Kenton Brothers University: We Invest in Our Employees

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By Justine King, Sales and Marketing Administrator at Kenton Brothers

Brinton’s Training Matrix

Brinton HallumHere at Kenton Brothers, we take particular pride in our hiring process and the way we train each new employee specifically for their position. We are so very lucky to have Brinton Hallum as KB’s Field Service Training Supervisor. With his previous experience in training employees and his many years of dedication to the KB Advantage, Brinton has completely redesigned our training process from the inside out.

 “To add structure and standardize Kenton Brothers University and make it a platform for all levels of technicians to utilize. I want to keep it simple for the new/green technicians and slowly transition to deep technical for the senior level technicians. I want certifications for achievements along the way.”
– Brinton Hallum

KB recognizes Brinton for all of his hard work implementing the 3-part Kenton Brothers University program: KB Learning Management System, KB Interactive Lab, and KB Classes.

KB LMS (Learning Management System)

Currently, we are standing up the KB LMS, this is one of our rocks to get moving this year. It currently has training for General Access Control panel wiring, Cable Planning, Electrical Theory, Circuits and Relays, S2 Systems Level 1. This will allow for technicians to have a formalized web-based training with testing throughout. This will ensure they up to speed general knowledge as well as manufacturer specific material.

Kenton Brothers Learning Management System

KB Interactive Lab

Kenton Brothers Interactive LabThe KB Lab has live systems of Gallagher, Lenel, Software House, Axis, Milestone, Bosch and Honeywell. These hardware systems also have live virtual servers to interact within the hardware. This allows for the technicians to program, wire and test devices in a live working environment. The training lab not only allows Brinton to train technicians on areas they may not be up to speed on, but also allows for ongoing training/refreshers and preparing for installs or troubleshooting. Along with training purposes, this setting is used this as a sandbox to ensure upgrades will go smooth for our end users.

KB Classes

We’ve hosted several KB Classes in the past and will be firing them back up as long as COVID allows. These classes range from general installation standards to in depth programming and trouble shooting. Kenton Brothers hosts these classes in our multipurpose room going forward. Our classes are recorded and streamed for any technicians that service outside our KC Metro home base.

Brinton has invested many hours into the creating these programs for KB employees to utilize through the onboarding process and throughout their years with our company. Proving that we constantly care about our employees and their continuous education of the ever-changing technology field.

Kenton Brothers Classes KBU - Brinton

Kenton Brothers Ladies Take to the Field

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Kenton Brothers Ladies Take to the Field

Andrea Quintanar

By Kristen Harper, Controller and HR Manager at Kenton Brothers

Recently, two of our KB Field Service Coordinators took to the field with our KB Technician Zack Holden. Their goal was to get some hands on training in the mechanical security world. They also wanted to see first hand how these technicians perform their day to day work serving our customers.

Andrea Quintanar noted while traveling with Zack

“How he manages everything on site and the level of organization he has to keep things running fluidly is really amazing!” There is a high level of detail needed to properly care and provide for our customers. She also learned firsthand how to change a lock function, read a blind key code and how to cut keys.

Taylor Peebles also went out on a service call with Zack

“Seeing everything in person & how they (our KB Technicians) function has helped me really understand more about the mechanical side of things. It was so fun to see how it was done.” She learned numerous things such as changing out an E-PLEX lock to a Power Plex lock. It was Taylor’s first time using power tools!

Kenton Brothers Ladies Take to the Field

Taylor Peebles

Many of our customers are on a first name basis with our Technicians. It was pretty awesome feedback for Taylor to hear that she was being trained by the very best!

This was an eye opening experience for our ladies. They now have a greater appreciation for the skill our technicians have and what it takes to get things done the #KBWay.

Kenton Brothers promotes four technicians into a brand new foreman position.

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By Ryan Kaullen, Field Services Manager at Kenton Brothers

Kenton Brothers was established in 1897 here in Kansas City, Missouri and is still owned and operated by the same family. The company traces its roots to mechanical locksmithing, but has adapted with the times and offers a full range of services including locksmithing, access control, commercial video surveillance, intrusion detection, metal detectors, and much more.

Throughout the company’s 123 years in existence, there have been many traditions established, many forms of promotions, and many paths for its employees to grow. In that spirit, Kenton Brothers has established a new foreman position for technicians to grow into as their skills and experience mature.

Kenton Brothers: Congratulations to our four new foremen!

The foreman position is all about leadership, management, and accountability.

Our foremen are assigned jobs where they will be responsible for coordinating all job needs. Foremen will work directly with our customers on site. They’re in charge of leading our technical crews and directly driving the success of job implementation. This role, and the success of its jobs, play a vital role in Kenton Brothers’ success and growth.

Earlier this year, we held our first round of interviews and promoted a total of four existing technicians into the new foreman role. Those technicians are Zack Holden who has 5 years with Kenton Brothers, Terry McCurdy who has 3 years with Kenton Brothers, Charlie Merrill who has 1 and a half years with Kenton Brothers, and Josh Ast who has 1 year with Kenton Brothers. They each were chosen for various reasons: their skill sets, showing leadership in the field, and earning the trust from our other technicians who trust them and value their skills highly.

Kenton Brothers: Congratulations to our four new foremen!

Watching our employees grow, not only in their careers but in their personal lives as well, is something we hold dear. Our company culture embodies family. Seeing our family culture grow and thrive is essential not only to our business but the daily lives of our employees. Please join us in congratulating our new foremen Zack, Terry, Charlie, & Josh on their new roles as they advance their careers here at Kenton Brothers!

The 2019 MacGyver Award goes to… Chris Skinner!

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By Gina Stuelke, CEO of Kenton Brothers.

We relived a part of our 123 year history last month in thinking of Bill Kenton. Some of you had the privilege of knowing him. Bill was the 2nd generation founding Kenton involved in the company from the time he was 12 years old until he passed away at 91 in 2010.

In the early years of KB, he ran the field services team and became known for his response when a tech would call in to the office express frustration on a job. He would say, “Well, IT DIDN’T GROW THERE… figure it out!”

Chris SkinnerSo in his honor, in 2015 we created an award to pay tribute to the KB security professional who has the tenacity and creative problem solving skills to get the job done while overcoming any adversity they may encounter. We liken this ability to the famous TV show and character from the 1980’s – MacGyver – who could pretty much solve any predicament with some ingenuity and the use of a paper clip or multi-tool Swiss Army knife! The definition of ‘to MacGyver’ something at KB is to fix something in a resourceful and improvisational way.

The 2019 prestigious ‘MacGyver award’ goes to Chris Skinner!

Chris exemplifies the KB Way and is a great contributor to our company. We appreciate his hard work, determination and work ethic! Chris has a great wife, Kathy and three spunky children: Wyatt, Griffen and Sofiya.

We appreciate Chris as a leader and role model for our technical services team. Congratulations Chris!

2019 MacGyver Award - Chris Skinner 2019 MacGyver Award - Chris Skinner

KB is CSEIP certified to design access control systems for the Federal Government.

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By Neal Bellamy, IT Director at Kenton Brothers.

We sent team members to Washington for CSEIP CertificationSpecial access control requirements require special access control people.

Our most complex access control customer is any federal government customer. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has a set of memorandums that outline requirements for any government office access control system. This allows the federal government system to authenticate who a person is as well as allow a person access to a building.

Certainly, this falls under “Special requirements” that spans way past allowing or denying access through a door.

Understanding the requirements itself is a challenge. But two of our guys, Ryan Nance and Chris Skinner, have stepped up to that challenge. Both of them went to D.C. for training that involves the latest in Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), CAC / PIV Cards, and Biometrics. Both have been involved in multiple installations of government facilities across Kansas City for many years.

KB has CSEIP CertificationsCSEIP Certified

Ryan and Chris are both CSEIP certified to design and install physical access control systems (PACS as it’s known to the Feds) that meet OMB requirements.

Kenton Brothers has been helping the federal government for decades with their locks, keys, safes, containers and maintenance of their cameras and access control. This new certification means that Kenton Brothers is ready to serve the federal facilities in the Midwest region for their new PACS installations.

If your facility is ready for the latest and greatest in access control, let us know how we can help!