A short profile
BAR Constructors, Inc. was incorporated in Texas in July 1979 and is based in Lancaster, just south of Dallas. Directory profiles describe it as a family-owned general contractor that specializes in water and wastewater treatment plants and pipeline work for municipal and industrial owners, and that performs most of its work with its own forces. The company's website is barconstructors.com.
Lancaster is close to us. Our yard in Seagoville is a short drive east on I-20, which makes daily commuting simple for BAR employees who come for training.
Crane work inside a treatment plant
A water or wastewater plant is a concrete-heavy job with a lot of equipment going into tight spaces. Self-performing contractors handle much of the lifting themselves:
- Wall and slab forms, rebar mats and embed plates for clarifiers, basins and wet wells.
- Concrete buckets on placements a pump can't reach.
- Large valves, pumps, motors, blowers and gates set into structures, often below grade.
- Ductile iron and steel pipe spools, fittings and manhole sections on pipeline segments.
- Precast vaults and structures delivered by truck and set in excavations.
Lifts into excavations and wet wells are the tricky ones. The operator frequently can't see the load once it drops below the wall, so the signal person becomes the operator's eyes. Rigging pumps and valves also means finding the real center of gravity on equipment that is rarely symmetrical.
Pipeline segments bring their own routine: pipe unloaded from trucks with spreader bars or pipe hooks, spools lowered into trench boxes, and fittings held in position while the crew makes up joints. The crane may move along the alignment several times a day, which means fresh ground under the outriggers each time and a new check of nearby overhead lines.
Which courses fit BAR's crews
For the people who hook up and signal
Carpenters, pipe layers and laborers who rig forms, spools and equipment are the biggest group on a plant job. Our 28-hour rigger and signal person course prepares them for the NCCCO Rigger Level I and Signalperson exams. It spends real time on rigging hardware, sling angles, load weight estimating and the full set of hand and voice signals, including how to signal a blind lift.
For crane operators
Telescopic hydraulic cranes do most picks on municipal projects. OSHA 1926.1427 requires each operator to be certified for the type and capacity of crane. Someone new to operating starts with the 120-hour fixed/swing cab course. An employee who already runs a crane but needs to pass the NCCCO written and practical exams can take the 40-hour course.
If BAR runs larger lattice crawlers on bigger plant expansions, the lattice boom courses cover that crane type separately.
What a week at our yard covers
Operator students start with load charts: reading capacities by radius and boom length, then working through the deductions for hook blocks, rigging and stowed jibs that trip people up on the written exam. Simulator time comes early. Yard time on a telescopic crane follows, ending with practice on the NCCCO practical exam course, which is given in the same yard.
Rigging students handle real slings, shackles and hooks, inspect worn gear and practice signals with an operator in the cab. The what to expect page describes the daily routine.
Booking seats for a group
Contractors like BAR usually rotate a few people at a time so plant work keeps moving. Our company classes page explains how group enrollment works, and the training schedule lists upcoming starts. Send a note through contact us or call with names, roles and preferred weeks, and we'll put a plan together.
Because Lancaster is so close, BAR can also stagger people: one employee in the 120-hour operator course while two pipe layers take the rigging class, without anyone needing a hotel.