Gearing Up

As winter draws to a close here in the northeast, we begin preparing in earnest to deal with the inevitable springtime rush. There are contracts to sign, materials to order, plants to grow, schedules to set and hires (if any) to be made. And we do all of this knowing that, once the weather breaks, we want to burst out of the gate like an odds-on favorite at the Kentucky Derby.

To make this happen, we need to be ready. Where I live and work, winters are usually long, so by spring our coffers are low, our staff is eager to get some exercise and our general desire to get outdoors again is as high as can be.

Design-only businesses don’t have these sorts of concerns, of course, but those of us who work in firms with construction/installation components know what this seasonal ebb and flow are all about – and the nasty effects a long winter’s layover can have on the tools we need to have ready for use as soon as the frosty weather loosens its grip.

If you and your staff welcomed the end of the previous season by shoving all of those tools in to a storage area and walking away as quickly as possible to enjoy a warm drink in front of a roaring fire, you might find some unpleasant surprises as you get ready to roll out on your first job the next spring. This is when you discover that the throttle cables weren’t fixed, the oil wasn’t changed and worn-out tires weren’t replaced.

Indeed, if you’re not on top of these sorts of issues, you can wind up stalling at the very moment you want to be galloping into action.

IN GOOD REPAIR

As we see it in our business, tools are – right after our employees, of course – our most important assets.

Unfortunately, it has long been our observation that some on our staff don’t value those tools the same way we do as managers. As much as we might stress to them that tools in good working order are their most important assets on site, lots of times we can only wince at seeing how those items are treated.

Through the years, we’ve seen staffers use them, abuse them, break them – and then hide the damage from us, leaving us to discover what happened only when an invoice shows up from an equipment supplier or when the employee makes a note on a job sheet that they had to leave the site to go and purchase a new tool. (It seems that they’re hoping we won’t notice – and know as well that not telling us in some way or other could be a fatal employment error.)

Rather than get steamed about such situations, years ago I decided to hold a special annual class for my employees called “Be Kind to Your Tools.” This meeting takes place every spring without fail, but I don’t hesitate to repeat it as needed if I notice tool-related rashes during the season.

The meeting goes like this: I tell them what the tools cost, what service bureaus charge to repair them when they break and, finally, what the down time means to the efficient, cost-effective flow of business. I also tell them that even tools of nominal cost, such as utility knives, can sap productivity and hit the bottom line hard through lost time and productivity, especially if breakage or loss means dropping everything to run to Home Depot to replace them.

I supplement this meeting with refresher sessions throughout the year on tool needs and repairs. It’s long been my observation that even lifetime, battle-hardened veterans of the landscape industry are remarkably naïve when it comes to understanding the costs associated with their activities and what it takes to keep us all moving forward.

Through the years, I’ve found these discussions have helped enormously in keeping us productive. But I’m also aware that meetings aren’t what keeps tools ready to go: To do that, we need to size up our tool inventory, follow up on repairs and do all we can to maintain them in good, working order. Tools never break when sitting on a shelf: They break on job sites, and we are constantly aware that one breakdown can shut a project down, costing us both time and money.

Although we do have backups in many cases, ours is a small operation and it has never made sense to me to have expensive equipment sitting around, waiting weeks, months or years to get into the fray. Even without the current economic downturn, we’ve always run as lean as possible, keeping expenses low and productivity high – so we do what we can to make certain we buy quality tools and keep them going.

STITCHES IN TIME

As mentioned above, we meet to discuss tools (and tool needs) several times each year, and I do all I can to stay close to situations in the field. I visit every job site at least once each day, and I pay close attention to what tools are working, which are breaking down and which might need to be pulled off the line for periodic maintenance.

But of all the time spent on these issues as the work moves forward, there is no meeting more important (in the context of tools, anyway) than the one I call at the end of every year.

This is when I sit down with my mechanic/equipment operator, Merrill Watson, to discuss what needs to happen over the winter. Ours is a small company, just ten people (including seven in the field), so many of our employees are specialists in more than one area. Watson, for example, was originally hired to take care of equipment and our yard operations; only later did I discover – much to my delight – that he’s good in the field as well, adept at operating all sorts of equipment from Bobcats to loaders that can lift 15-ton stones.

During our meeting, we review our overall needs. Then he provides me with both an operator’s and a maintenance expert’s report of what needs to happen to each piece of equipment, from our smallest brick saw to our biggest truck. In preparation, he develops a list of necessary repairs, compiles parts lists (and associated costs) and calculates how much time it will take him to do the work.

Not only does this give us a great idea of how much to budget for these maintenance items, but it also enables us to discuss whether it’s time to scuttle an old piece of equipment and replace it with something new so we’ll be fully ready for spring. (It helps that this meeting happens before the close of the fiscal year, giving me the option of taking the tax write-offs in the current year or the next.)

Basically, this key, early-winter meeting allows us to be sure we are on track to have all our equipment up and running and in great shape for the spring rush. This also gives Watson his marching orders, letting him set a schedule for servicing all equipment, changing oils and other fluids, greasing joints, replacing filters and going over all other maintenance steps.

We know, of course, that no December meeting is going to anticipate everything, so we’ve set up procedures to make sure that, all year long, tools are taken care of, repaired quickly if necessary or replaced to ensure that we stay productive during the season.

Every single morning from spring to fall, for example, Watson checks all fluids on trucks and large equipment, greases all fittings and tends to chores such as tightening belts or changing air filters. In addition, at the beginning of every project, I provide my crew chiefs with job binders that include sheets itemizing all materials needed to do the job (brick quantities and types, base materials and the like) as well as all required equipment.

ACCORDING TO NEED

We’re not like big companies that might equip each of its crew with its own tools and trucks: Instead, we all draw from a common pool of tools, equipment and vehicles, keeping everything in storage sheds or on the yard for use as needed.

That approach has led us to develop some simple but unbendable rules: No power tools may be left on a job site unless they can be locked up securely and are therefore inaccessible to thieves or young children; operators must check fluid levels and filters each morning and again before initial use; and all tools must be cleaned thoroughly at the end of the day.

To make this system work, we have a sign-out sheet on the door of the shop. Not only does this let us know where any given asset is to be found on any given day, it also lets us know which crew was the last to use it. If it’s dirty in the morning, I make a note of that fact and reflect it on the crew chief’s incentive sheet at the end of the project.

Obviously, tools occasionally (but invariably) need repairs. I have no problem whatsoever, for example, if a pull cord breaks and needs replacing, but I’m less benevolent if I find a dent in the muffler of a plate tamper because someone was careless in loading it or hear that a cutoff saw “accidentally” fell off the truck.

Whatever happens, we have simple sheets in our office labeled “Equipment Repair Request.” Designed for use by our crew chiefs, these sheets include spaces for listing a piece of equipment and reporting what’s wrong with it, how it happened and if it could have been avoided.

These sheets are placed on my desk at the end of the day, and I pass them on to Watson if it’s something he can repair. Either way, I need to be apprised of these issues: It’s another means of keeping my employees on their toes – and a simple system for them to use in reporting a need.

As I see it, it’s important to get these reports in writing: Not only does this create a paper trail, but it also helps us all avoid miscommunication (I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard, “Well, I told Merrill about it!”) and helps us avoid situations where problems are only discovered in the field the next day.

As I tell my staff: “Put it in writing, cover your own behind and be sure that the equipment is ready for you when you need it.” It’s that simple!

OPERATING EASE

Through the years, the systems outlined above have worked well in keeping us on track, on schedule and moving forward. Each of our crews has a specialty – masonry, for example, or carpentry or planting – but we’re small enough that everyone is cross-trained to do or assist in other crews’ activities.

While the expensive power tools and equipment are pooled for everyone’s use, we also issue each crew its own set of hand tools (shovels, rakes, brick hammers and other basic landscaping necessities). Just before the beginning of the season, each crew chief comes in and assesses their needs, putting together tool-request lists and compiling all they need to hit the ground running when the weather breaks.

Once everything is assembled, each crew selects a color that is then painted on all of their tools to enable them to keep track of them on job sites and reclaim them if they’ve been borrowed by another of our crews. I know that tools wear out and break from use, but I also try to spot abuse and neglect and also keep track of losses that occur when employees leave tools on job sites or accidentally throw them away when disposing of debris.

As I explain to them in our meetings, replacement costs come right off the bottom line, so we all need to do our best to take care and keep track of our tools. As mentioned above, going to a local store to buy a tool that was lost or forgotten is always costly – and it’s even more unacceptable now in tight times.

What we try to do is create an environment in which employees accept accountability for their tools and equipment. It’s up to them, as users of these key assets, to be sure these devices are kept in tiptop shape and cared for appropriately, and it’s up to me, as their employer, to be sure that they have what they need to do their jobs effectively and well.

Since we’ve implemented these procedures, we have, with Watson’s help, cut our equipment-repair expenses by more than 50 percent. Again, that falls right to the bottom line, but it also makes us more productive and therefore more profitable – and helps keep the gray hairs off my head!

Bruce Zaretsky is president of Zaretsky and Associates, a landscape design/construction/consultation company in Rochester, N.Y. Nationally recognized for creative and inspiring residential landscapes, he also works with healthcare facilities, nursing homes and local municipalities in conceiving and installing healing and meditation gardens. You can reach him at [email protected].