Retail Superintendent Training Program

Our next RCA Superintendent Training Program Session will be held December 4-5, 2025, in Dallas, TX. Visit the event page for details and registration.

Being a retail superintendent is significantly different from serving as a superintendent in other market segments. While all construction superintendents have responsibilities for schedule, productivity, safety and quality on the project site, the unique challenges and constraints of the retail environment mean that a special training focus is needed. To that end, the Retail Contractors Association has developed this Retail Superintendent Training Program.

Requirements to become a RCA Certified Retail Superintendent include:

At least three years of experience as a retail construction supervisor.
OSHA 30-hour certification.
Employed by a current RCA member company.
Attendance at RCA's two-day workshop.
Successful completion of the Certified Retail Superintendent exam (taken at the end of the workshop).

Note: this program is applicable for superintendents, project managers, project engineers, and other staff, however, the certification is limited to those who meet the requirements above.

RCA's Certified Retail Superintendents bring specialized knowledge to their retail construction projects. Topics addressed during the workshop include:

Safety
Scheduling
Quality Assurance/Quality Control
Customer Focused Construction
Document Control
Standards and Best Practices
Communicating for Productivity
Subcontractor Management
Change Management
Close Out

RCA’s first Superintendent Training Program Workshop was held in Dallas, TX, September 21-22. The two-day session was attended by 28 superintendents and project managers representing 16 member companies.

Member-Hosted Training

Member Companies can host their own RCA Superintendent Training under the following guidelines.

The Member Company may schedule the training as an open (open to other RCA Member Companies) or closed (open only to the host RCA Member Company) class and will be billed for a minimum of 20 registrants. Maximum class size is 35.
The fee per registrant is $1,000; minimum billing is $20,000, with an additional $1,000 for additional registrants, up to $35,000
Setup of training (location, trainers, etc.) and billings will be coordinated through the RCA office.
Member Companies must assign a primary point of contact to liaise with RCA office. They must provide registration information for all attendees (name, contact info, years as a super, OSHA30 cards).
Training must include the 2-day model (Day 1: 8 hours, Day 2: 6 hours plus exam); the rates published are for weekday training.
Only employees of the Member Companies are eligible to attend the training; no “1099 Supers”.
Payment of the minimum attendees will be required from the host Member Company upon booking of the training dates. If attendees are from multiple Member Companies, all payments will be sent to the RCA office and the host Member Company will be reimbursed if needed.
The Member Company can choose whether manuals will be shipped to the host company in bulk or to individual participants directly.
The Member Company will be billed at cost for instructor travel, ground transfers, lodging, and meals. This expense should be between $2,000-$3,000.
RCA will provide all materials: training manuals, exams, certification materials, other class supplies.

Testimonials

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this program, and to work with my peers to help the RCA and better our industry. I certainly came away with more understanding for what we all deal with as a group.
Michael Watson, Senior Superintendent, Schimenti Construction Company

The instructors were very knowledgeable and covered a lot of fundamentals, which provided great insight on what to expect when dealing with retail customers.
Adrian Talavera, Superintendent, Shames Construction Company

"[The class] was packed with information and tools from not only the instructors and course materials but also the feedback and Q&A from the attendees."
Erik Palmer, Superintendent, Shames Construction Company

"When the speaker from JCPenney spoke with us, it was extremely beneficial. It was very helpful to hear what these individuals are expecting to see when they come to visit our sites. I was able to see things from the point of view of my clients, which will definitely help me in the future."
Paul D’Agostino, Superintendent, Schimenti Construction Company

"The biggest take away for me was realizing the different ways to approach the many, many personalities in the field and also in the office. Awareness, approach and adaptation in communication are tools I intend to focus on in the coming year."
Erik Palmer, Superintendent, Shames Construction Company

The following member companies have Certified Retail Superintendents
as of March 31, 2023