What DynaGrid does
DynaGrid provides below-grade construction for the utility market: foundations, civil work and site preparation for electrical substations and transmission lines. Its website, dynagrid.com, lists substation foundations, transformer pads, oil containment, ductbanks, grounding and conduit, firewall systems, helical piles, grading, access roads and drainage. On the transmission side it builds foundations for monopoles and lattice towers, including large-diameter drilled shafts, rock and slurry conditions, and work in energized environments.
The company lists its headquarters in Lewisville, north of Dallas. Business profiles give 2012 as its founding year, and in February 2025 Macquarie Asset Management announced it had acquired a majority stake in DynaGrid Holdings.
Utility owners and the general contractors on substation projects commonly ask to see crane operator and rigger credentials before work starts, which is one reason subgrade contractors keep certifications current across their crews.
The lifts behind a foundation package
A transmission structure foundation is a big drilled shaft with a reinforcing cage and an anchor bolt cage that must end up level and oriented within tight tolerances. A substation adds dozens of smaller foundations, precast firewall panels, containment structures and long ductbank runs. Crane work shows up throughout:
- Lifting and upending long rebar cages for drilled shafts.
- Hanging anchor bolt assemblies on templates so they can be set and held while concrete is placed.
- Setting and pulling steel casing in caving or wet soils.
- Placing precast firewall panels and containment sections.
- Unloading conduit, pipe and equipment at remote rights-of-way.
Training choices for subgrade crews
Foremen, laborers and drillers who hook up and guide these loads should look at the 28-hour rigger and signal person course. It prepares students for NCCCO Rigger Level I and Signalperson exams, with emphasis on load weight, center of gravity, sling angles and signals for loads that disappear below grade.
Crane operators on transmission work often run crawler cranes, which can travel along a right-of-way on mats. Our lattice boom courses prepare students for the NCCCO lattice specialty and practical exams; experienced operators can take the 20-hour version. Operators of hydraulic truck-mounted or rough-terrain cranes fit the fixed/swing cab courses instead.
Many utility foundation jobs sit in rural rights-of-way with soft ground, slopes and limited access. That makes crane setup a training topic in its own right. Students learn how outrigger or track loads translate into ground bearing pressure, how mats spread that load, and why a level crane matters for the load chart to mean anything. Load chart practice includes the deductions for rigging, hook blocks and any attachments, because a cage or anchor bolt assembly is rarely the only weight on the hook.
Signal persons practice the full set of standard hand signals and learn to work by radio, which is common when the operator is far from a deep excavation.
Cranes inside an energized substation
Expansion work in an existing substation means the crane may be working within reach of energized bus and lines. Before any crane work near power lines, OSHA requires the employer to identify the work zone and determine whether any part of the crane, load line or load could get closer than the minimum clearance. If it could, measures such as a dedicated spotter, warning lines and a planning meeting come into play. Students in our courses learn how those rules affect where the crane is set up and how the signal person watches the boom as well as the load.
Getting DynaGrid employees enrolled
Lewisville is north of Dallas, and our yard at 304 Tunnell St is southeast of the city, so local employees can drive in each day. Crews based in other states travel to Seagoville, since we don't hold classes anywhere else. Use company classes to see how group seats work, or contact us to set dates for a group of operators and riggers.