 |
| Random serpentine fissures in vertical walls and kitchen
floors with blended Fern Green, Antique Amber and Padre
Brown acid stains. The alcove also has an overhead light
to display the marble tiki head. |
Decorative
contractors should make a lot higher margins; however, the
risks are far greater, which constantly eat into profit margins."
One major tool that facilitates this aggressive project approach
is a custom software package called Job Manager, which has
been under development for use at Tom Ralston Concrete for
many years. Job Manager takes leads, turns them into proposals,
turns proposals into contracts, parses out costing and
 |
| Matching children's bunk bed rooms in the home's lower
level have floors poured with stainless steel grids. The
finish is brown acid stain incorporating a sandblasted
motif. |
labor and materiel requirements from the contracts, and creates
work orders and dispatching tools as well. "We continue
to develop this program to be a comprehensive management tool
for our company," says Ralston. Job Manager plays a vital
role ensuring jobs are well planned and executed with accurate
time and cost estimates and schedule keeping. Harking back
to the FedEx model, Tom notes, "Our guys should be on
the road at 7 a.m. We don't want them dragging around looking
for materials or looking for their crews, We want to have disciplined
employees like the military would have. Although," he
adds, laughing, "we don't make 'ern grab 50 pushups when
they screw up."
Torn Ralston Concrete brings a unique artistic flair to concrete,
goes the extra mile for clients, stays focused on streamlining
processes to help cut costs, and teaches best practices for
the industry, Being involved and developing cutting-edge concrete
has been fascinating, but Ralston has learned the hard way
that being a starving artist doesn't help grow a company. There
needs to be a constant focus on the bottom line, especially
in the current competitive environment and soft economy.
Tom Ralston Concrete is located at 241 Fern Street in Santa
Cruz. He can be reached at (831) 426-0342 or at www.tomraistonconcrete.com.
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