Our Technician’s Secret Sauce: Ongoing training, learning from peers and working as a team.

By Neal Bellamy, IT Director at Kenton Brothers

I want to take a moment and talk about our amazing commercial security technicians. Technicians are where the rubber meets the road for Kenton Brothers. They are the ones who solve problems every day and make the systems work to protect people, property, and possessions.

Kenton Brothers Technician Training

It all starts with training.

Kenton Brothers supports many different technologies and products. Some of our team supports keying, master key systems, safety deposit boxes, safes, and more. Another part of our team supports commercial access control, video surveillance, intrusion detection, and analytics. Some of our people know a little bit about all of it… and some of them know a lot about some of it.

With such a wide breadth and depth related to what they do, training is incredibly important. When a technician starts with Kenton Brothers, we have them do several training classes to get up to speed. It gives newer security technicians an introduction to the way we provide commercial security solutions and the language that we use. Ongoing training gives the more experienced technicians a refresher. After earning their stripes, a career development plan is created to help them learn new or deeper skills to make them even more versatile and capable.

Kenton Brothers Technician Training

Learning from peers.

Training and classes can get you so far, but learning from your fellow technicians is just as valuable. Seasoned technicians take their skills and turn them into an art. Several on our team have been a part of Kenton Brothers for over a decade. They take great pride in their work and have learned how to hone their craft. Part of being a craftsman is teaching the next person how to be an artist themselves. Thankfully, our technicians love to share their knowledge with newer technicians.

Availability.

I also want to give some appreciation to our team for always being available. Sure, like many service based companies we have an after-hours program. This gives you peace of mind that your company can be secure even after many of us have gone home for the day. But this is more than that. Our technicians pick up the phone when another tech needs help. There are many oddities in the security world and sometimes you need a “phone a friend” to figure out what you’re looking at. I am proud of the fact that our team is great about helping each other out, even when it isn’t easy or required.

The Kenton Brothers technicians are the best team I’ve ever had the privilege to work with. They are some of the best in their industry, with a ton of knowledge and great big hearts.

If you want to be part of a team like that, and are willing to put in the work to become one of the best, give us a shout at careers@kentonbrothers.com. We are always looking for experienced security techs as well as good people who are ready to start a new career in commercial security!

Kenton Brothers University: We Invest in Our Employees

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

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.

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!

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