Grading and Excavation Contractor

John Trotti

I make it a practice every now and again to open up previous issues of Grading & Excavation Contractor to see where we stand today relative to the path that brought us here.

When you take a look at how much has happened in those eight years, it’s tempting to say that everything has changed, but has it? Yes, there have been startling leaps in the equipment and the systems that allow us to wring ever greater productivity from them. Yes, we’ve witnessed wholesale changes in the regulations that define so many of our actions. For certain we’ve seen a significant turnover in our workforce in terms of age and background, but for all that, when I revisit my very first Editor’s Comments, I realize that even in the lap of tremendous upheaval, what was true then is no less true today ... if anything, even more so. The title for the column was “Running a Tight Ship,” and its incentive statement read:

You know what the margin between success and failure is. You know that every time you turn around, the competition has gotten stiffer. The insurance rates higher. The regulators meaner. It doesn’t matter whether we’re in the middle of a building boom or a depression, does it? Even if you’ve been around for a while and carved out a niche for yourself, doesn’t it seem that instead of being able to relax a little and enjoy the fruits of success, you’re having to work twice as hard as before just to try to stay where you are? And you better believe that it’s going to get even tougher ... that these here and now are destined to become the good old days.

In subsequent issues, we clicked off what we felt were the keys to success, eventually encapsulating them in what thereafter we’ve considered the cornerstones for the publication.

Cornerstones
Succinctly put, they are:

Workforce—Your workers’ commitment to you and your goals is the single most important asset you have. When you look at the people who work for you, do you like what you see? If so, you’re on the right track. If not then it’s time you reexamined your own practices as the first step to change.

Safety—It’s hard not to look at safety in terms of accidents, but that’s only part of the equation. True, they’re the yardstick by which others—notably OSHA, insurers, and potential customers—will evaluate you, but they’re only the outer manifestation of a more fundamental condition. Safety is a process that leads to where every single one of your employees, when he or she looks in a mirror, realizes, “This is the person responsible for my safety,” and that vision starts with you.

Regulations—There are the direct measures of regulatory compliance, where failure is reflected in such costs as fines and make-goods. But as with safety, the real measure lies in an inner commitment to doing things the right way rather than just meeting the prescribed requirements. While it may be tempting to say to yourself that “good enough” is sufficient, you know that anything short of excellence will come home to roost ... and if you don’t, your customers will.

Technology—Change is upon us. Features such as integrated worksite communications management, machine control, automated diagnostics and reporting, and even partial robotics are emerging. It’s not enough to accept them as inevitable, to take advantage of them you have to make a commitment not merely to their mechanics but to the underlying principles from which they spring.

The Rest of the Story
Your ability to access, digest, and apply pertinent information is the remainder of the equation.

In the military sense, this is intelligence, involving exposure to the knowledge and vision of others, beginning with the experience of your professional advisors, peers, and those whose job it is to look into what the future is likely to hold.

It is here that Grading & Excavation Contractor fits in as what I hope you will find as a good servant in your quest for success.

GEC - Buyers Guide 2008

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