A concrete pumping company, any company really, is a collection of people with a common goal or purpose. The owner has the responsibility of insuring that everything necessary is in place and that the rules and guidelines for the operation of the company are consistent with the idea of success. Everyone within the company has a responsibility as well. Bookkeeping, accounts receivable, accounts payable, human resource, mechanics, salesmen and operators all have their part to play. For the company to survive everyone must do their job. For a company to excel everyone must do their job very well. There is a difference.

There is only a finite amount of money in a company to accomplish all that must be done. Bills must be paid; equipment payments, payroll, fuel, insurance, rent, repair parts……….. so may bills, so little money. How does the company deal with these obligations? What, or perhaps more correctly who, can make this money ‘go further’? The office people can shop for better prices on the supplies that they use, the mechanics can look for the best vendors, but who is it that can have the biggest effect on a concrete pumping company bottom line; the operator.

The operator can make or break a company by HOW he does his job.

Think about what it is that you, as an operator, are in control of:

Fuel mileage
Repair costs
Insurance rates

These are big ticket items in the company’s budget. The only people in the company that can change the cost of these items is you. Up or down, it is your choice, and you make it every day. When you finish your vehicle check and DOT walk around every morning (I hope you do this?) after you CLEAR the area around the pump and start the engine, do you let it come to a reasonable temperature before you put any load on the engine? If not, why not? When you pull out of the gate, do you ‘take it easy’ on your truck while the oil circulates in the differential and pto and comes up to operating temperature? If not, why not? When you see that the light ahead will be red when you get there do you take your foot off of the accelerator and ease up to the stop? If not, why not? You are less than five blocks from the shop and you have had many opportunities to put your company in a better financial position; did you do your part? If not, why not? Your job is made up of choices, of opportunities to make your company a better place to work or just a place to get paid.

What if: Every time you had one of these choices you made the right one?
What if: All of the operators in the company did the same?

You can make a very large difference in the profitability of your company.

So…… what if the repair cost was less, the fuel bills were smaller, the insurance cost was less than it is now? What if there was enough left over for… don’t say it… A RAISE?

Written By Bob Sanderson