Internship Assignment
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Task 7: The Organization
The ERI mission statement, organizational goals and objects are:
At ERi, we are committed to sharing your passion for experiential learning by providing challenge course design & construction, facilitation training, game workshops, and challenge course inspections. If you can imagine it, we can build it! ERi seeks to be a global example in the world of challenge courses.
Our company stands out among the rest by:
* Creating & building innovative structures that meet the goals of your program.
* Hiring the best-looking, not to mention most talented, construction& training team in the business.
* Giving you the necessary tools to operate the challenge course with professionalism to deliver a
challenging, safe, and fun experience for your clients.
* Giving away merchandise, so everyone can feel the passion we have for our company and the appreciation we have for you (our clients).
The ERI organizational structure is “neither linear, nor organized”. In addition to the two owners there is a Lead Builder, a Head Trainer, and an administrative staff person. Additional staff serve under, or across these lead positions.
The ERI organizational culture is very informal. The small number of employees means that everyone gets to know everyone else very well. There is an emphasis on doing things well, but also in a way that does not take too long. The organization as a whole works very hard and long hours, then works hard at having fun the rest of the time.
ERI is a for profit business, so funding comes from clients. Clients often use grant money to purchase ERI products and services, so ERI is indirectly funded by grants. ERI charges clients a base fee per element constructed, with a breakdown of costs by materials, labor, and travel expenses.
ERI has three ongoing partnerships. The largest is with the local Girl Scouts in Bloomington and their facility at Belmont. ERI constructed this facility for the Girl Scouts at a discount in return for the ability to use the facility for training purposes. ERI also has a partnership with a Belgian company, Exponent, that produces a continuous belay system. ERI has a third partnership with Berry College to use their facility for training’s.
ERI serves summer camps, colleges and universities, YMCA’s, fitness centers, military installations, and all types of schools. ERI serves these groups because they are the ones that benefit from ERI’s services and are able to afford them.
ERI operates in many settings- wherever there are clients who need construction, training, or inspection. ERI is based out of Nashville, Indiana- so if the company isn’t out on the road, everyone can usually be found there. In addition, ERI has training at Belmont and Berry as discussed above.
ERI plays a role in the local community because of its arrangement with Belmont that enables Girl Scouts to use a wonderful facility. ERI also performs pro-bono work for Camp Heart Land for HIV positive children in Minnesota. ERI performs other work on a yearly basis free of charge at the discretion of the owners.
ERI is a private, for profit, organization. It was purchased from the founding owner by a two-person partnership around the year 2000.
Task 8: The Program
I am working primarily with the construction side of the Eri business. The mission is to build fun and durable challenge course structures for a reasonable price. The structure of the construction program is not particularly complicated. One of the owners of the company usually serves as the lead construction foreman. When he is not present, a senior employee is responsible for the current project. On occasion there are two construction projects ongoing at the same time, in which case the owner and the senior employee are in charge of the respective projects. The program is funded by sales of products and services from the overall organization. The construction side of Eri has a partnership in a way with the training side of ERI. ERI serves summer camps, colleges and universities, YMCA’s, fitness centers, military installations, and all types of schools. Eri works in any setting where there is construction needed. The program is integral to the mission of the overall organization since the main portion of ERI business is construction of new courses and additions to existing courses. My role within the construction side of the program is to assist with all construction projects in various roles depending on the project. I have been spending a lot of time learning the different methods and techniques in my time here, but am beginning to become more able to work independently.
Task 9: Clients
Part A:
The primary client groups served by Eri include: camps, colleges and universities, YMCA’s, fitness centers, military installations, and all types of schools. Many of the camps have extensive year-round experiential programs, although some are more traditional summer camps. Eri constructs structures that can be used by persons of any age. It is the responsibility of the organization to determine the exact policy of what ages are allowed to use certain structures. ERI builds structures for mostly mixed gender organizations, but also works with single sex organizations like the boyscouts and girlscouts as well. ERI builds strucures for organizations that serve individuals from all different socioeconomic statuses. Organizations that are not wealthy are often able to receive grant money to purchase ERI products and services. ERI serves all different ethnicities and religions. ERI courses can be used by persons of any level of education. ERI works with clients in a wide variety of geographic locations. ERI has worked from Cape Cod to California, and from Michigan to Florida. The majority of ERI’s clients are from Georgia north to Michigan, and from Missoiuri east to Pennsylvania. Clients from farther away are usually interested in ERI’s signature products like the tango tower and the continuous belay system.
Part B:
The United States Air Force, Francis E. Warren AFB, Cheyenne, Wyoming
Warren AFB is the home of the 20th Air Force including the 90th Space Wing, the nations largest and most modern intercontinental ballistic missile unit. The base was founded in 1867 as Fort Russell, and is the Air Force’s oldest continuously active installation. The 20th Air Force is composed of around 9,600 individuals. The 90th Space Wing makes up 4,500 of the 20th air force personnel. There are an additional 5,445 family members who live in the area., in addition to 5,000 retirees. The 20th Air Force is responsible for more than 29.3 million acres (equal to the state of Pennsylvania.) Individuals of all intellectual, emotional, social, and physical developmental stages will use the rock climbing facility ERI constructed. The majority of facility users are males between the ages of 18 and 35 although there are users of all ages and genders. The facility is designed such that there are many different climbs of all different skill levels available. The facility will be used mostly as a recreational facility, although hopefully the new addition will spur additional types of programming. The expectations for this facility are that users of all different ages and climbing abilities can use it. Specifically the client wanted a facility with more challenging options for more advanced climbers. Constructing this facility required knowledge of the military bidding processes and other necessary administrative paperwork. The construction of this facility was also subject to certain military restrictions of hours and days of the week that civilians are allowed on base.
Task 10: Program Design
Camp Tamarack- Ortonsville, Michigan- Tango Tower
The original request from Camp Tamarack was for a $150,000 addition to an existing climbing structure. After extended negotiations with the camp board of directors, it was decided ERI would instead build a tango tower and a second company would add to the existing climbing structure on a smaller scale. The goals of Camp Tamarack were to add additional capacity and new elements to their already extensive ropes courses. Camp Tamarack already has two high ropes courses, two climbing walls, and extensive low ropes options so a tango tower is an excellent addition to their programming options. It allows for an entire program sequence to be run in the same area. This project was funded by general operating funds of the camp. The site was selected by the camp, but approved by ERI before construction began. There was an alternative site proposed originally, but it didn’t have the necessary space to construct the desired giant swing. There were no needed permits to construct the tango tower. Safety and risk management are built into the Tango Tower design- it is designed to be inaccessible from the ground without the use of a ladder and warning signs are prominently posted on the structure. The tower comes equipped by ERI with all necessary ropes, ladders, and belay equipment- in this case eight just-rite-descenders. Food is provided for in the contract, in this case to be provided by the camp dining facility. ERI was responsible for all transportation, but was reimbursed by the camp for the mileage the employees had to travel. After training by ERI, Camp Tamarack is responsible for ensuring that adequate staff is present for use of the tower.
Task 11: Program Delivery
The construction of this tower went relatively close to how it was originally planned. Upon arrival, there was some concern that the soil was too loose and sandy for the necessary heavy construction equipment. Luckily these concerns turned out to be unfounded. There was also an unknown factor present because the camp requested for lightning protection to be installed, which is not an option often chosen. However, the installation of the lightning protection also went very smoothly. The original design was to use belay benches, but after some discussion on site, it was decided to use just-rite-descenders instead. The extra pole segments were instead used to construct debriefing and viewing areas. The camp administration and staff was very supportive and interested in the installation process. The only issue with the administration and staff was finding an out of the way area to park some of the larger construction equipment. The only other glitch in the construction was our inability to find a company able to screen-print the Camp Tamarack logo onto the sails for the top of the tower. The whole project did take a little longer than expected to be completed- by about half a day. This was partially because of some difficulty with finding appropriate ladders for tower access, and partially an error in judging how long some of the final stages of construction would take. Luckily the setting of the poles earlier in the project went faster than expected and helped to make up the deficit.
Task 12: Program Evaluation
Part A:
ERI uses informal and formal means for program evaluation. Informal evaluation of construction projects is provided both during construction and by a walkthrough given to interested individuals upon completion of the project. Formal evaluation takes place during and after the training session. There are three forms used for training
-training evaluation form (to evaluate the training presented)
-technical skills checklist (trainer evaluates participants on their skills)
-self-assessment (self-assessment of skills taught in training)
These forms are collected by the Trainer and returned to ERI. Copies of the skills checklist and self-assessment forms are provided to the organization for risk management purposes. They are reviewed, then maintained, at the ERI head office, and trainer evaluations are compiled on a yearly basis to evaluate trainer effectiveness.
Part B:
The current ERI evaluation program applies only to the training portion of the business. The evaluations used are effective and sufficient at measuring the effective learning of participants. The check-off list of skills to be observed is extensive and exhaustive. The use of a self-evaluation as a second measure of learning lends credibility to the results when the two show similar results. The data is used infrequently, but well. It is first briefly reviewed by the trainer and owners to screen for any issues demanding immediate attention. The yearly compilation of data by trainer should allow for the trainer to determine what, if anything, should be changed in the future. The yearly compilation also gives the head of training an opportunity to evaluate the entire training process and any areas for improvement. I would not change the existing evaluation program for the training portion of the organization, however, I would consider adding a more formal evaluation process to the building and inspection portions of the business.
Task 13: Internship Reflection
My internship at ERI has been a very positive experience. My roles and responsibilities were even greater than I anticipated. Primarily being one of the building team, my responsibilities have included all portions of the post-design building process. I have worked on nearly every type of project ERI can build- low courses, high tree courses, high pole courses, tango towers, indoor steel and wood climbing walls, and indoor high courses. I have been responsible for everything from sweeping to installing several thousand dollars worth of lightning protection on a tango tower. My responsibilities have also included performing inspections of existing courses and assisting with group initiative, high, and low course training. This experience has been consistent with what I expected from discussing my job description with my supervisor.
My internship goals were as follows:
1. My internship will include travel opportunities, preferably international.
2. My internship will provide me with new experiences but also allow me some freedom to express myself and do things “my way”.
3. My internship will be at a place I could see myself working in the future. It should either serve as a foot in the door somewhere I want to work, or as a resume builder for the area in which I am interested.
4. My internship will provide me with the financial resources I need to break even on the summer OR it will be so amazing that I don’t care.
5. My internship will provide me with daily opportunities to interact with clients to develop my facilitation skills and expand my time spent in the field.
This experience has been very good at meeting these goals. I have had the opportunity to travel a great deal this summer and have seen many parts of the country that were previously unfamiliar. I have learned a great deal of new things working with ERI, but have also had a good deal of creative input and control over their execution. I will definitely consider future employment with ERI, but I have also learned a new skill-set that will improve my resume for the outdoor education field. I have been able to make enough money to meet my financial needs. My last goal is the only goal I did not meet or exceed- I have only had a few opportunities to use my facilitation skills.
The first event that has special significance to me was my third inspection, in Michigan. This was the first inspection for which I was solely responsible. This experience made me appreciate the trust and responsibility that I was being given by ERI. The second event that had had special meaning to me was the construction of the tango tower in Michigan. This project provided me with a great amount of learning about the whole construction process and the reasons behind why ERI chooses to do things the way it does. The third significant event is not one particular event, but many small events combined. The ERI organizational culture has helped me to understand the truth to the old saying “work hard, play hard.” I have believed for some time that it is of great importance in life to work at something that is truly enjoyable, and working with ERI has been my first experience where I have seen this in action.
This summer I learned enough about climbing structures to be able to construct something on a small scale to ACCT standards myself, to perform minor maintenance, to inspect a course for safety concerns, or to knowledgeably contract a reputable construction company to build a structure for an organization that I worked for.
The three primary strengths I listed going into this internship were administration, taking initiative, and innovating. I was definitely able to use my initiative and innovation in this experience on a daily basis in problem solving how to best construct things. As a new and temporary employee, I did not have the opportunity to do much administration. The three primary challenges I listed were impatience, insensitivity, and indecision. I have had to have a lot of patience this summer and I think that this has been a positive experience at developing my patience. Living and working closely with just a few other people this summer has helped me to develop my sensitivity to the moods and needs of others. Hopefully I will be able to continue to develop this skill and learn to apply it to groups. This has also been a positive experience for developing my decision making skills. At ERI, employees are not given detailed descriptions of what to do, but are expected to use their own judgement to decide what should be done next.
Task 14: What Now?
Professional Development Plan and Needs
Goal One: Spend hands-on time teaching and facilitating participants.
Plan: As part of my graduate program in the following year I will work closely with participants in both a teaching setting, and in a facilitation setting with outside groups.
Goal Two: Familiarize myself ACCT standards.
Plan: I will read the current ACCT standards and make arrangements to stay current with changes to the current standards. I will strongly consider attending the ACCT conference to further my professional development in this area.
Goal Three: Learn more about challenge course design.
Plan: I will engage knowledgeable persons in conversation about this issue. I will continue to develop my facilitation skills so that I can understand what elements will best meet the needs of different groups.