Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction February 2018

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF NATIONAL PAVEMENT EXPO

FEBRUARY 2018

MAINTENANCE & RECONSTRUCTION PCTC Kicks Off Education Campaign

SWEEPER OF THE YEAR

Jacketta Sweeping Service Celebrates 50 Years of Adapting to its Market & Working for Sweeping 2018 Top Contractor Survey Form Emerald Expos to Launch

NPE WEST

2018

Pavement Awards!

How to

REENERGIZE Baby Boomer Workers

5 TIPS

for Managing Density

in October

Contractor of the Year

Supreme-Metro Corp. Creates Career Paths for Employees, Comfort for Customers › › › www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

ForConstructionPros.com/10074550

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What’s Inside February 2018

FEATURES 14

Contractor of the Year

Supreme-Metro Corp. creates career paths for employees, comfort for customers – and attracts interest resulting in private equity backing.

20 Sweeper of the Year

Family-owned Jacketta Sweeping Service celebrates 50 years adapting to its Utah market while working to improve the sweeping industry.

24 Seal & Stripe:

Small Job

Garrett Paving sealcoats while working around school activities in summer.

26 Seal & Stripe:

Large Job

Planning and execution key when ACI Asphalt & Concrete tackled huge job.

28 Paving:

Parking Lot

32 Best of the Web

Non-Parking Lot Bituminous Roadways overcomes rain and scheduling challenges in track reconstruction project.

Bituminous Roadways’ redesign creates bolder, simpler, more userfriendly site to attract customers.

38 Pavement

Hall of Fame

33 Best Marketing

Video

Award-winning video creates a “welcome mat” to U.S. Asphalt Maintenance.

34 Good Neighbor

Asphalt Contractors Inc. fights inspector, driving rain, and schedule on award-winning job.

30 Paving:

PAVEMENT

Service Award

48 2018 Top 25

Products

Family history drives Asphalt Restoration Technology Systems’ efforts on behalf of Sunshine Foundation Dream Village.

36 Alan Curtis Industry Ranger Kidwell-Ross, WorldSweeper.com, has been a visible and impactful presence in the sweeping industry since 1987.

Guy Gruenberg, Grow Consulting, is “a sales and marketing guy” who brings to his consulting and speaking the combined perspectives of contractor, manufacturer and distributor.

2018

TOP 25

PRODUCTS

A review of the paving and pavement maintenance industry products that received the most interest last year from Pavement readers and visitors to ForConstructionPros.com.

52 Contractors’ Choice:

Remix Pavers

The quest for a higher-quality mat expands contractor applications for these versatile machines.

ON THE COVER Pavement’s 2018 Contractor of the Year is Supreme-Metro Corp., South Plainfield, NJ. Their management team is (from left) Todd Biglow,

vice president of operations; Patricia Ventura, vice president of finance; Jason Ciavarro, president; Adam Johnson, vice president of concrete; Jack Eckhardt, project manager/estimator. Photo courtesy Supreme-Metro Corp.

Vol. 32, No. 3 February 2018

Published and copyrighted 2018 by AC Business Media Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

PAVEMENT

Subscription policy: Individual subscriptions are available without charge in the U.S. only to pavement maintenance contractors, producers and government employees involved in paving or pavement maintenance; dealers, and distributors of pavement maintenance equipment or materials; and others with similar business activities. Complete the subscription form at www. forconstructionpros.com or use your company letterhead giving all the information requested. Publisher reserves the right to reject nonqualified subscribers. One year subscriptions for nonqualified individuals: $35.00 U.S.A., $60.00 Canada and Mexico, and $85.00 all other countries (payable in U.S. funds, drawn on U.S. bank). Single copies available (prepaid only) $10.00 each (U.S., Canada & Mexico), $15.00 each (International). Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction (ISSN 1098-5875), is published eight times per year: January, February, March/April, May, June/July, August/ September, October/November, December by AC Business Media Inc., 201 N. Main St., Fort Atkinson, WI 53538. Periodicals postage paid at Fort Atkinson, WI and additional entry offices.

POSTMASTER: Please send change of address to Pavement, PO Box 3605, Northbrook, IL 60065-3605. Printed in the USA. Canada Post PM40612608. Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction, PO Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2.

PAVEMENT MAINTENANCE & RECONSTRUCTION is proudly supported by these associations:

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What’s Inside February 2018

DEPARTMENTS 6

Editorial

8

Hot Mix

It’s Just What You Do! 8

The Latest News in the Industry

10 Just In

Select New Products and Upgrades 12 NPE Buzz

Emerald to Launch NPE West in 2018 18 2018 Top Contractor Survey

40 Pavement Profit Center 55 Classified

68

71

Ads

63 On the Job

Top 5 Tips for Managing Density 67 From the Owner’s Desk

Two Steps to Better Insurance 68 Your Business Matters

Take a Formal Approach to Make Internal Service Work for You 69 NAPSA Report

NAPSA Impacts Insurance rates

63

69 WSA Update

The Value of Company Culture 70 PCTC Dispatch

PCTC Launches Education Campaign 71 Technology Update

Put Drivers in Safe Hands with Telematics 72 Contractor Snapshot

How Service & Communication Drive Growth at A-Vac Sweeping 73

74

10

72

Advertiser Index

74 Tailgate Talk

How to Reenergize Baby Boomer Workers

4 February 2018 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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TRUSTED BY SOME PRETTY IMPORTANT CUSTOMERS…

Congratulations

Jacketta Sweeping!

For winning the 4th annual (2018) Pavement Magazine’s Sweeper of the Year Award. Thank you for your trust in the Elgin brand and for an outstanding job in serving the local communities throughout the state of Utah!

VISIT ELGIN SWEEPER COMPANY AT

WORLD OF ASPHALT | BOOTH #3524 www.elginsweeper.com | 847-741-5370 ©2018 Elgin Sweeper Company

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Editorial

Allan Heydorn, Editor

It's Just What You Do! IT’S A GIVEN THAT the jobs that are recognized by our annual Pavement Awards are quality projects. What’s interesting is the varied challenges award recipients tackled in the everyday operation of their business.

For Asphalt Contractors Inc., Union Grove, WI, a small patch became a milling, overlay and striping job that had to be done in a scarily tight time frame, in the rain – and under the “watchful” eye of a city inspector.

Bituminous Roadways Inc., Minneapolis, MN,

juggled its work among the schedules of numerous subcontractors and paved a running track within narrow athletics tolerances.

Garrett Paving, Athens, GA, sealcoated and striped more than 175,000 sq. ft. of roads and parking lots while all sorts of summer school activities were taking place.

ACI Asphalt & Concrete, Maple Grove, MN, took on a sealcoating and striping job more than twice as big (830,000 sq. ft.) as any they’d ever done.

Planning and logistics,

job size, construction specs, restrictive deadlines, weather.

Those are just some of the challenges the 2018 Pavement Award recipients faced and overcame – and they’re just some of what all contractors face on a regular basis.

Because remember: when these contractors did the jobs that eventually were recognized for Pavement awards, they were not tackled for that reason. They were bid and completed in their everyday line of work. This is what contractors do.

So congratulations to

these contractors, to the runners-up, and thanks to all the companies who entered work (more than triple last year’s number of entrants) they are proud of in this fourth year of our Pavement Awards.

It’s always nice to be recognized for what you do every day; it’s even more important to recognize that what you do every day is just that: what you do.

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6 February 2018 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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Hot Mix

Brahney, Miller Join Pavement Advisory Board Two new contractor members have joined the Pavement Advisory Board this year. Lee Miller, president and CEO of Pacific Sweeping, San Marcos, CA, and Steven Brahney, CEO of Brahney Paving, Hillsborough, NJ. They succeed Alan Rose, former owner of Rose Paving, Bridgeview, IL, who has been a board member since 1997, and Tom Kuhns, Capitol Sweeping Services, South Windsor, CT, a board member since 2009.

Brahney started striping parking lots for a family friend when he was 12 years old, making him a veteran of more than 30 years in the paving and pavement maintenance industry. He continued striping until he graduated from college when he became a full-service pavement maintenance contractor. In 2005, encouraged by many of his customers, he added asphalt and concrete paving.

“Our customers pretty much wanted us to be able to do everything so we felt we had to get into paving,” he says. “Adding those two Steve Brahney services not only solidified my relationship with my customers but also spurred our growth.”

Today the 15-person Brahney Paving, with two office locations and two equipment storage yards, provides asphalt paving (40%), concrete paving (35%) and pavement maintenance services (25%) to commercial, industrial and multi-family properties in New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware and northern Maryland.

Brahney Paving operates under the umbrella of a master holding company, Slurry Pavement Solutions. Also operating under the umbrella are offshoots of Brahney Paving including 877-FixAsphalt, Fix-Asphalt. com of Delmarva Peninsula and Fix-Asphalt. com of the Jersey Shore – all of which provide asphalt and concrete paving and pavement maintenance services.

Lee Miller is a member of the North American Power Sweeping Association, and Pacific Sweeping is the San Diego area’s exclusive 1-800-SWEEPER member. Miller who has a degree in public administration and a certificate in entrepreneurial studies,

put the former to use over a 15-year period when he was overseeing public works departments for three California cities.

During that time he was involved in street sweeping, asphalt maintenance and pavement marking among other services, and he was responsible for writing the specifications for in-house street sweeping and for outsourcing other work.

In 2006 Miller began putting his entrepreneurial studies degree to work, joining 47-year-old Cannon Pacific Services, which changed its name in 2013 to Pacific Sweeping to better convey the work the company actually does.

Pacific Sweeping employs 50 people, operates 35 sweeping trucks and serves more than 500 public and private customers throughout Southern California. Miller says 80% of the company’s revenue is derived from sweeping for municipalities and 20% from site maintenance including parking lot sweeping, power washing, weed abatement and other general site services.

“I’m honored to be part of the Pavement Advisory Board,” Miller says. “I look forward to learning as much as I can during my term while sharing Pacific SweepLee Miller ing’s message of protecting and enhancing the environment in everything we do at the company, including providing a hassle-free service guaranteed to delight you, or you don’t pay for it.”

Jake Bernath (left) and his father, David Bernath (right) appear with Bob Wallace, SealMaster field representative, as they receive an award for the performance of their Indianapolis-based franchise. They are the new owners of SealMaster/ Louisville, which serves all of Kentucky.

SealMaster under New Ownership in Kentucky SealMaster, Sandusky, OH, has announced David Bernath and his son, Jake Bernath, are the new owners of the franchise system’s Louisville-based Kentucky territory.

This is a second franchise for the Bernaths, who have owned the Indianapolis-based Indiana territory since 2007. Previous owner J.R. Blasius sold his interests, which also include a distribution center and retail store in Lexington, upon his retirement.

“David and Jake received our Franchise of the Year Award two years ago,” said Rick Simon, SealMaster’s director of franchise operations. “They bring ingenuity to work every day with them, creating efficiencies that benefit their customers and their business.”

In other SealMaster news, the company announced the opening of a store in Plainfield, IL, the fifth store in the state. The store is owned by Kevin Shields, and Mike and Jonathan Bashir.

Graco Acquires Smith Manufacturing Graco Inc. Minneapolis, MN, announced it has acquired Smith Manufacturing, Pompano Beach, FL. Smith, which makes and sells scarifying equipment for surface preparation, will continue to operate out of their existing facility, manufacturing both Smith and Graco scarifying products.

“Smith is a well-known brand for surface preparation and grinding equipment used in striping, road construction, road maintenance and concrete flooring/surfaces,” said Dale Johnson, president of Graco’s Worldwide Contractor Equipment Division. “Their broad line of products will be a great addition to our pavement maintenance equipment offering and an excellent complement to our robust family of line striping equipment.”

In an email to its customers Steven Smith, president of Smith Mfg., said the company was excited about the acquisition.

“The new business combination will be highly beneficial to our customers, suppliers, employees and our company,” Smith said. “There will be no significant changes in the structure of the Smith organization or your pricing.”

8 February 2018 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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Just In

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AFW 150-2 Mini Paver

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•• Three-wheeled paver: two in the rear to enable traction and one in front for steering •• It can be run by a single operator and leaves behind a level, compacted surface •• Fixed hopper can be sideloaded with a skid steer •• The paver utilizes a screed similar to those on large road pavers with hydraulic adjustment of the screed while the machine is operating

Elgin Sweeper Company Elgin Sweeper has introduced an innovative single-engine configuration of its Crosswind regenerative air sweeper. A variable-speed device installed between the chassis engine and transmission on the new configuration allows the engine to simultaneously power both the truck and the sweeper.

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NPE Buzz Allan Heydorn, Editor

Emerald to Launch

NPE West in 2018 NPE West scheduled for October in Las Vegas EMERALD EXPOSITIONS, WHICH owns and operates National Pavement Expo, has decided to augment that 33-yearold show and conference with a new event, National Pavement Expo West, Oct. 31-Nov. 1 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. In a conversation with Pavement, Russ Turner, NPE show manager, outlined some of the plans behind the launch of NPE West.

PAVEMENT: It's great to see another industry event that can build on National Pavement Expo.

Turner: NPE is such an influential event for the pavement maintenance and reconstruction industry, from the education to the camaraderie, it truly is one of a kind. It has such a great, loyal following of contractors and manufacturers. We look forward to expanding that sphere of influence to contractors located on the western U.S. PAVEMENT: What encouraged Emerald to launch this NPE West event? What kind of audience research was done and can you go into industry demand a little more?

Turner: See a need, fill a need! Market demand fueled by requests of the NPE community inspired this launch.

Currently, there is no show that completely services

professionals in the pavement maintenance and reconstruction industry located on the West Coast. This geotargeted event will allow western regional contractors ease of access to suppliers.

PAVEMENT: I know you haven’t started promoting it yet, having just announced it at NPE in Cleveland, but what has been the reaction so far?

Turner: Exhibitors and attendees alike are excited and have expressed great interest in hearing more about NPE West.

We have received numerous inquiries over the last year from contractors specifically asking if we would ever come to Vegas.

It is clear that there is a need to help service groups on the West Coast.

PAVEMENT: How does Emerald view NPE West?

Turner: We envision NPE West to be both a product showcase and a vibrant networking event. It is a supplemental event to NPE and not an alternative one. The fundamental purpose of this regional expansion is to increase connections between contractors and manufacturers. Bottom line, it is our business to help customers grow their business.

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12 February 2018 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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“We are extremely proud of our Supreme Metro team, the Central NJ division of Advanced Pavement Group, for being honored as Pavement Maintenance and Reconstruction’s 2018 Contractor of the Year. They embody our vision which is simply to be the best, by executing as an Academy Class Organization, making us the logical choice in the pavement installation and maintenance market.”

Joseph J. Tinney, Jr. Chief Executive Officer Advanced Pavement Group

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Allan Heydorn, Editor

2018

Contractor of the Year Supreme-Metro Corp. creates career paths for employees, comfort for customers – and attracts interest resulting in private equity backing IT’S NOT OFTEN a private equity firm comes knocking on a contractor’s door, offering to make his company an integral part of a new, larger organization. But that’s exactly what happened to Supreme-Metro Corp., South Plainfield, NJ, Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction’s 2018 Contractor of the Year.

A company built on strong core

values, dedicated employees and a culture it reinforces daily, Supreme-Metro Corp. measures its success by monitoring employee turnover and customer retention – and turnover is low and retention is high.

“It’s all about the culture which we create and reinforce each day,” says Jason Ciavarro, president. “It’s not a

flip-of-the-switch process.”

Supreme-Metro has created an employee-focused environment that makes working for the company a career and that provides employees a path for professional growth. On-the-job training is supplemented by formal training sessions, and salary is tied directly to skills mastered. Customer retention starts

14 February 2018 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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Supreme-Metro Corp., in the midst of rebranding as Advanced Pavement Group, is a self-performing asphalt, concrete and drainage company that does 85% of its work on parking lots and 15% on low-volume roads.

thinking to our organization,” Ciavarro says. “As we expand into a regional or even national enterprise it opens up broader career paths for our employees and provides greater value to our clients.”

Defining and Reinforcing Core Values

Supreme-Metro’s management team (from left) Todd Biglow, vice president of operations; Patricia Ventura, vice president of finance; Jason Ciavarro, president; Adam Johnson, vice president of concrete; Jack Eckhardt, project manager, estimator.

with creating a memorable and positive experience from the first customer contact through invoicing and beyond and is integral to the core values and culture.

In 2017 Supreme-Metro was approached by private equity firm Dubin Clark. Their vision was to acquire Supreme-Metro as one of the cornerstones in forming Advanced Pavement Group, the foundation to building a strong regional company to serve the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.

“This relationship has brought new

“As we continue to grow, a lot of our focus will be on remaining true to our core values – customer service, quality work and education for employees,” says Patricia Ventura, executive vice president.

“We’re committed to our employees, we’re dedicated to our customers and we’re determined to provide a cost-effective solution while achieving the customer’s goals,” Ciavarro says.

But those goals can’t be achieved without the buy-in of the people who execute the work, which is why Ciavarro, Ventura and the rest of the management team constantly work to create “a culture that ties back to our core values.”

The core values on which the culture is based are: ➤ Building trust internally and externally. “Once you build that trust – with employees and with customers – you have a solid base on which to build,” he says. ➤ Mastering conflict, both internally and externally. Ciavarro says Supreme-Metro’s approach to mastering internal conflict can involve “passionate conversations. You work closely with the same people every day and there will be a problem eventually,” he says. “Are you going to chew on it all day or pull that person aside and have a conversation?”

Ventura says the same holds true with customers, though those conversations tend to be a little less “passionate.” “If

their understanding of a project and our understanding of a project differ, we sit down and we discuss it. We never ignore it,” she says. ➤ Achieving commitment.

“Everybody has to buy-in to the process,” Ciavarro says. “Do you believe in the leadership or are you just following because you are told to?” ➤ Embracing accountability.

“It’s difficult sometimes," Ventura says.

"We hold ourselves and each other accountable when necessary.” ➤ Focusing on results. “You can’t really focus on results until you have the other elements in place. And once those are in place the results will follow,” he says.

Ciavarro says that Supreme-Metro has relied on Giselle Chapman, Chapman Business Solutions, a regular presenter at National Pavement Expo, to guide them on developing a culture that reflects those values and implementing systems that enable that culture to thrive.

Investing in Employees “The biggest problem facing contractors today is how to attract workers and how to retain them,” Ciavarro says. “We’ve always believed we’re as strong as our weakest link. So the challenge is how do we get our employees to engage?”

One way, he says, was the hiring 15 years ago of Ventura, whom Ciavarro terms the “matriarch” of the company. “Patti joined and helped with this because it’s not something we were doing. We never took the time to do it and she did.”

And they’re sure it’s time that has been well spent.

“We’re firm believers that if you create an environment that is beneficial

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for the employee and you give them a growth path, then other obstacles can be overcome,” Ciavarro says, emphasizing that it’s essential to invest in your employees.

“Why should a contractor invest in his employees if they’re just going to take what they learn and leave? I’d suggest that contractors who are not investing in their workers take a look at their retention rate and see what that looks like.

The answer is right there,” Ciavarro says.

Ventura says the employee-focus starts with a competitive compensation plan, strong health benefits, flex spending, an IRA with company match, oncea-year boot reimbursement “because we want their feet safe and comfortable out on the job,” in-season vacation for longer-term employees, three PTO days for seasonal workers, and educational opportunities.

And both Ciavarro and Ventura think it’s the educational opportunities, and the career paths those opportunities open, that make the biggest impact on Supreme-Metro workers. Once Supreme-Metro has identified a person they want as an employee, they try to figure out how to get that person to the next level – whatever that means for that individual. “That’s strengthening your weakest link,” Ciavarro says.

Among their approaches are servicespecific training classes, National Pavement Expo conference sessions, and training classes specific to a manufacturer such as those offered

by Caterpillar and Roadtec.

Each year Supreme-Metro’s management team identifies the employees who would benefit from classes, then matches them up with classes. “We can’t send everyone every year so we examine our workforce and decide who we should invest in and where we should send them,” he says. “We rotate which employees we send every year.”

Ciavarro says the company relies on a formal on-the-job training program, starting most new hires working in the maintenance division. “That’s where they enter the training and the company and that’s what they need to master before they shift to more heavy constructiontype services,” Ciavarro says. “The goal

is to graduate them up.”

To encourage development SupremeMetro offers a pay raise for each new skill mastered. “The employee starts out earning X dollars for X skills and their salary goes up as they gain more skills,” Ciavarro says. “Raking, rolling, and spraying sealer are each skills, for exam-

Green Ways Plus Deicers In 2010 Supreme-Metro created its Green Ways Plus division which produces and markets agricultural-based liquid and granular deicers to help generate revenue over the winter. “We look at this not only as an added service line but as a product that helps our customers protect their assets,” Ciavarro says. “The mindset of Green Ways Plus is to utilize products that are less harmful to infrastructure and the environment. We hold several educational seminars throughout the year which are tailored toward contractors to property owners and managers.”

ple, and workers get salary bumps when they master each one. It gives them something they can aim for and actually reach, and each time they reach it they are rewarded.”

“We try to keep employees incentivized to stay with the program,” Ventura says. “By doing that we think we have a better understanding of each of our employees and have a better pulse on their progress. When we started this we didn’t know if it would work but it’s been very successful evidenced by a higher retention rate. We’ve tried to make it a total package and it really has worked.”

Ventura says Supreme-Metro also has instituted a structured on-boarding process for new employees, which is something the organization is proud of. The on-boarding includes safety training, yard training, and a tour of the office with an opportunity to meet all the office staff, which Ventura thinks has made an impact. “They interact with staff and field personnel from the start," Ventura says. “We create a connection between the field and the office. It provides connectivity when problems arise.”

Reaching Out to High Schools One element of the Supreme-Metro program, begun three years ago, involves outreach to local high schools. Ventura works with guidance counselors to identify students who might be interested in working construction and who would benefit by it. Supreme-Metro has hired several high school students each year and placed them in what is essentially an informal apprenticeship program where they can learn the skills they need to succeed, learn about the industry and, perhaps most importantly, see a path to career development.

“They’re being trained by someone in an exit strategy situation – it’s a mentoring program, if you will,” Ventura says. “This does a couple of things: It gets the young employees good training and it enables us to help retain the knowledge that those experienced people

New employees start on the pavement maintenance crew and receive on-the-job training from day one. Skill goals are set and raises are offered for each additional skill mastered.

With the exception of striping, Supreme-Metro Corp. self-performs all its work from new construction and reconstruction to maintenance, including grading.

16 February 2018 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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"The most important thing that we’ve been successful in is being memorable and providing the “wow” factor,” says Jason Ciavarro. “That has to come from the entire organization, not just the salesperson or operations. Let’s face it customers have many choices to choose from.”

would otherwise be taking with them when they retire.

“On-the-job training is the basis of our program and the students are learning constantly and every day.

It’s a systematic process that starts with a shovel then once they learn that they move to the rake and so on.”

She says that all four students brought in three years ago are still with the company.

“There are plenty of kids out there who don’t know their path or who don’t want to go to college. We’re trying to help them realize that people can have a great career in construction,” Ventura says. ”College is great for many people but it’s not for everyone and it’s expensive. If they can understand that there are jobs in construction beyond running a shovel then they might have an interest in pursuing a career in construction.”

Ventura says this OJT process is used for all new hires, not just high school students. Unskilled workers start in asphalt maintenance but workers already adept at certain skills start at a different level and at a higher wage.

“We think we’ve honed in on something here,” she says. “We are focused on getting better-quality employees and it seems to be working.”

“Wow” for Customers Ciavarro says that Supreme-Metro’s goal is to be memorable to the customer and to provide what he terms “the Wow factor” from start to finish.

“That doesn’t come just from sales, it comes from within the entire organization. It all starts with the first encounter with the customer. Doing our research and asking the right questions at the walk-through are the keys to a successful first impression and understanding of what they’re looking for.”

The next step is gathering all the field data, then bringing it back and entering it into their estimating software and

Supreme-Metro performs concrete work in addition to asphalt paving, partly because the company felt it couldn’t rely on subcontractors.

“By performing all of the work internally we control all aspects of the project, giving the customer a seamless process,” says Jason Ciavarro.

CRM (Supreme-Metro relies on Salesforce) to produce job maps and specifications. All work is done electronically, and any questions or changes are recorded electronically.

When the job nears, Supreme-Metro holds a pre-con meeting with the customer, operations team and vertical leaders. (There is one vertical leader for each of three service segments: asphalt, concrete and asphalt maintenance. The leaders meet weekly with the five-person management team and are tasked with monitoring development of new employees, job progress including profitability for all projects within their silo, and customer satisfaction.) At this meeting job parameters are discussed and safety concerns and customer expectations are highlighted.

Foremen and superintendents orchestrate the project once it’s underway – and customer service then becomes the responsibility of the vertical leader. Ciavarro says that allows for a true handoff to a leader who is trained in their area of expertise and customer service.

“The vertical leaders are the ones that allow this seamless process and are in direct contact with the customer for the duration of the project.”

Forming the Advanced Pavement Group When Dubin Clark approached him a

year ago, Ciavarro says he was surprised.

“They came to us. That kind of thing never happens to contractors,” he says.

“To be in the lens of a private equity company speaks mountains about what we’re doing here.”

Currently Supreme-Metro is in the midst of rebranding itself as Advanced Pavement Group (APG), and Ciavarro says he is looking forward to leveraging APG across a broader market.

“This partnership builds upon the partnering companies’ core foundations, setting the stage for many years of growth and increased customer service throughout the Northeast,” Ciavarro says. “While our name is in the process of being rebranded to Advanced Pavement Group, the leadership and employees of Supreme-Metro have not changed.”

“It’s been quite a ride since last February,” Ventura says. “But as we’re continuing to grow we’ve remained true to our culture. We made sure our culture wasn’t violated because that’s what made us what we are, and our investors have embraced our core values and are working to get other parts of APG to become more like us.”

Ventura says the support of Dubin Clark has resulted in a more corporate environment that she thinks will help the company. “I’m now surrounded by people who have much more experience than I and I’m excited about that. It’s a breath of fresh air to have people who look at things at a different level and think about things in a more strategic way. It’s enabled us to grow much more quickly.”

www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • PAVEMENT • February 2018 17

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PAVEMENT 2018 Top Contractor Survey WELCOME TO THE Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction survey of paving & pavement maintenance contractors. Our hope with this survey is to develop verifiable Top Contractor listings in each of five industry segments: Paving, Sealcoating, Striping, Sweeping and Pavement Repair. To do that we need to know: • Gross Sales Volume for your fiscal year 2017 (regardless of the date that fiscal year ended) • A breakdown by percentage of the type of work that generated those 2017 sales

• Third-party verification of that sales total (see additional explanation at the end of the survey) To determine whether a company qualifies for one (or more) of our five lists we will multiply your total 2017 sales dollars by the percentage of work done in each industry segment. For example, if a contractor reports $1 million in 2017 sales and generated 40% of those sales from striping, the number used to determine qualification for the Striping Top Contractor List would be $400,000 ($1 million x 40%).

Name & Title of Person Completing This Form *First _______________________ Last_______________________________

CONTRACTOR

TOP

2018

Top Contractor Survey

2018

TOP

CONTRACTOR

Note: No sales figures will be reported or published; sales figures will be used only internally for determining each list. Also, no contractor will be eligible for the list without third-party verification of your Fiscal Year 2017 Gross Sales Volume.

There are 3 ways to complete and submit this form: • Online at https://www. surveymonkey.com/r/ TopContractor2018

• Complete a hard copy and fax (920-542-1133) or mail it to: Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction, Top Contractor Survey, 201 N. Main Street, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538; Attn.

Jessica Lombardo.

• Complete a hard copy, scan and e-mail to aheydorn@ ACBusinessMedia.com Thanks very much for your participation. We do appreciate it.

DEADLINE: April 23

5. * What percentage of your fiscal year 2017 Total Gross Sales is generated by working as a subcontractor for other contractors? ___________________

E-mail _______________________ _Phone _____________________________

6. * Do you self-perform more than 50% of your work?

*Company Information Company Name (as you would like it to appear on the magazine) ______________________________________________________________ Street Address _________________________________________________ City State Zip Code _____________________________________________ Phone Number with Area Code ___________________________________ Website _______________________________________________________ Years in Business _______________________________________________

7. What was your overall company-wide profit margin in FY 2017? (Not for publication; results will be presented for the industry as a whole.) ______ Less than 3% ______ 5%-10% ______ More than 15% ______ 3%-5% ______ 10%-15%

Please indicate your number of employees at peak season (If employees fulfill more than one function please include them in the category they perform most often): ______ Management ______ Field Supervisors ______ Laborers ______ Office Staff ______ Sales May we contact Your Company by e-mail? ____Yes

___No

1.* What is your company’s Total Gross Sales for your Fiscal Year 2017?

___________________________________________________________

___Yes

___No

8. How many different customers did you work for in FY 2017? ______ Fewer than 100 ______ 151-200 ______ 301-400 ______ 101-150 ______ 201-300 ______ More than 400 9. How many different jobs did your company complete in FY 2017? ______ Fewer than 100 ______ 151-200 ______ 301-400 ______ 101-150 ______ 201-300 ______ More than 400 10. What is the estimated replacement value of your equipment fleet (including trucks)? ______ Less than $250,000 ______ $1 million - $2 million ______ $250,000 - $500,000 ______ More than $2 million ______ $500,000 - $1 million Signature ______________________________________________________ Title (please print) _______________________________________________

(This figure used internally for listing purposes only; it will not be published.) Please round to whole dollar amounts. (Example: 1,548,222; note: when entering online please omit commas.)

Date: _________________________________________________________

2. * What percentage of your fiscal 2017 Total Gross Sales is represented by each of the following areas (must total 100%):

IMPORTANT! SALES VOLUME VERIFICATION

______ Paving ______ Sealcoating ______ Striping ______ Sweeping ______ Other (explain) ____________________________

______ Pavement Repair ______ Concrete ______ Surface Treatments (Micro, Slurry, Chip, Fog, etc.) ______ Hot mix asphalt plant operation

3. * What percentage of your fiscal 2017 Total Gross Sales is generated from work done on each of the following (must total 100%): ______ Highways ______ Driveways ______ Streets/roads ______ Other (explain) _____________ ______ Parking lots 4. * What percentage of your fiscal 2017 Total Gross Sales is generated from each of the following types of customers (answers must total 100%). ______ Commercial/Industrial ______ Municipal (state/local agency) ______ Multi-family residential (apartments/condos/HOAs) ______ Single-family residential ______ Other (explain)______________________________________

PVM0218_18-19_TopContractorSurvey_AH.indd 18

To qualify to have your Top Contractor application considered, third-party verification of your FY 2017 Total Gross Sales is required from your company’s CPA, an independent CPA or your accounting firm, or a copy of the appropriate page from your tax return. Verification must be on the CPA or accounting firm letterhead (no photocopies) and must include a statement to the effect that “I have reviewed the company’s Top Contractor application, and the FY 2017 gross sales response to question Number 1 is accurate to the best of my knowledge.” The letter must be signed and dated and include the person’s name, title and telephone number.

No financial information will be revealed; it will be used only internally to determine qualification for each listing. Send verification to:

aheydorn@ACBusinessMedia.com

or

Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction 2017 Top Contractor Application 201 N. Main Street, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538 Attn. Jessica Lombardo Questions? Allan Heydorn, Editor; Phone: 708-531-1612; aheydorn@ACBusinessMedia.com

2/5/18 1:26 PM

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Allan Heydorn, Editor

SWEEPER of the Year

Family-owned Jacketta Sweeping Service celebrates 50 years adapting to its Utah market, working to improve the sweeping industry CELEBRATING 50 YEARS in business in 2018, Jacketta Sweeping Service, West Valley City, UT, is a family-owned company that over the years has demonstrated the management initiative to “change its stripes” when the market calls for a change, pursues improvement from a variety of outside sources, and is pro-active in supporting and developing the sweeping industry. Attributes that make Jacketta Sweeping Service Pavement’s Sweeper of the Year for 2018.

“I don't think we do anything

differently from any other successful sweeping business,” says Debbie Jacketta. “My parents used the tag line ‘Honest, Dependable Service.’ We don't use that tag line anymore but that is how we run the business.

“We run a solid operation where the phone is answered by a live person, our trucks are always clean and washed, our drivers are trained, we run regular safety meetings... it’s kind of everything together that we do that enables us to be successful.”

Jacketta Sweeping Service was started

The Jacketta Sweeping Service team (from left, back row): Tyson Cook, driver; Denton Taylor, truck washer; Connee Pierce, driver; Sheldon Haworth, driver; Parker Haworth, driver; Charles Gould, mechanic; John Henderson, CDL operator; Nathan Haroldsen, CDL operator; Andrew Webber, CDL operator; (front row, from left) Kara Moore, office manager; Debbie Jacketta, president; Craig Dunham, operations...and Rocco. Not pictured: Parker Evans, Paul Mushumba, Marvin Wade.

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20 February 2018 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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Reputation, Longevity Drive Growth

To reinforce the company’s 50th anniversary, Jacketta Sweeping Service is planning yearlong celebration that includes a special logo a customer-initiated bonus program for operators to help fund charities, and a building banner that can be seen from the nearby highway.

in 1968 by Neil and Bonnie Jacketta when Neil bought a small ride-on sweeper and ran a part-time business out of the home. “I remember we always had sweepers parked in our driveway and operators would come to the house each night to pick up their routes,” Jacketta says. “I grew up around the business but I never thought I would end up in it.”

In 1999 Neil died unexpectedly and Bonnie wasn’t interested in the company.

So in 2002 Jacketta bought the business from her mother and became president. The company doesn’t work with a credit line – a philosophical decision they made largely because of the difficulty of working with banks – so a longtime focus on street and construction sweeping (as much as 70% seven years ago) gave way to pursuit of parking lot sweeping to provide a better balance and improve cash flow.

“We couldn’t wait 60-90 days for payment from asphalt or general contractors so we moved more toward a steady, stable income on the parking lot sweeping side,” she says. “We wanted a better balance, we wanted to improve our cash flow, and property managers pay steadily and we wanted more of that. It’s worked well.”

And now that the company has a better grip on the parking lot sweeping side of the market, Jacketta Sweeping is making a concerted effort to add more construction sweeping to their workload.

“I’ve made a point of growing my business by not stealing other people’s customers,” Jacketta says. “Our name is out there and people know we’re here, and if they’re going to look for another sweeping contractor we’ll be happy to give them a bid. But we’re not going to go into a customer who is a customer of my competition and tell him we should have the jobs because we’re going to be cheaper.”

But that doesn’t mean other contractors don’t try that with Jacketta Sweeping’s customers.

“When you’re at the top those things happen and I take that as a kind of compliment,” she says. “It’s also a walk-up call that we have to get sharper. I like competition because I think it makes us all better, but I do think some ways to compete are better than others.”

Jacketta says the company doesn’t do much marketing, relying instead on its longevity and name recognition.

“We’ve been around the longest in our market and have very strong name recognition, especially in construction work,” she says.

Jacketta says the company does have a Facebook page and while she doesn’t think it helps generate much business

she says it does help with hiring. “Facebook for us is about bringing us employees not bringing us customers. When we run an ad for a sweeper operator we’ve seen more activity on our Facebook page so people go to our Facebook page to check us out,” she says. “So we’re making more of an effort on Facebook to let people know who we are and what we do and what kind of company we are. That seems to be a first point of contact.”

Jacketta Sweeping hires a company to update its Facebook page with comments and articles of interest to the sweeping community, such as environmental topics. “I don’t think people go to websites anymore when they’re checking out a company. They’re on their phones and they go to Facebook instead,” she says. “So we realized that’s where we need to make sure we put our best foot forward to sure people see us as a good place to work.”

Jacketta says that it’s not uncommon for her company to be the highest bid on projects or parking lots. She’s the highest bid because that’s the price the sweeping should command. She says the company’s reputation, expertise and reliability carry a lot of weight with contractors who need sweeping on their jobsite.

She says Jacketta Sweeping recently announced a price increase for its

Debbie Jacketta says parking lot sweeping and street/construction sweeping are so different she almost feels like she’s running two separate businesses. “The parking lot side has steady work, regular schedules, smaller and less-expensive sweepers, doesn’t require operators to have a CDL, and customers who pay regularly,” she says. “The construction work is inconsistent but in a steady way, often has last-minute scheduling, requires more massive and more costly equipment, requires operators with a CDL, and is as a rule slow to pay.” www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • PAVEMENT • February 2018 21

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parking lot sweeping and got very little kickback from customers.

“Why? Because we hire people who know what they’re doing, our operators do a great job and we pay them well.

We offer them benefits such as paid holidays, vacation, medical and dental insurance, we keep our trucks in good shape so we can always do the job “If we’re hiring people and paying them a living wage then they can go out and spend some money which benefits all the tenants of a property,” she says.

“But that means we have to charge a little more for the service and our customers understand that.”

Finding the Right Employee And like virtually all contractors, Jacketta Sweeping is tackling head-on the hiring and retention issues all contractors today face.

“We’re a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week company and we make that clear when we hire,” Jacketta says. “The night hours are pretty consistent but the day hours change.”

Jacketta Sweeping Service employs 15 people which is about two people short of where she’d like it to be. “On the parking lot routes in the middle of the summer I could use 25 people,” she says.

“It’s just hard to find good people.”

Jacketta’s parking lot sweeper operators work four nights a week with three days off and most drivers don’t want OT. “Parking lot work isn’t hard, but you are by yourself and you are getting in and out of your truck all night long with a blower so you’ve got to be able and willing to do that,” she says. “Parking lot sweeper operators are a different breed, many of whom seem to just want to work to get by. They do a good job but they don’t seem to want more.”

President Debbie Jacketta says the company has a good core of employees on both the parking lot and street side of the business. “They’re people we can count on,” she says.

She says day sweeping, which requires a CDL, involves street sweeping but also construction site sweeping, which must be done on an as-needed and when-needed basis. “They come in and work and then sometime between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. we text them the start time for the next day. They have to be flexible.

“The CDL guys know when we hire them that they’re working six days a week and 10-12 hours a day and they do a great job for us. But we still end up turning work down because we don’t have enough operators. Our competitors are pretty much in the same boat.”

Moving Toward “Picky” Hiring Jacketta says that like many mid-size contractors, Jacketta Sweeping Service faces poaching from larger companies that can often offer more benefits. But she says the company is always working to bring people in and get them engaged so that they not only get hired but want to stay and grow with the company.

To that end Jacketta Sweeping Services pays 20% over market wages and provides raises more quickly after the operator has demonstrated proficiency on the job.

“So far I don’t know that our approach has helped keep people longer but we have been more successful getting people in the door,” she says.

“We’re always working on our culture and on what benefits we need to provide to attract and keep employees.”

She says that in an effort to hire workers who are a better fit with the company, Jacketta Sweeping Services is “getting pickier” when interviewing prospects. In addition to basics such as a good driving record, requirements to be considered for a parking lot sweeping position include: ✓ Having worked the graveyard shift before ✓ Enjoying working alone and doesn’t mind being by themselves ✓ Willingness to take initiative and work on their own Requirements for street and construction sweeping positions are a little different.

“We’re always looking for people with a CDL but we don’t want over-the-road drivers,” she says. “Driving over the road is completely different from running a street sweeper or working on a construction site.

“We’re looking for an equipment operator not a truck driver,” she says.

“This equipment is expensive and it’s complex. There are two engines and brooms and cameras and you’re often working among people and the public and often in traffic. You have to be aware of a lot – it’s not an easy job and not everyone can do it.

“So we’re looking for people who are responsible and who pay attention to traffic, to the people in the construction site, and to all the other activities going

Neil and Bonnie Jacketta started Jacketta Sweeping Service out of their home in 1968 – and sweepers were often parked at the house until heading out to jobs.

22

February 2018 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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on around them on the job.”

She says they’re always trying new ways to find the right workers, recently printing cards for drivers to hand out on their nightly routes. “They’re out there in the middle of the night and they run into people when they’re stopping for coffee. We figure if those people are already out there in the middle of the night they might be the right kind of person to operate a truck for us. It’s something new we’re going to try.”

She says the cards have the operator’s name on them and if a person an operator gives a card to gets hired the operator gets a bonus.

“We don’t know if it’s going to work but it’s another idea,” she says.

Networking for Success Jacketta is a firm believer in networking and in seeking outside support to help improve Jacketta Sweeping Service. She served as president of Contract

Sweepers Institute, a precursor to the North American Power Sweeping Association (NAPSA), in 1998-1999; Jacketta Sweeping Service is a NAPSA Inaugural Member; and Jacketta has served several terms on NAPSA’s Board of Directors.

Under her management the company also has become involved in a variety of organizations – Institute of Real Estate Management, Building Owners & Managers Association, Entrepreneurs Organization – and she has worked with a business coach since 2009.

“The main thing that’s helped us grow all through the years is our involvement with NAPSA,” she says. “I’m a strong believer in trade associations and we couldn’t be where we are without them.”

She says that in addition to the association benefits, getting to know other contractors and learning about their companies has been an immense help.

“Getting involved in NAPSA made it easier for me to call people up out of the

blue when I had a question or a problem. And the great thing about knowing people in an association is that if they can’t help you there’s a good chance they know someone who can.”

A founding member of 1-800-Sweeper, Jacketta was skeptical about joining. “It didn’t seem like a deal but I also didn’t want to miss out in case it worked so I figured I’d give it a try for a year and see what happens,” she says.

She says that while that membership hasn’t brought in the work she had hoped (though it has for other members), the organization’s buying group has resulted in significant cost savings.

“It’s a smaller group than NAPSA and it gives me a larger circle of business owners I can call for advice,” she says.

“It’s similar to NAPSA but people work in different niches so they can offer different ways to do something.

“All these groups help hold me accountable and that’s valuable.”

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2/5/18 12:22 PM

Rod Dickens

SEAL & STRIPE: Small Job Winner

Garrett Paving Works Around School Activities Nothing elementary about sealcoating this parking lot THERE WAS A TIME when schools used the summers to repair their grounds, do appropriate renovations, and, in general, spruce up for the new school year. But that’s changed. In addition to summer school, there’s a host of other programs and activities today that make school parking lots a beehive of activity. At least that’s what Garrett Paving found out last summer when it won the bid to sealcoat the parking lot at Malcom Bridge school in Oconee County.

And it’s their successful efforts on that job that garnered the Athens, GA-based contractor the 2018 Pavement Seal & Stripe: Small Job Award.

“One day, our sealcoating crew got there at 6:30 in the morning and the sprinklers were running. Tough to sealcoat wet asphalt,” recalls Sam Garrett, company project estimator. “Another time, our crew’s efforts conflicted with a band practice. Crew members attempted to sealcoat a small 20’ x 20’ area in front of the door where the band entered and exited the school. As small as the job was, it had to be done in sections.”

There were other challenges, too, that made job, completed in the summer of 2016, more than a little daunting. The school is large and featured 10 to 12 parking lots to support the gym, football stadium, main and back entrance, teacher parking, student parking, and so forth, explains Garrett, not to forget the same number of roads connecting them.

“Our crew had to interact with parents who came to pickup or drop off students, explaining to them they couldn’t use a particular road, but instead had to drive all the way around the

An average of six Garrett Paving employees arrived on site at 6:30 a.m. and had blowers going by 7:00. Two 700-gal. trailers and a 1,000-gal. tanker with mixed product accompanied them to the job.

school and use that entrance. Georgia in the middle of summer gets hot, compounded by the fact it was all parking lot and no shade.

“The bright side? Heat, along with additives, allowed the sealcoating to dry within 45 minutes to one and a half hours. Four entrances to the school helped us out, as well, giving parents and teaching alternative routes to their destinations.”

Scope The project entailed sealcoating and striping 176,545 sq. ft. of asphalt. It was started in June and completed well before the new school year began. An average of six Garrett Paving employees arrived on site at 6:30 a.m. and had blowers going by 7:00. Two 700-gal. trailers and a 1,000-gal. tanker with mixed product accompanied them to the job.

“Sealcoat was applied using a wand

on the smaller lots and our trucks with spray bars were employed in the larger areas,” says Garrett, who started working for the family-owned company in the field in 2013 and only recently moved to the office. “I’ve been in this position for a year, but I can still identify with crews and the challenges they had to overcome. It wasn’t just the shuffling around scheduled activities like band camp that created obstacles, but unscheduled activities also added to the complexity of the job.”

Fortunately, the company, originally founded in 1957, has several years of experience working all types of job, including jobs like this one where it seemed every time its crew attempted to sealcoat the school, something or someone was in the way.

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24 February 2018 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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SEAL & STRIPE: Large Job Winner

Sealcoating & Striping an Always-busy Lot

The project include 5,600 sq. ft. of patching and 21,000 linear feet of cracksealing.

Planning and execution key when ACI Asphalt & Concrete tackled huge job PHASE 1

IT’S NOT EVERYDAY that your company gets to bid on a project that’s more than twice the size of something its ever tackled. That’s the opportunity Minneapolis-based ACI Asphalt & Concrete Inc. was afforded last spring -- and it's the job for which the contractor was awarded the Pavement Seal & Stripe: Large Job Award for 2018.

But it wasn’t the size that proved to be the most challenging aspect of the job.

Instead, it was the frenetic activity that surrounds the facility.

In business since 1993, ACI has patched and seal coated its share of large parking lots in commercial, industrial, and municipal markets throughout the Midwest. This, however, isn’t your ordinary parking lot. The customer is Manheim Minneapolis, a huge car auction company. The 2½ million sq. ft. of asphalt houses thousands of cars and is not only the backdrop for multiple auctions daily, truck haulers and potential buyers make it their destination virtually nonstop throughout the week.

The Scope The job initially involved sealcoating 830,00 sq. ft. of asphalt at the client’s Maple Grove Minnesota facility. In reviewing the project with Manheim, ACI determined there was 5,800 sq. ft. of asphalt patching to complete along with 21,000 linear feet of crack sealing in addition to the sealcoating.

The work was to be completed in two phases. The first phase involved sealcoating the 315,000-sq. ft. front parking lot. Sealcoating the 515,000- sq. ft. back lot several weeks later would complete the project. The customer also used the opportunity to do a new striping layout.

“Timing was a bit of an issue early on,” explains ACI general manager Jeremy Quinn. “The customer planned on hosting a NASCAR driving experience over Memorial Day weekend. That meant we had to sealcoat the front parking lot sometime in early May, about the earliest it could be done in this part of the country. The larger portion of the job, phase two, could wait, and was completed in August.”

PHASE 2 830,000 sq. ft. of sealing was completed in two phases: 315,000 sq. ft. in the front parking lot and 515,000 in the back lot.

Game Plan and Execution The game plan was relatively straight forward. Work weekends to minimize disruption, move a huge number of cars out of the way, and sealcoat. The good thing, says Quinn. “Manheim knew how to move cars and we knew how to sealcoat so working closely together we made it work.”

Logistic success depended in part on a section of the back lot that was recently paved and didn’t need to be seal coated yet. That area, and the fact the

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lot was not totally filled with cars (autos took up approximately three quarters of the lot), provided enough wiggle room to create open space for sealcoating.

Still, as Quinn notes, the client needed to round up more than a few troops to relocate thousands of cars in a timely fashion.

Phases one and two had their individual challenges. As mentioned, phase one had to be completed in time for the Memorial Day charity event during the unpredictable spring sealcoating condition. It was, however, less of a logistical problem since the area was used primarily for customer and employee parking.

Phase two was more challenging; there still needed to be access to the cars This was made possible by keeping a road open only to be sealcoated at the very end.

During both phases, crews began patching and crack sealing on Friday night. They sealcoated over the weekend and the cars were able to be moved back 8:00 Monday morning after the sealcoat had cured.

Three four-person crews, for patching, crack sealing, and sealcoating, worked the project. Several crack sealing machines and melters, along with two spray buggies were employed. A spray wand was used for close-up work next to buildings.

Unexpected challenge Phase one may have been easier from a logistic perspective, but it had a surprise in store for crews, relates Quinn. “Right after completing the asphalt patching a car started on fire and burned the asphalt in a section we needed to sealcoat for the charity event. We repaired the area right away and were able to complete phase one in time for the event. It was a bad surprise, but it couldn’t have happened at a better time since crews were able to get back on site quickly and make the repair before

commencing sealcoating.

“The overall job was completed on schedule and the client was appreciative of how efficient and flexible the ACI teams was. The head of property at Manheim’s parent company said, ‘everything was great! You guys are always very responsive and professional, which

I can appreciate. You worked well with Manheim directly, which makes my job easier.”

ACI project managers Steve Stone and Paul Baglio oversaw the project while Matt Fritz spearheaded the sealcoating team. Striping was subcontracted to Interstate Striping.

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Allan Heydorn, Editor

PAVING: Parking Lot Award Winner

Succeeding When the Job Changes Completely Asphalt Contractors Inc. fights inspector, driving rain, and schedule on award-winning job

“EVERYTHING IS AN opportunity.

I’ll bend over backwards to help somebody if I can,” says Bob Kordus, president of Asphalt Contractors Inc., Union Grove, WI. And that’s exactly what he and his crew did on the under-the-gun parking lot paving job that won Asphalt Contractors Inc. Pavement’s Paving: Parking Lot Award for 2018.

Initially the job was barely on Asphalt

Contractors’ radar: A small mill-andfill patch in front of Burlington Coat Factory and Ross Dress for Less at Highway 50 Plaza in Kenosha, WI. “During final inspection for occupancy, the building inspector noted that the approved plan included the repaving of the parking lot and that it was not done. So the building inspector would not issue an occupancy permit,”

Initially Asphalt Contractors had intended to just do a small patch but the inspector read the plans and determined the entire parking lot had to be milled, paved and striped before the stores could open.

Kordus says. “Turns out the owner had deleted the parking area in the job specs to save money.”

The inspector told the owner and

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He says the fact that Asphalt Contractors owns their own hot mix asphalt plant made it possible for them to even consider getting the job done in time for the customer. “We were capable of scheduling delivery for ourselves,” he says. “That enabled us to keep our paver moving. If we had to rely on someone else’s plant there’s a good chance we wouldn’t have been able to place as much mix as quickly.”

Then the job got interesting: It began raining at 6:00 p.m. and rain was predicted for three days. The paving crew kept at it until 9:00 p.m. when paving was halted due to lightning. Crews resumed paving in a light rain at 6:00 a.m. the next morning – the day of the grand opening – and finished paving by 8:00 a.m.

But now it was raining harder.

Using a steel cable, oil-based paint and a Graco Linelazer equipped with a LineDriver, Asphalt Contractors Inc. striped the parking lot in the rain.

store manager that they had to do a 2-in. mill-and-fill on the entire 300 ft. x 600 ft. parking lot – and it had to be striped to spec before the stores could open. The owner contacted Asphalt Contractors on October 5 – with a grand opening set (and promoted to the tune of $50,000) for 9:30 a.m. on October 7.

“The nature of the job changed completely,” Kordus says.

So Asphalt Contractors rearranged their schedule to accommodate the last-minute project.

Starting at 5:00 a.m. on October 6, Asphalt Contractors had two milling crews on site. Crews barricaded the lot, moved dumpsters and basically created a plan on the fly to get the work done in time for the grand opening.

“Nobody knew we were coming because we hadn’t known either,” Kordus says. “So nothing on site was ready for a paving job.”

Kordus says crews milled, swept and then tacked the parking lot by mid-afternoon, and it was ready for the paving crews that arrived at 4:00 and began the 500-plus ton paving job. “It was very well orchestrated,” he says.

Striping in the Rain “The biggest thing on the job was the building inspector who, for some reason, didn’t want these stores to open. Considering the circumstances he could have allowed them their grand opening, but he just wouldn’t do it,” Kordus says.

“So I just thought, ‘this guy’s not going to beat me’.”

So in a driving rain Kordus striped the lot himself on a Graco LineDriver attached to his Graco LineLazer.

Because they couldn’t use chalk in the rain Kordus used yellow wax crayons to mark the pavement. And two crew members dragged a 200-ft. steel cable to mark where the lines should be.

“I striped right along that cable and as fast as they kept moving the cables I could stripe the lines,” Kordus says.

But what about the paint? In the rain? On freshly placed asphalt?

“Our company has been striping for 35 years and we’ve learned a few tricks along the way,” Kordus says. “Water beads on the surface of fresh asphalt because there’s a very thin layer of oil on the surface between the asphalt and the water. The LineLazer will blow that water off the oil just long enough to let you put the paint down and to allow the paint to get onto the asphalt. Because we were using oil-based paint

it dissolves that oil film and adheres to the pavement.”

He says that as soon as he finished a parking stall the building inspector followed right behind him, measuring the width of each stripe and each stall and the width of the paint on the handicap logo.

“The inspector was going out there and digging his foot into one stripe and twisting it and nothing was coming up,” Kordus says. “He should have been working with us to get those businesses open instead of working against us.

But when I realized he was going to be such a stickler I took extra time to make sure I put down exactly what was on the plan.”

Striping was completed by 9:15 a.m.

– 15 minutes before the store was scheduled to open.

Kordus credits his team with getting the job done.

“We have really good guys who are hour-hungry,” he says. “Not one guy complained despite the schedule change and late days and lousy weather.

“It was a perfect paving job done under the worst conditions you can imagine,” Kordus says. “And I was not going to quit, not going to give in. We were going to get it done.”

Kordus says that since completing that job and enabling those stores to open on time, Asphalt Contractors Inc. has been awarded three other jobs by Burlington Coat Factory (whose midwest regional vice-president witnessed the striping and congratulated Kordus and his crew afterwards). “They know we can perform and that we can perform under adverse conditions,” he says.

“Initially I thought I’d get the lines down to enable them to open and then I’d have to come back and restripe,” Kordus says. “But we never needed to.

It looks as good today as the day we put it down.”

RUNNERS-UP I I I I I I I I I I I I I ACI Asphalt & Concrete, Maple Grove, MN Advanced Asphalt Recycling dba Metcalf Paving, Waterbury, CT

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Rod Dickens

PAVING: Non-Parking Lot Award Winner

Track Reconstruction Earns Recognition Bituminous Roadways overcomes rain, scheduling challenges in reconstruction project RECONSTRUCTING AN athletic sports complex brings with it many challenges, not the least of which for Bituminous Roadways, (BR) Inc. was Mother Nature and the scope of the project.

Last year, the Minneapolis-based company won the bid from the general contractor to reconstruct Vaughan Field at Shakopee Public Schools, the cornerstone of their Reconstruction of the Vaughn Field complex required more than 8,000 tons of aggregate athletic facilities. An upgrade was and 4,000 tons of six mix designs of asphalt. much needed. BR’s focus was the track and event surface, the new east parking lot, and the trails leading to and from the junior high school. paved with three lifts of asphalt. The Other subcontractors were on site to project was completed in three phases install electricity, erect bleachers, and due to the site construction schedule.” construct a building among performing The BR team worked hard to keep other renovations. the project on schedule despite the volThe reconstruction project began on ume of activity. “Timing was an issue July 23, 2016 and was completed on Sep- since there were many different contractember 13. BR was on site for a total of tors working to complete their portion 25 days, during which it installed more of the reconstruction,” adds Krause. than 8,000 tons of aggregate in multiple “Our superintendents kept the customer phases, along with more than 4,000 tons informed, the foreman made sure approof asphalt comprised of six different mix priate product and equipment was on designs, again in multiple phases. site, and experienced crews (BR has As with all track and event surfaces, been installing these types of surfaces there is little room for error in the tolersince the 1970s) laid the asphalt accordances of the aggregate base and asphalt ing to the required specifications.” pavement, notes BR Key Accounts Manager Jason Krause. “We installed the Moisture Time Outs aggregates and determined the tolerance Although scheduling was a major chalfor the areas to receive pavements. Then lenge, Krause notes the company’s bigwe installed two lifts of asphalt for the gest challenge was something entirely track and parking lots. The roadway was out of its control, rain. “It wasn’t just one

rain event but several that disrupted the operation. After it rained, we would have to farm the subgrade to dry out some areas. While in the process of farming, we would have another rain event, which required crews to start the process all over again.”

But working through moisture time outs is not an unfamiliar scenario for a company that has been in business since 1946 and employs upwards of 170 people during the busy season. In addition to reconstructing athletic fields, BR does cracksealing, patching, grading, milling, and paving for commercial/industrial and public projects.

RUNNERS-UP I I I I I I I I I I I I I Geesey’s Rock and Block Designs, Reading, PA Brahney Paving, Wilmington, DE

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Allan Heydorn, Editor

Best of Web Award Winner

A Bolder, Simpler, User-friendly Website Bituminous Roadways’ redesign creates an educational site that's an extension of its sales force LAST UPDATED in 2010, the 2017 redesign of the Bituminous Roadways website (www.bitroads.com) is the recipient of the Pavement’s 2018 “Best of the Web” Award based on online voting. “We’re very excited about this award because we feel we were very successful in redesigning our website the way we wanted it to be,” says Heidi Sedlacek, marketing coordinator for Bituminous Roadways Inc., Mendota Heights, MN. “Creating a user-friendly experience, along with a simple and bold design, was the main goal,” she says. “It was important to have a well-organized home page, with the opportunity for customers to easily find the asphalt calculator, a popular button. Incorporating an obvious ‘call to action’ was also necessary to drive customers to call for more information or complete a consultation form.”

By reorganizing the main menu categories into two project types; new construction or maintenance, it helps customers better choose what they might be looking for. “The photo gallery was also a well-visited area of the former site, so a decision was made to prominently display this in the main menu.”

She says that below the “fold” as users scroll down BR highlighted three main areas: employment, company information and customer resources.

And they made the site mobile-phone friendly. “We felt that was critical,” she says. “Many BR customers utilize their cell phones more than their desktops, so making it easy to navigate on a cell phone was extremely important.”

She says they created a new section of the website to focus on customer education, making resources available regarding different asphalt related topics. “The

goal here is to provide customers with interesting information to keep them coming back frequently to see what’s new." Future plans are to include videos of asphalt ‘how-tos.’

In an interview with Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction, Sedlacek explained some of the thinking that went into the redesign.

Pavement: Why did Bituminous Roadways decide to design a new website?

Sedlacek: The timing was right.

Throughout the spring-summer of 2016, the company was struggling with the service provider. Pages weren’t being updated, information had been “coming soon” for quite some time and videos weren’t loading properly. In a discussion of hiring a new firm to design and host the website, an internal marketing committee also decided it would be a good time to look at a rebranding campaign.

Pavement: What is the value of a good website for a contractor?

Sedlacek: Making a good first impression is critical in today’s business atmosphere. If your company website is unattractive and clunky, it’s not going to be an effective sales tool. It’s too soon to tell the impact of our redesign as it takes some time to build up SEO numbers.

However, we feel the redesign created a more attractive site and helped us reorganize information to allow easier navigation. In addition, we are building our reputation as an expert in our area by creating a customer education section. We want our customers to know they can use our website as a resource.

Pavement: But can you tell if the new website has had any impact on your business?

The redesign included reorganizing the main menu into new construction and maintenance, adding a photo gallery, highlighting a “call to action,” and adding a customer education page.

Sedlacek: It can be hard to calculate, however, what we do know is from the forms completed on line our estimators have secured jobs from as little as $900 to as much as $100,000. Funneling customers to our website is a priority. A website can be an extension of your sales force, if done correctly. While on our site, customers have the option of completing a short, Contact Me form or a Request a Consultation form. Both forms will prompt a call from one of our estimators.

Pavement: What recommendations would you pass along to other contractors about redesigning their website?

Sedlacek: First, do your due diligence in selecting a design firm. We procured four bids, all of various pricing structures and outcomes. We also called clients of the bidding firms and received some feedback. Second, take the time on the front of your design process and really think about what you want your website to do for your company. This may flush out some necessary design elements your design firm will need to be aware of. Finally, develop a time line and an internal point person to monitor that time line.

RUNNERS-UP I I I I I I I I I I I I I Asphalt Maintenance Systems, South Beloit, IL Asphalt365, Kissimmee, FL

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Allan Heydorn, Editor

Best Marketing Video Award Winner

Drone Footage forms Basis of Marketing Video Award-winning video creates a “welcome mat” to U.S. Asphalt Maintenance U.S. ASPHALT MAINTENANCE, the winner of the 2018 Pavement Award for “Best Marketing Video,” is not a company that spends a lot of time or money on marketing its services.

In fact, Earnie Beckner, owner and president, says the 33-year-old company doesn’t do much advertising or marketing at all, so the video was an unusual effort for them.

“We’ve built up quite the client list over the years so we haven’t had to do much marketing,” Beckner says. “Word of mouth is the best advertising and as long as we keep our customers happy they’ll speak well about us to other property managers and owners.”

The Richmond, VA-based company actually started in Daytona Beach, FL, in 1984 as a small family-owned operation, moving to Virginia in 1992 when competition among Florida sealcoaters drove the price to unsustainably low levels.

“We couldn’t compete at that price so we moved north,” Beckner says.

U.S. Asphalt Maintenance today does sealcoating, crackfilling and striping on large commercial properties, Beckner’s wife, Christine, is the office manager, and the company runs two

RUNNERS-UP I I I I I I I I I I I I I Asphalt Maintenance Systems, South Beloit, IL ADC Paving, Louisville, KY

four-person crews covering Florida north to Virginia and west to cover the whole Southeast. In 2017 the company opened a Jacksonville, FL, location where Jessica Smith handles sales and marketing. This year U.S. Asphalt Maintenance will open a residential division in Richmond, run

by Beckner’s son, Brandon.

Beckner says that while the company doesn’t have a strong marketing effort, they have been using social media to reach out to current clients as well as prospects. When he learned that Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction

Drone footage shows the sealcoating process but also the results.

was offering an award to the Best Marketing Video they decided they had the basics to put one together.

“The last two years we’ve been using a drone service to video our properties and the work,” he says. “I like looking at my work before and after and the customers really like to see how much better their property looks when we’re done.”

He says he sends copies to every client, which generates additional work for the company. “You know, everyone wants their lots looking great, so it’s a great tool to show our amazing work."

So he hired Bon Air Drone,

The U.S. Asphalt Maintenance marketing video, posted to its website and sent to customers and prospects starting last October, has created a buzz and has resulted in at least one sale directly tied to the video.

Lynchburg, VA, a team of licensed FAA pilots who along with Walk Davis Hall, a skilled drone pilot, came out over six weeks to document the sealcoating process from conception to completion."

Bon Air Drone also took groundlevel video and which they incorporated into the 90-second video. Footage and Beckner's voice over were sent to NXT Project in Texas, who put it all together.

“Basically we wanted to showcase that we are a 'national sealcoating contractor' and the video shows the type of work we do and the type of work we’re interested in doing on a national scale, before and after,” he says.

They posted the video to their website (www.usasphaltmaintenance.com) and Facebook and sent it out to prospects starting in October. “We’ve had a very positive response to it,” he says, adding that as of mid-December they were awarded at least one mall job they can tie directly to the video.

“The video is generating quite the buzz among fellow sealcoaters and prospects alike. We think it will be a game changer in this technological era of acquiring new work and to help our company grow even more,” he says.

“It’s a welcome mat to our company like a parking lot is a welcome mat to a property’s customers.”

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Rod Dickens

Good Neighbor Award Winner

Helping Keep Sun Shining for Florida Foundation Family history drives Asphalt Restoration Technology Systems’ efforts on behalf of Sunshine Foundation Dream Village THE WINNER OF this year’s Good Neighbor Award lends special meaning to “giving back.” For the last four years, Asphalt Restoration Technology Systems (AR Tech), Orlando, FL, has dedicated personnel, funds, and materials to the Sunshine Foundation Dream Village in nearby Davenport. Each quarter, company crews, family members, and their friends volunteer a total of between 25 and 30 hours renovating structures, installing holiday decorations, and repairing roadways in the Village.

In addition to doing some Christmas decorating last November, volunteers planned on installing a new walkway before year’s end.

Since 1990, Sunshine Foundation Dream Village grants children and their immediate families an all-expense-paid, one-week vacation to Orlando area theme parks and attractions. The trip

gets them a welcomed and much-needed reprieve from a routine of hospitals, therapies, and medical treatments.

“The cause is near and dear to our owner Connie Lorenz,” says daughter and company operations manager Jennifer Agravat. “My mother’s family was very poor, and my grandmother had cerebral palsy. Places like Sunshine Foundation Dream Village didn’t exist.

My mother said she couldn’t think of a better way for AR Tech to give back.”

Agravat notes that the Sunshine Foundation answers dreams for children up to 18 years old who are chronically ill, physically challenged, or abused. In addition to an Orlando vacation, which costs upwards of $5,000, the foundation arranges for its young dreamers to meet and greet celebrities, go on shopping sprees, or receive adaptive or therapeutic equipment. AR Tech also

The Asphalt Restoration Technology Systems team, which donates personnel, funds and materials to Sunshine Foundation Dream Village, Davenport, FL. Among other things the Village grants ill and physically challenged children and their families all-expense-paid, one-week vacations to Orlando area theme parks and attractions as a getaway from their routine of hospitals, therapies and medical treatments.

helps sponsor a gala to raise donations.

Giving back doesn’t stop there, either.

The company annually sponsors a couple area elementary school classrooms, donating material and books. It even steps up when Mother Nature steps in. After Hurricane Irma carved a path through the middle of the state in September, the Village lost power and some of the cottages suffered roof and water damage. AR Tech employees again lent a helping hand, this time to repair roofs and pick up debris.

Nine Theme Cottages Since its opening Sunshine Foundations Dream Village has welcomed more than 20,000 children, accommodating them in any of nine theme cottages. With names like Elves Cottage, Enchanted Cottage, Pirate’s Cottage, Space Cottage, Windmill Cottage, they pique a child’s imagination. AR Tech helped renovate the Keebler cottage, doing landscaping, reflooring, installing new appliances and other renovations.

Connie Lorenz has been in the asphalt industry for almost 20 years and bought Asphalt Restoration Technology 10 years ago from the original owners.

In addition to asphalt rejuvenation and maintenance, the company offers minor concrete repair, handicap ramp installation, latex-thermal striping, speed bump installation, asphalt sealcoating and consulting, among other services.

RUNNERS-UP I I I I I I I I I I I I I U. S. Pavement Services, Woburn, MA Asphalt Contractors Inc., Union Grove, WI

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Allan Heydorn, Editor

Alan Curtis Industry Service Award RANGER KIDWELL-ROSS, WorldSweeper.com

WHEN RANGER Kidwell-Ross first encountered the sweeping industry he had no idea what it was – and no idea he was beginning a relationship that would become a career, making him one of the industry’s most knowledgeable advocates for power sweeping.

Since his first encounter with sweeping at Schwarze Industries in 1987, Kidwell-Ross has been the driving force and editor/writer behind the Schwarze SuperVac newsletter (1988-1991) and American Sweeper magazine (19922004), author of the “Fundamentals of Power Sweeping” book, founder of WorldSweeper.com (2005-present), and founder and executive director of World Sweeping Association (2013-present). He and his publications and website have received 26 APEX Awards for Publication Excellence over 25 years.

His combined efforts on behalf of the sweeping industry make it easy to see why Kidwell-Ross is the 2018 recipient of Pavement’s Alan Curtis Industry Service Award.

“People in the sweeping industry feel like nobody notices them. They’re the invisible industry,” Kidwell-Ross says.

“People go to a shopping center and empty their ashtray in the parking lot at 5 p.m. and then next morning when they go to buy groceries that ashtray debris has been cleaned up. But they don’t think about it. It’s an unsung industry and I’ve tried to raise the profile of that.”

In addition to advocating for sweeping contractors, Kidwell-Ross has been an advocate for sweeping itself as a “best practice” for controlling water pollution.

“Sweeping is the first line of defense of water pollution because it’s more costeffective to sweep frequently and get that material off the pavement before it gets washed into the drain,” he says. “People don’t realize that about half of the pollutants targeted by the EPA are water soluble so if they get into the water at all they’re not going to be collectible later.”

Schwarze SuperVac and American Sweeper In 1987 Kidwell-Ross answered an ad

by Schwarze Industries, which needed someone to produce a video. Not knowing what Schwarze Industries even did,

Among Ranger Kidwell-Ross's accomplishements are several "world tours" learning and writing about sweeping throughout the world -- such as in this shot take on The Great Wall of China.

WorldSweeper.com has sweeping stories from 26 countries in addition to the U.S.

he arrived early at the interview. “I sat in the lobby and perused an annual report that was sitting there, pulled out a red pen and started marking it up as I read.

I think I edited the first five pages,” he says. And he showed it to Mark Schwarze, vice-president, during his interview.

Kidwell-Ross didn’t get the video job but Schwarze called him – as a result of his red-letter editing – and he became editor of new newsletter for the sweeping community, Schwarze SuperVac. Kidwell-Ross moved to Bellingham, WA, in 1991 and learned the public works department was dumping sweepings into a low spot on someone’s property and that they hadn’t cleaned their catch basins, which drained directly into Bellingham Bay, in years. “I had this realization that public works departments might not realize they weren’t cleaning up horse poop anymore, but rather more complex pollutants.”

So he decided to start American Sweeper magazine. “I just thought it might help to make the world a better place while also providing a steady source of income,” he says.

Initially American Sweeper was going to be supported by advertising, so Kidwell-Ross contacted Mark Schwarze for an ad.

“At that point the Schwarze family’s company had about 70% of the parking lot sweeper market but they were having trouble getting into the municipal arena.

Mark Schwarze thought that putting the Schwarze name on American Sweeper would help do that, so offered to be the sole sponsor of the magazine.”

American Sweeper’s circulation to both municipalities and contractors ran as high as 30,000 per issue. “We tried to get it to all the sweeping contractors as well as into every public works department in every town in the country.”

Kidwell-Ross his goal was to educate about the environmental benefits and sweeping best practices while raising

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the professionalism and visibility of the sweeping industry.

“American Sweeper was aimed at public works departments as well as at contractors. We provided information for both,” he says. “We tried to show best practices to cities and to help them realize they could be more successful environmentally with air sweepers. At the same time, I tried to show contractors that if they adopted the information we were providing they could then go to cities and say ‘we should be sweeping for you to help you reduce pollution’.”

WorldSweeper.com In 2004 Schwarze Industries was sold to the Alamo Group, which decided to discontinue American Sweeper. In 2005 Kidwell-Ross started WorldSweeper. com, a free website that is billed as ‘Earth’s Largest Power Sweeping Resource.’

“Analysis shows that power sweeping is the best and most cost-effective management practice to keep nonpoint pollution out of waterways, but many public works departments still haven’t learned that. Sweeping often doesn’t get the budgeting it needs because people don’t know enough about it. Worldsweeper.com was formed to make that information more readily available.”

He says that if communities are going to attain their EPA benchmarks an oftneglected best practice is to sweep more.

“Municipal stormwater department budgets need to be combined with sweeping.

Then, everyone needs to get educated about the relative cost-effectiveness of sweeping for pollution removal. When they do, they learn it makes sense to sweep much more frequently and with air machines,” he says. “A large share of municipal budgets are still earmarked for end-of-pipe solutions only because so many public works professionals still don’t realize sweeping is the most costeffective way to approach the stormwater runoff problem.

Like American Sweeper, WorldSweeper.com provides content for both contractors and municipalities including more than 5,000 articles, podcasts and photos. There is also a History of Sweeping archive and the site produces

a monthly e-newsletter.

Kidwell-Ross says WorldSweeper.com has 3,500 subscribers

WSA In 2013 Kidwell-Ross started World Sweeping Association (WSA), making it the second sweeping association serving the industry.

“I felt there was room for another sweeping association that would be more responsive to its members and that would provide more a educational format for its member contractors.”

So, he carved out many of the contractor-focused articles and podcasts then at WorldSweeper.com and made that content available only to WSA members. Today, that includes more than 250 articles and over 100 audio podcasts with successful sweeping contractors and other industry experts.

WorldSweeper.com’s highly utilized Contractor Locator, which helps sweeping customers find a contractor anywhere

in the U.S., is also now only available to WSA members.

He had previously pioneered the “Ethics in Power Sweeping Initiative,” which he says helped to distinguish between the contractors listed at WorldSweeper.com and run-of-the mill sweeping contractors. Contractors were required to complete a brief questionnaire before they received a listing. Now that requirement extends to WSA membership.

“I came up with the idea as a way to increase professionalism in the contractor portion of the sweeping industry.”

Kidwell-Ross says WSA has more than 160 subscribers who, along with other benefits, receive a “WSA Member Update” via email every two weeks. He says WSA has a 90% renewal rate, which he ties directly to the newsletter as well as to the large amount of educational material on WSA’s password-protected website, www.WorldSweepingPros.org.

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Allan Heydorn, Editor

Pavement Hall of Fame Inductee GUY GRUENBERG, Grow Consulting

GUY GRUENBERG, the 2018 inductee into Pavement’s Hall of Fame, receives this recognition for his varied efforts helping paving and pavement maintenance contractors throughout the country organize, develop and generally improve their businesses though his varied consulting efforts.

“I grow companies,” Gruenberg says.

“And whether I’m consulting with them or teaching at National Pavement Expo, I encourage them to try to do the right thing, whatever it is. That’s my consulting mantra.”

He has conducted sessions at National Pavement Expo West (11 years) and National Pavement Expo (annually since 2003) on a broad range of sales, marketing, management and organizational topics; he provides one-on-one coaching through Grow Consulting, his personal consulting firm; and as a proponent of what he terms “integrated consulting” he has helped dozens of contractors by embedding himself in their management structure to better analyze and monitor the implementation of his consulting suggestions.

Gruenberg brings to his consulting efforts the unique combined perspectives of contractor, manufacturer and distributor (with RAE Products), and industry analyst. While he considers himself a “sales and marketing guy,” his diverse background enables him to consult and instruct on virtually any aspect of a business including: • Owner mentoring

• Strategizing • Sales and marketing • Job Costing • Finance • Recruiting, hiring and interviewing • Mergers and acquisitions • Exit strategies “I’m great with analytics,” he says.

“I can walk into a company and look at their financials and pick out things that are out of whack based on percentages.

Then we can take a look at why that is happening and develop a plan to fix it.”

Background Yields Diverse Insights Gruenberg’s start in the industry led from sales to manufacturing and then distribution. His efforts on behalf of his contractor customers gave him an opportunity to see the business from the contractor side, which started him first on the teaching path at National Pavement Expo and eventually onto consulting.

“I think and analyze things differently. I’m not always right but I’ll give you a different perspective if you need it.”

Gruenberg got his start in the industry in 1977 selling traffic paint out of a garage in Chicago. “At the time paint was for streets and highways but because most contractors were using air machines it didn’t work for parking lots,” he says. So Gruenberg helped

formulate G2402, a high-viscosity paint that covered better when sprayed from an air striper.

“Basically we took something that met state and county specs and made it so it could work on parking lots,” he says. “We got more linear feet per gallon because it was sprayed and it covered better.”

That development led to the formation in 1999 of RAE Products Asphalt, which had four Chicago locations in addition to locations in St. Louis, MO, and Cincinnati, OH. In addition to paint, the locations sold pavement sealer through a joint venture partnership with Bitumen Materials.

“In 1981 we invented the pickup location for contractors where they could get brooms, chalk, just about anything they would need on a job,” he says. “That’s an idea that has blossomed in the industry and that SealMaster in particular has really done a great job with.”

In 1999 RAE sold its sealer division to The Brewer Co. and Gruenberg pursued speaking and consulting, including some particularly high-level positions at companies such as Rose Paving, Bridgeview, IL. That led to his forming Grow Consulting in 2007.

Gruenberg credits his work helping to grow RAE Products and selling sealer to contractors with teaching him much of what he is now working to pass along to contractors.

“I’m a sales and marketing guy, but when you start selling 3-4 million gallons of sealer you’ve got to be operationally excellent,” he says. “You have to

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figure out how you’re going to deliver 4 million gallons of sealer in St. Louis and Chicago along with the paint.

“When you’re a sealer distributor you can’t run out of sealer. It’s as simple as that,” he says. “When a contractor shows up at 6:00 a.m. to pick up sealer you’d better have some sealer for him. Becoming operationally excellent makes that happen.”

Gruenberg says that in RAE’s early days they often rented space to small customers and he and RAE helped many of those contractors grow. “We got really good at job costing and about teaching job costing because we wanted to help those contractors win jobs,” he says. “We wanted them to grow and win more jobs because then they’d be able to buy more sealer or paint from us.”

And that forms the basis of much of the knowledge he passes along to contractors.

in each company. “There’s a big difference between consulting for a company where you offer advice they can take or leave and a situation where an owner is willing to give up some control and hires me to execute for him. It’s amazing what you can do when you get some control,” he says. “Putting systems and processes in place is huge and that’s something that is much easier to do when you’re more closely involved.”

Gruenberg says he thinks two terms are overused by contractors in their planning and growth efforts. “’Thinking out of the box’ and ‘next level’ are terms

Gruenberg’s

9 Mistakes

Contractors Make #1 Running a business without a plan

Consulting Philosophy

#2 Pursuing a foolish strategy

A firm believer in helping teach contractors through seminars and workshops, Gruenberg also believes in deep or “integrated consulting” with clients, helping more than 50 since starting Grow Consulting in 2007. “The model today is meeting on site with a company two to four times a year and talking with them monthly, often using Facetime, Skype and Go To Meeting. So instead of being there all the time I can be in touch with them much more easily and much more regularly.”

As anyone who’s attended a Gruenberg session at NPE knows, he is an early adopter of technology, and he encourages contractors to take advantage of emerging technologies as soon as they are appropriate for their operation.

“Technology can be the shortest route to becoming operationally excellent.”

He does not pursue short-term engagements as a consultant because he thinks he can make a bigger impact when working for a client for the longterm. “I look for companies where I know I can make a difference and where I can stay for a while as long as they need me,” he says.

So he limits the number of clients he takes so he can become more involved

#3 Not selling aggressively enough #4 Not having effective lead generation

#5 Working for bad clients #6 Not having a large enough credit line

#7 Failing to hold field leaders accountable

#8 Not knowing the cost of work #9 Accepting high turnover among employees

that I think really misrepresent was is happening within a company – pretty much any company,” he says.

“I don’t think of it as the next level and I don’t think contractors need to think outside the box to grow. I think of it as different stages that companies go through. The first stage is entrepreneurial, the second is survival, then stability, then continued growth, then the owner becomes less active in the business and needs to hire better managers, then mergers and acquisitions,” he says.

“All companies follow along that path and what I tell contractors is they need to understand which stage they’re in,

what the next stage will look like and what’s involved in getting to that next stage.”

Gruenberg says he can be a tough consultant as he holds owners accountable and tells people what they need to hear. “Not everyone appreciates that,” he says. “If a client doesn’t take at least 50% of my suggestions then we’re not a good fit because you don’t always want to be in conflict with your client.”

Gruenberg says he tries to help change how owners think about their business. “Because once you reach a certain point you need to think of the business differently,” he says. “I think and analyze things differently. I’m not always right but I’ll give you a different perspective if you need it.”

Gruenberg says that in addition to guiding contractors on what they should be doing, he makes it a point to help them avoid things they shouldn’t be doing. “I try to help contractors not to do things that will hurt them. I can tell them ‘You probably ought not to do that and here’s why. But if you go ahead and do it you can expect this kind of result.’

Sometimes that’s as important as helping people get something done.”

Reflecting on the Industry “The market really has progressed from a bunch of owner-operators working all day and going to the bars at night to guys who are running real businesses,” he says. “Some of that’s a result of what Pavement does and what National Pavement Expo has done over the years, some of it is what people have brought to this industry from other industries, and some is from consulting influences.”

“There are some really good people in this business and that’s one of the reasons I like it,” Gruenberg says. “I’ve rubbed shoulders with politicians and major sports figures but I can tell you that when you’re sitting in the back of the shop on a bucket of tack these are really down-to-earth people and I enjoy that.

“They need the information I can give them and I can deliver that information in a way that’s understandable and valuable and then they can put it to use,” Gruenberg says.

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2018 Top 25 Products Displayed over the next three pages are the paving and pavement maintenance industry products that received the most contractor interest last year via Pavement magazine and the Buyer’s Guide at www.forconstructionpros.com. Some are new to the industry, some are veteran products that have been upgraded, and some are long-term warhorses that still provide the efficiency, productivity and durability contractors need.

4-48 Infrared Infrared Heater & 4000 Hot Box Reclaimer KM International The KM 4-48 Infrared and KM 4000 Hot Box Reclaimer is designed to fix asphalt imperfections, pot holes, bird baths or utility cuts.

•• Quick easy fixes within minutes that saw cut and remove would take hours to fix •• Infrared also allows you to place and set Thermo Plastic and imprint markings that transform asphalt into finished product www.forconstructionpros.com/10087078

400 Asphalt Vibratory Roller VT LeeBoy The 400 compactor is best suited for asphalt compaction projects on streets, parking lots, driveways and sidewalks.

•• 40-in. split-front drum and 44-in. rear drum •• 2.5-ton static weight •• 2,600-vpm internal vibratory system •• Kubota Tier 4 Final diesel engine and servo-controlled hydrostatic transmission •• Includes an 80-gal. polyethylene tank and dynamic and secondary braking www.forconstructionpros.com/12273431

Brooms United Rotary Brush Tube brooms have more filament weight for more sweeping ends per square inch of broom face.

•• Blue Steel gutter brooms are tough on jobs but easy on the environment •• UnitedPro strip brooms are 100% recyclable, take up less storage than traditional tube brooms, and can be changed-out in less than 15 minutes •• Poly and Wire wafers are available in several sizes and combinations www.forconstructionpros.com/10088090

Mini Asphalt Paver Salsco The Mini Asphalt Paver paves widths from 36 in. to 6 ft.

•• Paves highway shoulders, bike and park paths, utility trenches, highway, patching, golf cart paths, carports, guardrail aprons, and walkways •• Removable side panels •• Free-floating, adjustable screed •• Forward and reverse hydrostatic drive www.forconstructionpros.com/10087141

Skid-steer Planer Attachment

Renova Asphalt Repairs A self-contained, easy to operate, mobile machine produces hot mix asphalt on site from reclaimed asphalt pavement extracted directly from the repair area or from stockpiled millings, RAP or excess asphalt.

•• Produces up to 2 tons of recycled hot mix asphalt per cycle in 12 to 15 minutes

GECON Attachments This skid-steer trench cleaning cold planer attachment features a built-in conveyor and is available in 18-, 24- and 40-in. sizes.

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4000 Asphalt Recycler

Rapid Surface Repair Five Star Products Rapid Surface Repair products ensure that all traffic can return to full-speed levels in just minutes. Rapid Surface Repair is a range of five unique products offering easy application techniques that result in a durable new surface ready to handle the fastest-moving, heaviest of traffic conditions on any and all roadways.

•• Fast repair and cure •• Bond without primer to concrete, asphalt www.forconstructionpros.com/12296161

AutoTrim Sealcoat Baffle Attachment Neal Mfg., Div. of Blastcrete AutoTrim sealcoating baffle attachment automatically cut-ins sealcoat materials on the go while keeping curbs and edges free of material.

•• Attaches to the front of Neal’s DA 350 Dual Applicator machine and can be retrofitted onto any truck-powered sealcoating unit •• When paired with Neal’s highpowered blower, contractors can perform sealcoat prep work as much as seven times faster than with traditional methods

Estimating and Job Costing Bid Designs Asphalt Determine your estimated versus actual production for the same day with this web-based software application.

•• Designed to be simple and user-friendly •• Offers an interface for entering data and quick access to your data www.forconstructionpros.com/10077267

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2018

Landoll Corp.

The “Next Generation Landoll” 400 Series trailers feature the 20-gpm HOSS hydraulic operating system, which offers increased operational speed of all functions.

•• Axle travel and winch line speed increased by as much as 65% •• Grote lighting package incorporates micro-nova LED high-intensity LED lights with a 160° projection, a Clear White lens and chrome surround •• Available in 48-, 50- and 53-ft. lengths in tandem- or triple-axle version with a 6.6° load angle •• 53-ft. model includes 22 side marker lights www.forconstructionpros.com/10079299

Wand System Panther Equipment The AdapTech Wand System is an all-in-one sealcoat application system.

•• AutoFlow attachment delivers sealer directly to a brush or squeegee •• Dual tip attachment ideal for rapidly covering large areas •• Single-tip attachment for general purpose spraying

•• Quick-connect couplers allow attachments to be easily interchanged •• Stainless steel ball valve, adjustable ergonomic handle, dual-plane swivel, powdercoat finish www.forconstructionpros.com/10083080

TOP 25

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MG7 Mini Paver

NGL 400 Series Traveling Axle Trailer

Tandem Axle Dump Box ASphalt Recycler & Hot Box Falcon Asphalt Repair Falcon’s 2 ton - 4 ton tandem axle dump box asphalt recycler & hot box (patent pending design) are popular units for those who want the added versatility of being able to dump asphalt.

•• Recycle asphalt chunks and millings •• Hold hot mix for days •• Heat and re-heat cold patch •• Utilize the dump box to efficiently use asphalt for larger repairs www.forconstructionpros.com/10338588

Hitek Equipment The Pavijet Mini Pavers fill a niche between stand-behind paving machines and the use of spreaders, drag boxes or hand-spread asphalt.

•• Can be used to lay hot and cold asphalt or to spread sand, gravel and stones •• Simple to operate, maintain and transport •• Connect to a skid-steer loader or compact excavator depending on the model •• MG7 features a retractable, vibrating, heated screed, 3.5-ton hopper capacity and a paving speed of up to 82 fpm www.forconstructionpros.com/11195550

Model 601 Grader Shannon Chastain •• Hydrostatic articulating grader •• 8-ft. by 16-in. moldboard with 2-ft. side shift and blade shift •• 45˚ front-wheel power steering; articulates 22˚ left or right from center

•• 49.5-hp Kubota diesel watercooled diesel •• Dozer blade and scarifier •• Optional Universal quick attach loader system (9-ft. 6-in. lift height) www.forconstructionpros.com/10088737

Handliner Thermoplastic Applicator M-B Companies The Apollo Handliner Thermoplastic Applicator can melt and apply over 700 sq. ft. of pavement markings in a normal work day in stand-alone operations. The unit comes standard with double-ring high-efficiency burners, a thermostat control system and a metered glass beader.

•• One-person transport and simple application system for hot thermoplastic •• Heavy-duty, yet light weight, rust free aluminum construction •• Thermostat-controlled burners •• Accurate, high-efficiency melting •• Rear swivel wheel

Sirocco and Flex Lighting Balloons

www.forconstructionpros.com/10083948

Airstar America The Sirocco 2 and Flex come in a variety of sizes and are resistant to wind, rain and extreme temperature changes, while providing 360° glare-free lighting for up to 5 acres.

•• Air-inflated Sirocco 2-M 6x100W LED features universal voltage (110V to 230V) and contains six LED sources with a nominal power of 100W (5,000 lumens)for lighting an area of over 32,000 sq. ft.

•• Self-contained, rechargeable Sirocco 2-S 60W LED can light areas up to 4,800+ sq. ft. and operates on a 48-volt and 60W integrated power supply •• Flex M 1000W HI-T offers a pop-up envelope without the need for a fan, while the Flex L 4000W HI-T is a retrofitting kit for lighting towers

PRO Series Camera Lights

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Pro-Vision Video Systems The PRO Series camera light systems eliminate dangerous blind spots on vehicles with a special wide angle camera housed in a SAE/DOT-compliant LED light.

•• Direct replacements for 2.0- and 2.5-in. marker lights •• Includes a machined camera housing, IP69K waterproof camera and connectors •• 130° field-of-view •• Sharp Camera Chip technology •• LED monitor backlighting and Twist-Lock type monitor connector

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2018

TOP 25

PRODUCTS

FP5 All-In-One Pothole Patcher

Magma M-2 Cracksealer

Bergkamp Inc. The FP5 flameless pothole patcher comes with InPave Technology, which monitors material usage, performance and location of each pothole, patcher and crew through multiple data-reporting sensors strategically engineered into each unit.

Cimline Magma M Series offers an AutoStart feature that requires just a few simple steps to get the pavement maintenance started.

•• After the push of a button and three green lights illuminating, the operator is notified of cracksealing readiness •• Operating in urban and suburban settings means the equipment must be community friendly, Magma has clean, efficient Tier 4 diesel power with sound reducing muffler and added sound control from an optional engine cover

•• Insulated 5.1-cu.-yd. electricheated hopper •• Damaged area removed and squared off using the onboard, hydraulically driven pavement breaker •• Air and tack wand blows out any remaining debris and applies the tack coating •• Onboard compactor consolidates the material evenly with the existing pavement

www.forconstructionpros.com/12226854

www.forconstructionpros.com/12055457

Crack Filler-Sealer Dragon Asphalt Equipment Crack Filler-Sealer is ideally suited for contractors that cannot justify the expense of the larger, more complex systems but need and want more than the typical crack filling push cart.

•• Holds approximately 30 gal., can be heated up while in transit •• 20-ft. heated hose pivots on a small boom which allows for easy access to cracks anywhere in the road •• Add crack filling material blocks to tank via easy access side door •• Each system is completely enclosed in a crate that fits easily into any standard 53-ft. tractor trailer www.forconstructionpros.com/12263051

V 5900 LineLazer Graco Inc. The LineLazer V 5900 has the ability to use 1- or 2-gun airless paint guns and is ideal for large parking lots, city streets and everything in between.

•• Automatic paint gun system produces lines with the push of a button guns •• Semi-automatic guns take the guesswork out of line length •• LiveLook Display with SmartControl lets you track, measure and control every aspect of the job •• EZ Align Wheel System is an easy way to keep unit tracking straight www.forconstructionpros.com/12270699

Grizzly 600T Goetextile Apparatus Co. The Grizzly 600T installs paving fabric virtually wrinkle free and installs paving grids, hybrids and composites with special options and roller system. The Grizzly 600T mounts to endloader arms replacing the bucket or clamps on the bucket or optionally mount both ways.

•• Patented heavy-duty dual bar frame, brushes and tensioning bars telescope for 6- to 19.5-ft. rolls •• Patented sliding short roll middle arm for 1- to 10-ft. rolls centered or off-centered •• Patented rotating spindle roll holders for cores 3- to 5-in. adjust tension on roll speed •• Patented multi bar tension system and brushing desig www.forconstructionpros.com/10078500

CP130 Commercial Paver Carlson Paving Products The CP130 commercial-class paver offers a single-slide EZCSS 8-ft. to 15-ft. electrically heated screed with power extension height, power slope and power crown.

•• 130-hp Cummins QSF3.8 Tier 4 Final engine •• One-piece, forward-tilting hood, large side doors and access panel in the hopper for service and accessibility to engine compartment •• Armrest controls, swing-out operator stations and 3-man configuration provide optimal ergonomics and visibility •• Includes fully replaceable floor plates, heavy-duty chains and slats, fully sealed auger bearings and horizontal sliding damper doors www.forconstructionpros.com/12305561

Gladiator Pump System SealMaster The Gladiator Pump System features a 3-in. air-diaphragm pump with a 100 cfm air compressor capable of continuously spraying sealer with heavy sand loading •• Save time and money by being able to spray pavement sealer through 12-ft.wide spray bars www.forconstructionpros.com/12268048

Tracked Compact Backhoe-loader JCB With skid-steer ability and integral backhoe-loader, the 1CX T concept machine is compact, maneuverable and productive, combining the features of two machines in one.

•• Includes a revised cab roof trim, improved working lights and sturdy electrical switches •• Optional loader arms extend length by 4 in.

•• Extending dipper option adds up to 1 ft., 8 in. for a maximum dig depth to 10 ft.

•• Features the Power Management System and optional Servo controls •• Optional compact tracked loader base includes a 60-hp turbocharged engine, 33-gpm high-flow auxiliary hydraulic option and a maximum load height of 9 ft. www.forconstructionpros.com/10244144

50 February 2018 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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Contractors ’ Choice: Pavers

Rick Zettler

Remix Pavers

NOT Just for the Mainline Quest for higher mat quality expands contractor applications for these versatile machines

Changes in asphalt mixes make them more difficult for contractors to pave and compact, so some contractors are expanding the use of “specialized” equipment like Remix pavers.

THE ASPHALT INDUSTRY is inventive and dynamic, ever changing to meet project owner needs, higher road life-cycle demands and budget constraints. Perpetual pavement construction, mill-and-fill overlays, hot-in-place recycling, cold-in-place recycling, and chip seal practices, to name a few, are at the asphalt paving contractor’s disposal to satisfy virtually every customer need.

Asphalt mix designs have also evolved over the years. From containing high recycled material content to additives for meeting a market’s special needs, asphalt mixes are growing in complexity to produce

as well as pave. “In our market, we see mix with high percentages of RAP, winter additives that melt snow, recycled tire and shingle additives, and non-local hard rock aggregate,” comments Andrew Fahey, vice president of Grandview (Kansas City), MObased J. M. Fahey Construction Company.

These changes in asphalt mix designs can make it more difficult for the paving contractor to meet material and/or thermal segregation specifications. Even if no formal segregation spec exists on a project, segregated aggregate and inconsistent temperatures throughout the mat pose a challenge for the contractor. “Cool spots in the mat

make it difficult for the rollers to achieve density specifications,” comments Bill Rieken, paver applications specialist for Bomag Americas, Inc. For years, paving equipment that offers asphalt reblending capabilities at the project site were thought by many contractors to be reserved for high-profile road projects, airports or mainline paving, where stringent specifications demanded the use of this “specialized” equipment. Remix pavers and material transfer vehicles offered mix consistency and the ability to pave non-stop to deliver a mat that stood up to heavy wheel loads and high traffic counts.

52 February 2018 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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Some contractors, like Fahey Construction and Towanda, KS-based Dustrol Inc., have bucked this tradition and expanded the use of this “specialized” paving equipment for many years. Fahey Construction feeds its CR662RM a steady diet of commercial projects, while Dustrol uses its Remix machines for a hot-in-place recycle process.

“We expect to deliver high mat quality in whatever application we encounter, and the CR662RM has given us the ability to provide a superior product in any case,” says Fahey.

Commercial Success For more than a decade, Fahey Construction has used a Remix auger paver on its commercial paving projects. Keeping its utility, concrete and asphalt paving work within a 75-mile radius of the Kansas City metro area, the company’s workload consists of 90 percent public municipal work and 10 percent private projects.

Fahey Construction’s two asphalt crews pave everything from parking lots to mill overlays in urban

neighborhoods to main thoroughfares and D.O.T. mainline projects. For its smaller projects, the contractor uses the 8-ft. Cedarapids CR362L rubber track commercial paver. Offering paving widths from 8 to 20 ft., it handles everything from small parking lots and urban development roads to shoulder paving on interstates. “We look for versatility in our pavers,” says Fahey.

Versatility was one primary consideration for purchasing the CR662RM RoadMix machine, as it offers the ability to work as a paver, which is how Fahey Construction uses the machine, as well as a material transfer vehicle. “It takes about four hours to switch between the screed and conveyor assemblies, so it’s possible for the CR662RM to be paving in the morning and transferring material in the afternoon,” comments Henry Polk, manager of paving, milling and reclaimers/stabilizers for BOMAG. Fahey Construction reserves this machine for the high profile, main thoroughfare and occasional interstate asphalt paving projects.

The vast majority of the work seen by the

The hopper design replaces traditional the slat conveyor with two sets of augers that uniformly draw down and reblend material from all areas of the hopper.

CR662RM is mill-and-fill overlay on urban roads as well as county highways. The main reason for using this paver for high profile projects, as Fahey explains, is the reblending capabilities offered by the machine.

“As much as versatility,” he says, “we are looking to deliver high mat quality in whatever application we encounter, no matter the customer. The CR662RM’s ability to remix the asphalt in-hopper gives us mat consistency with no segregation, and we can tell the difference in the mat between the Remix paver and a conventional paver.”

The hopper design of the CR662RM replaces the traditional slat conveyor that delivers material to the spreading augers with two sets of two augers. Whereas the slat conveyor pulls material from the front to the rear of the hopper, the Remix system’s counter rotating augers uniformly draw down and reblend material from all areas of the hopper. “Any asphalt that has cooled during transport is remixed with the rest of the mix at temperature to eliminate cold spots behind the screed,” says Rieken. Fahey adds, “The Cedarapids paver provides a superior product that we haven’t seen with conventional pavers.”

Temps Below Warm Mix

Fahey Construction uses its auger paver for commercial projects because of the machine’s versatility and reblending capabilities to deliver high mat quality over a variety of applications.

Whereas Fahey Construction sticks to within 75 miles of Kansas City, Dustrol’s five HIR crews travel a 16-state market, spanning the central part of the country from Idaho and Montana to Texas and Louisiana. Since forming in 1973, the company’s restoration efforts have evolved from heater scarification surface recycling to its current MARS (Mobile Asphalt Recycling System) hot-inplace recycling (HIR) process, which allows for recycling depths reaching 3 in. “Most of our projects are in the 2-in. depth range or less, but we have recycled as much as 2.5 to 3 in.,” says Brian Hansen, president of Dustrol.

Repairing surface deformations such as rutting and cracking, the custom-engineered MARS recycling train includes a series of road preheaters, milling heaters and tunnel heaters. Each combination of milling and tunnel heaters will recycle a depth reaching 0.5 in., so the deeper the project, the more milling and tunnel heater units added to the recycling train. The last component in the train is a milling heater with an oiler

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Contractors ’ Choice: Pavers that injects a predetermined percentage of water-based emulsion as a rejuvenating agent for the oxidized recycled asphalt.

The recycled asphalt is laid in a windrow for the paving train to pick up and pave.

While heated by the recycling train, the material in the windrow isn’t nearly as hot as asphalt designs produced by a plant and trucked to the jobsite. “We are working with asphalt in the 200° to 250° F range, which is just a little cooler than warm mix asphalt,” explains Hansen. The low temperatures can make the mix difficult for the paver to work with.

A second challenge for the paving train is the type of asphalt roads being recycled.

Dustrol’s workers often face chip-sealed, microsurfaced and heavily patched surface layers. These state, federal and county roads are typically hot mix asphalt surfaces that have been subject to some sort of restorative effort. “This makes it extremely difficult for a conventional slat paver to deliver the high quality finished product we want,” Hansen says.

Both Dustrol and Fahey Construction report operating costs of the auger paver to be very close to that of conventional slat pavers

When encountering an untouched hot mix asphalt road surface, Hansen says that conventional pavers work well. However, when recycling a previously repaired road, he says they would see shadowing in the mat and centerline segregation under the spread auger gearbox. “Most of the roads we recycle will also receive a thin asphalt, Nova Chip, or chip-seal overlay, but we still want to deliver the highest quality mat possible,” he says.

A few years ago, when recycling a stretch of Kansas highway that received two chip seal treatments, Dustrol’s crew was having a particularly difficult time achieving the end result they wanted with the slat paver.

Mat shadowing and centerline segregation

The additional reblending a Remix paver offers helps to prevent asphalt shadowing, segregation and stripping that can be present with conventional slat pavers.

weren’t the only issues. “Chip seal sets up fast and doesn’t flow well, and the aggregate showed some signs of stripping,” Hansen says.

Dustrol experimented by replacing its slat paver with the CR662RM. “In addition to its counter-rotating augers inside the hopper, the RoadMix also features outboard spreading auger drive to eliminate the center gearbox and centerline segregation issues,” Rieken says.

The combination of in-hopper augers and outboard spread auger drive eliminated the segregation and shadowing issues experienced on that Kansas recycling project, and it resolved aggregate stripping. “Our MARS equipment gives the asphalt some reblending at the last heater mill, but the CR662RM’s hopper acts like a pugmill to give the windrow additional reblending and coating of the aggregate,” says Hansen.

“Remix gives us a better product, and it’s all about delivering a good quality product for the taxpayer.”

Since that first project using the Remix auger paver, Dustrol has added a CR662RM machine to four out of its five HIR trains.

The train using the lone conventional slat paver is relegated to applications of conventional hot mix asphalt road recycling, and current plans include an auger paver replacing the slat paver when it is ready for replacement.

Similar Operating Costs Hansen and Fahey report the operating costs of their rubber track CR662RM RoadMix machines are very close to that of a conventional slat paver. “Since we’ve been running the CR662RM so long, it’s hard for us to tell cost differences, but if there were higher costs, they would be more than offset by reduced call-backs on a project,” says Fahey. Hansen echoes Fahey’s sentiment,

“The benefits of quality far outweigh any additional cost we may incur.”

Randy Meisch, shop foreman for Dustrol, has intimate working knowledge of both auger and slat pavers and confirms the cost assessment made by Hansen. Every offseason, the shop crew plus some of the equipment operators spend time maintaining the fleet. Meisch has found some areas where the Remix system takes less time to repair than the slat delivery system.

At the end of each season, workers remove both material delivery systems. “It takes about three hours to get the Remix augers on the ground, whereas it takes about eight hours to remove the slats,” he explains. “The auger pavers go through the shop a lot faster than the slat pavers.”

Dustrol also gets significantly more service life out of a set of Remix augers.

“In our application, we get two seasons from our slat delivery system – one season per side,” he says. “With the Remix system, we have run five seasons without repair or replacement of the screw augers, and we have put 2 million tons of material through the paver.”

The key to achieving this longevity, according to Meisch, is proper maintenance.

He uses the paver operators to hard surface the augers and for other projects that don’t require technical training, so the company doesn’t have to lay them off during the winter season. He reports it takes about 40 hours to hard surface the auger sets.

Longevity, versatility and superior end product quality, the Remix auger pavers have offered significant business advantages for both Fahey Construction and Dustrol in nontraditional applications. “We have run Remix pavers for 15-plus years, and they have been a method to mitigate segregation, no matter the application we encounter,” summarizes Fahey.

54 February 2018 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • PAVEMENT • February 2018

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58 February 2018 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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2004 GMC TMT Airless Paint Truck

Low Mileage, Great Condition, Dual Steering, All Controls in the Cab, Set up for One Person Operation, Ready to Stripe, Great for striping behind pavers, One Available.

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with New Wanco 4X8 Arrow Board.

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With new power pack engine. Excellent condition.

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Please call for used parts for most striping equipment and save! www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • PAVEMENT • February 2018

PVM0218_55-62_Classifieds.indd 61

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CALL JOHN FOR DETAILS 440-479-9344 62 February 2018 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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2/5/18 1:15 PM

Todd W. Mansell

On The Job

TOP 5 TIPS

for Managing Density How to achieve both density and tonnage goals when you work as a team MEETING OR EXCEEDING density specifications in the field is a challenge for many paving crews. In most highway paving operations, the ability of the rollers to keep pace with the paver and still meet or exceed density requirements is the limiting factor in achieving daily production goals. Consequently, more often than not, tonnage goals are met and density suffers.

Here we’ll present a practical approach to managing density based on keeping up with the paver without sacrificing density. It’s possible to place the desired number of tons of mix and meet or exceed density specifications with a little up-front planning. The best part of this process is that it costs NOTHING other than a commitment by management to support and execute the paving

and compaction plan through good communication to all team members.

1

Know your lines of communication

It’s difficult, if not impossible, to maintain an effective rolling pattern that achieves density if there is no communication protocol in place.

It should be clear who is directly responsible for managing the roller operators, whether it be the paving foreman, quality control (QC) technician, or another.

A communication protocol should be known in advance of the project starting.

It should clearly define who’s in charge of making changes to the rolling pattern. Is it the paving foreman, QC tech, roller operators themselves, the project

manager? It varies from company to company and maybe from job to job.

At a minimum, each crew member should know and understand what the lines of communication and action are.

When things are going bad, it’s not the time to be deciding who’s in charge of a situation! There should be a list with every person’s name, on-site phone number and the order in which they should be contacted when it’s necessary to make changes or report passing, and more importantly, failing densities during production.

2

Know your mix design properties, job specifications, targets Ask yourself if you have a choice of mixes or mix designs to submit for

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On The Job

this project. Mixes with a history of achieving good density are always a good choice.

Is it a harsh mix or a tender mix?

Expect delays compacting a tender mix, especially on a thin overlay project where paver speed is higher.

The target density is usually higher than the minimum density requirement on a project. For example, the minimum required density might be 92%, but due to inherent variability and the nature of statistical-based specifications that use Lots and Sublots, or Percent-WithinLimits (PWL), we may target a higher number such as 94% to ensure a “safety net.”

Statistically, a higher average (mean) percent compaction target should essentially eliminate any percent outside limits and pay reductions. To achieve this, we need the average compaction target set at 94% or higher – so many companies will target an average of 94% to account for variability in compaction.

Higher target ensures the lower readings do not fall below the minimum required.

Estimators typically bid the job based on a certain number of tons of asphalt mix placed each day. There is pressure to meet this daily tonnage and if you don’t - you risk losing profit on the job and are under more pressure to exceed production on a future shift to make up for the loss. This pressure further exacerbates the ability to meet the density target as paving speed increases and the rollers are pressured to increase their speed, even though the mix or paving window has not changed.

The daily tonnage greatly influences paver speed which in turn influences roller speed. This is where the planning is critical to have the proper number and type of rollers to meet the production and density targets established in the pre-paving planning.

Targets also need to be set and communicated. Target paving speed based on placing the tonnage of mix expected per shift that provides for a continuous paving operation.

The Caterpillar Paving Production Calculator app, available for iOS and Android devices, and the National

If the roller is going too fast for the speed of vibration, or frequency, there will be ripples in the mat. These ripples are indications that density is not likely to be achieved and they are a sure sign that smoothness specifications will not be met.

Asphalt Pavement Association’s publication IS-120 (www.asphaltpavement.org) are two tools that can be used to determine the required number of trucks and paver and roller speeds to consume the planned tonnage for a paving shift.

Once the planned paving speed that will consume the required tonnage is established, the target roller speeds can be determined.

3

Establish an Effective Rolling Pattern

Above all else, the temperature of the asphalt mix at the time of breakdown rolling through finish rolling will determine how successful the compaction operation will be.

It’s important to understand how mix temperature is related to compaction and how you can manage it in the field.

The hotter the mix is when the first roller hits it, the easier it will be to achieve density in the field.

Maintaining mix temperature from the plant through the paver to the rollers is always a challenge. As the mix cools, it becomes more and more difficult to get density. For example, starting breakdown rolling at 290°F could require one less roller pass than starting breakdown rolling at 270°F to achieve the same density. As the mix cools further, it becomes exponentially more difficult to achieve the same level of density than if compaction had started at a high temperature.

As long as the asphalt cement can flow, the compactive effort of the rollers can force the mix into a compacted, stable configuration with good aggregate (rock and sand) interlock. When asphalt

cement becomes more viscous as the temperature of the mix drops, it behaves more glue-like and the aggregate in the hot mix cannot be properly compacted by the force of the rollers.

Mix temperature is the single most critical factor to achieving sufficient compaction. The time available for compaction (TAC) defines the total amount of time that rollers operators have to achieve density before the mix cools too much and becomes too stiff to compact.

MultiCool is one computer software tool that is available for free (asphaltpavement.org/multicool) that provides accurate estimates of the TAC. For maximum efficiency, breakdown rolling should begin at temperatures above 290°F for most conventional mixes.

When breakdown rolling begins at temperatures lower than 290°F, the risk of not achieving sufficient compaction is greatly increased.

It is extremely difficult to achieve maximum compaction if breakdown rolling has not started before the mix cools to 280°F. Warm mix asphalt (WMA) behaves similarly in terms of compaction, only at lower breakdown rolling temperatures and lower finish compaction temperatures.

Because breakdown compaction of WMA starts at a lower temperature, there is often a slightly extended Time Available for Compaction when using WMA. Understanding that compaction is directly related to the mix temperature, extra effort should be put forth to maintain sufficient mix temperature during production, transportation, placement

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and compaction of asphalt.

Roller speed is equally important.

Empirical data tells us that maintaining a vibratory roller speed that is within the range of 10 to 14 impacts per foot will achieve both density and smoothness results.

What are impacts per foot, and how is roller speed and impacts per foot related? Before answering these questions, an operator should understand that steel drum vibratory rollers have two basic settings when it comes to compaction – amplitude and frequency.

Amplitude – can be thought of as how ‘hard’ the drum hits to impart compactive effort to the mat, or the compactive effort transferred from machine to mat. A rule of thumb is that most rollers will be set in a low amplitude setting for lift thicknesses of 2 in. or less. Typically, less than 1 in. thick would be static rolling, meaning vibration is turned off completely. For lifts 2 in. or greater in thickness, generally a higher amplitude setting provides the most effective and efficient breakdown compaction.

Frequency is how often the drum hits the mat as the roller travels down the road. In vibratory mode, the drum is moving up and down at a certain number of vibrations per minute as the roller moves forward. Thus, the speed of the roller will determine how many impacts will be made per distance traveled. The optimum target is 10-14 impacts per foot. If the roller is going too fast for the speed of vibration, or frequency, there will be ripples in the mat. These ripples are indications that density is not likely to be achieved and they are a sure sign that smoothness specifications will not be met.

Always remember that higher amplitude settings are associated with lower frequency settings on rollers equipped with multiple selections for amplitude and frequency. Always consult the operator’s manual for settings.

When it comes to roller speed, the operator must know what frequency the machine is running at in order to determine the roller speed that will deliver 10 impacts per foot. Some rollers are equipped with gauges that indicate

There are various tachometers on the market that can measure frequency in the field.

impacts per foot, however, these gauges are generally not very accurate and often become non-functional over time.

A simple calculation to determine the proper roller speed is to first know or measure the frequency setting of the roller. The operator’s manual should state the frequency settings. Alternatively, there are various tachometers on the market that can measure frequency in the field, more expensive reed tachometers, or inexpensive, but sufficiently accurate, dial tachometers. Once the frequency is determined in vibrations per minute (VPM), simply divide that number by 10 to determine the roller ground speed in feet per minute.

There are three phases and a common arrangement for a typical highway job rolling pattern. The first phase is the breakdown phase, which is followed by the intermediate phase and then finish rolling. Any phase of compaction can involve one or more rollers. The goal is to achieve the majority of density during the breakdown phase of compaction when the mix is hottest.

Intermediate rolling should meet or exceed the final density requirement while the goal of finish rolling is to remove any roller marks left by the breakdown and intermediate rollers.

Rolling trains can be all steel drum rollers or a combination of steel drum and pneumatic (rubber-tire) rollers.

In order to balance the roller speed with the paver speed, divide the roller ground speed by the number of breakdown roller passes required to cover the full width of the mat the required number of times to achieve the target density for the breakdown phase of compaction.

For example, if the roller frequency is set at 2,500 VPM and we divide by 10 to calculate a roller ground speed of 250 feet per minute (FPM), divide 250 by 5 to get an Effective Roller Speed of 50 FPM. Effective roller speed refers to the roller’s ability to keep pace with the paver. Remember, the paver is continuously moving forward, whereas the

Best Practices for Maintaining Mix Temperature • Breakdown rolling should begin at the highest possible mix temperature behind the screed. In rare cases, the mix behind the screed may be too hot, at which time the plant production temperature could be reduced to save money and improve quality.

• Tarp loads when necessary. This is more critical in cold weather. Properly utilized tarps can help retain heat in the mix during transport, especially in colder weather and on long hauls to the job.

• Unload the 3rd and 4th trucks first, then the 1st and 2nd trucks. The first couple of truckloads are generally cooler from plant start up and/or the cooler cone of silos.

Hotter mix will heat up the paver screed faster and avoid tearing the mat at the start of paving.

• Keep the paver hopper near full when waiting 15 minutes or less for trucks. The mix will retain heat better in a large mass and keep the hopper hot. Communicate with the plant to ensure good truck spacing and minimal waiting periods.

• Longitudinal joints require particular attention. Roll from the hot side as soon as possible to maximize the roller drum width on the hot mat while the mix is still as hot as possible. Time is ticking away when pinching the joint from the cold side and the mat is cooling.

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On The Job

breakdown roller must travel back and forth on a specified number of times determined during a test strip. Since the roller must change direction at the end of each pass, we use an efficiency factor of 80% to determine an effective roller speed of 50 x 0.80 = 40 FPM. In this example, the paver speed cannot exceed 40 FPM for the breakdown roller to keep up and maintain 10 impacts per foot.

Two essential things to remember for compaction and establishing a rolling pattern are the TAC and a roller speed and frequency setting that results in 10-14 impacts per foot. When calculating the TAC, consider these points: • Can we reasonably expect to roll this mix before it cools too much? Do we need more rollers, or a wider roller to get coverage faster?

• Based on the job conditions of lift thickness and expected air and base temperatures - what will be our time available for compaction? Use charts, past experience or software programs (MultiCool) to estimate a starting point. Always verify results in the field by measuring temperatures.

• At what mix temperature should we ask the production facility to load trucks?

• Do we need to tarp trucks?

• How should we modify our rolling pattern based on the expected cooling rate? How much do we need to shorten the length of roller passes to cover the mat before it cools?

On a typical project, paver speed often dictates how fast roller operators will go. Roller operators want to keep up with the paver where the mix is hotter.

This is why it’s critical in the compaction process to establish a paving speed that will allow the rollers to maintain a speed that gives them 10 impacts per foot and allows them to complete their number of passes and stay with the paver.

If production requirements of tonnage per day don’t allow such a slow roller speed, consider adding more rollers to keep up with the paver and maintain 10 impacts per foot, otherwise, density and smoothness will suffer. It’s usually more economical to add another roller and to keep

When it comes to roller speed, the operator must know what frequency the machine is running at in order to determine the roller speed that will give 10 impacts per foot.

up with the faster paver speed. The cost per ton of compaction is relatively small compared to the bid price per ton (in-place), the material cost, and almost every other aspect of the laydown operation.

Caterpillar’s Paving Production Calculator, available free download from iTunes Store, takes user inputs such as tons per shift, different roller sizes, lane width and thickness, roller settings of amplitude and frequency, to calculate a balanced paving operation.

Check your numbers. It’s a tough balancing act between tons per hour placed by the paver and the ability of the rollers to keep up with the paver, but with a solid understanding of how to figure out roller speed, we can make sound decisions on what equipment and people we need on the job.

4

Identify root causes when density is not being achieved When density is not being achieved in the field, take a systematic approach that starts looking at the most likely and easiest to check possibilities and progress towards less likely and more difficult things to check. Some common troubleshooting situations are: • Mix temperature • Paver speed and roller speed (10-14 impacts per foot) • Verify roller settings of Amplitude, Frequency, Speed Equipment not working as expected (low VPM, no vibe)

• Nuclear gauge not calibrated/out of calibration • Sand changes at plant can affects theoretical maximum density, VMA • AC content, fines return at plant, gradation

5

Plan for unplanned events

Always have a Plan B ready to go.

Know ahead of time what your options are instead of losing valuable time and quality trying to make a decision on what to do when problems arise. What if the plant breaks down and it will be at least an hour or more? What if there is an equipment failure? There are many other “what if” examples to plan for, and spending time beforehand investigating options will provide you with actionable plans to execute at a moment’s notice. These situations are when the communication protocol discussed earlier becomes extremely valuable.

It doesn’t take long to develop a paving plan. Just remember, time available for compaction (TAC) is based on mix cooling rate and always maintain at least 10 impacts per foot with your steel drum rollers. Take the time to develop a paving plan and communicate it with your crew. Be clear on who is responsible for each aspect of managing density and enjoy the success that comes with working as a team and taking pride in your work.

By Todd W. Mansell is product application specialist, Caterpillar.

66 February 2018 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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2/2/18 10:42 AM

Nick Howell

2

From the Owner’s Desk

Steps to Better Insurance

UNFORTUNATELY FOR US contractors, insurance is a must. Gone are the days of skirting by with no insurance or low limits…wait, limits? Yeah limits.

And if you don't know yours, it’s time to find it out.

That’s right, in today’s world people can easily sue us and easily win big bucks at the slightest error we may have made – or as is often the case, something we didn't even do.

There’s an old phrase that says “Caution: You are entering and outdoor area where hazards exist.” Well, I guess most people nowadays haven't ever seen that before or don’t know how to pick up their feet.

Little accidents such as tripping in a small pothole or slipping on traffic paint can yield the claimant tens of thousands of dollars against your insurance (or, in the case of a woman falling because of a small pothole, millions!)

The sad part is that your own insurance company often won’t fight the frivolous claims and instead pays out because that’s cheaper than lengthy litigation.

What used to be great coverage of $100,000 is now replaced by policies in excess of $2,000,000…That’s right, seven digits! Even worse, many of us are forced to buy umbrella policies to further broaden that already extensive coverage.

So the first lesson of the day is to know your limits -- and probably increase them.

The next part of the insurance fiasco is the agent. Usually we get to like our agents, become friends etc.

Often I hear that “my guy was my folk’s guy” and so on. So finding an agent can be easy...but what about switching?

That’s the hard part.

I just completed an agent change of record and am on my third agent in

1

2

20 years (that’s well below the suggested model of switching to a different insurance company every two years, and new agent every four).

But why would you want to switch anyway? Well, the biggest reason is complacency. Agents can become complacent, meaning they don't want to shop your policies as much as they did when they were trying to earn your business.

Let’s face it: I’m sure most of us can get complacent with our long-term clients, but in the insurance business complacency can cost you big bucks!

What makes changing agents is the fact that your agent has probably developed a close relationship with you over the years, and he is your guy. Maybe he has seen you through a few claims, or just has been there as you've grown.

My case with Agent #2, as I’ll call him, is that he just didn't want to shop policies as he should have on our renewals.

When I finally decided to get quotes, Agent #3, being hungry for business, shopped everywhere and subsequently found us a new company that saved us a few thousand dollars -- and was able to increase our limits.

That’s a win-win in my book and I feel I can sleep better at night with the higher limits as liability really does scare the hell out of me in this business.

The challenge came when I had to send the email to tell agent #2 that we were switching. I just cut to the point and didn't back pedal. I offered my thanks for his service over the years and promised to give him a shot next round. He responded cordially and even admitted he hadn't done his job well with us, and he said he looked forward to another shot next time.

All in all, I think that suggestion to change companies every two years and agents every four years holds true…

Now if we can just convince people to watch their feet a little more and expect hazards in outdoor areas, we would be all-around winners.

Let me know your thoughts ...or if you have a question or topic you’d like covered let me know that too!

Nick Howell, president of T & N Asphalt Services, Salt Lake City, UT, has been a regular presenter at National Pavement Expo since 2008 and a member of the Pavement Advisory Board since 2007. Let him know your thoughts on “From the Owner’s Desk,” and if you have a question or topic you’d like covered – let him know that too! You can reach Nick at nick@tnasphaltservices.com.

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2/2/18 10:38 AM

Your Business Matters

Garry Bartecki

Take a Formal Approach to Make Service Work for You Manage your internal service program like a formal service department in a dealership or rental center SERVICE COSTS YOU time and money. Lack of service also costs you time and money, and probably more than if you had performed the service.

The trick is to maximize uptime, avoid breakdowns on site and catch the costly repairs before they happen.

It was once the norm that your internal technicians could fix just about anything in the shop or out in the field.

But times have changed and technology is making construction equipment more expensive to fix, and the tools needed to fix it more complex.

In short, your techs may not be able to handle the units you purchase if they don’t have the training and equipment required to identify what’s wrong and the specialized tools needed to make the repairs.

The only “out” you may have is to split the work between what can be done effectively in-house and what requires a full-service shop. I suspect using the full-service shop doesn’t cost much more when compared to an inefficient job attempted in-house.

Keep In-house Techs Busy The other aspect of in-house work is to ensure that your senior techs are doing what they are paid to do. Much like the equipment they repair, techs need to maximize their time and dollar utilization and produce a reasonable ROI. So are they actually wrenching all day, or are they standing in line waiting for parts, taking units to the wash rack or out in the field trying to locate the equipment they need to work on?

Professional service departments look for 80% time utilization from their senior techs. To make sure they’re

operating effectively, the service managers assign a flat rate to the job, then compare the completed work order against that rate. Techs are expensive, and any company with numerous techs needs to track them religiously.

Get Formal With Maintenance Using a formal maintenance program helps keep service costs under control.

I’m amazed at how many companies avoid preventive maintenance and wait until a unit breaks before they perform any service. Talk about avoidable costs!

There are plenty of resources available that explain how to run a service department. If you’re just getting started on a formal program, ask your equipment dealer for a copy of its internal policies and examples of the paperwork that goes with them. Study them and start outlining what will work in your shop.

For those already running in-house programs: • Find and keep your good techs. Pay them the local union rate.

• Send techs for annual training to learn about the latest technology.

• Supply the shop with the analytical and shop tools the techs need.

• Use telematics systems on your biggest and/or most costly units.

• Keep up with annual preventive maintenance programs.

• Measure your techs’ time and dollar utilization.

• Assign time or flat rate numbers to all service work.

• Compare work orders against expected time to complete the job.

• Digitize the service work as much as you can.

Professional service departments look for 80% time utilization from their senior techs.

• Have “helpers” assist your techs so they can keep wrenching.

• Use a fully loaded shop rate for the techs — pay plus taxes plus benefits.

• Parts cost should include freight plus an overhead charge.

• Investigate any units that require maintenance costs that equal or exceed 30% of the orderly liquidation value of the unit. Costs that high usually signal a replacement unit is required.

The key here is to keep your techs wrenching 80% of the available time.

Can’t keep up with a formal maintenance program? Then I suggest you rent more equipment or outsource the maintenance. The rental company you use is in the same predicament and has to make its units rental ready. It may be a good outsource selection to help maintain your fleet.

Even if you’re outsourcing, keep track of the hours per inspection for each type of unit and use that as an internal guideline in case any internal preventive programs find their way into your shop.

Garry Bartecki is the managing member of GB Financial Services LLP and a consultant to the Associated Equipment Distributors.

He can be reached at (708) 347-9109 or gbartecki@comcast.net.

68 February 2018 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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2/5/18 2:06 PM

NAPSA

WSA

NAPSA Impacts Insurance Rates

The Value of Company Culture

When the North American Power Sweeping Association (NAPSA) asked its members what their biggest challenge was for the power sweeping industry, overwhelmingly it was two items: finding enough good operators and the headache of insurance and litigation claims.

Utilizing the expertise of over two dozen industry leaders NAPSA has been laser-focused on developing online training for sweeper operators. They realized that this industry has been needing standardized training that would be accessible to everyone. The result is the launch of the Certified Sweeper Operator (CSO) training program, and the impact is eating away at insurance costs.

The CSO program includes 20 online modules, an oral exam, final exam and the applicant must complete 1,000 hours of injury/ accident-free sweeper operation.

Scott Cerosky of Crum & Forster had this to say about the program: “The NAPSA CSO (Certified Sweeper Operator) program provides critical and viable educational components for sweeping companies that are committed to providing their equipment operators with the policies and procedures necessary to improve safety and job performance,” he said.

“Additionally, this program should prove to mitigate future claims activity for those companies who implement it.

Therefore, insurance providers should recognize the importance of this safety training program and offer appropriate credits for those who make the investment.”

Given America’s current strong economy and low unemployment rate, sweeping contractors will face fierce competition when it comes to finding good workers in the coming year. This underscores the importance of developing a company culture that keeps your current employees happy.

The Society for Human Resource Management estimates that for workers making under $30,000 a year the replacement cost will average 16% of their annual salary. For mid range positions that will jump to 20%.

In a nutshell, it is much less expensive to keep your current workers happy than it is to hire new ones.

When you are forced to hire new employees, due to attrition or business growth you will find the competition will be more fierce than ever. You may well have to consider people with little experience as well as with marks on the record, such as prison time for long periods of unemployment. You may also have to offer referral bonuses and increase your pay scale. If you do the latter, be sure to keep your pay structure equitable throughout your current employee team or that will create big problems when any discrepancy is discovered.

In order to keep the people you have now, make sure you

After listening to the industry, NAPSA realized that company owners also needed a formalized training program. Members were going to court and being asked if they had been professionally trained and in spite of the fact that they had been performing the job for years, even decades, the answer would be no. Despite NAPSA providing almost 40 years of seminars and workshops, this did not meet the test for formalized training.

To address this, NAPSA has undergone and successfully completed the process of being approved to be a standards writer for the American National Standards Institute. This will allow NAPSA to create an ANSI recognized training program for company owners. This program will enable graduates to say yes; they are professionally trained during depositions or court proceedings.

In addition to the improved operator performance, combined the two programs are expected to deliver insurance savings that far exceed the costs of implementing the training.

The North American Power Sweeping Association (NAPSA) is a nonprofit association made up of 200+ contract sweepers, service providers and sweeping equipment dealers, manufacturers and suppliers. NAPSA is dedicated to providing beneficial support to the membership and enhancing services to the sweeping industry. NAPSA is committed to promoting and educating the power sweeping community while enhancing the environment. For more information on NAPSA membership, please visit www.powersweeping.org or call (888) 757-0130.

have a feedback loop within your organization so employees can make you aware of any concerns they may have. You also want to make sure your workers have the ability to provide feedback on the jobs they do, so they know you will give due consideration to any ideas they have for improvement or any complaints they register.

In today’s fast-paced world you need to be aware of current industry trends and be exposed to the emerging ideas that are vital to keeping your business running smoothly. At the World Sweeping Association we provide Member Updates via email twice per month, as well as mentor connections between member contractors, among many other benefits. Our central goal is to help our member contractors thrive no matter what the future brings.

WSA contributor Ranger Kidwell-Ross has been providing information to the power sweeping industry since 1988. He is editor of WorldSweeper.com, an information resource for power sweeping, as well as founder and executive director of the World Sweeping Association. For more information about WSA visit www.WorldSweepingPros.org or contact Kidwell-Ross at director@ worldsweepingpros.org.

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PCTC

PCTC Launches Education Campaign

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Just in time for the National Pavement Expo and its attendees, PCTC has launched its new “Be Informed. Seal Success.” educational campaign.

“Be Informed. Seal Success.” is a public education program that provides resources that businesses can use to raise consumer and government awareness about the benefits of pavement coating and to battle misinformation. The web page, which is hosted on PCTC’s website (www.pavementcouncil. org), includes an overview of the initiative and links to resources, including thought leadership articles, education resources and government outreach templates.

Education of constituents and government representatives is critical, especially when regulations are being considered.

As a voice for the sealcoating industry, PCTC felt there was a way we could help businesses large and small better articulate facts and address common misconceptions. It’s imperative that we not only educate those who are making decisions on purchasing sealcoating, but also those who are voting for local legislation. Faulty science and misinformation from advocacy groups can drive local government representatives to pass ordinances that ban the sale and use of safe and effective

pavement sealants. This situation directly threatens businesses and experience has shown that local contractors often learn about local actions very late in the process.

In addition to educating customers on the value, quality and longevity of sealcoating, contractors and suppliers are also looking to educate themselves about different sealcoating products, features and benefits, as well as safe handling procedures. The site includes information on evolving technologies, regulatory developments, and new scientific data. Ever-evolving, the site currently offers downloadable graphics that include tips for cold weather pavement maintenance, benefits of pavement coating, along with easy-to-print customizable handouts to send to government officials.

Those in the industry are also encouraged to visit the website and view all of the information that is available to assist in responding to proposed local regulation. PCTC welcomes any and all ideas for future content.

For more about PCTC visit www.pavementcouncil.org.

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Jenny Shiner

Technology

Improving Driver Safety:

Put Drivers in Safe Hands with Telematics Telematics enhance safety protocols by using the information to improve driver policies, monitor driver behavior and more TELEMATICS IS OFTEN regarded as a technology used to gather current vehicle and equipment locations, but the benefits go far beyond just location updates for construction businesses.

Telematics provides the tools required to help businesses tackle their most significant business challenges, like improving driver safety fleet wide.

Crashes on the job have far-reaching financial and psychological effects on employees, their coworkers and families, and their employers. To help reduce risk for their mobile work forces, construction businesses are turning to telematics to enhance their safety protocols by using the information to improve driver policies, monitor driver behavior, and maintain safer vehicles.

Best Practices to Writing Driver Policies with Telematics Data Written safety policies are the foundation of a safety program. After all, how will drivers know what’s expected if it’s never presented to them?

Before holding employees accountable with telematics data, it’s important to lay some groundwork as to how, when, and why the information will be used. It’s highly recommended to put regulations in place around the use of telematics so employees are aware from the beginning. When introducing new driver policies that incorporate telematics, fleet managers can follow these best practices to obtain the best results: • Transparency - Clearly present the use of telematics data to measure

performance and monitor compliance. When the time comes to hold employees accountable, there could be backlash about tracking their vehicles without their knowledge.

• Define Consequences – To ensure policies are effective, there should be clear consequences defined when policies are not followed. Penalties might range from strikes that lead to loss of driving privileges to termination. Drivers should be made aware before ever operating a company vehicle.

• Embrace Safety Company Wide - Creating a culture of safety is key to the broader acceptance of the policy. Safety policies should be embraced at every level of the organization. Once safety protocols are defined, fleet managers can start using telematics to monitor and correct unsafe driving when it happens to proactively improve driver safety.

Stop Unsafe Driving When It’s Happening Telematics systems are used to improve driver behavior by monitoring metrics such as drive time, unauthorized usage, idle time, hard braking, rapid acceleration, and speeding. Speeding is one of the leading causes of accidents. According to the U.S. Dept. of Transportation’s 2015 Motor Vehicle Crashes report, there were 9,557 fatalities caused by speedingrelated accidents. Telematics enables fleet managers to monitor the speed of each vehicle in real-time to determine if any are traveling at unlawful speeds.

To correct unsafe driver behavior, it’s

recommended to provide ongoing performance feedback with the data gathered from the telematics system.

Maintain Safer Vehicles According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 43% of critical pre-crash events that cause vehicle accidents are attributed to tire failure.

Staying on top of preventative services is one of the easiest ways to prevent accidents with telematics. The software’s maintenance module will automatically track run time and odometer readings, then send reminders when services like tire rotations and balancing, oil changes, emissions testing, or any other types of services are due to be completed. It is recommended to send maintenance alerts to management and drivers to ensure vehicles and equipment receive necessary services as soon as possible.

Although automated maintenance reminders are effective, a service may still slip through the cracks here and there. To proactively monitor overdue services, management should get in the habit of viewing scheduled maintenance reports. These reports should be available on-demand or can be automated by email on a daily/weekly/monthly basis.

Any outstanding services will be flagged in red on the report so managers can take action and get them completed right away.

Jenny Shiner is marketing communications manager for GPS Insight, www.gpsinsight.com.

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2/2/18 10:42 AM

Contractor Snapshot

Allan Heydorn, Editor

How Service & Communication Drive Growth A-Vac Sweeping pursues expansion in its mid-Tennessee market WHEN JASON BARNES purchased A-Vac Sweeping, Knoxville, TN, a little more than three years ago, he brought a background unlike just about anyone in the sweeping business. As owner and valuator of Priority Business Brokers, Barnes has regular contact with property managers as well as with many of the tenants on properties. When a property changes hands, it falls to him as the broker to reaffirm existing leases with tenants or to negotiate a new lease agreement between the tenant and the new owner.

So he had – and continues to have – extensive contacts with potential sweeping customers.

And when the opportunity arose to buy A-Vac Sweeping, Seymour, TN, Barnes bought.

“I like service industries because if you provide a great service you can charge what you want – within reason,” he says, adding it’s rare A-Vac is the less-expensive option when bids are compared. “But we provide more service and people are willing to pay if the service is good.”

Service and Communication He says A-Vac is structured so much of the responsibility falls on A-Vac’s account managers who handle new sales, customer service, route management, drivers, and time sheets. They also drive the routes the next

day to make sure drivers are doing what they’re supposed to, and they take pictures of the properties and send them off to the property managers, many of whom aren’t local.

Barnes says A-Vac is a parking lot sweeping company, but because they’ve established relationships with contractors of all specialties throughout the Knoxville region, they’ve set them-

“I like to buy an existing customer base. It’s easier to expand that way than just by finding new customers in a new area.” selves up as a one-stop-shop.

“If they need any other work done they can call us and we’ll get them the two or three bids they need before awarding the contract. Then once the job is done we’ll pay the subcontractor and bill the property manager and they can pay us. They don’t have to deal with a separate, new account,” he says.

Once he acquired the company, Barnes had all the sweepers and pickup trucks wrapped with a new logo and all the trucks cleaned, and detailing is done on a monthly basis. A cell phone number is available 24 hours, and any call is returned – either by Barnes or the account manager – within 15 minutes.

“We’ll have so “The biggest solving [a prob meone out there lem] withi thing we hear 90 minutes to n the hour, ps.” from our customers is that we’re responsive and we respond For 2018, for example, one quickly,” he says. “If we get a account manager is required to call that there’s a problem we’ll make 150 calls a week on existhave someone out there solving ing and prospective customers. it within the hour, 90 minutes Those calls are all tracked in the tops. We don’t wait until the A-Vac CRM system. Those 150 next day – we’re there.” calls are expected to result in at least two new bids a week. In A Competitive addition, each account manager Approach is required to add 50 new pros“I’m a very competitive guy pects to the CRM each quarter. and the people who work here “Those goals will dwindle know that and they are competin the future as we get greater itive too,” Barnes says. But he saturation in the markets, but won’t compete on price. for now they are realistic and “That doesn’t do anyone any it’s essential the managers meet good,” he says. “Our biggest them,” Barnes says. plus, and what we sell on, is that we communicate with our Pursuing Growth customers and we are responIn three years Barnes has grown sive to their needs. the two-truck, local operation to “If someone calls and wants a nine-person, regional business a bid, the first thing I ask them running seven sweepers and is ‘why are you interested in two day porters – and he’s lookchanging companies?’ If they ing to grow more. While organic say they’re trying to get their growth will always be part of costs down I ask them if they the plan, A-Vac wants to acquire are getting good service. If they more sweeping companies. say ‘yes,’ then I just tell them “I like to buy an existing we’re probably not going to customer base,” he says. “If be their guy because we’re not we’re going to expand into a going to be lower than whomnew area on our own we need ever they’re using.” a big anchor customer to build But that doesn’t mean around. If we get that then we A-Vac’s account managers can expand that way but it’s don’t pursue work. They do, easier to expand that way than they pursue it aggressively, and just by finding new customers in account managers are held to a new area.” specific and aggressive goals.

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PAVEMENT Published by AC Business Media Inc.

201 N. Main Street | Fort Atkinson, WI 53538 800.538-5544 • www.ACBusinessMedia.com www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement Editorial Office: Allan Heydorn, 2339 Stratford, Westchester, IL 60154 (708) 531-1612 | Fax: (708) 531-1613 | aheydorn@ACBusinessMedia.com PUBLICATION STAFF: Publisher: Amy Schwandt Editor/Conference Manager: Allan Heydorn Art Director: Mindy Witte Ad Production Manager: Patti Brown Sr. Audience Development Manager: Wendy Chady Audience Development Manager: Angela Franks ADVERTISING SALES: (800) 538-5544 Tom Lutzke, Eric Servais, Sean Dunphy, Amy Schwandt, Erica Finger, Denise Singsime FORCONSTRUCTIONPROS.COM WEBSITE: Digital Operations Manager: Nick Raether Digital Sales Manager: Monique Terrazas Editor: Larry Stewart Managing Editor: Kimberly Hegeman CHANGE OF ADDRESS & SUBSCRIPTIONS PO Box 3257, Northbrook, IL 60065-3257, Phone: (877) 201-3915 Fax: 847-291-4816 • circ.pavement@omeda.com REPRINTS Denise Singsime at (800) 538-5544 ext. 1245 dsingsime@ACBusinessMedia.com.

LIST RENTAL Jeff Moriarty, SVP, Business & Media Solutions, Infogroup Phone: (518) 339-4511 • Email: jeff.moriarty@infogroup.com AC BUSINESS MEDIA INC.: Chairman: Anil Narang President and CEO: Carl Wistreich CFO: JoAnn Breuchel Editorial Director: Greg Udelhofen ADVISORY BOARD: ACI Asphalt Contractors Inc., Maple Grove, MN: Jim Bebo Asphalt Contractors Inc., Union Grove, WI: Robert Kordus Asphalt Restoration Technology Systems, Orlando, FL: Connie Lorenz Brahney Paving, Hillsborough, NJ: Steven Brahney Clean Sweep Inc., Chattanooga, TN, Pete Phillips Custom Maintenance Services, Shippensburg, PA: Michael Nawa Eosso Brothers Paving; Hazlet, NJ: Tom Eosso Pacific Sweeping, San Marcos, CA: Lee Miller Parking Lot Maintenance, Lake St. Louis, MO: Todd Bruening Petra Paving, Hampstead, NH: Chris Tammany Pioneer Paving, Albuquerque, NM: Don Rooney Robert Liles Parking Lot Service, Tyler, TX: Robert Liles Roberts Traffic, Hollywood, FL: Lisa Birchfield Roccie’s Asphalt Paving, Stamford, CT: Vincent Engongoro Show Striping Inc. (SSI), Wisconsin Dells, WI: Amber Showalter T&N Asphalt Services, Salt Lake City, UT: Nick Howell The Rabine Group, Schaumburg, IL: Gary Rabine Young Sealcoating Inc, Lynchburg, VA: Steve Young ASSOCIATION REPRESENTATIVES: Pavement Coatings Technology Council: Anne LeHuray, Executive Director

Index Advertiser Index

PAGE

1-800-Pavement

9

Advanced Pavement Group

13

Asphalt Reheat Systems, LLC

40

Auto Loc Transport Systems

40

Boyd Equipment

42

Carlson Paving Products Inc.

75

Crafco Inc.

25, 35

Crum & Forster A Fairfax Company

70

Deery

12

Elgin

5

EZ-Liner

40

Global Environmental Products

41

Go I Pave

10

Keystone

70

Keystone Plastics Inc.

44

K-M International

31

Lee Boy

19

Maintenance Inc.

43

M-B Companies Inc.

42

MRL Equipment Company Inc.

46

Neyra

45

Paynes Lines and Signs

44

Quik Pave Products Inc.

23

Schwarze Industries

2

SealMaster

76

Spaulding Mfg. Inc.

42

Star

6

Vanair Mobile Power Solutions

27

Vance Brothers

37

Weiler

11

Wirtgen America Inc.

7

Get fast, relevant product information in the Buyers Guide at

ForConstructionPros.com

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2/2/18 9:51 AM

Tailgate Talk | Brad Humphrey

How to Reenergize Your Baby Boomer Workers MUCH HAS BEEN written just in the past few years about the battle of the generations. The “battle” is primarily between the upand-coming “kids” known as the Millennials and the over-the-hill gang known as the Baby Boomers. But what has been written and what is often experienced can be two almost completely opposite realities. The Millennials, we are told, are not responsible, have little interest in learning, are rarely loyal, and want to be president of something before they turn 27. Boomers, on the other hand, are stuck in their ways, will not help educate the younger workers, don’t want to change... anything, and are just trying to ride out their job until retirement.

Both generalities couldn’t be more “fake news.”

I’ve written and spoken on the Millennials for the past several years – most recently at the last National Pavement Expo in Cleveland – and quite honestly, most of the adults between the ages of 20-34 are outstanding. Sure, there are some “Carp” in the mix but there have been “bottom feeders” in every generation…Boomers’ included.

But in this article (and in Part 2 next issue), I want to address the group closest to my heart…and DNA (because I’m a card-carrying member), the Baby Boomers. Let me present some methods to reenergize and to reengage your Boomer employees and leaders.

1. DON’T MAKE IT EASY FOR YOUR BABY BOOMER TO FADE AWAY. If one of your Boomers says something like, “Oh, let the youngster do this, you don’t need me on this anymore,” don’t buy it! If some Boomers see a younger employee taking on a task they normally did in the past, they may try to slip away from the responsibility to perform the task.

Short of the Boomer training a Millennial a new skill, don’t let the Boomer fade away.

2. POSITION YOUR BOOMER TO TALK ABOUT SOLUTIONS. That’s what our Millennials are missing: experience gained by doing some things the hard way. While not all Boomers will want to become trainers, just ask them to talk about, “How we used to do it.” Most Millennials want to learn so let the Boomers – those who may know more than anyone else – talk about how they take care of stress cracks in the pavement, redirect water away from a building, or get a few more years of life from an ornery piece of equipment.

3. RESIST ASSUMING ALL BOOMER JUST WANT TO RETIRE. Do you realize that some of the higher death rates among retired people fall within the first few years of retirement? As I tell people who ask me when I’m going to retire and slow down, “What,

and die within five years? I don’t think so!” Retirement is an American thing. It’s not uncommon to find other countries where some of the workforce works well into their seventies, even eighties.

Now, I’m not pushing for an increase in mandatory retirement, but Americans are living longer. Don’t assume that all Boomers just want to retire and spend the rest of their lives on vacation. Many do not have the financial power to do this and even then, how much of only fishing, golfing, even hanging with your grand kids can you do? (OK, now that I’m a grandfather, I’ll give you the hanging with your grandchildren!)

4. VIEW YOUR BOOMERS WITH THE WORK CULTURE NEEDED. OK, not every Boomer is the best example of your work culture, but most are. Consider a few questions: • Do they show up to work early?

• Do they still work most of the day?

• Do they tend to pick up tools without being asked?

• Do they understand teamwork?

• Do they practice “Measure twice-cut once” more often than not?

OK, not every Boomer is perfect but Boomers are more accustomed to working “the right way,” and “doing things right the first time” than many other workforce

generations. That’s why Boomers are so valued!

Leverage your Boomers to be examples, mentors and coaches.

5. ENGAGE YOUR BOOMERS TO DICTATE SOPS FOR WORK PROCESSES. Notice I wrote…”Dictate SOPs.” Few Boomers (or any other age group) wants to write Standard Operating Procedures. However, they might verbalize the steps a work procedure should follow if someone else will record the steps. Get your current Boomers, the ones you really do trust and count on, to provide the step-bystep instructions needed to lay out a jobsite, prepare a truck for leaving the yard, inspect a sweeper, complete an RFI, or insure all OSHA documentation is compliant.

You don’t have to be a ‘Boomer to not like to write, but many experienced Boomers will talk all day about how things should be done.

Next issue: 5 more tips to keep Boomers (like me) engaged and energized!

Brad Humphrey is President of Pinnacle Development Group, a consulting firm that specializes in the construction industry. He has just published his new interactive book, “Coaching the Emerging Leader: Guided Teaching to Get You to the Next Level...Today!” which is available in digital or print format from his website, www.pinnacledg.com.

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