use and other physical demanding tasks, I learned how to drive vehicles bigger than I could imagine myself driving and operating machines I never thought I could get to learn, The people there are very friendly and like to tease a lot they’re very supportive and care about you as an individual, The hardest part about the job had to of been keeping my head up and trusting myself to make important decisions I hesitated a lot and that cost me my job unfortunately but I would consider going back if given the chance to try once more cause there isn’t any other company I would want to work for.

Resources are good and the equipment is newer and or in good repair. Life for field staff is generally good however, If you are a project manager or some other lower to middle management you will not be supported by upper management, VP or President level of your division. They are more concerned with self preservation than standing up for others. Expect to be blamed for their shortcomings and not supported in general. They are quick to regurgitate your job description and responsibility be it your fault or not. They all need management training themselves.

I only worked at Kinsley for 3 weeks. It was the easiest job I ever had. I kept running myself out of work, and they had to keep finding other stuff for me to do. They were good about keeping me busy and the bosses were pleasant to work for. The hours were regular day shift with a little overtime on some days, and I worked one Saturday while I was there. I had good training and support whenever it was needed. Overall it was a good experience for me. I left for a higher paying job with better benefits. There vacation time was not the best deal I ever, but it wasn't bad. I was through a temp agency, so I never got to where I had benifits.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Laborer 1 salary reported	$30.57 per hour
Fitter 1 salary reported	$40,000 per year

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