Blog: 5 Reasons Customers choose USG over the Competition

As a company, we hold ourselves to provide our customers with a list of corporate attributes to help us provide our customers with a safe and quality end-product.  We are committed daily to being the best specialty services contractor in the process industry.  Our commitment is driven by these five attributes:  safety, quality, effectiveness, partnership, and continuity.

1. Safety
   • We have built our company with a commitment to safety and above all else, our employees work performance, is driven by this responsibility.  Our staff is an integral part of our safety culture and we encourage them to take a hands-on approach while in our home office, on a field assignment and through the development of safety processes for continual company improvement. We know through a safety commitment from every member of our team that we can accomplish our goal of zero accidents.  We want every member of our team to return home safely.

2. Quality
   • We pride ourselves on providing quality services in every facets of the project. We work with our customers to develop quality programs and processes that help decrease the possibility of shortcomings happening on the job-site. Additionally, our team is built with talented and experienced personnel who are the driving force of our organization.  Their commitment to their craft as well as their interest in being cross-trained help provide our customers with a superior product.

3. Effectiveness
   • We have made a commitment to grow our team. Our goal is to produce high-quality results for our customers.  We set ourselves apart from the competition by building a team of skilled employees and not just assembling a workforce.  Our craftsmen are specialized in their skill sets and our supporting staff is cross-trained to honor our commitment to providing our customers with superior service.

4. Partnership
   • United Services Group provides our customers with a partner that unites with them to assure their project scope is completed in accordance with their specifications. By becoming part of the project in the early stages, we are able to provide our customers with additional help in the planning phase; off the project, finding ways to improve the schedule and budget for the projects. Additionally, working with our customers on multiple projects, we are able to provide them a level of comfort knowing our business and team from the inside out.

5. Continuity
   • Offering our customers, a variety of specialty field services provides them with a contractor who is committed to the duration of their project. Being able to tie into every aspect of their project provides our customers peace of mind because our team is handling multiple facets of the project, keeping it on schedule.  Additionally, this continuity provides a cost-savings to our customers by limiting mobilization and providing stability by using the same craft personnel to perform multiple projects.

These five reasons allow United Services Group to thrive in the competitive process industry by proving clients with service excellence.  Much more than just a corporate motto, Achieving Service Excellence is a battle cry for each member of our team starting at the top of our organization. 

Each member of our team is tasked from the moment they are hired on with United Services Group to provide service excellence to our customers through their safety-first mindset and commitment to proving our customers with quality.  As a company, the commitment to service excellence provides us an opportunity to not just perform a job for a customer but to build a partnership with them for years to come.

Blog: Anatomy of a USG Welder

The Anatomy of the United Services Group Welder

At United Services Group, we pride ourselves in providing the best and brightest team of specialty labors to complete our projects.  Our team is built on a philosophy of providing service excellence to our customers.  Service excellence is defined as providing our clients with four major aspects on every project: safety, quality, affordability and effectiveness.  These keys provide our customers with a partner that unites with them to assure their project scope is completed in accordance with their specifications.

Our team is dedicated to their craft.  We have set ourselves apart from the competition by building a skilled team and just not assembling a workforce.  At United Services Group, we value providing each customer with a versatile group of craft labor.  Providing versatility helps cut down on unnecessary pass through costs to our customers and ultimately helping the project stay on budget.

What do the welders carry in their “toolbox” to the job-site?

Safety Mindset – Every employee employed by United Services Group is committed to safety.  Their work performance is driven by this responsibility. We begin the implement our safety practices from an employee’s first day as a member of our team.  From daily job briefs, weekly safety meetings and yearly conducted safety workshops; we are taking the crucial steps to provide our employees the tools necessary to perform every task they begin with a safety focus.  We encourage them to start each job with one simple question:  Is this task as safe as it can be?

Strong Work Ethic – Our employees are committed to their craft.  They show up on each project with everything they need to perform their best work.  They work diligently to present their best work day in and day out on the job-site.

Well-Trained – Our employees are certified and trained on various weld processes in our facility.  Before beginning a new project, each employee completes a refresher course on these processes.

Teamwork – Our welders have worked in a team environment on all of our projects.  Each person knows their role on the team and can perform it to the best of their ability.  They are able to easily adapt at the lead of project management and execute as changes present themselves in the schedule.

Experience –  On average our welders have over 15 years’ experience welding various weld processes.  They are also very experienced working on new construction and outage projects.  They are able to easily step in and hit the ground running at the start of the project.

By the Numbers:

98% Percentage – Since the start of United Services Group in September 2013, our welders have averaged less than two percent (2%) reject rate on our projects.  They have run multiple projects where our teams have completed projects without a weld rejection.

0 – At the time of this post, our company has worked over 425,000 hours without a lost time accident and without an OSHA recordable injury.  We pride ourselves in providing the safety specialty services in the industry.

Blog: The Hat of Summer | www.USGGear.com

With the start of summer just around the corner, we are excited to announce a promo code for all USGGear fans.  Use the code HELLOSUMMER between now and July 1, 2016 for 40% off all hats on our gear website:  www.usggear.com.  Go grab that hat you have been eyeing all spring!

Blog: 2015 Year In Review!

A few graphics we posted to highlight our year of 2015.

175,000 Manhours worked in 2015 without a Lost Time Accident.

2015 Welding Success Rate:  99.5 % Under our company program.  97.2% Under a client controlled program.

We have the best team in the industry.

Blog: United’s School Supply Drive!

United Services Group is calling on you to help us “Stuff the Bus” with school supplies for a local Charlotte area school in need! ([tweetthis url=”http://bit.ly/usgstb” remove_twitter_handles=”true”]Help @UntdSrvcsGroup Stuff the Bus with School Supplies for a CMS School![/tweetthis])

United Services Group’s “Stuff The Bus” School Supply Drive fundraiser is aimed at raising funds and supplies for a local underprivileged school in the Charlotte community.  In our first annual “Stuff The Bus” School Supply Drive our goal is to raise $5,000.00 (or more!) worth of school supplies to donate to this year’s recipient school, MGLA at Marie G. Davis. 

MGLA at Marie G. Davis is one of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Systems 69 Title I, formerly No Child Left Behind.  Schools considered Title I are those in which at least 72% of the student population has been designated as economically disadvantaged. 

About Title I:

Title I, Part A the cornerstone of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), previously known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), is the largest federal education program.  Its intent is to help ensure that all children have the opportunity to obtain a high quality education and reach proficiency on challenging State academic content and performance standards.

Title I began with the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, which provided federal funding for high-poverty schools to help students who are behind academically and at risk of falling behind.

At United Services Group, we aim to be a positive and productive member of our community. We are proud to support organizations working to strengthen our communities and seeks to do our part in improving and building the lives of our neighbors.

As a member of the Charlotte community, we contribute financial resources and gifts to help bring change in our community as well as donating our time and resources to help make a difference.

How to Contribute:

No donation is too small!  We are gladly accepting school supplies or monetary donations at our company headquarters.  If you would like to donate school supplies or to send a check, please send to the following address:  United Services Group, Attn: Stuff the Bus, 2835 Jeff Adams Drive, Suite G, Charlotte, NC 28206.  If you are in the Charlotte area and would like for us to arrange a local pick-up, please contact Derek Ward at 980-237-1335.

We have also set up a GoFundMe fundraiser page to ease the donation process.  If you would like to contribute a donation this way, please visit our fundraiser page at:  http://www.gofundme.com/usgstb.  All monetary donations will be turned into school supplies. 

We ask that all donations be received on or before Friday August 21, 2015 to give adequate shopping time for supplies.

Feel Free to Share:

We have attached the fundraiser flyer as well as a social media graphic to be used on your social media accounts.  Feel free to share these with whomever you like.  Also please use the social links on this page to share to your favorite social network.

United Services Group’s Stuff the Bus Flyer – PDF
United Services Group’s Stuff the Bus Flyer – Social Media Graphic

Get to Know: David Wright

Get to know the employees behind United Services Group through a game of
ten questions.  Each featured employee exemplifies the United Services core company values and is committed to achieving service excellence for our clients and partners.  Each featured individual will answer a few unique questions to help you get to know a little more about them.  We will be featuring employees from both our home office as well as our on-site craft personnel throughout the year.

David Wright is a Project Manager with United Services Group.  David has over 20 years experience in the industry and has been with United Services Group since March 2015.  He has worked projects for us, so far, in Iowa and North Carolina.

See David’s answers to our 10 questions below and yes, that is his actual handwriting.

David’s 10 Questions + a Bonus Question:

1. My Dream Job, if I wasn’t working for United, would be 
2. My guilty pleasure song of the moment is 
3. The actor I want playing me in a movie is 
4. My favorite city on earth is 
5. My one superpower would be 
6. The best Cartoon of All Time is 
7. If I’m at an all you can eat buffet I’m going for this first 
8. The greatest invention of All Time is 
9. I spend most of my free time doing 
10. My biggest nightmare is 
11. BONUS: The first word that comes to mind when I think of United Services Group is 

Blog: ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

On August 19, 2014, our Chief Executive Officer, Josh Armstrong, was challenged by the United Services Group employees to complete the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.  He gladly accepted the challenge and as a company we made a donation to the ALS Association.  As part of the challenge, we called our four individuals to accept the challenge on behalf of United Services Group.  Direct Link to Video can be found here.

Josh issued the Challenge to Nathan Sipp with Federated Insurance, John Hondros with SunTrust Bank, Kevyn Terry with HTI, and Josh Armstrong’s wife Candace Armstrong. We hope they will accept this challenge on behalf of United Services Group to continuing raising awareness for the ALS Association.

If you would like to make a donation to ALS, to learn how to volunteer in your area, or to find out more information about their organization and the Ice Bucket Challenge, please visit their website at http://www.alsa.org.

About ALS (from ALSA.org):
ALS was first found in 1869 by French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot, but it wasn’t until 1939 that Lou Gehrig brought national and international attention to the disease. Ending the career of one of the most beloved baseball players of all time, the disease is still most closely associated with his name. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed.  More information about the ALS Association can be found on their website at http://www.alsa.org.

About the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge:
The Ice Bucket Challenge is an event to raise awareness about ALS.  Participants make a donation to ALS and have 24 hours from being challenged to record a video dumping a bucket of ice water on their head and in return challenging three or more individuals  to take the challenge.  The challenge has so far raised over $20 million dollars for ALS research.  More information about the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge can be found at http://www.alsa.org/fight-als/ice-bucket-challenge.html.

Get to Know: Kerrie Holden

Get to know the employees behind United Services Group through a game of ten questions.  Each featured employee exemplifies the United Services core company values and is committed to achieving service excellence for our clients and partners.  Each featured individual will answer a few unique questions to help you get to know a little more about them.  We will be featuring employees from both our home office as well as our on-site craft personnel throughout the year.

Kerrie Holden has been the Office Manager with United Services Group since August 2013.  She was the very first employee of United Services Group.  She handles all of our office matters and is in charge of all of our company’s business and contractor’s licenses.  Also, She is usually one of the two people who you speak with when you call into the home office.

The 10 Questions:

1.  If you had to be shipwrecked on a deserted island, what three items would have with you?

A hairbrush so I could brush my nappy hair, my squishy pillow because I can’t sleep without it and soda because I have to have some kind of caffeine.

2.  You just won $20 million dollars in the lottery, what is the first thing you are buying/doing?

Buying lots of land for all my family and building each of them houses on it.  Lots of land so we are far enough away from each other but still close enough for comfort.

3.  What is your favorite meal of all time?

My mom’s meatloaf, I don’t like any others, with mashed potatoes and corn.  It’s my birthday meal every year.

4.  One piece of business advice that someone has given you that helped you succeed?

Smile on the phone – the person on the other end can hear it in your voice.

5.  If we pulled up next to you at a red light, what song would we catch you belting at the top of your lungs?

One of the following two songs: Cher – If I Could Turn Back Time or Usher featuring Ludacris and Lil Jon – Yeah!

6.  What is your favorite gulity pleasure television show or movie?

I am in school full-time now, so I don’t get to watch TV as much anymore, but I always seem to find myself watching Lock Up on MSNBC or The First 48 on A&E while I’m doing homework.  I love watching mystery/murder shows.

7.  If you could be a superhero, what would your  one super power be?

To be invisible.  I want to be the so called “fly on the wall”.

8.  If you had the opportunity to go on any TV game show, which one would go on and why?

Let’s Make a Deal – It looks really fun.

9.  What is your favorite thing to do to kill time while at work?

One of two things either chit chat with people in the office or catch up on the tabloids.

10.  If you could be any Television or Movie Character, who would you be?

I don’t think I would like to be any of them, so I choose to be myself.  Although most of their lives seem glamorous, I like my privacy and I love my family – as dysfunctional as we are.  Choosing to be in my your own skin wins any day over someone else’s.  The grass isn’t always greener.

11.  Bonus Question: What is the first word that comes to your mind when you hear the name United Services Group?

Team

Get to Know: Richard Hudson

Get to know the employees behind United Services Group through a game of ten questions.  Each featured employee exemplifies the United Services core company values and is committed to achieving service excellence for our clients and partners.  Each featured individual will answer a few unique questions to help you get to know a little more about them.  We will be featuring employees from both our home office as well as our on-site craft personnel throughout the year.

Richard Hudson has been a Project Manager with United Services Group since September 2013.  He has worked on projects for United Energy Services in Front Royal, Virginia, Milford, New Jersey and Lake Charles, Louisiana.

The 10 Questions:

1.  When did you get started in the specialty services business?

Summer of 1992.  My first job was in a paper mill as a grunt. I spent that summer rolling bottles and setting up for a boiler outage.

2.  When you’re not at work, where can we find you?

On my boat fishing or doing something outdoors with my family.

3.  What is your favorite sports team or athlete?

The Florida Gators are my favorite sports team.  My favorite athlete would be Florida Gator and Dallas Cowboy legend Emmitt Smith.

4.  If you could have lunch with any three people, dead or living, who would they be?

My grandfather, North Carolina tycoon Washington Duke and a younger version of myself.  My grandfather passed away while I was young and I would love to pick his brain and show him the man I’ve become and I feel like I could learn a lot about business from Washington Duke.

5.  What is one piece of advice you would give to your younger self?

To take a step back and be open to other’s opinions and advice.  Also, to understand that your way isn’t always the right or best way and you’re only as good as your team.

6.  What is your go-to karaoke song?

Either “Neon Moon” by Brooks & Dunn or “Man of Constant Sorrow” by the Soggy Bottom Boys from the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?

7.  What is one piece of advice you would give to a young welder or machinist just getting started?

To be able to take constructive criticism.  A lot of people are going to give you their opinions in this business.

8.  If you could be a superhero, what would your one super power be?

I would want to have x-ray vision.  This way I could X-ray my welds before they are turned over to the quality department. 

9.  We’re making a movie based on your life, who is playing the lead role?

A younger Robert Duvall.  I am a huge Lonesome Dove and Godfather fan. 

10.  What is the first word that comes to your mind when you hear the name United Services Group?

Excellence

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