Grading and Excavation Contractor

John Trotti

By John Trotti

If there’s one thing to learn from our sister publication, Municipal Solid Waste Management, it’s that there is a very direct connection between prosperity and waste … a vision about as startling as any that would prompt my kids to say, “Well duh!” During good times it’s easy to relax our vigilance and concentrate on where we think the big money is, settling for a little slop in our processes and doling out peripheral tasks to others.

So if, you’ve gotten used to the good times but now are beginning to feel a pinch, maybe it’s time to take a sharper look at your operating procedures to make sure they’re as sound as they should be. Then, after you’ve honed them to a fine edge, look to see if you haven’t been subbing out some tasks you could just as well be doing yourself.

Under the Microscope
The first thing I would urge you to do—even if you’ve got the newest, most powerful accounting suite on the planet—is turn to [ITALIC]Beyond Horizontal: Accounting and Financial Software[ITALIC] (p. 8) for an excellent primer on the state of the art in accounting. But no matter how good your office suite is, it has to have good data to chew on … a situation covered in the well-worn saw “garbage-in-garbage-out.” This in turn leads to the recognition that under most circumstances it’s the data collection and gathering tasks that offer the greatest promise for finding and plugging any leaks that have crept into your operating practices during the go-go years. Perhaps the most effective tools for aiding you in these tasks are emerging from several directions under the collective handle of “telematics,” a subject that we discussed at some length in the “Technology in Construction” department of our February 2008 issue, and which can be accessed at (http://www.gradingandexcavating.com/gx_0802_technology.html).

If you want to know how much time each of your ADTs is standing idle, or which of your excavators is doing the most work, telematics holds the answers. Likewise, when it comes to scheduling, think how nice it is to have at your fingertips information on maintenance and servicing needs for your different pieces of equipment. Not only can telematics provide you with amazingly detailed and accurate information on your operations, but that information is in real-time, allowing you to make on-the-fly decisions about how best to employ your resources. It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to see that telematics can tell you a lot about not only your operating practices and the effectiveness of your equipment mix, but the individual performance of your operators and managers as well.

Sweeping the Scraps
As I spoke with different people at the World of Concrete Expo in Las Vegas earlier this year, it became apparent that a lot of contractors have been so absorbed in what they perceived as the most profitable tasks that they left some of the smaller or more specialized activities to others. Now, however, with the specter of a colder business climate on the horizon, many are rethinking the situation. Among potential areas of expansion I heard discussed, three areas stood out: concrete flatwork, C&D materials processing, and erosion and sediment control installation.

One contactor explained that he had resisted doing concrete work until he found himself faced with a situation where the only way he could see to avoid a significant loss was to make the investment in a batch plant and paver to complete the installation of a pad. Not only did the decision to do this allow him to turn a profit, it gave him a new insight on future business opportunities. “Because I’m in control of the fine grading, I’m in a better position control the paving costs,” he explained.

Another contractor told how a combination of ordinances on C&D debris recycling and erosion and sediment control in his local area effectively forced him to take on these tasks. “It dawned on me it made no sense to pay someone to take tree stumps and rubble away from the job site one day,” he opined, “and then later pay someone else to bring in pretty much the same material to meet erosion and stormwater plans.”

How many other opportunities are out there? It’s worth your time and effort to look for them before you find your equipment and crews standing idle.

GEC - March/April 2008

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