1. IDENTIFYING MINIMUM SKILL EXPECTATIONS
FOR A NEW EP-1 EMPLOYEE
Project Conducted for:
Lyons Company, Inc.
Mechanical Contractors and Engineers
Glasgow, Kentucky
Sarah Adams
Sam Galbraith
Austin Hall
Industrial-Organizational Psychology Program
Department of Psychological Sciences
Western Kentucky University
Bowling Green, KY 42101-1030
3. 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Executive Summary.………….……………………………………….……………......... 3
II. Objectives.……………………………………………………………………………….. 4
III. Outline of Procedure ………………………..…………………………………………… 5
IV. Review of Procedure………………………………………………………………….….. 6
V. Results………….....…………….…….……………………………...……………….….. 7
VI. Recommendations.……………………………….………………...……………………. 8
VII. Strengths & Weaknesses.………………………………………………………………… 9
VIII. Conclusion.……………………………………………………………………………... 10
IX. Appendices
A. Original Skill/Ability Statements......……..………………………...…………... 11
B. Compiled Comparison of Skill and Ability Statements.….………...………….. 12
C. Ability & Practicality Questionnaire.……..………………………...………...... 13
D. Table 1: Initial Ratings of Task Statements..…...………………...…………….. 15
E. Table 2: Ranked Order of Task Statements……………….……...…………….. 17
F. Timesheet…………...……………………..………………………...………….. 19
4. 4
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of this report is to assess the minimum skills and abilities required for a new EP-1
employee at Lyons Company. In our initial meeting with Mr. Jerry Lyons, the Director of Safety
and Training, he expressed the need for a list of skills and abilities EP-1 employees need to have
or would be nice if they did have. Lyons Company did not have any pre-existing list of what
these skills and abilities might be. Expectations and goals for this project were also set at this
initial meeting. Semi-structured interviews were conducted by the project team to identify an
initial list of skills and abilities necessary for this position. A questionnaire incorporating the
identified list of skills and abilities was developed by the team, reviewed by Dr. Paquin and then
administered to employees at Lyons Company to assess the importance of each skill and
ability. After obtaining the completed questionnaires, we analyzed the data, compiled the results,
and gave recommendations based on those findings.
This project was completed under the supervision of Dr. Anthony Paquin, Associate Professor of
Psychology, at Western Kentucky University.
5. 5
OBJECTIVES
The objective of this project was to determine the minimum skills and abilities necessary
for an EP-1 employee to have during the first thirty days on the job at Lyons Company. The
primary purpose of this was to allow Lyons Company to better prepare and train new employees
before they are put into job-site situations. The company also hoped that this project’s results,
once applied to training, would alleviate the problem of new workers leaving or being fired due
to incorrect selection choices or inexperience.
6. 6
OUTLINE OF PROCEDURE
1. Initial Contact with Mr. Lyons
2. Interviews with Superintendents
3. Questionnaire Development
4. Questionnaire Distribution
5. Analysis of Questionnaire
6. Recommendations
7. 7
REVIEW OF PROCEDURE
1. Initial Contact with Mr. Lyons
The team called Mr. Lyons, the Director of Safety and Training at Lyons Company, to establish
contact and set up an initial meeting. The initial interview was conducted at the Bowling Green,
KY location to get an overview of the project as well as the expectations for the project team.
Background Information
The purpose of the project was to find out what skills and abilities are necessary for an EP-1
employee to have during their first thirty days on the job.
The team met with Mr. Lyons at Lyons Company's Bowling Green, KY location to learn more
about the objective and the expectations for the project. Mr. Lyons provided us with information
about what the project would entail, who the subject matter experts (SMEs) would be, and what
was expected of the project team.
2. Interviews with Superintendents
The team communicated with Mr. Lyons via e-mail and telephone to set up times to interview
the project superintendents. The team then drove to the Glasgow location in order to conduct the
interviews with Mr. Tom Haines and Mr. George Whitney. Appendix A lists the skill/ability
statements that were obtained from these interviews. Appendix B contains a direct comparison of
what skills/abilities the two interviewees provided.
3. Questionnaire Development
After the interviews, the team compiled a list of skills and abilities into a document, merging any
duplicated items. Due to the fact that the team was only able to interview two project
superintendents, the team developed a questionnaire based on the skills and abilities collected
during the interviews to collect additional information regarding the EP-1 position. See
Appendix C for the questionnaire.
4. Questionnaire Distribution
The questionnaire was e-mailed to Mr. Lyons to be distributed to 10 employees in order to gain
additional information and input. Eight completed questionnaires were returned to the team for
analysis.
5. Analysis of Questionnaire
The questionnaire data was analyzed to determine necessary skills and abilities for an EP-1 new
employee. The process for analyzing the data is described in the Results section.
6. Recommendations
The team offered recommendations based on the data analyzed from the returned questionnaires.
8. 8
RESULTS
In order to determine what skills and abilities are required, nice to have, or unnecessary for the
EP-1 position, the project team conducted semi-structured interviews with two project
superintendents. We learned what skills or abilities the superintendents believed were important
for EP-1 employees to have within the first month of work. From these interviews, a
questionnaire was developed by the team and was approved by Dr. Paquin (See Appendix C).
Questionnaires were administered by Mr. Lyons and the following results were found:
Eight employees completed the questionnaire, but one employee neglected to fill out the
Practicality scale. For the Necessary scale, the percentages that were calculated for each of the
categories reflect the percentage of respondents who chose each possible answer. For the
Practical scale, the percentages reflect the percentage of respondents who chose “Yes”. See
Appendix D for a table of these results.
To make these results more useful for Lyons Company, the skills/abilities statements were then
ranked in terms of importance. Appendix E shows the ranked order of the statements, as rated by
the respondents. In order to rank the items we utilized the following coding scheme:
1) Respondent answers were tallied for each item.
2) To rank the tasks, each response was then assigned a weighted value; Required = 2, Nice
to Have = 1, Unnecessary = -1.
3) Averages were calculated for each item.
4) Items were then ranked from highest to lowest based on their score.
The items below the bold line in the table were not considered to be practical for new hires to
possess by a clear majority of respondents. A clear majority was defined as having at least five
out of seven (71%) respondents identify an item as being practical to possess for a new EP-1
employee.
9. 9
RECOMMENDATIONS
A clear majority of respondents indicated that it is practical to expect that new hires would
possess 26 of the 34 skills/abilities. Of the 26 practical skills/abilities, 13 were rated as being
required for new EP-1 employees to possess. These items are listed below:
The following items were unanimous for required:
• Is able to be a “gopher” (e.g., go get tools and materials)
• Is able to identify common tools (e.g., measuring tape, cordless drill, screwdriver)
• Brings all tools to work
• Is punctual
The following items received a majority (at least 75% or higher) of the votes for required:
• Has knowledge of safety policies and procedures (e.g., properly uses PPE)
• Has a desire to work
• Has a basic knowledge of properly using common tools (e.g., measuring tape, cordless drill,
screwdriver)
• Is willing to do what is asked of them
• Is able to clean facilities
• Is willing to ask questions/seek help from others when necessary
• Is open to others (e.g., take advice, listen and follow directions, interact well with coworkers)
• Has a desire to learn about the trade
• Is willing to travel
Thus, Lyon’s Company could potentially develop a selection procedure based on these (or a
subset of these) skills/abilities. If not used for selection, the company should develop training
programs to for new employees.
Finally, there were eight items in which there was no clear majority regarding the likelihood that
they would be possessed by new EP-1 employees. Therefore, it is unlikely that Lyons Company
would be able to select new EP-1 employees on these items. However, if Lyons Company
believes they are still important skills/abilities to possess, they should implement training on
these eight items for new hires.
11. 11
STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES
Strengths
The procedure used to gather information had many advantages. The two interviews were
conducted with project superintendents, who work directly with EP-1 employees on the job.
Therefore, they have insight into what is required of an EP-1 employee. We were also able to
conduct two interviews, so we were able to gather information from two different viewpoints.
Each project superintendent had a different view of the work an EP-1 employee would be doing,
thus we gathered a variety of skills and abilities. We were able to use two methods for data
collection: We conducted interviews to gather initial information and then distributed a
questionnaire to get input from others and measure consistency. Due to the manner in which the
interviews were conducted, one-on-one as opposed to group, the risk of social sources of
inaccuracy was reduced. There were no other employees to compare answers with and to
influence the information provided by the interviewee.
Weaknesses
In gathering the information needed for the project, we encountered a few problems and
limitations. The first issue was that we were unable to interview EP-1 employees directly, which
may have resulted in inadequate or incomplete information. We were also able to interview only
two project superintendents, which may have skewed the abilities and tasks provided. We were
unable to compare 1) what abilities the project superintendents thought applied to the EP-1
position and 2) what abilities EP-1 employees believe apply to their job. Inadequate information
was also an issue as some task statements in the questionnaire were ambiguous and could have
been interpreted differently by each employee. Lyons Company may need to address this issue in
the future by providing their own examples to each task statement. We tried to reduce this effect
as much as possible by providing examples with many of the ability and task statements on the
questionnaire. However, employees who completed the questionnaire were unable to directly ask
us any other questions to clarify, which may have skewed our questionnaire results somewhat.
The final weakness was the potential for information overload to occur for those who completed
the questionnaire. The number of tasks and abilities combined with the multiple rating scales
may have caused a few respondents to misunderstand the separate instructions for each scale and
therefore complete the questionnaire incorrectly. This was evident in that one respondent did not
complete the Practicality scale entirely, and another respondent omitted two whole items from
the questionnaire.
12. 12
CONCLUSION
The purpose of this project was to assess the minimum skills and abilities required for an EP-1
position at Lyons Company, specifically to better train and prepare EP-1 employees prior to
working on the job site. This was accomplished by creating a questionnaire that addressed the
minimum skills and abilities identified from interviews, which was then administered to other
employees and supervisors of Lyons Company. The findings were compiled and analyzed, with
recommendations being provided based upon the data gathered.
13. 13
Appendix A
Original Skill/Ability Statements for Identifying Minimum Expectations of an
EP-1 New Employee from Superintendent Interviews
1. Cleaning facilities
2. Important safety knowledge and use (e.g., uses Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
correctly and properly)
3. Is willing to ask questions and seek help from others when he/she does not understand
something within 10 minutes
4. Has mechanical aptitude
5. Has a desire to work
6. Material Handling
7. Steam-Pipe inspection for upper management
8. Openness to others
9. Hand/Eye coordination for precision
10. Gopher
11. Can identify and have basic knowledge of basic tools (e.g., read a measuring tape, cordless
drill, screwdriver)
12. Can Identify and have knowledge of advanced/complex tools (e.g., right-angle drill, welding
tools)
13. Motivation/desire to learn
14. Assist in hanging pipe
15. Bring all tools to work
16. Knowledge of physical labor
17. Physical abilities
18. Punctuality
19. People skills (communication)
20. Willing to do what is asked
21. Knowledge about grinding pipes and prepping them for proper use.
22. Knowledge about firewatch
23. Knowledge about welding
24. Assertiveness, picking up tasks (once another is completed)
25. Attitude (positive personality)
26. Knowledge of materials (rods for hangers)
27. Vocational training (apprenticeship/learning a trade)
28. Need to grow
29. HVAC knowledge
30. Use of shovel (ditchworking)
31. Knowledge of terms/language/jargon
32. Willingness to travel
14. 14
Appendix B
Comparison of the Ability Statements between Interviewees (Mr. Haines and Mr. Whitney)
Task Statements Nice to Have [N] Required [R]
1. -Cleaning facilities H;W
2. -Important safety knowledge and use (e.g., uses Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) correctly and properly) H;W
3. -Is willing to ask questions and seek help from others when he/she does not understand something within 10 minutes H;W
4. -Has mechanical aptitude H;W
5. -Has a desire to work H
6. -Material Handling H
7. -Steam-Pipe inspection for upper management H;W
8. -Openness to others H
9. -Hand/Eye coordination for precision H
10. -Gopher (Go get tools and materials for others) H;W
11. -Can identify and have basic knowledge of basic tools (e.g., read a measuring tape, cordless drill, screwdriver) H;W
12. -Can Identify and have knowledge of advanced/complex/uncommon tools (e.g., right-angle drill, welding tools) H;W
13. -Motivation/desire to learn W
14. -Assist in hanging pipe W
15. -Bring all tools to work H W
16. -Knowledge of physical labor H;W
17. -Physical abilities H;W
18. -Punctuality H;W
19. -People skills (communication) W
20. -Willing to do what is asked W
21. -Knowledge about grinding pipes and prepping them for proper use. H;W
22. -Knowledge about firewatch W
23. -Knowlege about welding W
24. -Assertiveness, picking up tasks (once another is completed) W
25. -Attitude (positive personality) H;W
26. -Knowledge of materials (rods for hangers) W
27. -Vocational training (apprenticeship/learning a trade) W
28. -Need to grow W
29. -HVAC knowledge H;W
30. -Use of shovel (ditchworking) W
31. -Knowledge of terms/language/jargon W
32. Willingness to travel W
H = Mr. Haines
W = Mr. Whitney
SuperIntendent Ratings
H;W = Both
15. 15
Appendix C
EP-1 Ability and Practicality Questionnaire
Your Position/Job: _____________________________________________
• Necessary Scale: Please rate each listed item (ability) as Unnecessary, Nice to Have, or
Required to Have for an EP-1 during their first month of work. Please clearly mark
ONLY ONE response.
• Practicality Scale: Practicality is defined as whether a job applicant for an EP-1 position
is likely to possess the given ability on the first day of work. Please circle either Y or N
(Yes or No) for each listed item (ability).
Necessary
An EP-1…
Unnecessar
y
Niceto
Have
Required
Practical?
Is able to clean facilities Y N
Has knowledge of safety policies and procedures (e.g., properly uses PPE) Y N
Is willing to ask questions/seek help from others when necessary Y N
Has a mechanical aptitude Y N
Has a desire to work Y N
Is able to handle materials Y N
Is able to assist with steam-piping Y N
Is able to assist with plumbing Y N
Is open to others (e.g., take advice, listen and follow directions, interact well
with coworkers)
Y N
Has hand-eye coordination Y N
Is able to be a “gopher” (e.g., go get tools and materials) Y N
Is able to identify common tools (e.g., measuring tape, cordless drill,
screwdriver)
Y N
Has a basic knowledge of properly using common tools (e.g., measuring tape,
cordless drill, screwdriver)
Y N
16. 16
Necessary
An EP-1…
Unnecessar
y
Niceto
Have
Required
Practical?
Is able to identify uncommon/advanced tools (e.g., right-angle drill, welding
tools)
Y N
Has a basic knowledge of properly using uncommon/advanced tools (e.g.,
right-angle drill, welding tools)
Y N
Has a desire to learn about the trade Y N
Is able to assist in hanging pipe Y N
Brings all tools to work Y N
Has knowledge of physical labor (e.g., proper techniques for lifting and
moving heavy objects)
Y N
Is punctual Y N
Is able to effectively communicate with others (e.g., good people skills) Y N
Is willing to do what is asked of them Y N
Has knowledge of grinding pipes and preparing them for proper use Y N
Has knowledge of firewatching (e.g., watch welding to make sure there is no
fire)
Y N
Has knowledge of welding (e.g., safety procedures, proper use of welding
equipment)
Y N
Is proactive by seeking out other tasks once finished with prior tasks Y N
Has a positive attitude Y N
Has knowledge of the materials (e.g., rods for hangers) Y N
Has vocational training (e.g., previous experience from high school courses) Y N
Has the need to grow (e.g., attain promotions, further career goals, or not be
content with the entry level job)
Y N
Has knowledge of HVAC Y N
Is able to use a shovel (e.g., digging ditches, proper use) Y N
Has knowledge of terms/language/jargon Y N
Is willing to travel Y N
17. 17
Appendix D
Table 1: Initial Ratings of Task Statements
Necessary
An EP-1…
Unnecessary
Niceto
Have
Required
Practical?
Is able to clean facilities 25% 75% 100%
Has knowledge of safety policies and procedures (e.g., properly uses PPE) 12.5% 87.5% 100%
Is willing to ask questions/seek help from others when necessary 25% 75% 100%
Has a mechanical aptitude 62.5% 37.5% 86%
Has a desire to work 12.5% 87.5% 100%
Is able to handle materials 12.5% 50% 37.5% 71%
Is able to assist with steam-piping 75% 25% 71%
Is able to assist with plumbing 75% 25% 86%
Is open to others (e.g., take advice, listen and follow directions, interact well with
coworkers)
25% 75% 100%
Has hand-eye coordination 37.5% 62.5% 100%
Is able to be a “gopher” (e.g., go get tools and materials) 100% 100%
Is able to identify common tools (e.g., measuring tape, cordless drill, screwdriver) 100% 100%
Has a basic knowledge of properly using common tools (e.g., measuring tape,
cordless drill, screwdriver)
12.5% 87.5% 100%
Is able to identify uncommon/advanced tools (e.g., right-angle drill, welding tools) 12.5% 75% 12.5% 57%
Has a basic knowledge of properly using uncommon/advanced tools (e.g., right-
angle drill, welding tools)
12.5% 75% 12.5% 57%
Has a desire to learn about the trade 25% 75% 100%
Is able to assist in hanging pipe 62.5% 37.5% 86%
Brings all tools to work 100% 100%
Has knowledge of physical labor (e.g., proper techniques for lifting and moving
heavy objects)
37.5% 62.5% 71%
Is punctual 100% 100%
Is able to effectively communicate with others (e.g., good people skills) 37.5% 62.5% 86%
Is willing to do what is asked of them 12.5% 87.5% 100%
Has knowledge of grinding pipes and preparing them for proper use* 14% 86% 50%
Has knowledge of firewatching (e.g., watch welding to make sure there is no fire) 37.5% 62.5% 86%
18. 18
Necessary
An EP-1…
Unnecessary
Niceto
Have
Required
Practical?
Has knowledge of welding (e.g., safety procedures, proper use of welding
equipment)
12.5% 75% 12.5% 57%
Is proactive by seeking out other tasks once finished with prior tasks 62.5% 37.5% 71%
Has a positive attitude 37.5% 62.5% 100%
Has knowledge of the materials (e.g., rods for hangers) 12.5% 62.5% 25% 57%
Has vocational training (e.g., previous experience from high school courses) 12.5% 87.5% 57%
Has the need to grow (e.g., attain promotions, further career goals, or not be
content with the entry level job)
50% 50% 71%
Has knowledge of HVAC 25% 75% 43%
Is able to use a shovel (e.g., digging ditches, proper use)* 71% 29% 100%
Has knowledge of terms/language/jargon 87.5% 12.5% 57%
Is willing to travel 25% 75% 100%
*Unlike the other items, the percentage listed on the Necessary Scale for this item is only out of 7 responses instead of 8
responses. This also affects the practicality scale in the same manner (percentage is out of 6 responses instead of 7).
19. 19
Appendix E
Table 2: Ranked Order of Task Statements
Necessary
An EP-1…
Unnecessary
Niceto
Have
Required
Practical?
1. Is able to be a “gopher” (e.g., go get tools and materials) 100% 100%
2. Is able to identify common tools (e.g., measuring tape, cordless drill,
screwdriver)
100% 100%
3. Brings all tools to work 100% 100%
4. Is punctual 100% 100%
5. Has knowledge of safety policies and procedures (e.g., properly uses PPE) 12.5% 87.5% 100%
6. Has a desire to work 12.5% 87.5% 100%
7. Has a basic knowledge of properly using common tools (e.g., measuring tape,
cordless drill, screwdriver)
12.5% 87.5% 100%
8. Is willing to do what is asked of them 12.5% 87.5% 100%
9. Is able to clean facilities 25% 75% 100%
10. Is willing to ask questions/seek help from others when necessary 25% 75% 100%
11. Is open to others (e.g., take advice, listen and follow directions, interact well
with coworkers)
25% 75% 100%
12. Has a desire to learn about the trade 25% 75% 100%
13. Is willing to travel 25% 75% 100%
14. Has hand-eye coordination 37.5% 62.5% 100%
15. Has a positive attitude 37.5% 62.5% 100%
16. Is able to effectively communicate with others (e.g., good people skills) 37.5% 62.5% 86%
17. Has knowledge of firewatching (e.g., watch welding to make sure there is no
fire)
37.5% 62.5% 86%
18. Has knowledge of physical labor (e.g., proper techniques for lifting and
moving heavy objects)
37.5% 62.5% 71%
19. Has the need to grow (e.g., attain promotions, further career goals, or not be
content with the entry level job)
50% 50% 71%
20. Has a mechanical aptitude 62.5% 37.5% 86%
21. Is able to assist in hanging pipe 62.5% 37.5% 86%
22. Is proactive by seeking out other tasks once finished with prior tasks 62.5% 37.5% 71%
20. 20
Necessary
An EP-1…
Unnecessary
Niceto
Have
Required
Practical?
23. Is able to assist with plumbing 75% 25% 86%
24. Is able to assist with steam-piping 75% 25% 71%
25. Is able to use a shovel (e.g., digging ditches, proper use)* 71% 29% 100%
26. Is able to handle materials 12.5% 50% 37.5% 71%
27. Has knowledge of terms/language/jargon 87.5% 12.5% 57%
28. Has knowledge of the materials (e.g., rods for hangers) 12.5% 62.5% 25% 57%
29. Is able to identify uncommon/advanced tools (e.g., right-angle drill, welding
tools)
12.5% 75% 12.5% 57%
30. Has a basic knowledge of properly using uncommon/advanced tools (e.g.,
right-angle drill, welding tools)
12.5% 75% 12.5% 57%
31. Has knowledge of welding (e.g., safety procedures, proper use of welding
equipment)
12.5% 75% 12.5% 57%
32. Has vocational training (e.g., previous experience from high school courses) 12.5% 87.5% 57%
33. Has knowledge of grinding pipes and preparing them for proper use* 14% 86% 50%
34. Has knowledge of HVAC 25% 75% 43%
*Unlike the other items, the percentage listed on the Necessary Scale for this item is only out of 7 responses instead of 8
responses. This also affects the practicality scale in the same manner (percentage is out of 6 responses instead of 7).
Note: The eight items below the bold line indicate that these skills/abilities were not practical for new
Ep-1 employees to possess.
21. 21
Appendix F
Timesheet
Projected Hours Worked Per Person
Specific Activity Performed
Sam
Galbraith
Sarah
Adams
Austin
Hall
Total
Hours
Revised Initial Questions 0.5 0.5 0.5 1.5
Called Jerry Lyons/ Phone Interview 0.5 0.5
Interviewed Jerry Lyons 1 1 1 3
Typed Up All Questions to Ask in Interview 1 1
Interviews in Glasgow 4 4 4 12
Meetings With Dr. Paquin 2 1 1.5 4.5
Worked on Technical Report/Task Statements 4.5 5 5 14.5
Edited Task Statement Interview Rating Sheet 1 1.5 2.5
Developed the Questionnaire to distribute 3 2 3 8
Communication with Jerry (e.g., calls, emails) 1 1
Analyzed Questionnaire Results 1.5 1.5 1.5 4.5
Created and Edited Tech. Report 6 4.5 5.5 16
Total Hours 24 21.5 23.5 69
