Blog Archives
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Don't Forget, You're Selling Integrity, Too...
By Allan Heydorn - Thursday October 11, 2007Some interesting comments from Darrin Thornton, PolySteel Alternative Building Systems, caused me to think about paving and pavement maintenance crews and how they look in the field. Thornton decided several years ago to use his vehicles as "mobile billboards" by for his local ready-mix supplier. The result, not surprising to many marketing pros, is increased recognition throughout the market and increased sales. This sounds simple, but it's amazing how many contractors do little or nothing to help themselves make an impression as they work on a job or even drive down a street to a job. Take a look at the next crew you see working. Can you see the company name? A logo? A phone number? An address? Does the equipment look like it all belongs... -
Another Blog Value: Thanking NAPSA
By Allan Heydorn - Wednesday October 3, 2007This blog provides a great opportunity to write about a lot of things, some of which might be interesting to you folks and some just fun to write about. But one of the things I just realized is it enables me to publicly thank some of the people who help us out, at National Pavement Expo, for example. So thanks to the handful of members at the North American Power Sweeping Association (NAPSA) who help put together and host the annual "Best Practices" workshop, which is fast becoming one of the best-attended sweeping sessions at NPE. Uri Ben Yashar, East Coast Lot & Pavement Maintenance, was a driving force behind the concept and serves as the moderator each year, but he couldn't do it without a number of NAPSA members stepping up to... -
If It Were Easy...
By Allan Heydorn - Friday September 28, 2007Talked on the phone recently with Lars Ingerslev, owner of Competitive Asphalt Coatings Inc. in Norco, CA. We had set up time to do an interview (read the story in October/November Pavement) while he was on the road, driving to present a bid, and for some reason things weren't happening; we weren't connecting. Not at all unusual in my end of the business where I am constantly pulling contractors or manufacturers away from their daily efforts and frequently disrupting their daily schedule. But Lars called back and here's the deal: He's an hour out of Norco, heading to the bid; his employee pulls into the yard to pick up the work order, but the work order isn't there - though it was when Lars left the yard the night before. As Lars said... -
Readers Practice What They Preach
By Allan Heydorn - Tuesday September 25, 2007Each year, in addition to the weekly (almost daily) contact we have with contractors and manufacturers, Cygnus Business Media sends its editors into the field on what we call "reader calls." We visit contractors, spend some time with them, either on a job or in their office, and just talk about their business, the industry, and whether Pavement, National Pavement Expo, and National Pavement Expo West serve their needs. This is a great opportunity for us to make sure we're on the right track, to learn about new trends, learn how work is done, and to gain some insights we might otherwise not have gained without a field visit. Many of our article ideas, seminar ideas, and any shifts in program or magazine emphasis are partly driven by... -
GPS no longer "on trial" but "in trial"
By Allan Heydorn - Tuesday September 18, 2007Many contract sweepers have been experimenting with tracking via global positioning systems (GPS) for years - some even spending thousands of dollars to develop their own sweeping-focused GPS. And depending on which sweeping contractors you talk with, GPS can be a business-saving technology that improves job quality, employee performance, profits and customer confidence. It might be expensive, and if you pay for too-detailed a service, you might be wasting money, but sweepers (and owners of other construction equipment, and insurance companies) have come to accept that GPS is valuable in pinpointing a truck or an action at a specific time and location. Now the Illinois State's Attorney's office agrees, and they have a judge who supports... -
"How-to" Info...for FREE!
By Allan Heydorn - Friday September 14, 2007From time to time I'll alert you to information you might put to use - some free and some not. We'll start you out with a freebie (though your tax dollars have really already funded it) to get you hooked. The second edition of the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) popular Pavement Preservation Toolbox CD is now available, and if you're looking to start or enhance your pavement maintenance library this would be a great addition. Designed to help state and local agencies manage their investment in highways, the toolbox CD contains a wealth of information on cutting-edge technologies and practices in pavement preservation. Included is the Caltrans Maintenance Technical Advisory Guide; recent FHWA technical memos on pavement... -
State of the Market Update
By Allan Heydorn - Tuesday September 11, 2007Every once in a while I’ll pass along some insights provided by contractors, just to offer a sense on the state of the market. Generally I’ll pass this information along without identifying the contractor or the specific market, but hopefully it will offer some insights into what’s going on out there, at least anecdotally or regionally. For the first “state of the market†report we turn to Rocky Mountain Region, where winter can’t come too early if you’re a skier (or ski lodge owner) but can never come too late if you’re putting down hot mix. A phone call from a veteran contractor in that region of the western United States reports he’s suddenly contending with bigger paving... -
Superbowl Preview?
By Allan Heydorn - Friday September 7, 2007Football fans who think they might be tied up next February 3 might want to tune in Sunday, Sept. 9, to watch the Chicago Bears play the San Diego Chargers in what could easily be a preview of Superbowl XLII in Phoenix. The game is in San Diego and kickoff is 3:15 p.m. CST. The Bears made it last year, and ignoring the fact that they really weren’t ready to play against Indianapolis (who the heck knows how that could happen in a Superbowl?), the Chicago team looks a good bet to repeat as NFC champs. The defense is expected to be even tougher than last year, Rex Grossman finally has a complete injury-free season under his belt, the team has added some wide receiver speed, and offensive coordinator Ron Turner seems to have discovered... -
Advantage: Pavement Maintenance
By Allan Heydorn - Thursday September 6, 2007While the U.S. Open tennis tournament slams and slices its way to this weekend’s championship games (is anyone out there not picking Justine Henin and Roger Federer to win the singles’ championships?) tennis watchers are faced with “deuce†points, when opponents are tied, and “advantage†points when one player is one point a way from winning a game. Deuce is okay – you haven’t lost yet – but “advantage†is where you want to be, in control and on the verge of a win. In the current economy – in fact in most economic situations -- there’s no question it’s advantage: pavement maintenance, and here’s why. Recent Commerce Department construction figures... -
The Labor Day Milepost
By Allan Heydorn - Thursday August 30, 2007Some contractors approach Labor Day as an opportunity to take a break and give their employees and equipment a breather before the stretch run through October and up to Thanksgiving (the general target of most contractors in the Midwest and northern climates to end their season). Other contractors take an entirely different approach, looking at the three-day weekend as a chance to tackle the toughest jobs – the unusually large jobs, the jobs where traffic control is a nightmare most of the year, or the hard-to-schedule properties – to knock them out so they can get on to other jobs as they push through to the end of the season. Both approaches have their value and their proponents – but the approach to this holiday...
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