Construction Equipment Owner

There’s more to college basketball than Tennessee, Memphis, and UConn and it’s on display starting this weekend when the NCAA Women’s Division 3 Regional Basketball games begin Friday at 16 locations throughout the country. Sixty-three teams qualified or were named to the tournament, and for the second year in a row the Illinois Wesleyan University women’s basketball team (25-2) is one of them!

IWU — with starters Mallory Heydorn (yes, my junior daughter!), Crystal Dye, Sarah Bull, Claire Sheehan, Christina Solari, and a deep and effective bench — won the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) conference tournament last Saturday. They will host the first round of the NCAA Division 3 regionals Friday in Bloomington, IL.

The IWU Titans will play the Maryville University (St. Louis) Saints at 8:00 Friday night. That game will be preceded by Manchester College (IN) Spartans against University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks. The Warhawks are just down the road from Pavement’s Fort Atkinson, WI, headquarters. The winners of each game will play Saturday at 7:00.

Those who attend the game not only will get to see some of the best basketball in the Midwest, they’ll also get to hear The World’s Most Dangerous Pep Band play the “The Star-Spangled Banner” the way it’s meant to be played — plus the swingingest “Hey Baby” you’ll hear on a basketball court.

Good luck IWU!

I’m not going to reveal names or companies but some contractors believe they should teach their employees everything they know — and should even open their books to employees so the employee feels more a part of the company and better understands some of the company decisions. Other contractors keep a tight rein on their workers, teaching them only as much as they need to know to perform their specific job — and no more. Which approach is best? I lean toward the former but that depends as much on the people you employ as your comfort level with revealing that much information.

But contractors who opt for the latter approach — revealing information on a need-to-know basis only — have a point. We have all heard stories of contractors who took employees under their wing, taught them the skills, and taught them the business, only to have them leave and start up their own business competing with their mentor and calling on some of their former employer’s best accounts. Not the most ethical approach to be sure.

But the folks who leave to start their own business aren’t necessarily evil; in fact they might be great people who just came to the realization (as their employer at one time did) that they want to run their own company and work for themselves. Good for them. But they should start their business in a way that doesn’t immediately threaten their employer, and they should start by scouring the market for new clients — not cherry pick the clients from their old job.

Barbara Rose, in a recent Chicago Tribune column, points out that more and more frequently employers of all types are demanding, employees are signing, and courts are upholding non-compete clauses in employment contracts. The effective clauses have a reasonable end date and it’s one way to feel a little more comfortable as you teach your employees everything they need to know. I’m not a fan of restricting a person’s ability to feed himself and his family, but as Rose’s article points out there are ways to comply with the letter of the non-compete while still earning a living in the same industry.

On the other hand, when you do a good job training, and a protege leaves to make his or her own way, you might just have upgraded the industry a little bit. I know of a number of contractors who have encouraged employees to strike out on their own, the result being another quality contractor providing a quality service — even if he does compete with his former employer.

If the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association has its way contractors will be constructing, repairing, and striping more and more concrete parking lots as the concrete industry promotes concrete as a parking lot material through The Concrete Industry Parking Lot Promotion Plan. Launched last year, the plan has the support of at least 13 state ready mix associations and NRMCA hopes to increase the market share of parking lot construction to 15.1% in 2010, up from 9.1% in 2005.

The parking lot promotion plan was developed by a concrete industry working group that identified parking lots as the concrete industry’s largest promotional opportunity. Also part of the plan is NRMCA’s Parking Lot Design Assistance Program which the organization hopes will help specifiers who are not as familiar with specifying concrete for parking lot pavement as they are with specifying hot mix asphalt.

Want to get a little insight into what your paving, striping, or sealcoating job might involve in the not-too-distant future? Take a look at what 52 towns and cities, six counties, and 10 regional governments have already instituted. The American Association of Retired Persons AARP Bulletin (I read it in the checkout line) reports that walkers, bikers, and the disabled might be the driving forces behind major changes to city streets and intersections.

In an article titled StreetSmart AARP focuses on Kirkland, WA, which it says might just have the streets of the future. Officials from towns and cities throughout the country are visiting Kirkland to see firsthand its use of wider, raised sidewalks; flowered medians; flashing lights imbedded in crosswalks; bike lanes; ramps to crosswalks and more. The Kirkland approach is termed “complete streets” and is designed to allow pedestrians, bicyclists, and riders of public transportation to safely share the road with cars and trucks.

NPE ended in Nashville on Groundhog Day, and while I’ve been back a week now I’m only slowly, like a groundhog, ready to try peaking my head out from under my piled-up desk to see if life (and work) is still going on as I left it.

It is…but before I get back to it, a quick shout-out to all the great folks I had a chance to talk with at NPE in Nashville. For me you folks are one of the great pleasures of this job and I truly enjoy meeting you and all my conversations with you (however brief they sometimes are) as I learn about each of you and your businesses. You’re an engaging and thought-provoking bunch and I learn enough at each of these shows to fire up the magazine (and future seminar programs) for another year.

So to speakers, contractors, exhibitors — old friends and new — thanks for taking the time to talk with me, sharing your concerns, complaints, successes, and hopes for the future. I appreciate it and look forward to doing it again, just like the groundhog, in another year.

National Pavement Expo 2008 is only days away and I’m heading out tomorrow to get the seminar program all set up. If you’re heading to NPE in Nashville, good for you. Please take a few minutes out of your day to stop by and say hello. I can usually be found in and around Room 207 at the Nashville Convention Center. If you’re not heading to NPE, and particularly if you’ve never attended, you ought to give the show some serious consideration. Whether you’re in the market for equipment, considering adding a service, looking for a material supplier, or just want to exchange ideas with other contractors there’s no better time and place to do it. Hope to see you there!

Seems we can’t turn on the television, read the newspaper, or access just about any internet news site without reading that we could be, might be, or already are in one of the most-dreaded of economic situations, a recession. Never mind that a real recession requires six - six! - full months of economic decline and as of this writing we’ve had only one, recession is just one of those news “stories” the other media likes because, like “fire,” “shooting,” “accident,” and “illicit affair” the word elicits a reaction and draws attention, regardless of whether the information provided is beneficial, or even whether it’s accurate. I’m not saying we aren’t in a recession; I’m just saying let’s wait until the numbers are in, then call it what it is, recession or not.

Walking briskly from the bookstore to the car the other day I was stopped by typically dressed, warm-looking teenager. We approached each other as I rounded a corner, his hands were dug deep into his coat pockets, his scarf tight around his neck, and his long and unruly brown hair blowing in the cold wind. He made a hesitant step to interrupt my stride, seemed to stop himself, then started again toward me.

“Excuse me,” he said. “Could you help me out with a dollar or two for a train ticket?” I slowed, said, sorry, but no, and kept walking. Then I stopped. I had just spent more than I’d planned to on an assortment of gifts and some holiday cheer, and I reconsidered. I turned and asked him where he was going. “Union Station, in the city,” he said. Reasonable, as the train station was only two blocks away. I pulled a $5 bill from my wallet, handed it to him, and he seemed surprised. “Merry Christmas,” I told him. “Hope you get into the city soon.” He thanked me, wished me Merry Christmas, too, and we each went our separate ways…me toward my car and him toward the station. Could it have been a scam? Of course. Does it really matter? No. I decided long ago I can’t be the arbiter of who is or isn’t legitimate when asking me for spare change, and while I can’t give to everyone — who can? — I give when I can.

‘Tis the season when our collective soul seems more alive than it does at other times of the year. So if you’re approached by someone who might be in need, and if you can afford some spare change or a dollar or two, consider helping him out. That dollar or two will likely have a bigger impact on his life than keeping it will have on yours. For those who want a little more security when making donations to those less fortunate, you can visit www.CharityWatch.org or www.CharityNavigator.org to learn which charities do the best job of putting your donation where it’s supposed to go.

And from all of us at Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction, National Pavement Expo, and National Pavement Expo West, we wish you and your families a holiday season of warmth and cheer and new year of peace.

Mike Horn, Foothills Paving & Maintenance, Wheat Ridge, CO, came to National Pavement Expo West last month to present what was (not surprisingly) a very highly rated seminar. He was working at the show and those who attended his “Maximize Crack Repair Profits!” seminar likely took home some darn good ideas about how to do just that.

But Mike didn’t stop working once his seminar was done – because he knows how to get the most out of a trade show. First, he brought a number of his employees with him – and they all attended near a full house (note the Las Vegas reference) of NPE West seminars. So far, so good, but a lot of contractors attending conference programs do that. By bringing more people you can cover more seminar topics and absorb more information.

What Mike did that was different is he scheduled what he terms a “debriefing” the week after the show. Mike brought everyone together and they compared notes. They shared what they learned, talked about what they shared, and, he says, got a little excited about where the company could go. So far, still good, but Foothills Paving & Maintenance took even another step, and this one was a giant step. At the debriefing they compiled a list of 41 points – 41! – the company wanted to act on or at least investigate.

“Some of the things we learned are immediate, things we can do and will do almost right away,” Mike says. “Others are short-term things that we can start working on and put in place relatively quickly. And still others are long-term things that we’ll probably hand over to internal committees to look into a little more.”

Whoa! I’m sure Foothills Paving & Maintenance isn’t the only contractor that uses educational programs in this way, but they sure offer a great blueprint to follow. We’ll check back with Foothills in the future to see what the status of those 41 points is.

Be honest now. How many undocumented immigrants are on your payroll right this second? Last season? The last couple of years? If you’re like many contractors you hire people who can do the work and don’t pay much attention to their documentation…or you look the other way even if you know.

And if you’re short manpower on a crew — for a day, a week, or even more — how have you handled that in the past? Many contractors turn to the pool of day laborers available in most markets of a decent size. These folks aren’t skilled pros, they’re warm bodies willing to put in a day of work, trading their unskilled labor for wages. Not the best situation for either party, certainly, but almost an essential part of the construction industry’s labor pool … Unless you work in Chicago.

An article in the Chicago Tribune reports day laborers are suing the city for harassment, despite the fact contractors utilize these folks every day. A touchy issue to be sure, especially with current concerns over immigration. But many paving and pavement maintenance contractors would have a tough time filling out crews were it not for some of these folks.