| Contractors
to Watch
In our continuing
effort to identify what makes a good concrete con tractor
great, we look this month at three contractors who have
grown despite the weak economy. Maybe you'll see yourself
in one, or all, of them. |
 |
 |
The
turning point in Tom Ralston's concrete career came in 1989
when his father asked him to install an architectural concrete
drive around a stately old Victorian mansion. Working alone
on the project, Ralston became energized by the creativeness
of the concrete work, and when, shortly afterward, he became
owner of Ralston Concrete, decorative concrete became its
primary focus.
Tom's grandfather
started Ralston Concrete in 1928 doing general concrete work
while also running a pool hall and lumberyard to make ends
meet. By 1950 there were ten full-time employees in the concrete
end of the business, and the other ventures were sold in order
to focus on concrete. In the mid-1960s Ralston's father, Jim,
took over the family business but kept the company small.
Tom started working for his dad in the summer of 1964 when
he was in still in junior high school and gradually obtained
the skills needed to install concrete walls and slabs. "My
dad didn't want me spending too much time surfing and becoming
a beach bum," Tom laughs.
 |
| Tom
Ralston of Ralston Concrete: "I won't ever shortchange
my customers." |
Part of the
success of Ralston's company is due to its focus on problem-solving
--especially valuable since
decorative concrete tends to have
more variables than plain
concrete. As a problem-solving tool, Ralston has developed
job management software to record jobsite conditions for every
concrete placement, including weather conditions, concrete
temperatures, the time of day the concrete was delivered,
mix designs, and admixtures used. When problems develop, the
company looks back through their records to try to identify
the causes. Ralston believes that the jobsite foremen should
"own their jobs" so they have full control of their
project from beginning to end.
As part of
his effort to learn more about effective management, Ralston
joined an ASCC "Mix Group." Several times a year
this small group of concrete construction company owners (based
in different locations around the country) meets for 2 or
3 days to discuss all aspects of their businesses. Each shares
monthly statements, company organization and lines of communication,
marketing efforts, problems in the field, personnel concerns,
and other details in an effort to learn how others have solved
related problems and to develop new insights into his own
operations.
As the company
has grown, Ralston has seen that continued growth depends
on good management. On any given day there could be 12 crews
servicing 15 active jobsites. To mobilize this volume of activity
requires good organization and jobsite tracking. job management
software allows monitoring of the complete history of a project
from the beginning estimate to the final collection of money.
Information to help foremen develop a list of materials and
set schedules is also part of the record.
One Of the
critical issues for all companies today is to keep and hold
good personnel. Knowing that key personnel control the company's
future, Ralston promotes a collective effort in company decisions.
Given the current growth rate, Ralston is firmly convinced
that continued success is tied to keeping the quality of his
product high, and toward that end he will only follow specifications
and select materials that enhance the quality of his installations,
noting that "I won't ever shortchange my customers."
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32 > Concrete Construction > October 2002
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