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Cross-training the crew
Harris says North Suburban Asphalt Maintenance is a nine or 10-person company including himself and two office staff. That means a full-blown crew would consist of six or seven people, all of whom are cross-trained on all equipment.

"Everyone can step in where someone else was working and get the job done," Harris says. "Of course some guys operate one piece more efficiently than others, but we're talking maybe a matter of seconds or minutes, not hours."

He says cross training wasn't a planned step in the company's growth, but it's a welcome step he encouraged when he noticed production lagging on some jobs a few years back. "I asked why it took so long on a few of the jobs and I was told 'Well, this guy didn't know how to do that,' or 'this guy didn't come in so we had to teach a guy to do that.' I knew we couldn't operate that way and continue to be productive at the level we want to be at, so everyone needs to be trained on everything."

Cross-training also enables Kaczmarski to split the crew because no matter who he sends ahead to the next job they can all handle the work. Harris describes Kaczmarski as a "working superintendent." "He's definitely the heartbeat out there."

Harris says he's always eyed growth, thinking about how to get bigger and when to get bigger. But he says he finally asked himself the most important question: Why get bigger?