News about the Merger

[Chicagoman]

United States Infrastructure Corporation

13085 Hamilton Crossing Blvd.

Suite 200

Carmel, IN 46032

Craig Harrell

VP Operations North Region



June 22, 2008





Good morning everyone:



Keeping with our past effort to keep everyone informed of company progress, I wanted to update each of you on where we currently reside. There are several moving parts right now, and everyone in the organization is extremely busy dealing with several challenges that have been presented to us with the merger of CLS and SM&P.



There are currently 97 different technicians in Chicago, from various parts of USIC, helping coordinate the single largest, and most complicated event this industry has ever endured. The 97 different resources represent approximately 90% of our districts throughout the company. These individuals have been utilized to help keep our Chicago Operation current while we train and certify our CLS technicians to locate Gas, Electric and Cable TV. Our local SM&P technicians have been responding on behalf of ATT, helping support the effort as well. This is a new facility for these technicians, and thus far, they have responded very well. In fact, everyone has responded very well. The efforts by so many have been quite impressive yet not surprising. We have some incredible employees within our company. The impact that this integration has had and will continue to have on the entire company is significant, and appreciated.



In addition to the efforts in Chicago, we’re in the midst of migrating two enormous companies into one. We have several employees that are focusing a tremendous amount of time trying to merge these two different cultures into one new culture. As part of the restructuring effort, several processes are underway to help eliminate waste throughout the organization, and invest proportionately into the resources and processes that get the work done. We are ready to roll out a new High Profile policy, as our HP damage hits since the merger of the two companies has been staggering. In Michigan, for instance, we have had 2 damages that are going to cost approximately 700K. We have to re-learn what our jobs as Damage Prevention Specialists really entail. On the SM&P side, we’ve been understaffed in several key markets for the past two years and we’ve made considerable changes and investments to help get the organizational structure correct for our employees, and customers. We’ve added approximately 13 new supervisor and overhead positions within the North Region this past year, all designed to provide the right type of support for our Damage Prevention Specialists. These investments are merely a starting point. Mike Stayton has made it clear that all of our time and efforts should be focused on providing the right systems to help fuel the restructure. We’ve recently implemented a new vehicle policy to offset the never ending increase in fuel costs. Managers are no longer driving inefficient vehicles, and they are personally paying for costs associated with miles that are not business related. This is a significant step. In addition, a new Travel and Entertainment policy has been implemented to help control costs associated with travel expenses. It’s a significant change in methodologies but it’s an important change to help ensure that we have the money necessary to focus on the right areas of cost…our Damage Prevention Specialists. These are difficult times and extraordinary measures are necessary to help right the ship. We’ve always condoned that the most important resources we have in the organization are the ones that actually put the paint on the ground. Efforts are being made to ensure that we maintain that assertion, and have the necessary resources to allow those individuals to flourish in a very difficult market and economy.



In addition, a new focus on employee retention and attrition is being implemented throughout the organization. It’s obvious that we can not meet our objectives if we continue to lose 60% of our employees each year. The initiative will involve a streamlined hiring process, an improved training process (did you know that all trainees will have to go through a four week process going forward, and that we will only graduate the top 70% of our employees), and a commitment to make sure that we don’t lose good employees needlessly. Each district will provide a different plan geared toward improving tenure. Our objective as a company is to get 70% of our locators to have at least 12 months worth of tenure. If we can do that, our results as a company will be phenomenal, our results to our customers will be exceptional, and our company will be stable. Stability in uncertain times is something that should be an objective of every employee in our organization. We need to do all that is possible to retain our employees, and communicate when we see an employee who may be struggling. It’s our responsibility to ensure that we keep and maintain our people and each of us share in that responsibility together.



In addition, we recently put out new organizational changes that are designed to take us through the remainder of 2008. The changes were necessary to get the right people in our most critical leadership positions, all of which are designed to again ensure the proper support is pushed out to the field, that the right leaders are leading and motivating our teams, and that we are setting up an environment for each of you to be successful, so that you may have a long standing career and meet your personal objectives. The streamlining of management resources has allowed us to eliminate several positions, which is really intended to continue to remove un-necessary cost from the organization, for the reasons mentioned above.



We’re proud of the efforts that each of you have made, and will continue to make. 2008 has been wrought with all of the challenges that are expected to both merge and turn around a company. We’re well on our way, and the efforts of each of you are awesome. Thanks for allowing us the time to structure the company successfully.



We will keep you up-to-date on all of our progress, as we continue this journey together. If at any time, we aren’t meeting your expectations, please don’t hesitate to let us know. We will become world class, but it will take some time. Thank you, and please be safe.







Sincerely,



Craig Harrell

[TBONE]

Well well well if it isnt good old Craig Harrell back in the picture

[USIC1]

Excellent politcal style speach...

1000 words 50 of which have value...

"This that and the other and we will, can, and shall..."

"Let me be perfectly clear about how, where, and whom..."

I reiterate, implement, implore, alter, associate, emphatically recognize,

precipitize the effectivizing of the initiaion of the certification of the alteration...


and furthermore

let it be written let it be done...."!!!!!!!!

[sprayandpray]

I wonder why this wasn't distributed to the employees down here? I guess the South Region is meeting all expectations!

[USIC1]

I wonder why this wasn't distributed to the employees down here? I guess the South Region is meeting all expectations!

That letter only goes out to the edumacateds which doesnt include

cotton pickas from down south...

[LadyLeatherneck]

USIC1: What exactly do you mean by "edumacateds which doesn't include cotton

pickas from down south..."? Please explain that.....

[USIC1]

Well see-ins how the south lost the war and the north dictated policy afterwards they may have figured by keeping the south in the dark through repression it was a given that there was an ongoing lack of intelligence...

Therefore even though its 100 plus years after the war, some in the north at the corporate levels may believe a southerner is nt deserving of a need to know policy and or incapable of comprehending it....

Is this what you were hinting at???

Is that can of worms what you were prying on to open???

Well???

[sprayandpray]

Hey, watch it now! I've noticed there are a lot more Yankees moving South than vice-versa. In fact, I have come up with a question that usually puts them in their place when some of them start offering advice on how we need to change things down here;"If you did it so well up North, what are you doing here?" I never have heard an answer that makes sense.

Seriously, we actually have an edjucatin department down here now and couple of 4 year skools - but a lot of them teach that "pie are square" when everyone knows "pie are round" so, it might be a waste of time and money

[beyond help]

Hey, watch it now! I've noticed there are a lot more Yankees moving South than vice-versa. In fact, I have come up with a question that usually puts them in their place when some of them start offering advice on how we need to change things down here;"If you did it so well up North, what are you doing here?" I never have heard an answer that makes sense.

Seriously, we actually have an edjucatin department down here now and couple of 4 year skools - but a lot of them teach that "pie are square" when everyone knows "pie are round" so, it might be a waste of time and money

I may be from up north, but that was funny.
Now be careful in posting PRIVATE company emails. I believe this issue has made the rounds before.

[undergroundhound49]

I have a helluva lot to say to Mr. Craig and that post of his.
A number one, a locator, and number two one of the old SM&P guys, I take issue with that B.S. he's spouting.
First of all, I will say kudos to USIC for putting the skids on the over the top perks and un-necessary spending by the area managers, both from SM&P and CLS. Talk about a colossal waste of money, those good ol boys take the cake. Big fancy trucks, high dollar motels, unlimited expense accounts that payed for cable TV and internet in their offices and golf games every Wed. All the while these guys were patting themselves on the backs because THEY were making money for the company. They my big fat hairy backside! THEY did nothing but cost the company money and generated zero income. The locators are the bread and butter guys in this business and if the powers that be doubt it, try locating without them. While the muckety mucks were busy sucking up to the area managers, mollycoddling them and spending exorbitant amounts of money on them, the locators int he field were being threatened, abused, intimidated and in general screwed over. You want to know why the company has such a huge turnover, look at management. Threats and intimidation only work for so long and then guys start to fight back.
Stupid threats: "If you have a damage, we take your truck." If you have a damage, you're fired" If you can't manage your time better, we'll find someone who can" If you don't make production, you can't work overtime".
Stayed tuned for more bitching tomorrow.

[USIC1]

These Websters are a dangerous weapon in the hands of a locator-


"mollycoddle"


My land, you must be North of the Mason Dixon to drum that one up!!!

[undergroundhound49]

Websters? Apparently, intelligence is a dangerous weapon. Any dummy can spell, and sorry dude, no way am I a Yankee.

[tammanye]

While your out there making changes and training people-how about making the higher up take a week in the field to see what it is the locators (i.e money makers) actually do. Then maybe you would understand why there is such a high turn over rate. Maybe you would understand why staying a day or two ahead of your tickets can be an impossibility.

[yahoo]

most companies have high turnover rates right????? so how can we be different???

[thejoker]

Man that made me laugh....

Excellent politcal style speach...

1000 words 50 of which have value...

"This that and the other and we will, can, and shall..."

"Let me be perfectly clear about how, where, and whom..."

I reiterate, implement, implore, alter, associate, emphatically recognize,

precipitize the effectivizing of the initiaion of the certification of the alteration...


and furthermore

let it be written let it be done...."!!!!!!!!