Minnesota Highways, April 1956

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VOL.  5,  No.  6
1246  University Ave.,  St.  Paul 4,  Minn.
April,   1956
Department Expands
Training Opportunities
A rapidly mounting wave of opportunity for employee
training is spreading through the Highway department. Beginning as a piece-meal activity in one or two occupational
classifications, it has grown so quietly as to be little noticed.
But in the past few months, expansion of the activity has
built it into a general, coordinated department training program which gives indication of eventually reaching many
vocations—technical and non-technical.
The various training courses are
being developed by the Personnel
division, with the cooperation of
participating divisions, the state
Departments of Education, Civil
Service, and Labor and Industry,
public and private educational
igencies, and organized labor.
The Highway department sees
the expanded training activity as a
valuable means of improving department efficiency and production
in highway planning, construction,
and maintenance, in the shops, and
in office work. The department
also sees the training as increasing
opportunities for employee promotion and therefore as a means of
retaining desired personnel at all
levels against outside competition.
Aid to Advancement
Employees who so far have had
contact with the training program
see the activity as a necessary step
to keep abreast of technological
developments in their occupational
fields as well as an opportunity to
prepare for advancement within
the department while continuing
in employment.
Presently the over-all program
includes the following individual
training programs now under way
or organizing to begin training in
the immediate future:
Engineering Aide I and II
undergraduate in-service training.
Dunwoody institute classes in
surveying and drafting.
(Continued on page 7)
Highway Department Takes
Steps for Reorganization
For nearly two years, officials of the Highway department
have been studying possibilities for reorganization of the department as relates to the staffing pattern and operating system and procedures.
Toward that end, some changes already are accomplished
or in the process of achievement.
The basic aim, according to Kermit L. Bergstralh, administrative
assistant, is a broader, more effective distribution of responsibility
and authority and more efficient accomplishment of the department's
expanding   work load.
To recruit and hold qualified
employees, officials are endeavoring to improve the attractiveness
of the department to professional, sub-professional, graduate,
and non-graduate engineers, and
to competent clerical administrative personnel.
As an important step toward this
end, said Bergstralh, officials have
seen the need for eliminating, in
so far as possible, the need for reassignment of crews from one location to another.
By providing at the same time a
broader working experience for
candidates for registration as pro-
At the chief mechanics' meeting for the Apprentice Training program were: L. to R., A. O. Langeland, St. Paul Park;
Herman Belter, Rochester; H. Rose, Detroit Lakes; Earl Tack,.
Marshall; B. T. Vig, Willmar; W. J. Doyle, Hopkins; A. Thene,
St. Cloud; Joseph Tollman, (standing) supervisory training
consultant  in   the   St.  Paul   public   schools;   E.   G.   Maki,   Vir
ginia; W. A. Sanberg, Bemidji; M. Gannucci, Duluth; E. A.
Severson, Morris; R. T. Lueken, Brainerd; E. F. Hannaman,
Mankato; A. Vv\ Kruckeberg, Owatonna; J. W. Wentzel, Windom; R. E. Sievert, Crookston; and Selmer Johnson, automotive mechanic foreman at the Central shops. Gannucci
is  growing  the  beard  for  Duluth's centennial   observance.
fessional engineers, the administration is seeking to increase the number qualified for registration and
to shorten the period required for
employees to qualify for registration.
Simultaneously, the department
wants to reduce the amount of
time and paper work involved in
the making of decisions by division heads and  district engineers.
"To this end," he said, "various
steps have or will be taken to delegate more responsibility to the
levels where exist the factors and
ability for making decisions.
"One of the major changes in the
reorganization program is the delegation of a considerably increased
responsibility to district engineers."
Positions Re-allocated
Increased authority and responsibility given to the assistant district engineers in the past few
years has resulted in the re-allocation of assistant district engineer
positions from Civil Engineer III
to Civil Engineer IV.
Promotional examinations to fill
the assistant district Engineer CE
IV posts are to be completed this
month.
"Steps also are under way to
better coordinate pre- and post-
letting functions under the chief
engineer without burdening him
with responsibility for detailed reviewing of the programs and activities of the divisions involved," said
Bergstralh.
Because of its expanding work
load, Lands and Bight of Way is
one of the divisions requiring realignment of activities and modification of its staffing pattern. The
(Continued on page 6)