ASPHALT ANSWERS
stay off
Start your day off right. No matter how large or small your job is, you should gather your crew together for a“ Tailgate Meeting”. Gathering all of the crew together to discuss every facet of the upcoming day from traffic control, to making sure everyone has their PPE. This is the perfect time to assign tasks and make sure everyone knows what their job is and more importantly, what their job is not. Many foremen take this time to discuss the specifics of the job such as tonnage of asphalt required or gallons of material to be used. This gives the crew ownership of the job and gives them an insight of what’ s required to be profitable. At a minimum, emphasis should be placed on safety, cleanup and a discussion of the successes and failures of the day before.
Safety first. Speaking of safety, it seems as the busier we get, the more careless we get. We are scrambling around with our tools, and we forget that we are on a jobsite with heavy equipment. Operators get busy and talk on their cell phones while running the equipment, rake men walking between the paver and dump truck and most often, workers wander outside the coned off area into moving traffic. Most jobsite injuries can be avoided with proper communication. If you observe a co-worker not observing proper safety protocol, its your job to call them out. How does your company handle PPE? Do you require safety vests and boots? How about long pants? Asphalt burns are certainly no laughing matter. We owe it to our work family to return everyone to their home family with the same quality of life the left home with.
Stay off uncompacted asphalt. This is one of my top pet peeves on the jobsite. The response I get most often is“ It’ s just the binder, we’ ll cover it up.” While that is true, you are setting yourself up for a failure down the road. When you walk on uncompacted asphalt, it compacts that part prematurely. When the roller hits that section, the steel wheel bridges over the footmarks and compacts at a different rate. You are setting your job up for failure down the road, which affects your company’ s reputation. Take the time and walk around and certainly don’ t let anyone drive on an uncompacted mat.( I’ ve seen it!)
Go back to the basics. Remember how it was when you were first learning about the business, everything was new, and you were excited to get it right. Be that person again. Take the time to get to the jobsite early and inspect everything; equipment, jobsite conditions and possible obstacles in getting the job done perfectly. Taking the time to head off problems before they happen saves time, money and headaches. 2025 has been another busy year and we are all trying to figure out ways to beat the competition and secure the jobs we deserve. But the question still remains, how do I set myself apart from everyone else. The answer may not be as hard as you think. Clean and serviced equipment, detailed quotations and thorough follow ups. The same basic principles that got you started will take you to the next level.
Brian Hall is a LeeBoy Territory Manager. He can be reached via email at Brian. Hall @ Leeboy. com
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