Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction January 2021 by ForConstructionPros.com

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF NATIONAL PAVEMENT EXPO

How GPS Can Improve Profitability

MAINTENANCE & RECONSTRUCTION JANUARY 2021

2021

Top Contractor Survey Form Page 64

NPE

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MANAGING YOUR BUSINESS IN 2021 5 Tips to Keep Your Cash Flowing What Makes a Great Salesperson? Working Within Your Client’s Budget How to Advertise on Facebook 1/7/21 10:32 AM

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What’s Inside January 2021

2021

Top Contractor Survey Form Page 64

PAVEMENT FEATURES 14

Amped & Ready to Go!

Getting workers excited for work!

6 Tips to Help You Work Within Client Budgets How Ohio’s Dura-Seal creates effective solutions for clients with budgets too small for the bid.

Why are Some Salespeople More Successful than Others?

How to Advertise Successfully on Facebook A contractor’s tips to help you write, schedule and target Facebook ads.

Delivery of HMA to the Jobsite 19 tips to help improve the hauling process, from plant to truck to paver.

48 Contractors’ Choice:

Global Positioning Systems

Great salespeople aren’t born – they just do a better job of organizing, planning and pursuing prospects.

44 How to Improve

How GPS tracking increases profitability through driver accountability.

Cracksealing “Best Practices” Starting the night before a job, here’s how to be productive and guarantee clients quality work.

ON THE COVER The KM 4-40 Infrared Asphalt Recycler is equipped with independent heat zones, automatic ignition and heat cycling technology enables contractors to offer quick, easy, and profitable repair for most pavement defects. Photo courtesy KM International, North Branch, MI.

Vol. 34, No. 1 January 2021

Published and copyrighted 2021 by AC Business Media. 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, 201 N. Main St., Fifth Floor, 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.

PAVEMENT MAINTENANCE & RECONSTRUCTION is proudly supported by these associations:

www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • January 2021

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What’s Inside

DEPARTMENTS

W tim

January 2021

Editorial Saying Goodbye to a Legend

Hot Mix The Latest News in the Industry

Just In Select New Products and Upgrades

NPE Buzz NPE Canceled for 2021

Pavement Profit Center

Classified Ads

On the Job

Quick Fix For a Sweeper Head or Gutter Broom That Won’t Lift 57

From the Owner’s Desk 5 Tips to Keep your Cash Flowing

Your Business Matters How to Turn Your Business into a Masterpiece

Technology Update How a VoIP Phone System Can Help Your Business

NAPSA Report The Value of Membership

Our asp adh PC

WSA Update Ready or Not, Here Comes 2021

• • • •

PCTC Dispatch PCTC’s Quest to Obtain USGS Data

2021 Top Contractor Survey Form Deadline to Enter is April 23, 2021

Index

Tailgate Talk 8 Tips to Promote Crew Teamwork

For industry trends, articles and more, connect with us on Facebook. Facebook.com/PavementMagazine

January 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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Editorial

Jessica Lombardo, Editor-In-Chief

Saying Goodbye to a LEGEND After 30 years, we say goodbye, and a give a heartfelt thank you, to Allan Heydorn

and insightful content aimed to help paving and pavement maintenance contractors complete their work in ways that will help them win, and keep, more business. Allan taught us how to work with contractors and manufacturers to bridge any knowledge gaps out there. He taught us how to ask the right questions and create content that he knew would resonate with readers. Allan knew that in order to understand the industry and those who work in it, we needed to immerse ourselves in the challenges and struggles faced by our readers. So we did. We got out on job

A LOT HAS changed in 30 years but luckily for Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction magazine readers, you’ve always been able to rely on magazine Editor, Allan Heydorn. His steadfast commitment to the industry has been felt by readers of the magazine and attendees of the National Pavement Expo since he started and his impact will last for years to come. He has worked diligently to bring valuable

sites, we did our research, we talked to contractors and we listened to what we could do to help them. Along the way, we have made so many great friends who have helped us continue to learn and we know those partnerships will help us keep the magazine running the way Allan would want it to. So here we are, faced with a magazine where Allan is no longer the editor. Please join us in wishing Allan the best days in his retirement. We will miss him terribly but we know that if we need him, he is only a phone call away. And with that we want to just say thank you Allan.

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With your help and guidance, the magazine you have worked tirelessly to build is in good hands. We hope we can carry on your legacy of excellence within this publication and beyond for years to come. Our publisher Amy Schwandt and I have learned everything we can from you and we hope to make you proud. The magazine will now be in the hands of myself and Dormie Roberts, our new associate editor. We are thankful to all of you, the faithful readers of Pavement magazine, and hope we can continue to rely on you to make this publication successful. You can reach us anytime at jlombardo@ acbusinessmedia.com or droberts@acbusinessmedia. com

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January 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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Hot Mix

Crafco Acquires Right/Pointe Effective October 19, Crafco Inc., Chandler, AZ, has purchased the assets of Right/Pointe LLC, DeKalb, IL, according to Don Brooks, Crafco president. The acquisition brings to seven the number of materials manufacturing plants for Crafco in the United States. “The acquisition of Right/Pointe will enhance Crafco’s ability to better serve existing customers in the midwestern United States,” Brooks said. “It will also expand our customer base and expand our product line to include highway cures and commercial liquids. “This acquisition fits very well with our long-term strategy of expanding into markets and product lines that align well with Crafco’s position as the world’s leading manufacturer of quality packaged pavement preservation products.” Founded in 1996, Right/Pointe produces concrete and road construction products. The company also developed and patented the “no-box” meltable package. “This patented product along with our high-quality Plexi-Melt meltable packaging now gives Crafco a distinct advantage in the marketplace with two of three patented technologies in the industry being owned by Crafco,” Brooks said in a letter to customers. He said that initially, the Right/Pointe facility will continue to supply the Right/Pointe branded products at this plant to customers who have been purchasing from Right/Pointe. “We will be studying the facility’s capabilities and be working towards integrating it to our manufacturing network to best utilize the location for all our customers,” Brooks said.

Elgin to Manufacture Broom Badger in 2022 Elgin Sweeper, Elgin, IL, has announced it will begin manufacturing, marketing, and distributing an “enhanced” Broom Badger street sweeper at its 200,000-sq.-ft. facility in June of 2022. The announcement comes following the expiration of an eight-year agreement with Challenger Manufacturing Ltd. To distribute the mechanical sweeper in North America. Elgin will continue to provide parts, service, and warranty support to current Broom Badger customers and those looking to purchase a Broom Badger through its extensive dealer network, according to Mike Higgins, vice president and general manager, Elgin Sweeper. “Our companies have agreed to a transition period, and, in mid-2022, the Broom Badger production will move to Elgin Sweeper’s world-class manufacturing plant in Elgin, IL,” Higgins said. “During this transition period, pricing for Broom Badger service parts will not be adversely affected and customers will continue to experience the same parts support and distribution they’ve come to expect from their Elgin dealer.” Higgins said that beginning in 2022 “the enhanced Broom Badger will also include Elgin-exclusive features, upgrades, quality enhancements, and customized options to meet the specific needs of our customers.” Higgins said Elgin will continue to offer and support the standard warranty for the sweeper model.“Our Broom Badger customers can rest assured knowing that Elgin and their dealer are with them for the life of their sweeper,” he said.

Keystone Plastics Partners with 1-800-Sweeper

Keystone Plastics, South Plainfield, NJ, announced it has partnered with 1-800-Sweeper to be the exclusive supplier of replacement brooms for all models of street sweepers to 1-800-Sweeper members. “The 1-800-Sweeper team has done a great job building a strong partner network of sweeping companies,” said Michael Naftal, executive vice president at Keystone Plastics. “We are excited to build a productive working relationship with each company in the network and supply them with our quality brooms.” 1-800-SWEEPER is a nationwide service network of independently owned power sweeping companies. These partner companies are located across the US running a variety of different sweeper models to provide parking lot sweeping, street sweeping, and a variety of construction-related power sweeping services. “We are excited to welcome Keystone Plastics as 1-800-SWEEPER’s new broom supplier,” said Mike Lucht, president of 1-800-Sweeper. “Keystone Plastics is a widely recognized manufacturer of highquality broom products in the power sweeping industry and we appreciate their support of our 1-800-SWEEPER organization. Our partners look forward to working exclusively with the Keystone team to create a mutually beneficial, long lasting and productive vendor-partner relationship.”

January 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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Don’t miss the big

reveal Coming in February

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Hot Mix

Coast Pavement Services forms RePlay West to Market Rejuvenator

With use of the Coast Pavement Services, Portland, OR, announced it has rejuvenator RePlay, formed a subsidiary division, RePlay West, to commercialize no restriping is and distribute biobased RePlay pavement rejuvenator required because throughout Oregon, Washington and California, according to the material goes Ken VanDomelen, Coast president and CEO. down clear. It cures in minutes, so The launch of RePlay West follows Coast’s acquisition of pavement can be Sandy, Oregon-based Pacific Earth, an excavation company opened to traffic that specializes in environmentally sensitive projects. Both immediately. division’s bolster Coast’s progressive focus on sustainable asphalt construction. “Our entire country has an infrastructure problem, and our roads are falling apart faster than tax dollars are generated to fix them,” VanDomelen said. “This has forced us to take a reactive stance to solve the budget issues, but we now have a solution with RePlay that can slow this problem down by keeping good roads in good condition, enabling budgets to catch up.” RePlay is a pavement rejuvenator made from 88% biobased materials, a large portion of which is soybean oil. Its other key ingredient is derived from recycled polystyrene. For use on any asphalt surface, RePlay is designed to reduce transportation infrastructure costs by reversing the oxidation in existing asphalt, bringing it back to 95% of new condition. It works within the top ¾- to 1-¼ in. of the asphalt to restore the binding agents. It is 100% petroleum-free, gives off no odor (or off-gases), leaves no oil tracking once cured, and is safe around people, pets and foliage. Because RePlay goes on clear and doesn’t make pavement black, it reduces the thermal index (reflects the heat) to mitigate urban heat island effect. “Using RePlay removes harmful greenhouse gases, giving it a ‘carbon-negative footprint’,” VanDomelen said. “The US Green Building Council determined that RePlay has a more favorable lifecycle environmental performance RePlay has been by almost 40% because it is carbon-negative.” rated by American Founded in 1969 as a sweeping service, Coast Pavement Trails Council Services provides sealcoating, asphalt paving, cracksealing, because repaving striping and stormwater services. The company is reports trails is difficult and expensive it is the first pavement company in the world to join forces due to access with 1% for Planet, dedicating 1% of each sales dollar to an and pedestrian environmental cause. interference.

RePlay works within the top ¾- to 1-1/4 in. of the asphalt to restore the binding agents.

ATSSA Expo Goes Virtual in 2021 The American Traffic Safety Service Association’s annual Convention & Traffic Expo will go fully virtual for 2021, according to Stacy Tetschner, ATSSA president and CEO. “It’s vital to stay connected as we continue the critical work of advancing roadway safety. Our team is planning an industry-leading virtual event that will be timely, engaging and highlight the latest products, services, trends and education during the 51st Annual Convention & Traffic Expo,” Tetschner said. “Our work is essential and the value of this type of collaboration cannot be overstated as we work Toward Zero Deaths.” ATSSA announced that dates for the 2021 Convention & Traffic Expo have been adjusted for the virtual format. It will be held over a two-week period in February. • Feb. 8-12: Committee and Council Meetings, Education Sessions, Networking Opportunities • Feb. 16-18: General Sessions, Traffic Expo, Additional Education Sessions and Networking Opportunities, Industry Awards, Chapter Meetups, New Products Rollout, Circle of Innovation, and Innovation Awards For details, updates and to register visit Expo.ATSSA.com.

January 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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Just In

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M415XT Maintainer

Bobcat Co. The front-mount snowblower is available in 49- and 62-in. widths. • Features a two-stage blower design and hydraulic rotating chute to direct snow • Adjustable skid shoes help scrape pavements clean or can be set higher to remove snow from gravel lots or driveways • Driven from the mid-power take-off (PTO) • Can be hydraulically raised and lowered and discharge chute can be redirected using the joystick

Mauldin Paving Products The M415XT maintainer now comes standard with a 130-hp Cummins 3.8L Tier 4 engine and is propelled using two hydraulically powered solid axles for better traction in all scenarios. • Enhanced operator comfort • Interactive 7-in. color digital display • Standard front-loading bucket and boom will clear 10-ft. dump truck boards and has a 3/4-yd. capacity with a 1-ton lifting capacity • Bucket auto-level feature means the bucket will always maintain its level at any boom height

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SK2000 Trailermounted Marking Removal Hog Technologies The Stripe Hog SK2000 Trailer is a trailer-mounted auxiliary engine-driven water blasting and recovery system designed for either asphalt or concrete airfields and roadways. Utilize the SK2000 for paint and thermoplastic removal, surface preparation, road retexturing, hydraulic spill cleanup, and removal of rubber deposits from airport runways. • Pavement marking removal rates up to 3,033 linear ft./hr. • Rubber removal rates up to 19,000 sq. ft. per hour • 5.6 gpm flow rate ForConstructionPros.com/21136000

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January 2021 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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NPE Buzz

It’s Official – NPE Has Been Cancelled NPE to hold virtual conference in February PAVEMENT PROFESSIONALS ARE used to bumps in the road. Alligator cracking, longitudinal cracking, potholes—a lot can go wrong. Over the last nine months, the entire world has felt the weight of a global pandemic, and that burden has reached organizers at the National Pavement Expo and Conference (NPE). “We are eager to return to the in-person events that we miss and need so deeply, but have come to the conclusion that it will not be possible to host the in-person 2021 NPE, which had been scheduled for January 20-23, 2021 in Nashville, TN,” said Russ Turner, associate show director, NPE. “Continued developments have made it impossible to effectively execute NPE that deliver the level of connection, discovery, and value our community expects.”

Ultimately, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic motivated the cancellation. Specific factors in the decision included: ongoing government restrictions on travel and large gatherings in Nashville and various company-imposed travel restrictions on employees which affected attendees and participating companies. Organizers decided not to postpone the event, mostly due to the timing of the paving/maintenance season, as well as to avoid any potential detraction from the next event in early 2022. Instead, Turner and his team are excited to present sponsored online educational sessions during the month of February 2021. While the in-person event will be sorely missed, Turner says the online component would allow NPE to maintain its role as an important knowledge resource. “It is our job to provide technical, management and leadership classes to this industry,” he says, “even if we can’t meet in person for 2021.” Stay tuned to

As a result of the COVID-19 virus, Emerald Expos has cancelled the 2021 National Pavement Expo. The 2022 NPE will be held Feb. 23-25 in Charlotte, NC.

your inboxes and social media for more details on the virtual conference. For those who want to put the next event on their calendars, the 2022 NPE is scheduled for Feb. 23-25, 2022, in Charlotte, NC. Not only is Charlotte an attractive destination for the event, but it is within driving distance for NPE’s main attendee base. “We are very optimistic about the 2022 event,” Turner enthuses. “Now more than ever, the face-to-face interaction and networking that trade shows provide are so important. Given what has transpired with this situation, we all realize it now more than ever.” Organizers are finalizing a comprehensive list of FAQs that will be emailed out and posted on the NPE website. Any conference/expo only registrations will be refunded in full.

www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • January 2021

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Employees

Brad Humphrey

(Getting Workers Excited for Work) SHORT OF INCREASING the amount of energy drinks or hiring a motivational speaker to open up each new day of work, getting our employees excited for work continues to be a never-ending process for many contractors. This article is for the seasonal contractor who is in the early stage of this year’s work. It’s also for those contractors who perform work 12 months a year but have those “seasons of mediocrity” where it seems like employees need to receive a jolt to their heart! Getting our workers “amped” is more than just yelling, screaming or conducting some motivational pep rally, but it does include some energy exertion by owners and leaders. If your workers don’t feel some kind of electricity from their leaders there is little incentive for the employees to extend themselves, much less get psyched up for another work year! Get Yourself Amped. Come on, if you don’t feel it how do you realistically believe that your employees will feel it? We’re in the greatest industry in the world. Just consider the following experiences for many owners: • You get to see a result each day • Half of your workers might show up drunk…half the time • Half of your equipment breaks down half the time • Half of your subcontractors don’t do what they’ve said they’d do • All of the above…and you still made money! Think about this: Construction provides us the perfect opportunity that

allows us to work with our hands, think with out brains, get some level of satisfaction from seeing some level of work accomplished each day, make the day for others (customers) and make a living that is better than about 70% - 90% of the other folks in this country. Love what you do; love your business; love those who are helping you fulfill some of your dreams; love the fact that you are assisting others to make a great living. Mercy, if this sort of realization doesn’t get you “amped” then I don’t know what it will take. Conduct “Spring Training.” There is something traditionally significant about baseball’s “Spring Training” that gets even the non-baseball fan excited about each new year. It means that we we’re actually close to saying goodbye to snow and ice and “hello warmer weather.” I remember attending a few Spring Training games in Arizona a few years ago. It was a blast. Boy, sitting out on the grass in the outfield, relaxed, actually talking a little with the players who were also relaxed and enjoying the great “tune-up weather.” To conduct your own Spring Training means to bring your workers in a few days or week before the new season starts.

all of the skills and techniques that are important to your company’s success. Think about this fact: Professional athletes go through a 3-4 week “basic retraining” before each new season. Shouldn’t we be just as focused on sharpening our own employees’ skills, no matter what their experience level is? But the biggest motivational benefit about Spring Training is that it gives workers the chance to begin to anticipate the new season. Such anticipation is fed by the leaders speaking about goals and expectations for the season. This helps to focus the workers on their own participation and contribution, raising their personal level of accountability and motivation. Have a Formal New Season “KickOff. “Organize and hold a KickOff Barbecue or fish fry to signal the beginning of a new season. Doing this each new season begins to position this as an annual event that workers begin to look forward to. It signals a new year, a fresh start, new employees, new opportunities etc. and such “new” beginnings often excite new workers and reassures the veterans that all old mistakes are behind us. The “season” begins the new year with a “Win – Loss” record of “0-0.” Even if the past year was a championship year in revenue, profitability

Conduct “basic” training on skill development, technical handling of equipment, how to complete your documentation etc. Even if you’re a year around contractor, call a 1-3 day “time out” and revisit

If you don’t feel amped how do you realistically believe that your employees will feel it? Catalin Pop /AdobeStock

January 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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Employees

and bonuses distributed to the employees, this is a new year and we start the new season all over again. This can also be effective mid-season to revitalize and re-energize your workers for the second half of the year. Set Some “BHAGs.” It’s important to set yearly goals for the company, the crews and the employees. But on top of this effort, try setting one or two “Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAG).” Wished this name was my creation, but it’s not. Years ago the term began to be used by companies to describe the goal that defined something so “far out there” that just striving to achieve it sent excitement, or outright fear, in the hearts and mind of workers. A BHAG might be reaching some higher than every reached sales goal, no safety incidents, “zero defects” in performance, or some incredibly high bonus paid to workers for record sales or profitability. Engage Workers On Targets and Improvement Ideas. A recent seminar that I attended pointed out a statistic that I found interesting: For employers who really engaged their employees in their business, productivity improved 18%-25% over previous results. All of this when leaders asked workers to contribute to new improvement ideas, provide greater clarity or insights on current problems, and take more ownership for problem solving with the senior leader’s support. There is no doubt that in most of the companies I’ve personally consulted with that those who had the healthiest work culture more often engaged their workers on setting goals, milestones, lead more meetings, solve more problems, etc. independent of micromanaging tactics of senior leaders. This doesn’t mean that a contractor just give employees carte blanche but allow workers a chance to really positively impact their

own work and the performance of the company at large. Break Out the New Hats & Shirts. Not much creativity for this tip but there is still some great energy created when the contractor comes into a meeting on the first day of work or during the Spring Training re-education sessions with new company logo’d hats, shirts, jackets, gloves etc. Most construction workers love getting company shirts and hats. Even your office workers enjoy getting a new golf shirt each year. You want your workers to wear your name during work and on their free time. Heck, I know contractors who will even provide T-Shirts for workers’ family members, especially kids. Think about all of the free advertising you get from such an effort. Sign Your Workers Up for a Community Event. Remodeling a home, giving a yard a much needed new flower garden, or passing out stuffed back packs for under-privileged children are all the sort of events that can be done by your entire company. Efforts like this can bring your workers together, have them focusing on something other than themselves and seeing the value of giving back to those who can’t repay them or you. The cool thing about kicking off the new-year (or reinvigorating your crews mid-season) with a community-focused event is that you can take a picture. Heck, without milking the press, you might even get the local media to do an article on your company’s efforts. Let the press interview your workers and take pictures of your workers in action. Again, don’t “milk it” but use such a time as a team-building event. You definitely get the chance to see folks in a different environment and they get to know other workers at a more personal level.

Share With Workers Your Dreams & Expectations. While most contractors are not charismatic public speakers their workers need to hear from them about their dreams and expectations for the company. All workers are interested in what their owners think and expect. As the owner, share the following: • Your vision for the company • The reputation you want your company to reflect • Your goals for the new season (or the remainder of the season): sales, productivity rates, gross margin, etc. • Your love for the company, your love for the industry, and your desire to keep an “open door” to all workers This last tip is more vital to the “amping” of your workers than you know. When workers hear and sense that their most senior leader is sincere, focused and excited about the new year or the second half of the season that gives them greater freedom to feel the same way. Getting your employees “amped” about work, whether in Spring Training or mid-season, can be a great tradition to install and continue each year. Even for the yearly contractor, taking a time out once a year is a great time to refresh tired minds and bodies. Keep a few of the following final thoughts in mind. • Whatever you do, be sincere; and make it from your heart • Cast a vision of your hope for the new year or rest of the season • Remind your workers that you believe in them Have some fun with “new beginnings.” To think that you are beginning yet another new year in business is quite a feat anyway…so celebrate living another year! Invite a motivational speaker if you want, but for my money the greatest return is for you to do something that is memorable and representative of the sort of leader and company that you wish to be known for with employees, customers, and the community. Brad Humphrey is vice president of Pavecon Ltd., Grand Prairie, TX, and a regular contributor to Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction.

January 2021 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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Sales

Guy Gruenberg

Why are Some Salespeople More Successful than Others? Great salespeople aren’t born – they just do a better job of organizing, planning and pursuing prospects IF YOU CAN sell $3 million in asphalt projects working 35 hours a week, why don’t you just sell $5 million in 50 hours? This was the question I asked a top salesperson that I coach. His answer in a minute... This article is not about how to sell. That is a course, a book and career full of experiences. The focus in this article is on why some salespeople are more successful than others. Do you ever wonder why some salespeople struggle to get to $1 million in annual sales while others continually set new milestones for themselves? Here is a comparison you might find interesting. Would you go to a surgeon who never went to medical school? Of course not, because you can’t be a surgeon without many years of college, internship and residency and fellowship. The good news is that there is an abundance of formal and self-guided information to acquire sales knowledge. However even if you immerse yourself in assimilating this information it doesn't guarantee sales success. Back to the beginning of the story...

Characteristics of Successful Salespeople The person I am conversing with, we will call him Mike, is a true salesperson. He isn’t just an estimator sending out many estimates and winning a small percentage of contracts based on low price. Anyone

can do that, and it is not the way to grow prosperous companies. Here are five specific things Mike focuses on: • He has set some very specific goals and is passionate about achieving them • He is a master of time management and is laser focused. That’s why he can get so much done in a fraction of the time it takes other salespeople. • He builds relationships, which means he has a significant amount of repeat work • He goes after the types of projects at which his company excels

• He has an insatiable and passionate desire to always do better Mike has made a good income in sales. He could probably double his earnings if he worked the additional 20 hours I asked him about. But during our very frank coaching, Mike explains he has seen the greed of salespeople when they have a cut-throat desire to make money.He also points out that he worked those 50-60 hours a week in the beginning of his career to get to where he is today. (It is also notable what he defines as work. For Mike, going to a networking event early in the morning or accompanying a client to a hockey game is not work to him. It is fun!)

Goal-setting, CRM, and a Laser Focus When I began coaching Mike, setting goals and refining them is the first thing we worked on in creating his success path. It became clear during our coaching sessions that he would achieve his goals and continue to set new ones. Many people set goals on their own and leave it at that. Those who want to achieve more, who want to be as successful as they can be, invite others to help them analyze and review their goals. Getting feedback from your inner circle gives you perspectives from others that know you, enabling you to better calibrate and focus your goals. The beginning of the season is the perfect time to do goal setting or refine the ones you already have. So, if you haven’t already, let’s get you started on creating your 2020 goals. Truthfully, I envy Mike on his time management and focus skills. Underneath his favorite ball cap, he sits at his desk and focuses on his most important tasks. Mike uses a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system as his core technology. While some salespeople resist CRMs with stale thinking that the company is keeping tabs on them, he understands that this tool is better than a full-time assistant. His CRM system and question-based selling techniques help him operate with less emotion. We have prepared a meticulous set of questions that match each step of the sales process. This is just a sample of what Mike’s laser focus looks like, enabling him to get an amazing amount of work done in a day: • He is in complete control of every sales decision, including what he will

January 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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quote and how he will get the quote to a “yes” decision He avoids the traps of low-probability projects • He plans each stop using aerial maps and pre-job planning data and sets appointments with decision-makers before and during lunch • He delivers proposals in person (while most salespeople email most of their proposals), and he gets commitments from buyers • He devotes most afternoons to preparing proposals, returning phone calls, and making phone calls setting up appointments for the rest of the week. There was a time earlier in Mike’s career when he chased work that was not in the company's wheelhouse. It created tension and resulted in unprofitable jobs. Both him and the owner realized this and agreed to concentrate on projects that were a good for both.

Do You Want the Low-bid Buyer? When Mike and I discussed a few years ago what types of buyers there are and what is important to them, we narrowed the market down to some simple distinctions, one of which is that some purchasers buy on low price. Mike understands that he needs some of these projects but makes sure this group never exceeds more than 50% of his total business. Instead, Mike spends much of his time cultivating relationships with the other kind of buyer, the prospects that want value with his knowledge and trust, hence higher margins and greater customer loyalty. It certainly helps that the company he works for does quality work and has a great reputation. I want to share a little secret. Mike is a guy you would like to spend time with. He is versatile and interesting

in conversation. Candidly, we worked hard on the concept of, “Would I buy from you?” For most people this is a resounding “Yes!” Mike is a likable person, and this translates that some of his customers are his friends, too! One last thing that separates Mike from others. He is always learning about the technical aspects of asphalt and concrete as well as studying sales and why people buy. Of course, there's much more that defines his success, but I wanted to give you a glimpse of one of the elite salespeople in your industry.

Guy Gruenberg, president of Grow Consulting, is a long-time consultant to the paving & pavement maintenance industry, an annual presenter at National Pavement Expo, and a 2018 inductee in the Pavement Hall of Fame. He can be reached at guyasphalt@gmail.com.

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www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • January 2021

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12/22/20 6:32 PM

Social Media Marvin Joles III

How to Advertise Successfully on Facebook Chinnapong /AdobeStock

A contractor’s tips to help you write, schedule, and target Facebook ads YOU HEAR ABOUT sealcoating companies, and other asphalt companies, using Facebook ads for generating leads. You see people posting about their results online. You wonder…what the heck are they talking about and how do I even make a Facebook ad? While this topic can be very simple to cover, it can also be complicated and intimidating if you have never tried it. Honestly, it is like anything else in our industry when it comes to seeing results, you get out what effort you put into it. This article is designed to get you going from ground zero and is literally the tip of the iceberg. At our company, we don’t even go as full scale as I have seen some companies go. So, let’s go over how people use Facebook, what is

Business page to start, and you can even ask Google, ”how-to,” if you like. There are plenty of videos and guides to help with that. The cost of a placed ad is whatever you desire to spend. Even just $5 if you wish. You can go to your page or use Facebook Ads Manager (now Facebook Business Suite), which I prefer, to place an ad. When you get ready to place an ad, think about what kind of people need your service, then use wording that will resonate with them. Don’t set your expectations real high to start. It takes some practice to learn how to target well. A good tip is to look up “choosing the right advertising objective.” When it comes to making an ad, Facebook will help you through it. They want you to spend money using their service, after all.

Setting Facebook Ad Goals needed to start, the cost of ads, goals, how to find an audience, and what type of ads to place. First off, Facebook shows the user what is relevant to them by what they have looked at, “liked,” or interacted with before -- and nobody wants to be hard sold on Facebook. They will keep on scrolling if they are. Honestly, it doesn’t matter how much money you spend. The ad must be good, and in some way, it must create value. Facebook wants people to spend more time on Facebook, so they push the ads that keep people there and engaged. There is limited space for ads to be displayed on the user’s wall, so Facebook filters the ones that people stay on and engage with most. Facebook uses a relevancy score to put ads that are relevant to the user in front of them. That’s where the attention is, and that is where we want to be. As for you, you only need a Facebook

Let’s go over some of what your goals should be when running a Facebook ad. First, to create brand awareness and generate reach. Second, create traffic to your site, engagement with your business, video views and leads. Third, converting viewers into customers and getting calls, emails, and messages. And finally, sales! Your goals may be different from what I outlined, but while reading this article you should at least be thinking about your goals while placing your ads. Another tip: To create the view of just how diverse and experienced your business is, try doing 10 ads about 10 separate things you offer, not one ad about 10 things you offer. This tactic will also spread your time line coverage out to help create brand and reach. Remember, for your ads to work to their full potential, you must target your audience correctly. Let’s look at that.

January 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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Targeting Your Facebook Audience There are a few ways you can target your ideal audience. Think about what the person you would want to buy your particular service would look like. Not only physically, but financially and personality-wise. To target those people, you can use tools in the ad creator such as demographics, interests, and behaviors. You can even create custom audiences to be used in the future. When it comes to interests, Facebook knows the users’ interests because of data markers they have in place. They know where we eat out, what cars we like, our political alignment, favorite color, income status, job description, events we attend and even our pet preference. Kind of creepy, I know, but useful when placing an ad, so let’s just overlook that for now…for business purposes. For example, let us say I want to get the attention of property managers in Madison, WI, with my video ad, which has good content. These property managers also are interested in landscaping. I can choose to drop a pin on the west side of Madison with a 5-mile radius, targeting people from 35-60 years of age, male and female, who’s demographics include property manager, landscaping, home improvement and saving money… seriously. Then you can decide how many dollars you want to throw at that ad to create frequency upticks and for how long the ad will run. You can then save that audience for future use.

affirming ad that lets the viewer know that you are here to stay, care about what you do, and that you aren’t going anywhere. It should also let the viewer know that you have a large amount of value to bring to the table. You can run an Engagement ad, which could consist of a promotional or even a “One-Time” offer for new customers. They can simply click the button to claim that offer. Lastly, how about creating an Event? Could be an open house, block party, grand opening, or customer appreciation. Just something to let the community or potential customers know that they can come at a certain time to a certain place and get to know your company a little better. You can also simply “boost” an ad (usually available right after you make a general post on your business page) by clicking a “boost” button that is almost sure to pop up. This is a great first step and introduction to placing Facebook ads because of its ease of use. There are more options for more customers, with more demographics and themes, but that should give you a general idea of the possibilities and directions you can take.

5 Tips for Facebook Ads 1. Be relevant & valuable 2. Use the tools Facebook gives you 3. Experiment with cheap ads 4. Develop a plan 5. Assess & improve

What Kinds of Ads to Use? So, what “type” of ads should we create? Let’s look at our goals again. A Reach ad should contain “helpful” content and create awareness for your company. It should also contain a “callto-action” button, such as “Call Now,” “Message,” or “Learn More.” A Conversion/Lead Generation ad comes next, and the content is meant to say “hey, we know you know we are here and that we want you to feel free to reach out to us.” This ad should be an

What Do Facebook Ads Cost? The cost when placing these ads varies depending on the objectives. Obviously, if you want to run a low-key call to action ad all summer, versus a one time simple “Call Now” ad, the prices are going to be very different. You have to remember, the larger area you encompass with your ad, the more people you include; the more people

you include — without increasing your budget — means it is being seen far less often or even not seen at all by some people. Hyper-location of your ads may be your best bet on a small budget, if you are targeting a certain area. Just a little side note. You can post to Instagram from Facebook, if you believe it will give you value, at the same time. Instagram for services like ours isn’t huge where we live, so I allocate the budget to Facebook.

Facebook Audience Insights So how will you know if the ads are working? Well, besides the calls and messages, Facebook offers Audience Insights to let you see who is interacting. The great thing about Audience Insights is that it gives you a snapshot of who is viewing your ads and you can then define your next audience by those parameters, if you desire. You can then save that new audience, and then type a word into the Ads Manager (now Facebook Business Suite) to give you insights profiles. With these points, you can get started using what I and many others view as the best and most value-driven marketing dollars you can spend. With these tools a small business can create a “touch” that big businesses can’t, and that touch can move your business to the next level. Marvin Joles III is owner of Wis-Coat Asphalt Maintenance, Lone Rock, WI, and host of The Blacktop Banter Podcast. You can reach him at www.wis-coat.com and, of course, via Facebook.

www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • January 2021

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Management

Bob Lester

6 Tips to Help You Work Within

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CLIENT BUDG E

January 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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12/22/20 6:36 PM

How Ohio’s Dura-Seal creates effective solutions for clients with budgets too small for the bid

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IT CAN BE difficult for contractors to engage with clients who want an effective solution but can’t afford the associated cost. When the two parties disagree on budget, it seems like there are only two solutions: either the contractor will lose money on the project or the customer will be unhappy at the end of the project. After more than 20 years in the industry, I’ve seen my fair share of these situations. Sometimes it’s a large, commercial project with complex challenges and other times it’s a small business that just needs their lot surface touched up – everyone has a budget they’re working around. While these budgeting challenges can seem impossible and far too frequent, it is possible to figure out a middle ground and avoid losing money or ending up with an unhappy client. Over the years, I’ve learned some key ways to handle misaligned budgets and create a third option. As it often happens with learning opportunities, I learned the most from a job that had the potential to be disastrous for my company and our client.

Instead of removing the parking lot and replacing it, as we had originally proposed, we decided we could take a different approach. What we initially viewed as a complete reconstruction became more of a maintenance project. The base of the parking lot was still in good shape – just the surface was deteriorated – so instead of milling it all down to stone and replacing it like we had originally proposed, we decided to adjust the grade of the lot and do profile milling. We focused on milling around the areas that we had to match up to existing grades – such as concrete pads and trucking docks – to make the entire surface flat. By removing just the surface to add extra strength, we kept the sub-lot intact.

An Example We Learned From Recently, we bid for a big project in our area after reviewing the scope of work. We didn’t know the client’s budget, but the company owned a large industrial manufacturing site and wanted the whole lot completely replaced. Based on our experience, we estimated the project would cost around $1 million. We ended up winning the project, but the budget wasn’t quite what we were expecting. Their maximum available spend was only 70% of our anticipated budget. We couldn’t approach the job the way we had planned to, so we had to think strategically and get to work redesigning our original plan, trying to make up for the $300,000 gap we now faced. Dura-Seal had to think creatively and strategically when they were awarded a job -- but the client's budget was 30% less than Dura-Seal's bid.

If you can alter your work schedule or phase the job so the client doesn't have to close down, they won't have to forego earning while undergoing pavement improvements.

We then were able to overlay and use less asphalt on the paving area. Because we were working around a dock, we made the surface thinner the further we got from it and once we got out so far, we were able to pave over the top of the existing surface. The profile milling also gave us the material we needed to make the surface thicker and heavy-duty – without the elevated cost of adding more asphalt – which was important for the truck traffic that would be commonplace at this industrial manufacturing site. This change in procedure saved the client roughly $400,000 without impacting the quality of the work or the

www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • January 2021

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12/22/20 6:36 PM

Management

If a client wants a long-lasting fix, focus on that and use their budget accordingly. If their priority is a quick fix so they can get back to work – with a more in-depth replacement down the road – do everything you can to make that happen.

time needed to complete the project. The whole process took six weeks, and, importantly, we worked around the company’s schedule so they were able to continue working during the project. This saved even more money because the client did not incur any extra costs for downtime.

6 Ways to Approach Budget Issues We learned a lot from this project and the many other challenging projects we’ve faced as a company. Here are a By removing just the surface layer and keeping the base intact, Dura-Seal used less hot mix by placing an overlay, saving the client significant dollars.

few of the pieces of advice I’d give to someone struggling with a budget issue: • Don’t underestimate the power of maintaining versus creating new. It’s easy for clients and paving professionals alike to want to go in and wipe something out to replace it with something fresh and new. There’s nothing more satisfying than a nice set of before-and-after pictures that show just how needed a complete overhaul was. But just because the client thinks they need to completely replace something, or because that’s how you planned to approach a project, doesn’t mean that’s the best route to take. It’s often far from the most affordable option as well. By considering maintenance options that

save time and money, you will open your company up to more varieties of projects and a lot more business. • Figure out the client’s priority and adjust accordingly. No two clients are going to have the exact same needs, preferences, and priorities. Make it a priority to figure out early on what each client’s priorities are so that you can always be adapting towards them. If a client wants a longlasting fix, focus on that and use their budget accordingly. If their priority is a quick fix so they can get back to work – with a more in-depth replacement down the road – do everything you can to make that happen. While you can learn from each project, every job requires you to rethink strategy and come up with personalized solutions that fit the client and the budget.

January 2021 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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Management

Consider how doing the project at different times during the year — maybe delaying a job until the less-busy spring — could save the client money.

• Effectively communicate restrictions caused by budget. Something important to remember is that your clients are not in the paving industry and likely won’t understand the intricacies of paving work. From the estimating process all the way to the completion of the project, it’s vital that you communicate clearly with them. By explaining what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and why it’s the best option for the price, you will help manage client expectations and increase the chances of having a happy customer when you’re done. • Provide multiple options. If you give your clients one option and they don’t like it, they won’t choose to work with you. If possible, spend the time to provide a few different options. Allowing people to choose among a cheap, moderate, and more-expensive option will demonstrate what you can do with varying resources and also show them you realize that budget is important. Having them buy in to a certain strategy and budget at the beginning will also help manage their expectations throughout the project.

• Think through how the space is ideally going to function. This thought process will likely occur as you think through your client’s priorities and come up with multiple options, but it’s important to regularly remind yourself how your work will end up functioning for your client. If the lot is going to be used by heavy-duty trucks and semis, your approach should be different than a rarely-used driveway. Keeping this in mind throughout the project can help you come up with unique ways to solve problems and go the extra mile for clients, and it will also impact how you decide to use the budget. • Save money in unexpected places. Ask yourself if there are any opportunities to save your client money without sacrificing quality of work. A great example of this is if a client doesn’t have to shut down their business while you do your job, he or she can improve their facilities without taking a big hit and losing days or weeks of work. To achieve this for our client, we worked in smaller increments than usual and worked with the property tenants to create a phasing schedule that redirected drivers to different docks when certain areas were

shut down. This would not have been possible if we had gone in, removed the entire lot, and then had to replace it, so it further emphasized why maintenance was a better option in this case. Also consider how doing the project at different points in the year could save money. Often we are busiest in the fall when everyone tries to fit in projects before the winter and so our rates might be higher then. We did this project in the spring, which was a great opportunity for us to have steady work and it saved our client money. While budgeting differences can be difficult to work around, they are not impossible to deal with. Working around our client’s schedule and switching our thinking about what the project required to be successful saved our client a lot of money and created a strong client relationship. By thinking strategically, planning ahead, considering alternatives, and communicating with clients, you can create effective solutions with smaller budgets. Bob Lester is president and CEO of Dura-Seal, a sealcoating, asphalt, and concrete services company based in Columbus, OH. He has worked in the paving industry for over 20 years, leading two buyouts, an acquisition, and the sale of an equipment manufacturing company at Dura-Seal. Prior to joining the company, Bob studied business finance at Otterbein University.

•

Remember that your clients are not in the paving industry and likely won’t understand the intricacies of paving work. They might think they need a complete remove-and-replace job but a lower-cost repair or overlay might do the trick.

January 2021 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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12/22/20 6:39 PM

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www.kminternational.com 12/22/20 6:39 PM

Special Report: Cracksealing

Cracksealing “Best Practices” Starting the night before a job, here’s how to be productive and guarantee clients quality work BEST PRACTICES FOR any cracksealing job start well before the job does and carries through all the way until the crew and equipment are back in the yard, readying for the next day. And then it starts all over again. Once the job has been awarded, planning starts and it’s important that both the crew leader and estimator are involved. That way the person leading the execution of the job will understand how the person who bid the work was thinking. But once the planning is done it’s time to go to work. Let’s start at the end. After the day’s work is done and the crew returns to the shop, manufacturers say the best practice is to ready the equipment for the next day. The goal is to enable the crew to get a quick start out of the yard the next morning and to eliminate any reason a crew member might have to be pulled off a job to go back to the yard to get something they forgot.

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Overnight Care of Material Once the crew returns to the yard, the first step is to take care of the material still left in the tank. Ben Thielbar, director at Cimline Inc., says it’s important to follow the manufacturer’s

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January 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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recommendations to properly cool down the sealant at the end of the day to prevent coking inside the tank. Brandi M. Julian, Crafco Inc. training director, recommends leaving the material tank half full (or full just above the top of the agitator blades). “This does two things,” she says. “It enables the material to heat quicker in the morning and it gives you room to add new material.” Most manufacturers recommend reheating material only one time – that means heating it, shutting down, then reheating it the next day. That constitutes one reheat and the material can’t be reheated again unless enough new material is added to rejuvenate what’s in the tank. “Leaving room in the tank allows fresh material to be added in, resetting the pot life of the material in the tank,” Julian says. Manufacturers offer overnight heaters to help shorten the heat time the next day. These overnight heaters keep the material heated at roughly 180°F, cutting heat time by as much as 50%. Note that pot life is still a concern and fresh material should be added every 12-15 hours. But Julian cautions, overnight heaters are for “over night.” Extended use keeping the same tank of sealant warm over an extended time period will lead to breakdown of the sealant and cause issues associated with that breakdown. “Any longer than that results in gelling and that means you have to shut down the entire tank, let it cool, and clean it out throughout including hoses, pump and the tank interior,” Julian says. “This is to be avoided at all costs.”

Ready the Equipment Once you’ve protected the material, contractors should take care of the

machine and ready it for the next day. Thielbar recommends that each cracksealing machine have its own daily checklist, and crews should work through the checklist at the end of each day. Any problems discovered should be communicated to the crew leader and maintenance staff immediately so they can be fixed overnight. While each contractor might develop their own checklist, Thielbar says the list should include checking the oil and

Stock the Trailer Next, ready the unit for the next day’s work. That means stocking it with enough sealant blocks for the day’s work. Consider loading 10% more material than you expect to use as crack size and depth varies and cracks can widen or deepen between the time of the estimate and the work. Then make sure to load all the tools that might be needed on the job, and make sure they’re in good shape. Also make sure to have enough consumables and wear parts such as tips, switches, fuses. Julian recommends filling the machine with diesel each night when you head back to the shop. “This has a few benefits,” she says. “First, it eliminates the possibility of the crew accidentally forgetting to fill up in the morning. Second, it saves time to get out on the job, one less item to take care of in the morning. And third, it’s a safety precaution that eliminates any risk of filling up a unit while it’s running or hot.”

Preparing to Crackseal

Weeds or other vegetation should be treated prior to arriving at the job to do the work. A hot air lance will burn the weed but it may not kill the root and the root will grow through the sealant at a later date. Photo courtesy Cimline

grease points; blowing out and checking filters; and making a visual inspection of the sealing hose, wand, connections, sealant tank and pump. Inspect the router bits, blow out the filters and the radiator, and check the oil and grease points. A DOT daily trailer inspection sheet should also be used.

“Sealant requires adhesion,” Thielbar says. “Always clean vegetation from cracks, whether they’re on a parking lot or road. And cracks need to be dry, dry, dry. Moisture in the crack will ruin a crackseal job.” Julian agrees. “First and foremost – all cracks must be prepared properly. Clean and dry are the most important elements,” she says. “No matter how good the crew, the material, and/or the equipment – if the cracks are not properly cleaned and dried, the cracksealing project will result in failure; a waste of time and money for everyone.” Thielbar says that while a compressor with 60+ cfm and 150 psi can be used to prepare a crack, a heat lance is the best practice and provides for best adhesion (short of routing, see below).

www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • January 2021

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Special Report: Cracksealing

A swivel or sealing disc, designed for a one-person application, pushes the sealant into the crack and allows the operator to create an overband all in one pass. There are benefits to both a disc and a squeegee, and in some cases a squeegee can be used to “fine tune” material when using a disc. Photo courtesy Crafco Inc.

“A hot air lance is a great tool that can do many things for crack preparation including cleaning out debris, heating the pavement temperature to help improve bond with the material, cleaning out weeds if present, and eliminating any residual moisture not visible to the naked eye,” Julian says. “When working in humid areas or when near the dew point, or in shaded areas, moisture in the crack may not be visible. Use of a hot air lance can perform the cleaning and drying operation all at once while improving adhesion.” Thielbar adds that a clean crack will also keep secondary tools, such as squeegees, clean from picking up debris or contaminants while creating an overband.

Why to Consider Routing “Better preparation leads to higher customer satisfaction and less call backs on warranty repairs,” Thielbar says. That’s why routing of cracks prior to sealing has become increasingly common. “Routing helps prepare the crack by removing sand, rocks, vegetation, debris and old, oxidized asphalt in the crack, providing a sound asphalt crack face for the sealant to adhere to,” Julian says. “Routing results in better performance and better return on investment. Eighty percent of cracksealing cost is labor, so if you double sealant service life you will improve ROI; that should yield customer satisfaction.” Thielbar says that on commercial jobs, the preparation is often best done with a separate preparation crew, often

sent out a day or more in advance of the cracksealing crew. He says routing does take the longest of any crack preparation, but it will also extend the sealed cracks’ life to the longest possible range. “It is also the method that allows the least chance of failure when cracks are cleaned properly after being routed,” Thielbar says. Julian says studies show that using compressed air and applying an overband provides 44 months of sealant service life. Routing can extend sealant service life to 70 months. But also key is using a high-quality sealant that is chosen for the specific traffic and climate conditions. “Many sealants that were not good quality failed well before 44 months, so it is the prep along with the high quality sealant that makes 44 months achievable,” she says. “If you rout a reservoir, seal, and complete with a Band-Aid or overband, you can achieve a sealant service life of 90+ months. So then the question becomes, if I rout the cracks, will that slow the crack sealing operation? The answer is simply no, routing will not slow down or decrease productivity of the crack sealing process.”

Material Handling on the Job Manufacturers say that proper material handling can ease most cracksealing operations and make crews more productive. Improper material handling can not only reduce the on-the-job efficiency but can result in a poor-quality job.

Crews should load the tank about three-quarters full before heading to the jobsite in the morning. Depending on the size and efficiency of the unit, heating material should take an hour or less, giving the crew enough time to set up a staging area, begin any preparation and plan out their work once they arrive at the site. Julian says that maintaining sealant temperature in the tank is imperative for productivity. “Every sealant has an application temperature range provided by the manufacturer. Proper application temperature helps adhesion and bonding, so it’s important to apply it at the correct temperature.” To maintain sealant temperature, fresh material should be added equal to the amount of material being place on the ground. Often this means adding a block or two every 3-5 minutes, depending on crew speed. “If you are loading more than three blocks at a time you are waiting too long to load the machine,” Thielbar says. But adding a block of sealer to the melter lowers the temperature of the molten material, which affects the application temperature. “If too much material is added to the tank at once, the cold blocks of unmelted material will cool the material in the tank and drop the temperature below the application temperature range. That means the crew will have to stop and wait for the temperature to rise again. Adding equal amounts of material as being placed is the key to maintaining application temperatures and productivity.” Julian says that on a small operation using a 10-gal. melter/applicator, it takes a while for that block to melt, so crews often must wait for most of it to melt before sealing. “In those situations,

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Special Report: Cracksealing

it’s best to use a mini-melter combined with some kind of feeder unit, such as 30-gal. or larger units,” she says. Thielbar suggests that on larger melters, a power-loading conveyor eases and improves material handling. “You can load the boxes on the conveyor

quicker than putting them individually into the machine so it gives you a head start and also promotes consistent loading which will help the maximum melt rate of the machine.” Other tips include: • Consider “boxless” material, which costs a bit more per pound but improves melting efficiency, could require one fewer labor, and eliminates hauling of waste material at the end of the day. • Keeping material clean, dry, and free of contaminants will prevent delays caused by pump or tip clogs. • Know and understand the temperature range and properties of the sealant you are working with.

A tight overband created by the squeegee or disc helps seal the crack and reduces the potential of tire pickup or snowplows ripping up the material. Photo courtesy Crafco Inc.

Disc Tips and Squeegees Once prepared, cracks are filled using a wand with a sealing disc tip or using a pipe tip or straight tip, followed by a squeegee. Both methods serve the same purpose – to force sealer down into the crack and create an overband to help prevent water seeping in and to smooth out the sealant. Which approach is used is often based on contractor preference and in some cases the size of the job. Sealing discs are useful partly because they are a one-person operation, reducing the number of laborers needed on a job. The wand operator applies the material and creates the overband all in one operation.

Matching Equipment to Your Company Success in the cracksealing business starts with having the right equipment for the work you plan to do. “Contractors should select a crack sealant melter that has the capacity to meet the productivity and volume of the projects they complete,” says Brandi M. Julian, training director at Crafco Inc. “A unit that is too small will not have the tank size or melt rate needed to keep up with the volume of material needed. This results in frequent delays as there is more material being placed than can be melted and heated to application temperatures.” She says that on the other hand, a unit that is too large may be counterproductive if the material heated is more than will be used for the project. “This may result in overheating, coking of the melter, reheating too many times, or degrading the polymers or other elements engineered into the material.” So, the size of the unit should be dictated by the amount of material you expect to place in a day. “If your job is bigger than a driveway, or contains more than 2,000 ft. of cracks, get out of the direct-fire/10-gal. cart cracksealing business,” says Ben Thielbar, director at Cimline. “You need a larger unit to be productive and profitable in the sealing season. Why do one small job a day when you can do multiple with the same crew?” Thielbar says that even though 150 gal. or 230 gal. kettles have a smaller tank, they heat faster, reheat faster, and are more economical on fuel consumption with lower BTU ratings of the diesel burner. “Larger kettles like the 400-gal. units are there because the job requires a larger amount of material, more than 8,000 lbs. per day,” he says. “Larger kettles allow for a head start of liquid sealant so that the operator can dispense it at a rate faster than the melt rate of the kettle. This is common for dual lane practice and airports.” He says any kettles larger than 400 gal. should be equipped with a dual pump option. “If dual pump is not needed for production on a typical job, the contractor is better to use a 230-gal. machine,” he says. Julian says that as contractors begin doing larger operations, they should consider a skid-mounted unit, which they also can use as a feeder or nurse unit into the mini-melter. “Or use a mini-melter with a trailer-mounted unit,” she says. “We see a lot of different ways contractors use the mini-melters. You can feed a number of them from a skid- or trailer-mounted unit.” Thielbar says the first time a contractor gets a job larger than a driveway or more than 2,000 lineal feet, they should consider moving up to a larger unit. He suggests renting a unit as a good option to gauge the benefit of increased productivity and production.

January 2021 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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The sho and a ti per

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The crew leader and maintenance foreman should be in daily communication so repairs and preventive maintenance can be done in a timely manner to make sure equipment is performing optimally. Photo courtesy Cimline

If a pipe tip or straight tip is used, a squeegee must be used after. Whether a V or U squeegee is used is often a personal preference, but in some cases, depending on the speed of the person with the squeegee, you might want to opt for a V squeegee. There’s always a small

puddle of material within the squeegee, and when using a U squeegee, you can end up with too big a puddle and a mess. “Squeegees can help force sealant down into the crack and tight to the pavement surface, creating a great waterproof seal,” Julian says. “The more material you get down into the crack, the better it will accommodate the thermal movement of the crack as the seasons change.” Thielbar says that especially when cracksealing on parking lots, a “V” squeegee is handy as it allows a second person to chase sealant down a crack and requires the crew to reposition the trailer machine less often. “Regardless of the job, large cracks should be filled twice as material will settle,” Thielbar says. “In this method use the disc first, then follow up on the overband pass with a “V” squeegee.

When cracksealing using a straight tip, the operator must get the tip down into the crack and fill the crack from the bottom up. Placing material near but not deep into the crack, relying on the squeegee guys to fill it, causes several problems. • Not filling the crack from the bottom, up, resulting in a less-effective seal • Material is being wasted • Material is more difficult to spread and smooth Julian says the overband shouldn’t extend more than 1 in. beyond each side of the crack and should be 1/16 in. thick. “You want it really tight to the pavement because it provides a better bond, promotes sealant longevity as well as vehicle safety and a smoother, nicer ride. It also helps in areas of snow removal because plows will rip up the material if it’s too thick.”

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Paving

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How to Improve

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19 tips to help improve the hauling process, from plant to truck to paver hopper THE HOT MIX ASPHALT that is loaded into a truck at the plant, delivered to the jobsite, then transferred from the truck to the paver is probably the most-important element in a successful paving job. Most paving contractors rely on enddump trucks to get that part of the job done, but the process can be fraught with challenges, which can affect the quality and even profitability of the finished paving job. After arriving at the jobsite, trucks usually have to wait in line to deliver mix to the paver. Once it’s their turn, they unload the mix by raising the truck bed, and the mix empties into the hopper. It’s this process that can result in

pavement defects, stops and starts, and uneven mix distribution if not properly handled. “Unfortunately, the guy dumping the truck is often the brand-new guy on the crew,” says John Ball, Top Quality Paving. “For some reason crews think that the guy dumping doesn’t have to know a lot about paving, that all they have to do is raise the bed up and take it down. This couldn’t be further from the truth. “We need to make sure we move the material as a mass, and that means the truck driver needs to be trained in the paving operation,” Ball says. “The driver needs to know how to raise the bed, but not raise it too high or too quickly. The driver has to know how to handle the brakes, how to keep the hopper full without running out, how to keep the tires in contact with the front of the paver, and how to make sure the tires

“When the delivery truck is backing up, it’s important the paver operator focus his attention and not lose concentration,” says John Ball, Top Quality Paving. “He should not be looking at other workers or talking with other workers until the truck gets to the paver.”

aren’t dragging – especially when paving on top of gravel where dragging tires will create a windrow that results in a bump in the paving.” Here are 19 tips to help make sure the hot mix you’re getting delivered makes it onto the ground so you can construct the best mat possible.

Before the Job 1.

Apply a Release Agent. Ball says most contractors know that a release agent prevents the mix from sticking to the truck bed, but many still use diesel fuel instead of any

January 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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on p

til

om ny

of a number of products designed specifically to be used as a release agent. Not only has use of diesel fuel as a release agent been banned under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, it’s environmentally unacceptable, and its use will compromise the hot mix asphalt, causing it to break down and resulting in a poor-quality mat. Ball says the release agent should be applied evenly on the bottom and inside sides of the truck bed; avoid puddles of the release agent on the floor of the bed. Load the truck correctly. Ball says that improper loading of material at the asphalt plant can result in segregation of the mix and difficulty in dumping the mix into the hopper. Drivers should avoid singledrop loading from the plant, which sets the stage for segregation. He

says the best way to prevent segregation and assure an easier transfer of material into the paver hopper is to use multiple-drop loading at the plant. To do this the driver of the truck pulls forward as a pile of mix is dropped into the truck bed. Small trucks might only use two piles where large dump trucks might contain three piles. Tarp the truck bed. Even when travelling short distances from plant to jobsite, it’s important to tarp the load. The tarp should cover the bed and overlap the end and sides and it should be tied down tight. Tarping helps the mix retain heat and protects it from the elements – cool wind or rain. It also helps keep the mix warm if the truck has to sit in line waiting its turn at the site. Tarping the mix also prevents a very thin crust from

developing on the mix surface. This “crusting” can lead to segregation. Review the plant ticket. When drivers pick up the ticket at the plant, make sure to check the time and load order so they know what order they need to line up in at the site. Also check tonnage which tells both their load and provides a running total. Line up in order – and stay in order. Trucks need to stay in order in line because that way the timing and temperature is consistent for the paver. “If the trucks are out of order, if truck four goes before truck two, the temperature of the mix in truck two will be significantly cooler by the time it’s placed, meaning it won’t go through the paver as uniformly and it will be more difficult to compact properly,” Ball says.

www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • January 2021

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Paving

Raise the bed gradually and at the right time. If the material won’t flow from the truck bed, it’s because the mix is waiting for the pressure to build up and push it out. Raising the bed creates that pressure.

loaded properly – if it’s in two or three piles, centered between the sides -- it’s been loaded properly and it will flow smoothly as the bed is raised slowly (assuming it’s at the correct temperature). But if the mix is all at the end of the truck bed, it will rush out too quickly if the bed is raised too fast.

Before Paving Starts 6.

Designate responsibility. Ball says a “truck dumper” person should be responsible for the interaction of the haul trucks and the paver. This person needs to make themself visible at all times to the driver of the dump truck, so wearing a safety vest is a must. This is obvious for safety reasons but also makes it easier for the driver to see them. Check for obstacles. This can be the job of the truck dumper or the foreman, but this must be done before the paving starts. Make sure there are no wires or tree branches overhead and along the upcoming paving pass that would prevent the truck bed from being raised as needed. Know each truck that’s dumping the mix. Does the tailgate have a chute or not? Is it a manual, air, or hydraulic gate? The hooks on each are different so make sure you know how to open them.

Backing Up the Haul Truck 9.

Maintain eye contact with the driver. Ball says the truck dumper always needs to be able to see the eyes of the truck driver. “They need constant eye contact with the driver not only so they can direct the driver when to stop and start but also so that if the truck suddenly accelerates, the truck dumper can

Raising the Truck Bed move out of the way,” Ball says. “Eye contact is a safety protection, too.” 10. Don’t bump the paver. Ball says the dump truck should stop about 1 ft. from the paver, then the paver operator should start the machine moving forward, picking up the stopped truck. The key to this process is that the paver picks up the truck instead of the truck backing into and bumping the paver. This approach will reduce mat roughness and screed marks. 11. Center the truck. The truck dumper should step back behind the paver to make sure the truck is centered in the middle of the paver so the mix dumps in evenly across the hopper. “You will only get even distribution on the screed if the material is dumped evenly across the hopper,” Ball says. “If the truck is in the middle of the paver, you’ll have a better chance of getting mix spread evenly across the hopper. It also helps if the screed is evenly spaced, which will help draw the mix back evenly.” 12. Examine the position of mix in the truck bed. Ball says the truck dumper should look to see how the load is positioned in the truck. He says where the mix is positioned determines how it’s going to flow into the paver and how quickly to raise the truck bed. If the mix is

13. “Break” the mix. The hot mix asphalt has been sitting in piles for the trip from the plant to the site – even longer if the truck had to wait in line once arriving at the site. The driver should raise the truck bed just enough so the mix “breaks” and slides against the tailgate. This helps keep the mix together and prevents segregation. Make sure the tailgate is closed! 14. Transfer the mix. Once the mix has gathered against the tailgate, open the gate, and raise the bed as

January 2021 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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needed to transfer hot mix asphalt to the hopper. Make sure the gate is unlocked before the driver begins raising the bed. “If the gate isn’t open and the driver lifts the bed, the mix will dump out too fast and spill into a pile in front of the paver,” Ball says. “The weight of the mix will push the truck and paver apart -- and you’ll have a big pile of mix on the ground. Then what usually happens is the paver runs over the pile, creating a bump in the mat.” 15. Make sure the paver stays at the same speed. “The paver needs to maintain a certain speed,” Ball says. “You can’t be going from 25 fpm, to 15 to 40 fpm. The driver of the truck can’t adjust his brakes that quickly so a paver changing speeds means the truck loses contact with the paver. If the paver speeds up the driver has to release the brakes at the right time to prevent mat issues; if the paver slows down it will separate from the truck, resulting in uneven flow of mix, inability to keep the hopper full, or if he slows too much too quickly a pile of asphalt on the

ground in front of the paver.” 16. Don’t allow the paver to “carry” the truck. The raised truck bed “should not come into contact with the hopper and should not be carried by or ride on any portion of the paver.” If the truck is in contact with any portion of the paver, it can essentially transfer some of the truck weight to the paver, and when that happens, the screed tow-points of the paver can be altered, which can affect the smoothness of the finished pavement. 17. Monitor flow of hot mix. Material self-levels as it flows from the truck. Once it’s level – once there’s no more pressure on it – that’s when you raise the truck bed. The truck dumper should stand back from the paver so they can see into the truck bed as the driver raises it and mix is released. The driver, directed by the truck dumper and paver operator, needs to get the bed up at the right angle so the mix is flowing. If the hot mix is flowing smoothly and comes out as a line of material across the truck bed, then it’s flowing properly.

18. Raise the bed gradually – and at the right time. If the material is not flowing smoothly, the truck dumper or paver operator needs to have the driver make adjustments. If the mix is bunched at the end of the truck bed, don’t raise the bed too high because the mix will just rush out. If the material won’t flow from the truck bed, it’s because the mix is waiting for the pressure to build up and push it out. Raising the bed creates that pressure. When the mix stops flowing, that’s when you raise the bed another 3-4 ft. When it again stops flowing, raise it another 3-4 ft. Continue this process until almost all the mix has come to the end of the truck, as many as four or five times. Ball says it should take 4-4½ minutes to empty a typical truck and pave 100 ft. 19. Clean-out the Truck Bed. After mix empties out of the truck, the driver puts the body down, closes the tailgate, drives away from the paver, and drives to a dumping area to clean out the rest of the truck bed. Ball says that there’s usually less than a ½ ton of material left in the truck bed, but that material needs to be removed before picking up another load. “Slam the tailgate, clean off the chute, then dump that extra mix off to a designated area where it can later be picked up and thrown away,” Ball says. “Then make sure the driver lowers the bed, and send the truck back to the plant, completely empty and cleaned of mix.” Information for this article was obtained from The Asphalt Handbook, MS-4, Asphalt Institute, and Hot-Mix Asphalt Paving Handbook 2000, Army Corps. Of Engineers.

If mix is left on the ground after the truck pulls away, laborers need to shovel over those piles so you’re not paving over a bump.

www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • PAVEMENT • January 2021

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Contractors ’ Choice : GPS

How GPS Tracking Increases Profitability Through Driver Accountability Drivers that are held to a clear, unbiased standard perform better for the company – and themselves FOR ANY COMPANY with a fleet of light or medium duty vehicles, from service contractors to vendors and those in the transportation industry, increasing profitability often comes down to fostering an environment of greater employee accountability. The concept of accountability is defined as “the obligation of an individual to account for his/her activities, accept responsibility for them and to disclose the results in a transparent manner.” Implied in this definition is the ability to verify task are completed as expected, on time, efficiently and per company policy. For fleet managers, this can only be accomplished through real-time GPS tracking devices on all vehicles. After all, it is an established fact that drivers that know they are being monitored by such systems are less likely to make unnecessary detours or stops for personal reasons, may avoid spending unnecessary time at job sites and/or avoid idling the engine while filling out paperwork in the vehicle. But accountability is not about discovering what a driver is doing “wrong,” it is actually more about what the driver is doing right. Through GPS tracking, drivers can take more ownership for their jobs, have more clarity of tasks and results, can selfcorrect, improve and do not have to be

micromanaged. Even well-intentioned drivers may discover that there are areas of improvement and efficiencies that could make them more productive. There are also indirect benefits as well. When all drivers are monitored, those not pulling their weight are more easily identified so faster, more productive employees do not have to pick up the slack with extra deliveries or service visits. Finally, with greater accountability, higher performing employees are more likely to be recognized and rewarded (raises anyone?) based on verifiable performance. So, with a host of benefits for the employee, fleet managers that have avoided the “leap” to GPS tracking are missing out on a win-win scenario. After all, more accountable drivers lead to greater efficiency overall, which means increased profits. It’s an argument that is hard to deny, particularly as GPS tracking continues to improve while the cost of entry plummets.

Holding Drivers to a Higher Standard Although GPS trackers have been around for some time, advances in the technology allows for more realtime tracking and simplified reporting. Fleet managers, after all, don’t want to spend all day on their computers sifting through complex analytical data. Instead, they want simplified, easy to read reports that summarize what they need to know. Fortunately, such systems exist today and at rates less than $20 per vehicle. The advanced units today allow

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real-time and historical tracking of each vehicle in a fleet. This allows dispatchers to assign the closest vehicle to a job, which expedites the service work or delivery and saves gas, labor, and vehicle wearand-tear. It also allows historical routing analysis, which enables even greater routing efficiencies to be determined on an individual or fleet-wide basis. However, the greatest improvements in fleet management occur when GPS tracking devices are used to hold drivers to a clear, unbiased standard to encourage better performance for the company and themselves. As an example, when Reilly Construction & Development implemented their first GPS tracking system last year, the Vero Beach,

January 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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FL.-based residential and commercial construction company benefited from significant productivity gains and operational efficiencies. The construction company has installed Shadow Tracker Vision III GPS tracking devices from Advanced Tracking Technologies (ATTI), a Houston, TX-based designer and manufacturer of GPS tracking

where they are supposed to be and not at unauthorized places because some people will take advantage. That has saved us a few thousand dollars in salary alone. The system more than pays for itself in enhanced productivity.” On the plus side for employees, the use of such GPS tracking systems helps verify on-time arrival at customer sites. And automated reporting such as that provided by the ATTI system can virtually eliminate the reporting burden for employee and employer in regard to

products, on two of their construction trucks. Compared with typical GPS tracking devices that may only update every few minutes, the device provides real-time location updates every 10-seconds, as well as location, speed and idle time alerts if something is amiss. This data is transmitted via satellite and cellular networks to a smartphone or PC on a 24/7 basis. With such accountability for how every minute of each day is spent, employees know they are always “on the clock.” This helps to eliminate frivolous or unnecessary stops during the workday, and decreases wasted time during a stop. “Now we know exactly where our vehicles and drivers are in real time,” Sharon Arnold, office and assistant project manager at Reilly Construction & Development says. “We can spot check our drivers to make sure they are

driving logs. Automated exception reporting can also flag potential issues that need to be corrected, such as excess vehicle mileage or idling. “We are trying to work smarter, not harder,” says Arnold. “We are trying to make things simple and straight forward. With everything out in the open, people know what to expect.”

Boosted Productivity Once drivers and the work crew know they are accountable for their actions, it is amazing how much more they will accomplish. Using such an approach with advanced GPS tracking commonly improves productivity 10-20 percent while reducing fuel costs 10-15 percent, as drivers start to pay attention to their driving and work habits throughout the day. Indiana-based Gordon Plumbing Inc., which offers services ranging from small fixes to remodeling and construction, currently uses ATTI’s GPS

tracking system on 54 vehicles, and has used three different tracking systems over the last decade. “The [ATTI] system not only expedites job dispatching but also enhances accountability and profitability while reducing costs,” Shannon Allen, Gordon Plumbing service coordinator says. Allen points out that being able to access a vehicle’s position in real time means “our vehicles can reach customers very quickly when there are emergencies.” If our drivers on the job need help from a tech specialist, we can immediately find one in their area and dispatch them to that address,” she adds. According to Allen, the system provides one link for all the covered vehicles. “The GPS tracking system puts our vehicles on a map, so I can see all of them at once,” she says, noting that the view can be narrowed to any department or [geographic] area, as desired. “It is so accurate that it lets me see exactly where a vehicle is parked.” Because the GPS system is automated, reports are delivered without anyone having to open software. In addition to the real time views of the activity taking place, next day reports are delivered by email, documenting everything that happened the day before. The reports can be customized, for example, to show how many drivers idled for more than 30 minutes or how many miles were put on a vehicle. Allen emphasizes that the system can quickly spot driver habits that need correction, such as a driver stopping for 5 or 10 minutes between jobs several times a day. “With the GPS system, we are able to notice and point out that even five to ten minutes stops between jobs each day adds up to a lot of lost productivity,” she says, concluding however, that her drivers are quite used to the system and even appreciate it when it proves that they are getting to and doing their jobs as required.

www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • January 2021

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Classifieds Contact Tadashi Soma Print and Digital Advertising

BUSINESS FOR SALE

(800) 538-5544

tsoma@ACBusinessMedia.com

DRIVEWAY CARE BOOKLETS

Small business for sale with patent. Owner retiring due to health reasons. Call: 309-737-3196 Smallest regenerative air sweeper on the market.

With its 17in. (8 blade) fan and a BHP Honda engine, it allows for maximum suction.

A 6ft. wide sweeping head and a short turning radius make it easier to maneuver. Hydraulic lift for easier unloading.

Call 610-489-PAVE

Can be mounted to John Deere Gators or Kubota RTV's Made in America.

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852 Mansur Ave Carbon Cliff, IL 61239 309-737-3196

Steel Spray Tips

Liberty Supply (800) 397-9907 www.libertysupply.biz

Heat Treated, Hardened for Longer Tip Life ¼, ³⁄ 8 and ½ Inch Threads Price Break On Quantities

Call 717-442-CURBO (2872)

800-433-9840

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Visa or Mastercard Accepted

Maintenance Systems

Billings, Montana (406) 248-2463 New & used performance engineered pavement marking, removal & saw cutting equipment - truck mounted & palletized.

Competitive pricing

Paint & epoxy stripers in stock & ready to stripe!

Parts, service & retrofits

www.arrowstriping.com

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January 2021 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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Classifieds

* see IRS section 179 for details

High Tensile Strength Steel Bristle Broom

3 Models Available Hydraulic Model RBHGX

503-580-0183

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Preps the area for Sealcoating or Striping Crack Cleaning Option Now Included! Cleans tight places where Sweepers can’t Helps to Prep crankcase oil spills

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WWW.NACSUPPLY.COM Find us on Twitter and Facebook www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • PAVEMENT • January 2021

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Classifieds

January 2021 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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Classifieds

Call us for any Used Striping Equipment needs:

770-331-2550

Check out our website at www.usedstripingequipment.com

2004 GMC Grinder/Groover Truck Ready to Work

2006 Freightliner Thermo Longliner

With 4-3000 LB Arrow diesel-fired melters. Unit has been thoroughly checked out and is ready to stripe.

$155,750

Energy Absorption Attenuator Trailers $15,750 EA with Arrow Board $12,250 EA without Arrow Board

$197,000

2001 Volvo MRL 3-4000LB Melter Thermo Longline Striper, Ready to Stripe.

$174,750

2006 GMC C7500 Crew Cab

With Scorpion and Cone bed, Gasoline engine, Auto, 33,000 GVW, 105,000 miles. Legal in California, Excellent Condition

2006 GMC LDI Air Atomized Paint Truck Only 44,000 miles and great condition.

$62,750

$39,750

2011 Dickson Road Vac Trailer Ready to Work

$25,750

2002 Freightliner MB Longline Thermo Striper

70,000 miles. Ready to Stripe.

$124,750

1999 GMC MRL 2-4000 LB Thermo Longliner

Only 73,000 miles and in great condition

$165,000

2007 Condor with 2008 JCL Waterblast Unit

2008 Isuzu JCL Air Atomized Paint Truck

Diesel, Auto, under CDL and Excellent Condition

$78,750

2005 Mack EZLiner Airless Paint Truck 73,000 miles, Excellent Condition.

$124,750

Caterpillar C11 ACERT, engine brake, Allison A/T, dbl differential lock, dual steering, Hendrickson Haulmaxx suspension, 20,000 lb front, 46,000 lb rears, 222 inch wheelbase, 24 ft flatbed, Caterpillar C9 ACERT, 275 hp, Husky 55K PSI pump, 93,000 miles. Very Nice Condition.

$257,500 Reduced to $197,750

We buy used equipment and will take trade-ins.

Please call for used parts for most striping equipment and save! www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • PAVEMENT • January 2021

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Classifieds

• H • T • E • H • A • T • S • E • D • C • 0 • V

Reid Manufacturing, LLC. 155 Evelyn S. Wade Blvd. Buchanan, GA 30113 Sales: 770-832-1192 Service/Sales: 770-646-6998

MADE TO PUT YOUR MONEY IN YOUR BANK! See all our other machines at www.ditchrunner.com

• • • • • •

• 500 Gallon Round Tank with agitator • Turbo Power 40+ HP • Large Manway with Sandbag Split, 24x30 • All Hydraulic Controls • 30 Gallon Fog & Wash Down System • Three Sizes to Meet Your Needs: DR200 Leader, DR350 General, DR500 Turbo Pro 500

Th Cu un ef

METRO DETROIT AREA BUSINESS FOR SALE: Metro-Detroit area asphalt paving/sealcoating business for sale by owner. Over 50 years of respectable brand recognition in areas of Asphalt Paving and Repairs, Hot Rubber Crack Filling, Sealcoating, Striping and other related services. Reliable customer base with established accounts and dependable work force generating annual revenue in excess of 1.2 Million USD. Owner open to structured purchase contract or cash asset sale. Owner also open to a short term consulting contract with new owner as part of deal to support new owner through transition period. This is a great opportunity for a new entrepreneur seeking a turn-key business with an established book of business or for an existing business looking to expand its customer base and/or expansion of services. Brokers not welcome; Seller will not pay Broker fees. Interested parties should inquire through their legal counsel.

Please inquire through Asphaltcompanyforsale@gmail.com 54

January 2021 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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Classifieds

MADE IN THE U.S.A.

TP44-TD Asphalt Paver

Sidewalks - Cart Paths - Trails - Trenches and So Much More!

• Hydraulic end-gates move in & out • Two 9” independently operated cast augers • Extra large cut off door • Hydraulic tilt hopper • All controls on the rear of the machine • Tracks are fixed at 38” to accommodate screed style • Screed extensions & loading doors are optional • Extra large drive motors for years of service! • Designed with service & maintenance in mind • Clean, simple, basic design • 0-6’ standard paving width • Video of the TP44-TD is available on salsco.com

”Under Guard Rail Curber” • • • • • •

13HP Honda Engine Concrete or Asphalt Will accept all standard molds Special order molds available Extra large hopper Cast Auger

The Under the Rail Cobra Curber makes laying curb under guard rails simple and efficient.

One convenient detail to note is that the TP44-TD Is specifically designed to drop into a 48" Trench. Increase productivity, efficiency and get a better finished product than doing it by hand.

www.salsco.com

105 School House Road Cheshire, CT 06410, 800-872-5726, 203-271-1682

www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • PAVEMENT • January 2021

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On The Job

Allan Heydorn, Editor

Can’t Lift the Broom?

NO PROBLEM

How Commercial Power Sweeping helps its operators when they’re on the job and a sweeper head or gutter broom won’t respond MOST SWEEPER OPERATORS have experienced situations where the sweeper head or gutter broom won’t respond and lift off the pavement. Karl Stauty, co-owner of Commercial Power Sweeping, Suffolk, VA, and Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction’s 2020 Sweeper of the Year, has experienced that issue, too, and has devised a work-around. Mechanics at Commercial Power Sweeping have installed an eye hook on each side of the sweeper head and on the curb broom. They then installed another eye hook on the top of the truck. The hooks are painted orange so they are easy to find. “If the operator runs into a situation where he can’t raise the head or gutter broom, he can use a ratchet strip run through the top eye hook and through the eye hooks on the head or gutter broom and lift it up so he can drive away,” Stauty says. “We try to come up with solutions for problems that are repetitive and that’s one example.”

Left: Install eye hooks on each side of the sweeper head and the broom.

ASPHALT engineered to endure.

vancebrothers.com

Right: If you can’t raise the broom or head mechanically, use a ratchet strip to lift them.

January 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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Nick Howell

From the Owner’s Desk

Tips to Keep Your Cash Flowing

Adobe Photoshop | unknown

Cash flow is why most businesses fail within 10 years

IT’S NO SURPRISE that running a business is like being on a diet. For you “calorie counters” out there, you know: calorie in, calorie out – but with a deficit is the name of the game. Well, business is very similar. Money in, money out – except the idea is to keep as much money as possible, not burn it as in calories. This process is called cash flow. Sounds easy, right? It's not, and it is usually the reason that according to the SBA, 66% of businesses fail within 10 years. How can you manage cash flow and help your business succeed against the odds? First thing up is getting the work. Once you create sales, you will have money coming in – and going out to pay expenses. This is where it can get tricky. In our business, the amount coming in can often be very large sums, so it's easy to get lost in the “illusion of money.” Proper job costing will help you control your costs or “outbound” cash flow, but what I want to discuss here is ensuring that the money you have earned makes it way inbound to you initially. Let's look at a few examples of why your cash may not make it to you. 1. You don't send your invoices on time. This is the first and most-critical step to collecting your money. I was guilty too – when I first started. I remember sending invoices that were for jobs completed six months prior. If that sounds like your company, that practice needs to stop now! Currently our clients receive an invoice the last day we are on the site. 2. You don't follow up on past-due invoices. Great, you sent your invoice. Now you wait….and wait. The problem occurs when those

receivables exceed 30 days (the industry standard), yet you don't do anything to collect. As I have outlined in several of my presentations at National Pavement Expo, we follow up within a week to make sure they received that invoice, and we ask if they have any questions. We continue following up until we get paid. I have found the lack of follow-up offers the client loopholes to drag payment out. There have been too many examples of guys sending an invoice, waiting 30 days, only to call and find out it was never received. If you’re dealing with a large company, that may mean an additional 60-day wait for you! 3. You have a warranty issue with your service/job. And the client is holding the funds, pending a mutual remedy. By following up as I suggested, you can be alerted to potential problems. Sometimes a customer has just a simple issue with the job, and one that can be fixed in an instant, yet they will hold payment until it's done. If we ever have issues, we are right on them to correct any problems. This not only helps us to keep an excellent reputation but is makes sure our money is not held up. If you wait 30 days, then call just to find out there’s a concern, you’re already a month in, don’t have your money, and potentially will have to spend more to fix a problem. That’s a cash-flow killer. 4. Your customer pays on their payment terms, not you. I’ve seen instances of 120+ days to payment. This is completely unacceptable. Honestly, I would love cash on completion, but that is not going to

happen with most commercial projects. The best thing you can do is to have a firm contract with mutually agreed upon payment terms before you start the job. Your contract should never exceed 30 days -- no matter how badly you want the job. We are not a bank, and neither are you. 5. You have agreed to retainage but failed to account for it. This is where a General Contractor will hold a percentage of your money to account for warranty issues. In some instances, retainage can exceed 12 months. The jobs requiring retainage are always spelled out in advance. Retainage is okay, but it needs to be factored into your bid so that the money you collect on completion covers your initial bid, while the retainage amount (plus interest) is something you factored in and are okay to wait for. Most businesses fail because of a disruption in cash flow. Take the time to polish your policies to avoid becoming one of the 66% of those businesses who fail in the first 10 years. 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.

www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • PAVEMENT • January 2021

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Your Business Matters

Bill Silverman

tashatuvango/AdobeStock

How to Turn Your Business into a Masterpiece Four tips on how thinking of yourself as an artist can help transform your business YOU MAY NOT think of your business this way, but as a business coach, I think of your business as a work of art, and I think of you as the artist. Hold your scoffing and eye rolling for a minute and go with me on this one. Instead of painting, drawing, working with clay or sculpting marble, you're creating your business work of art from things like your employees, your company image, your company culture, the services you provide and how you deliver them. And just like other artists who tend to create artworks in their own unique styles, your business work of art is a creative reflection of your values, personality, and your vision for what you want your business artwork to be. Are you still with me? Ok, great! Now I want you to think about the business art work that you’ve created so far. Step back and appraise it like you were looking at it in an art museum. Got the picture? (Pun intended). Do you like what you see? Is it everything that you hoped it would be? Are there some rough places that still need some refinement, or is it way off target from the work of art that you hoped to create? On a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 equals random scribbles on a piece of paper and 10 equals a masterpiece, how would you rate your business artwork today compared to the work of art you hoped you’d create? Go ahead, write down a number, I’ll wait. Got a number? If you're like most contractors that I know, you probably rated your business artwork somewhere in the 4 to 7 range, which, to me, means “not bad,

but not necessarily a masterpiece either.” But you're not finished yet. Are you? Artists routinely tweak, and sometimes completely redo, their artwork until they create exactly finished piece of art that they want. And you should do this too.

•

The 4 Tips! I want to give you few tips on how you sculpt your business into the masterpiece that you want it to be and achieve great personal satisfaction as a result. 1. Envision your business the way you’d really like it to be In my opinion failing to envision the business that you’d really like to create is the single biggest factor holding owners back from creating the masterpiece that they really want. Every selfhelp book and guru are clear on this one important fact that Walt Disney summed up well: “If you can dream it, you can do it.” So first envision your masterpiece. So be bold and dream a little. Make your masterpiece vision something that you’re excited about. Ok, I can hear the little voice in your head saying “There’s no way you can create a masterpiece of this business!” Don’t listen! Don’t let the problems and issues in your business today blind you to what’s possible! Here are some questions to get you started: • Think about your business and life as it is today. • What are the things that you really enjoy about your business that you want to make sure that you carry forward into your vision? • What are you unhappy about with your business as it is today? Where

•

are you settling for less than you really want? What do you want to eliminate from your current business as you create your business masterpiece? What do you want instead? Imagine that its 10 years from now and you’re amazingly happy about your business and life. What is your business like? What did you create? What did you accomplish? How big do you want it to be? What services will you offer? How much profit will you make? Describe the culture that you want to have in your business. What is your ideal job description in your business? What is it about the business that you are so happy about? What kind of life will you have when all the things you just described are reality? What about your life makes you so happy? Take the answers to these questions and write a short vision statement or draw a picture that describes the masterpiece you're creating. Do you love it? If not, keep reframing and redefining it until you do.

2. Hang your masterpiece vision sketch up where you can see it every day Keep it top of mind. Use it to make decisions about your business. Keep your eyes open for the unexpected things (ideas, people, resources, etc.) that will come to you seemingly “out of the blue” that will be just what you need for your masterpiece. 3. Compare your current business to your masterpiece vision and create a punch list of the gaps Using your vision as a template, identify

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the gaps between the business you want and the one you currently have? • Make a punch list of everything that you will need to change to sculpt your business into the masterpiece that you want it to be. • You may have a fairly long punch list so prioritize the items. Focus on no more than three to five items first that will make the greatest impact in the shortest time. If you take any more than three to five items from your punch list, you're likely to get overwhelmed and stop trying. • Take the remaining items on your punch list and schedule them for a future date. A good way to do this is to create a long range (2 to 5-year) calendar. Break each year into quarters and assign the items on your punch list to a quarter based on when you think they will need to be done. Now you have a rough “paint by

numbers” plan for creating your business masterpiece! 4. Revisit your masterpiece vision sketch quarterly and commit to the next steps Once a quarter, spend some time looking over your masterpiece vision. • Ask yourself: Does it need any additional tweaking? Am I still taking full responsibility for creating it the way I want it to be? What progress have I made? What do I need to do next? • Take the next steps.

You can sculpt your business There’s a quote I like that I want you to keep in mind as you work to create your business masterpiece: “So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.”

I know that you can sculpt your business into masterpiece of your dreams. I've seen it happen many times. The key is that you have to take full responsibility for your creation, use your masterpiece vision as the template, regularly asses your progress and question if vision is still right for you and be persistent in pursuing what you want. If you do these things, creating the business masterpiece you really want will become inevitable. Bill Silverman, president of SpringBoard Business Coaching, Cherry Hill, NJ, is author of The 5 Critical Success Factor for Running a Great 7-Figure Contracting Business. A regular presenter at National Pavement Expo, he focuses on “contractors with businesses larger than $1 million who want to up their game, become great business owners, and create businesses they’re really proud of.” Reach him at bill@springboardbizcoaching.com.

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12/22/20 7:07 PM

Technology

By Ken Narita

How a VoIP Phone System Can Help Your Business This new technology can make sure you never miss a call from customers or prospects MANY SMALL TO mid-size contractors have switched to voice over internet protocol (VoIP) systems from traditional landlines because of significant cost savings; the ability to work from anywhere (and still use your office phone number); and the numerous features VoIP provides.

What Are VoIP Phone Systems?

hardware. By today’s standards, land line phone technology is limited, allowing users to only make and receive voice calls. VoIP technology has changed how companies communicate. While IP capabilities have been around several decades, VoIP services have advanced in recent years, thanks to innovation and faster internet speeds. Unlike land line phones that require add-ons for features at additional costs, VoIP systems come with an array of popular communication features already built in.

How VoIP Works

Voice over Internet Protocol phones, as the name implies, use the internet to make and receive calls. Some service providers enable you to use analog phones, but the majority provide IP (Internet Protocol) phones that can be plugged into any Ethernet jack. Once connected, you can make and receive calls. Using a web portal and login, you can customize features such as a virtual receptionist welcome message or adding new users.

VoIP phones work by turning your voice into data, which is then transmitted over the internet, similar to sending emails. If you’ve used Skype, you’ve used VoIP. VoIP calls are made on your phone, connected to the internet with a network cable or adapter, or via a computer’s microphone and speakers using an app. When making calls, the VoIP service provider routes the voice data between you and the other caller – all within a split second.

VoIP vs. Land line

VoIP Basics

Land line phones haven’t changed much since the beginning of the 20th Century and require an infrastructure of wiring and exchange

• VoIP PBX. PBX stands for Private Branch Exchange and is a company’s private phone network. VoIP PBX is a cloud-based phone

network that a VoIP service provider manages in the cloud. Companies pay a monthly fee for the service. • Ethernet. Ethernet is the internet delivery system within a Local Area Network (LAN) – as in the network of computers and devices in your office. You’ll connect your IP phone units to the internet with an ethernet cable.

How VoIP Systems Transform Communications As companies grow, having a phone system that aligns with the publics’ expectations is critical. VoIP systems come with powerful features to help you make big impressions. These include: • Virtual Receptionist. Missing important calls because your phone is busy is unprofessional and is easily resolved by a Virtual Receptionist. When a live person can’t take a call, the Virtual Receptionist takes over. Instead of hearing a busy signal or being put on hold, callers listen to a message and can be given options on how to proceed. • Ring Groups. To ensure every caller has a positive experience, you can program Ring Groups so everyone in a department receives the call simultaneously, or to ring

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sequentially – from person to person until someone picks up. Mobility. Staying connected to clients when away from the office is critical today. VoIP systems, unlike landlines, support working remotely through mobile and desktop apps, as well as voice messages forwarded as email attachments. Employees can make and receive calls anywhere. Conference Calling. If callers find it hard to hear participants, the meeting will be challenging. To ensure everyone experiences inperson call quality, look for a conference phone with the following features: A 360° voice range, an array of built-in microphones, and echo cancellation background noise suppression. Virtual Fax. With VoIP Phone systems you can still send traditional faxes from your phone to a fax machine. Virtual Fax removes the need for fax equipment. Faxes are converted to PDF files and manages within the enduser portal. Keep Existing Phone Number. Keeping your office phone number, your lifeline, makes the transition to an IP system seamless. The moment you plug in your phones, you’ll be able to make and

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receive calls. No need to change business cards, letterhead and website information.

Setting Up an IP Phone System Setting up your business VoIP system literally just takes minutes. With VoIP systems, the hardware generally consists of one or two compact, plugin pieces. You can continue using your analog or digital desk phones, or you can upgrade to IP phones. Once your desk phones and starter kit arrive, follow a few simple steps, including: • Connecting your base station (a tablet-sized router

that sorts out voice data and traffic to ensure clear, reliable calls) to your analog phone. • Plugging in wireless extensions (into regular power outlets) to connect analog phones to the internet. • Connect IP phones to an Ethernet jack.

Key VoIP Advantages • Important impression. How the public perceives your business often depends on their initial phone interaction. Will they hear a welcome message with easy directions, or be put on hold immediately? Whether your company has 5 or 50+ employees, your company

will sound professional with a VoIP phone system. • Excellent call quality. With technology advances and increased internet speeds, your VoIP phones will provide the call quality you need. • Reduced costs. Lower costs is one of the most appealing benefits for switching to VoIP systems. Those with landlines understand the significant expense – setup fees, monthly costs, per-line expenses, etc. – all add up, including IT support. To calculate how much you could save by switching to a VoIP system, use the VoIP Savings Calculator.

Connect with remote teams. Employees today are working everywhere. A VoIP system provides the tools to communicate with staff effortlessly – no matter where employees are. Ken Narita’s marketing career spans two decades of helping businesses grow. Whether advising emerging startups, guiding clients from the agency side or now leading SMB marketing at Ooma, Ken takes an empathetic approach to addressing goals, gaps, and opportunities. Ken has led demand generation, field marketing, customer marketing, and marketing operations teams, integrating campaigns across all functions to drive results. www.ooma.com.

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12/22/20 7:10 PM

NAPSA

The Value of Membership

WSA

Ready or Not, Here Comes 2021 by Ranger Kidwell-Ross

The economic devastation wreaked by COVID-19 makes it impossible to avoid worry and pushes people to succumb to a mind-set of retrenchment: What expenses can we cut to stretch our dollars further? What expenses are essential? NAPSA reminds you that your membership is more than just “nice to have.” Certification. Everyone knows that an outside party certification is the gold standard for best practices. With NAPSA’s involvement in writing the ANSI standard for power sweeping, certification takes on even greater importance: it helps to show compliance with the industry standard. Compliance with ANSI means that it will be more difficult to bring litigation against power sweeping contractors and it boosts contractors’ defense with evidence of having followed best practices. Certification is open to non-members, but NAPSA members receive a substantial discount on tuition. Check out www.SweeperSchool. com. Lead generation. You gotta get clients from somewhere. NAPSA is a resource to help property owners and municipalities needing power sweeping services to find contractors. If you’re not a member, your company won’t show up in search results. Insurance. Insurance for power sweeping contractors is a niche offering that not every insurance company will have. NAPSA did the work for you through the offer of industryspecific insurance covering healthcare, general liability,

property, inland marine, umbrella, and workers compensation. NAPSA members also have access to the association’s group healthcare plans through Cigna or PHCS with options for health, dental, and vision care and multiple deduction options. Marketing. With access to NAPSA logos, videos, and marketing content, members can distinguish themselves from competitors. In addition, website developer Visual App offers NAPSA members discounted website design, SEO, and digital marketing services. Supplier discounts. Your NAPSA membership entitles you to substantial discounts on equipment produced by the industry’s top manufacturers. And NAPSA evens sweetens the pot a little more. Check out the NAPSA community on Facebook look for Power Sweeping Pros. NPE offers special discounts and free courses to NAPSA members to the tune of about $500. You can advertise your equipment for resale in the association’s classifieds at no additional cost.

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.

Welcome to the New Year! It’s always a time of renewed optimism — even more so after 2020 when all of our personal and business lives were so impacted by the pandemic. Unfortunately, health experts agree the negative influences will continue until at least the middle of 2021. With the incoming Biden administration will also come an outpouring of new rules and regulations. These will likely include wage and tax code changes, as well as ones on allowable business operation and worker safety requirements given the ongoing pandemic. Add to that the usual emerging improvements in how to conduct business; changes in products and equipment; new ways to track expenses, deadbeat third party vendors; and, much more. Falling behind can spell the demise of your company. Conversely, getting a quick grasp on new info can provide opportunities to position your firm at the forefront of your market area. The World Sweeping Association doesn’t just save you money via its many discount programs. With the exclusive WSA Member Update sent on the 1st and 15th of each month, WSA keeps its

member companies updated on a continual basis. Few other associations—and none in the sweeping industry—can say the same. In addition to the pandemic, 2020 brought rampant company consolidations, increasing choices in alternative energy sweepers, and the introduction of the first-ever completely driverless sweeper, to name just a few. If there was ever a year in which we can all benefit by having help from an Association of our peers, assisted by a ‘quarterback’ with over three decades of experience in helping sweeping contractors, 2021 will be that year. Count on WSA to continue providing the targeted information needed to make the best of whatever the coming year has in store!

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.

January 2021 • PAVEMENT • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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PCTC

PCTC's Quest to Obtain USGS Data PCTC remains hopeful during oral arguments in Pavement Coatings Technology Council (PCTC) v. United States Geological Survey (USGS) On December 14, 2020, the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit heard oral arguments in Pavement Coatings Technology Council (PCTC) v. United States Geological Survey (USGS), the lawsuit concerning PCTC’s painfully long and winding effort to obtain data underlying USGS publications about the fate of sealcoat in the environment. PCTC filed the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that is contested in the judicial appeal in April 2011. At the time it was founded as a trade association in late 2008, PCTC faced several

difficult challenges. The industry needed to respond to government bodies facing calls to ban its products with solid information about both the industry, sealants, and environmental impacts. Understanding the basis of USGS’s claims was essential to both PCTC’s response to these claims and designing its own studies of sealants in the environment. It was also essential to include both asphalt- and refined tar-based products in the program because the activists openly described their long-term goal as bans both petroleum- and coal tar-based products. PCTC consulted with scientists to understand how the USGS reached its conclusions. It also sponsored research focused on sealant in the environment. Both the reviews of USGS papers and results of sponsored research led to many questions that could not be understood without further information from the USGS. PCTC has followed available programs

and legal processes for correcting government-generated misinformation and the scientific record with mixed success. But here we are at the end of 2020 appealing the USGS decision to withhold scientific data formally requested by PCTC in 2011. Meanwhile, the USGS studies at issue continue to serve as the primary justification local governments have pointed at to ban or restrict the use of coal tar-based sealants while PCTC’s studies challenging these conclusions are rejected out of hand simply because they are “sponsored by industry.” The US Court of Appeals is said to reach decisions more quickly than lower courts have done – it took the District Court judge three years to reach her decision. Lawyers have told PCTC that our persistence is quixotic but, based on insightful questions asked by the judges during oral arguments, we are hopeful. For more about PCTC visit www.pavementcouncil.org.

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12/22/20 7:13 PM

PAVEMENT 2021 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 2020 (regardless of the date that fiscal year ended) • A breakdown by percentage of the type of work that generated those 2020 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 2020 sales dollars by the percentage of work done in each industry segment. For example, if a contractor reports $1 million in 2020 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

2021

Top Contractor Survey

2019

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 2020 Gross Sales Volume. There are 3 ways to complete and submit this form: • Online at https://www. surveymonkey.com/r/ TopContractor2021

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

DEADLINE: April 23

5. * What percentage of your fiscal year 2020 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 2020? (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 2020?

___________________________________________________________

___Yes

___No

8. How many different customers did you work for in FY 2020? ______ 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 2020? ______ 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 2020 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 2020 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 2020 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)_____________________________________

Untitled-2 64

To qualify to have your Top Contractor application considered, third-party verification of your FY 2020 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 2020 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:

droberts@ACBusinessMedia.com Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction 2021 Top Contractor Application 201 N. Main Street, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538 Attn. Dormie Roberts Questions? Dormie Roberts, Associate Editor; Phone: 920-542-1299; droberts@ACBusinessMedia.com

12/23/20 3:53 PM

Index

PAVEMENT Published by AC Business Media.

Advertiser Index

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 (920)-542-1302 | Fax: (920) 542-1133 | aheydorn@ACBusinessMedia.com PUBLICATION STAFF: Publisher: Amy Schwandt Editor/Conference Manager: Allan Heydorn Editor-in-Chief: Jessica Lombardo Associate Editor: Dormie Roberts Art Director: April Van Etten Ad Production Manager: Cindy Rusch Audience Development Manager: Angela Franks ADVERTISING SALES: (800) 538-5544 Tom Lutzke, Eric Servais, Sean Dunphy, Amy Schwandt, Denise Singsime, Tadashi Soma, Kris Flitcroft FORCONSTRUCTIONPROS.COM WEBSITE: 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 Bart Piccirillo, Sr. Account Manager, Infogroup Media Solutions (soon to be Data Axle), O: 402-836-2768, Email: bart.piccirillo@infogroup.com AC BUSINESS MEDIA INC.: Chief Executive Officer: Barry Lovette Chief Financial Officer: JoAnn Breuchel Chief Digital Officer: Kris Heineman Chief Revenue Officer: Amy Schwandt VP Audience Development: Ronda Hughes Director of Digital Operations & IT: Nick Raether Director of Digital Strategy: Joel Franke Group Content Director: Jon Minnick ADVISORY BOARD: Agua Trucks Inc., Wickenburg, AZ, Scott Duscher Asphalt Contractors Inc., Union Grove, WI: Robert Kordus Asphalt Restoration Technology Systems, Orlando, FL: Connie Lorenz Brahney Paving, Hillsborough, NJ: Steven Brahney Eosso Brothers Paving; Hazlet, NJ: Tom Eosso Maul Paving/Concrete/Sealcoating, PLainfield, IL: Chris Maul 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

PAGE

Aquaphalt

Auto Loc Transport Systems

B&E Seal Coat Products, Inc.

Carlson Paving Products Inc.

Cimline, Inc.

Crafco Inc.

Denso North America

Dispensing Technology Corporation

EZ-Liner Industries

Gem Seal Pavement Products

GIS Dynamics

Graco, Inc.

2, 17, 31

Hog Technologies

Keystone Plastics

KM International

Laserline Manufacturing Inc.

LeeBoy, Inc.

Limntech Scientific, Inc.

Midwest Parking Lot Maintenance, LLC

MRL Equipment Company

N I Wilson Mfg

Neyra Industries of Ohio

Odra Road Sweepers

RAE Products & Chemicals Corp.

Schwarze Industries, Inc.

SealMaster

Star Inc.

Transafe, Inc.

TYMCO

US Pavement Services, Inc.

34-35

Vance Brothers Inc.

Weiler Products

Wirtgen America Inc.

Get fast, relevant product information in the Buyers Guide at

ForConstructionPros.com

www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • January 2021

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Tailgate Talk | Brad Humphrey

The Right Teamwork…

at the Jobsite I READ A book a few years ago titled, Same Kind of Different as Me, and boy, does that title fit the chemistry often demonstrated by great pavement maintenance crews. There is nothing as important as having your crew perform, almost without any talking, because each crew member understands their role and contribution. As I’ve worked with and observed crew teamwork over the past thirty-five years, the presence of solid teamwork is often as clear as the nose on your face. Here’s what you notice right away: • There’s a morning “huddle” to point out any changes, alerts, or goals…and then the crew “breaks” to start work • The crew gets into a construction process “rhythm” earlier than other crews, they just get with the program…very little standing around • Often, it’s the facial looks and hand gestures that do the speaking during the work day • As one crew member finishes an individual task…he is already hunting to assist in another contributing manner Now, while not every crew that gets into “rhythm” guarantees perfect performance, observing a crew experience the four bulleted items previously usually leads to a crew who is getting better results.

Martin Barraud/KOTO/AdobeStock

So, what does a crew need to do to improve their chances of performing greater effective and profitable results, in a safe manner? Consider the following recommendations: ➊ Promote more “pre-start” communication about the job and confirmation about “Who is doing what on this project.” Assign something of importance for the crew to each crew member, i.e. one worker checks all the equipment and tools, one worker takes a safety check inventory of the job site and moves barricades and cones accordingly, etc. ➌ Set your safety compliance as a daily goal and empower each worker to assist each other to ensure they have the proper PPE. When one of the crew members have an idea, let them share it and depending on the safety and quality issues, even try their idea. Remember, sometimes “different” is better. Set a production goal

for each day…but let the crew discuss how they will achieve the goal. ➏ Take pictures of your crew during production…and share with them as part of the afternoon “huddle” before you leave the site. (Guys like to see themselves in the pictures by the way.) ➐ Start doing “team sweeps” where you spread your guys out and sweep (walk) across the job site. This can be done to spot forgotten hand tools, quality issue needing reworked, trash that needs picking up, etc. ➑ When the crew has produced well…treat your guys to a soft drink (something other than what is in the ice chest already), or some snack to munch on while driving back to your yard. If you’re out of town, maybe buy an appetizer for the entire crew to enjoy, at dinner that evening. Look, as we continue in our pavement maintenance career, we often recognize

that we will attract an entirely diverse mix of workers. Some of these workers will be as different from you, and others, as you can think. Yet, it is often when we do have such differences that our similarities also pop up. Similarities such as wanting to be respected, accepted, given a chance, and even, to perhaps lead out in a process that’s different than the way we have always done things. As you build your crew chemistry, have some fun and don’t be tied down to only one way of doing some things. Obviously we want to make money and we want to work safe, but in some areas of our work, allowing a few differences to be integrated into our work processes might not be the worst thing to happen to our crews, our companies. Here’s to building a greater crew…even if it’s a bit different than me!

Known as The Contractor’s Best Friend, Brad Humphrey continues to write and speak in support of the construction industry. His international podcast, sponsored by A.C. Business Media and Caterpillar, continues to be one of the favorites of suppliers and contractors alike. As Vice President of Pavecon Ltd., a large and growing pavement maintenance contractor, Brad continues to develop, teach, write, and share his 35-plus years of industry knowledge. Visit Brad via several industry groups on Facebook.com.

January 2021 • Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction • www.ForConstructionPros.com/Pavement

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12/22/20 7:19 PM

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Pavement Maintenance & Reconstruction January 2021

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Cracksealing “Best Practices

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How to Advertise Successfully on Facebook

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