Friday Seminars

 January 22, 2010
8:00 AMAC-5: Understanding Pavement Defects
James B. Curtis
CHEC Management Systems, Inc.


Increase your success rate, get more work, earn more money, and do a better job for your clients by making sure your pavement repairs treat the cause and not the symptom. One of the highest-rated seminars each year, presented by one of the highest-rated speakers, will cover the causes and cures for all types of pavement defects and teach you how looking at the pavement surface will give you insights into what's going on beneath the pavement. You'll also learn the differences between normal and premature wear and tear and be able to distinguish between problems caused by poor materials and those caused by poor workmanship. Become the local pavement repair expert by learning how and why defects occur.
8:00 AMC-18: The Dollar Value of Quality
Brad Humphrey
Pinnacle Development Group


"Quality" is the basis of your pavement maintenance company's success - or at least it should be - and this visionary session will show you what "quality" is and how "quality" impacts your business from top to bottom. You'll learn what "quality" really means to you and your customers (and your employees) and you'll be surprised when you find out what your company's "cost of quality" really is. You'll take home specific actions to make your pavement maintenance company more "quality based," including steps on enlisting your employees to "buy in" to producing quality for you. Plus, you'll learn how "quality" really does help you make more money! For owners, field leaders, and crew leaders.
8:00 AMC-19: Managing and Motivating the "Mosaic Generation" Workforce
Jeff Stokes
Next Level Contractor System


Not only are there fewer workers available for tomorrow's jobs, but the "Mosaic" workers come with a whole new set of rules and values (including the need for real conversation). In this session you'll discover "generalizations" about this new generation of workers and you'll learn how they compare and contrast with "Boomers" and "Builders." You'll learn detailed action steps that will enable supervisors to engage the hearts and minds of today's workers as you seek to keep them motivated, including: Understanding the forms of communication that are desired and accepted by this generation; learning the key steps in attracting, retaining and motivating these workers; and incorporating new ideas into daily practice to build trust and respect with these workers. Your workforce is the key to your success, and this session will help you get the best out of this new generation of workers.
8:00 AMC-20: Workers' Compensation: How You Can Lower Your Costs
Sam Martin
Lipscomb & Pitts Ins. & Institure of Work Comp Professionals


In most companies between 10% and 50% of workers' comp experience modification factors are flat-out wrong, and in 80% of companies experience modification factors are mismanaged and should be lower. If you've been frustrated by your efforts to understand and control your workers' comp costs this session is for you. You'll learn how knowing and controlling your "mod" affects your bid, simple ways to read and understand your modification factor, and what $1 of lost wages paid to an injured employee really means to your wallet. Plus, learn the most important date of your Workers' Comp year, and get an answer to the question: Should you cancel and redo your policy to reduce your costs? Taking home a solid understanding of experience modification factors will enable you to better control -- and reduce -- your workers' comp costs.
8:00 AMC-21: Parking Lot Layout & Sriping Basics
Robert Liles
Robert Liles Parking Lot Service


Laying out parking lots for striping follows a series of steps that need to be taken in the right order, and this new session by a veteran striping contractor lays it all out for you - starting from the beginning. You�ll learn how to read specs and blueprints, what it means to "square up" a lot, the importance of a base line and how to find or establish one, how to create a perpendicular line and what you can do with it, how to create the various types of angled spaces - and more! Paint and equipment basics will also be covered, plus you'll learn what every striper needs to have in his truck to get every job done. If you want the basics of parking lot layout - for yourself or your crew members - this is the place. Striping veterans attend at your own risk!
10:00 AMAC-6: Essentials of Parking Lot & Driveway Paving
John S. Ball III
Top Quality Paving


Paving of parking lots and residential driveways requires a unique approach and skill set, and this "how to" session will help you perform both types of paving better and more profitably. For parking lot work emphasis will be on creating and executing your paving plan, covering topics such as: factors that affect production rates; drainage; incorporating islands and other obstacles into your paving plan; and where (and which direction) you should start to pave. You'll work through a parking lot paving job that shows all the steps you need to take and pitfalls to avoid. For driveway paving you will take home tips you can use on every job, including proper measuring of the job, determining the proper yields, and how best to execute the paving, whether you're using a self-propelled unit, box paver, or doing it all by hand. An excellent session for anyone entering the paving market or already in the paving business.
10:00 AMC-22: 5 Decisions You Must Make During Tough Times
Brad Humphrey
Pinnacle Development Group


While there are hundreds of decisions you will make during these very interesting economic times, there are five decisions you MUST make if you�re going to be competitive. Come learn the five "must make" decisions that successful contractors make in these critical Decision Areas:
  • Financial: What to Support, Postpone, & Stop!
  • Client Relations: What You Must Not Stop Deciding
  • Growth: How to Expand Your Success...Now!
  • Quality: Taking the Tough (& High) Road to Perfection
  • Employees: Tough Love Decisions that Gain Loyalty
This program is primarily for owners and senior leaders in construction. This is not for the faint of heart as realistic situations will be presented and discussed in this "how to" session.
10:00 AMC-23: Improve Workforce Performance through Feedback
Jeff Stokes
Next Level Contractor System


If you want a workforce that performs work correctly and efficiently for every job, you will need two important components: proper work processes and timely feedback. Unfortunately, many owners and supervisors either say nothing - or too much - neither of which leads to the behaviors you want. In this session you and your supervisors will learn how to provide timely and balanced feedback that both encourages your workers and improves their on-the-job behavior. You'll learn the value of a good work process (and how to make sure yours is good), why today's generation wants feedback more than ever, how to give tough feedback that truly changes behavior, and the right time and place to give feedback. Improve productivity, job quality, and your bottom line by improving your workers' behaviors!
10:00 AMC-24: How Pavement Management Programs Lead To Long-term Client Relationships
James B. Curtis
CHEC Management Systems, Inc.


Contractors looking to establish long-term relationships with their commercial clients - and improve their own cash flow -need to incorporate pavement management programs into their marketing strategy. A pavement management program gives the property owner the tools to better budget and schedule routine short- and long-term pavement repairs, helps extend the life of the pavement, and helps contractors by strengthening client ties and enabling you to schedule work years ahead. After being introduced to the pavement management program concept, you'll learn how to set up this marketing tool in your company, how to sell it to your client, and you'll work through a demonstration to see the impact a pavement management program can have on your company's cash flow. A can't-miss session for contractors doing commercial work.
10:00 AMC-25: Profitable Pavement Maintenance Job Costing
Guy Gruenberg
Grow Consulting


What is the most profitable service you perform? You may be surprised at the answer once you start working through real-time pavement maintenance job costing scenarios. In this session you will be exposed to understanding how to better cost the three primary pavement maintenance services: Sealcoating, cracksealing, and pavement marking. Starting with conceptual spreadsheet costs you will then migrate to how you can apply these basic techniques to your accounting package. QuickBooks Pro will be the example program and the session will work through direct cost to selling price. Included will be determining your overhead and sales budget. Job costing doesn't have to be difficult, but it does have to be done properly. This session will show you how.
3:00 PMC-26: Executing Your Everyday Business Strategy Every Day
Guy Gruenberg
Grow Consulting


Don't just predict your future -- take control of it! Executing an average strategic plan is far better than not having one or than having a brilliant strategy that never gets acted upon. In this new session you'll learn the essential steps to make sure your strategic plan is carried out. You'll learn how to create a vision, how to create a brand that makes customers want to buy and prospective employees want to work for you, and how to take information from your "SWOT" analysis to create meaningful action plans to accomplish BIG GOALS! Plus, learn why in-depth market segmentation is so important, and how a competitive analysis helps you understand your niche markets. A unique part of this strategy session is identifying your Critical Success Factors. Business strategies are only effective if they are executed; this session will show you how to act on them.

* Schedule subject to change.