Terrasmart’s in-person field training week goes far beyond the basics
Terrasmart’s entire field team gathered at our Northeast Operations Hub near Albany, NY, for a comprehensive training from April 7–11, 2025.
Terrasmart has always fostered a culture of safety, and we continually look for ways to raise our own bar. This year, we engaged our entire team in a centralized, weeklong, in-person training, going far beyond standard practices for safety training in the industry.
In honor of National Safety Month, here’s a closer look at the ways we keep our teams, clients, communities, and the environment safe while we move the solar industry forward.
Empowering Our Field Teams with Knowledge, Skills, and Confidence
Basic safety training includes remote modules, training on specific tasks, or annual refreshers. While these are important training elements, we know that hands-on, in-real-life training is one of the most effective ways to learn. Our training event brought together 140 team members from across the country, including field employees, supervisors, Terrasmart Screw Machine (TSM) and rock drill operators, construction managers, safety coordinators, project coordinators, department managers, and directors.
In addition to valuable technical, safety practices, and industry knowledge, the in-person training gave our field teams the chance to bond while learning from each other. This spirit of collaboration continues to carry through to the field dynamic in our current projects.
Terrasmart’s Purpose Statement for Training Week: Empowering our field teams with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to build with excellence. Through hands-on training, standardized processes, and a commitment to quality, we create a workforce that takes pride in their craft, embraces innovation, and drives efficiency. Our training program is more than education—it’s an investment in our people, our projects, and our future. Together, we build stronger teams, deliver higher-quality installations, and set the standard for excellence in solar construction.
Scaling Safety Measures for a Scaling Industry
As renewable energy continues to expand across the U.S., projects grow in scale and complexity. Investing in team alignment, skills, and safety in line with expansion is critical to maintaining our standards and culture.
Lance Reid, Terrasmart’s Director of Field Resources, developed the concept of this training and led the execution efforts to make it happen. He had a big vision and brought it to life!
Training objectives and methods:
Our foremost training objective was to connect the entire construction department around consistent installation practices for all Terrasmart products, proprietary machinery, and services across solar projects nationwide. The group was split into two cohorts, each participating in four days of intensive training: two days in the classroom and two days in the field. Team members also received essential OSHA and safety-related training and certifications.
Field training:
Focused on hands-on installation techniques using Terrasmart’s full suite of ground mount systems, including both fixed-tilt and tracker systems with both ground screw and driven pile foundations. The sessions covered everything from surveying and foundation point staking to operating rock drills and TSMs, setting vertical legs, racking, torque tubes, A-frames, gearboxes, and more. Participants built, checked all quality specifications, dismantled, and rebuilt systems multiple times to reinforce key skills and ensure proficiency.
The team participated in group stretch & flexes each morning before starting their day.
Groups learning how to properly install a ground screw with Terrasmart’s proprietary methods using our TSM’s.
Classroom sessions:
Provided comprehensive instruction on safety protocols aligned with OSHA standards, CPR certification, standard operating procedure (SOP) reviews, quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) processes, fleet policy and maintenance, material receiving and inventory procedures, company initiatives, and ethics training.
Enhanced information:
Enhanced information covered deeper topics and a broader set of team members across regions and roles. The new content included refined standard operating procedures (SOPs), updated installation standards, and additional quality control checkpoints. To ensure the training was accessible and inclusive to all employees, we equipped delivery formats with bilingual subtitles, sign language interpretation, and interactive group-based learning.
A Blueprint for the Future Based on the resounding success of the inaugural training and the positive feedback from participants, we’ll continue to hold an annual spring training event each year to realign our teams and reinforce field excellence. Teams left at the end of the week feeling energized, bonded, and fully equipped to tackle even the most challenging project sites—regardless of terrain or weather—as we continue to power the future of renewable energy together.
