Houston, TX.  Portland Utilities Construction Co., LLC recently announced an open position for a shop & field mechanic at its Houston, TX location.  Kenneth Galen, above photo, has held the position since 5/24/16.  He is returning to his hometown of Dallas-Ft. Worth but plans on staying to train the next mechanic.  Hear the job description, qualifications of candidates, training opportunities and work environment straight from the mechanic whose boots you will be filling.  

 Kenneth believes the ideal candidate should possess the following qualifications and traits:

1.  A candidate who has one (1) years' experience of preventive maintenace in dump trucks, pick-up trucks and heavy equipment.  Candidate has a working knowledge of diesel and gas engines and has a valid driver's license.  CDL license preferred but not required. 

2, A candidate who is adaptable and flexible.  Additional shop duties may include moving machines, off-loading equipment, running errands and closing up the shop and office.

PUCC will also consider candidates who have an equivalent graduation from a trade school that specializes in engine or shop mechanics or who have served in the United States Military.  "If you have a willingness to learn, says Kenneth, we may want to talk to you.  I came to PUCC from the automotive industry. I had never worked on trenchless technology equipment like fusion machines or winches.    PUCC employees Roy Bates and Robet Smith trained me."

Kenneth went on to talk about the work enviornment at PUCC.  "It is easy going, says Kenneth.  The office and crews are great people."

If you would like to learn more about this position, please contact Tracy Weaver at 615-325-3374 or apply at www.pucc.org.   

 PUCC is an Equal Opportunity Employer and a Drug Free Work Place.

Did you know that May 16-18 is when the annual International Roadcheck program will be held? For the next three days, CVSA-certified enforcement personnel will conduct comprehensive inspections on commercial motor vehicles and drivers to ensure compliance with safety regulations. 

Key components of the International Roadcheck include:

1. Focus on safety inspections: The primary objective of the International Roadcheck is to conduct thorough safety examinations on CMVs and their drivers. Inspectors primarily focus on regulatory compliance related to vehicle and driver safety.
2. Emphasis on critical vehicle components: Inspectors assess various critical vehicle components, including brakes, tires, lights, steering, suspension, coupling devices, and more. They also inspect for proper cargo securement, hazardous materials compliance, and other safety-related aspects.
3. Driver qualifications and documentation: Inspectors review driver qualifications and documentation, including driver's licenses, hours-of-service (HOS) records, medical examiner's certificates, and any other required documentation.
4. Educational outreach: The International Roadcheck not only focuses on enforcement but also serves as an opportunity for educational outreach. The CVSA and participating agencies often conduct outreach initiatives to promote awareness of safety regulations, provide training materials, and offer educational resources to drivers and carriers.
5. Data collection and analysis: The inspections conducted during the Roadcheck generate valuable data that helps identify trends and evaluate the overall safety of commercial vehicles. This data is used to improve safety regulations, target enforcement efforts, and enhance compliance.

In 2023, the International Roadcheck will place emphasis on anti-lock braking systems (ABS) and cargo securement. 

According to www.roadcheck.org, during inspection of ABS on commercial motor vehicles, inspectors will:

• Determine whether ABS is required on the vehicle.
• Ensure the ABS lamp cycles on and off for all ABS-required vehicles during the diagnostic check.
• Check for indications of an ABS malfunction, such as lamps remaining on during transit. 

During inspection of cargo securement on a commercial vehicle, inspectors will:

• Ensure spare tires, loads, cargo and dunnage are secured and prevented from falling, blowing, spilling or leaking from the vehicle, or rolling or shifting in transit.
• Confirm there are enough tiedowns for the weight and length of the items being transported.
• Check for defective securement devices (e.g., loose, torn, damaged, bent, knotted tiedowns).
• Inspect anchor points and structures for damage.
• Verify commodity-specific cargo is secured in accordance with the regulations.

For more information, visit www.roadcheck.org.

If you think CDL driving might be for you, you’re in luck because we are hiring!
Visit www.pucc.org to apply online or contact Tracy Weaver at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (615)325-3374.
Read on to hear about PUCC driver Christopher Reece's experience working for Portland Utilities.

“Want help finding CDL truck drivers? Look to your community colleges, unemployment offices and job centers as a way to find good CDL drivers”, says Christopher Reece, photo above. 

Christopher Reece has worked as a professional truck driver for PUCC since September 2, 2020.  The Portland Pipeline spoke with Christopher to discuss ways of bringing more CDL drivers into the construction industry. Here’s a look into that interview: 

PPL: How long have you had your CDL license?
CR: About 20 years.

PPL: What prompted you to get your CDL license?
CR: I started my career driving for the post office. When I was looking for a job afterward, the lady at the unemployment office recommended I attend Houston Community College to get my CDL.

PPL: What appealed to you about being a professional driver?
CR: I worked for Coach USA out of Houston, TX driving a bus. I started out with a Class B but then I advanced to a Class A.

PPL: What can PUCC do to get more CDL drivers?
CR: A good start is checking with the unemployment offices and Job Centers.  

PPL: Do you believe continued training is important for PUCC’s current roster of drivers?
CR: I would like to get together with my fellow drivers for safe driving and DOT regulation training. For me the best training is hands-on-training. 

PPL: What are your short term goals?
CR: Continue driving safely and accident free for the company.  

PPL: What do you like about working for PUCC?
CR: I love PUCC and the atmosphere.  Everyone is nice.  Plus I live close to the Houston office so there is no traffic coming in or out.

PPL: Where are you from and what are your favorite things to do in your spare time?
CR:  I was born and raised on the southeast side of Houston known as the Sunnyside area.  In my spare time I play basketball, football, shoot pool and even roller skate.  I’m getting older and I like to keep moving.

Again, if you have been intrigued by Christopher’s story and think CDL driving might be for you, please visit www.pucc.org to apply online or contact Tracy Weaver at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (615)325-3374.

Founded in 1991, PUCC began specializing in the Ultraviolet (UV) CIPP Lining product in 2010.  With a 50-year design life that meets a fully deteriorated design criteria, PUCC crews have installed over 430,000 LF of the UV CIPP fiberglass lining to date.  For 2022, PUCC's UV CIPP Lining team installed 43,288 LF, surpassing the 2013 total of 42,370 LF of UV CIPP Lining on record at PUCC as the highest amount of footage installed in a year.

The UV CIPP Lining crew started 2022 in January on the Sanitary Sewer Rehab project in Duncan, OK.  "They completed a large amount of footage in the first quarter of the year, says project manager Jeff Conklin, above far right.  By mid-March they had installed on the project a total of 13,852 LF of 8", 10" and 15" UV CIPP Lining."

Throughout 2022, the UV CIPP Lining product was used by PUCC crews to rehabilitate sewer pipe for Calhoun, GA, Johnson City, TN, Knoxville, TN, Blue Ridge, GA and other cities and municipalities in need of sewer pipe repair.  "Early in December, says Jeff, the crew installed 148 LF of 54" UV CIPP Liner for the City of Tuscaloosa, AL."  Thereafter, the crew mobilized to the 2021 CDBG Sewer Improvement project for the Town of Owens Cross Roads, AL.  "The project called for pipe bursting, but due to budget constraints, I worked with the engineer to change everything over to UV CIPP, Jeff went on to report.  The crew finished out December on the Owens Cross Roads, AL project with a total monthly installation of 3288 LF of 8" UV CIPP Lining which helped finish the year strong." 

Two Brothers, Two Careers, One Company by Tracy Weaver, Portland Utilities Construction Co., LLC.

Introduction: In 1995 brothers Mike Woodcock and Greg Woodcock began working at their father Ernie Woodcock’s underground utility company, Portland Utilities Construction Co., specializing in sewer and water pipeline renewal. But that’s where their similarities ended. Mike, armed with a Master’s in Business Administration and a head for numbers, started work as an assistant estimator and project manager. Greg, with a young family to support and the ability to make people laugh, hit the highways as a laborer. Listen to their stories to see what professional career paths in undergroundutility construction best align with your skillset.

 In part two of the series Two Brothers, Two Careers, One Company, PUCC Vice President Mike Woodcock discusses why he chose Finance in the 1990s as a college major and pursued a Masters in Business  Adminstration.  Join the conversation and learn how the underground utility industry provided Mike an ideal career path to utilize his business education and what pathways exist today for professional career seekers.

PART 2 MIKE WOODCOCK COLLEGE EDUCATION AND EARLY CAREER IN UNDERGROUND UTILITY CONSTRUCTION

Michael Woodcock, oldest son of company founder Ernie Woodcock, joined Portland Utilities Construction full-time in June of 1995. Mike was born in 1969 at Hepburn Hospital overlooking the “old St.Lawrence River” in Ogdensburg, New York to a family rooted in education and teaching. In the 1980s he moved south with his mother, sisters and brother so his father could pursue a career in underground utility construction. Mike’s formative years were spent playing sports and going to school in Bowling Green KY and Tampa, FL.

TW: What area of education did you specialize in college? Why were you drawn to that department of specialty?
MW: I specialized in Finance because I always liked numbers that could be used to analyze something. 

TW: Did you have a favorite professor or business mentor in college? What was it about that person that you were drawn to?
MW: I generally liked all my professors and I liked all of their knowledge. They all had admirable qualities.

TW: What year did you graduate college and from where?
MW: I graduated from Western KY University in 1992 with a degree in Finance. I graduated in 1994 with an MBA from the University of Tampa, FL.

TW: Why did you a pursue an MBA?  MW: I wanted to be a certified financial planner and at that time you had to have a master’s degree or five years’ experience.

TW:Describe the perfect job you were looking for.
MW: About the time I graduated from WKU in 1992, my father formed PUCC as an underground utility contractor. I worked in my spare time to help him crunch numbers and prepare estimates for municipality construction projects. The more I did it (bid projects) the more I liked it as it combined all the things I liked, crunching numbers, using data to make decisions, using business principals and concepts like accounting which I knew meant a lot to the business processes. I am still drawn to these types of business and work principals today. 

TW: What office location did you start your career at PUCC? What were some of your early job responsibilities?
MW: I started in the Kingsport, TN office and worked as Project Manager for Gary Testa, the field Superintendent and todays General Manager. I was also Assistant Estimator to my father Ernie Woodcock, the company President. 

TW: Who taught you to estimate and do you remember his or their early advice about estimating?
MW: My father and Homer Collins, PUCC’s Senior Estimator back in the 1990s, were bidding open cut sewer and water pipe installation projects. I learned about estimating through their discussions and debates. But I also learned a lot going out among the crews and watching their production. I asked Gary Testa and Rick Hamm, the field superintendents, a lot of questions. From those folks I learned a lot about the construction industry culture and etiquette. I had to learn how to deal with engineers, things I would not have had to learn if I had become a financial planner. There were so many things you were exposed to such as construction law in the early days and how to talk to a field supervisor, an engineer and a guy from the City. It was three different worlds that I had to learn how to navigate.

TW: What advice would you give a 24 or 25 year old just starting out in the business.
MW: Talk less and listen more. Don’t use words like always and never.

TW: You married your wife Leslie Woodcock, in 1995 around the same time you started full-time for PUCC. Your sister Tracy Woodcock Weaver joined PUCC in 1996 and your wife Leslie in the early 2000s. Your college friend John Keck and cousin Lisa Decker have also found professional careers at PUCC. What internships and/or professional career paths are available for college or vocational students, post military personnel and/or for the person who wants to add years of experience to their resume?
MW. The professional career path or internships available for the underground utility industry are:
Project Manager, Estimator, General Manager, Office Manager, Finance or Accounting Manager, Vice President or President. Other opportunities include Safety Manager, Fleet Manager, Human Resources Manager, Business Development/Marketing Manager, Resource/Contract Manager

TW: You and your wife Leslie have three (3) daughters, Abbi, a college graduate of the University of Kentucky, Maddie a college student at Murray State, and Lizzie a high school student. What areas of study should college and high school students focus on if considering career opportunities in underground construction?
MW: Graduates who want to take advantage of the great pay and benefits offered in underground utility construction should consider degrees in construction management or engineering. Accounting, finance, human resources, management and marketing are other courses of study found in the business department of most colleges.

TW: For those who want to pursue careers within the underground utility construction industry, can job experience take the place of a college education?

MW: Yes, there are many professional career opportunities open in our industry to those without a college education. I would recommend learning basic computer skills such as Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word and professional e-mail correspondence to help advance up the career path. If you add these basic skills then your experience can help take the place of a college degree.

Michael Woodcock is Vice President of Portland Utilities Construction Company, LLC where for the past 25+ years he has been involved in the growth of their pipe bursting operations from a few laterals here and there to well over 2 million linear feet. His company has performed pipe bursting projects in over 17 different states and the District of Columbia and is widely recognized as a leading pipe bursting contractor in the southeast and on a national level. Michael has been involved in many different volunteer industry associations, including the International Pipe Bursting Association (IPBA) and serves as the Vice-Chairman of the NASTT’s Pipe Bursting Center of Excellence. His education includes a BS in Finance from Western Kentucky University and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Tampa.