2006 looks to be shaping up as a good construction year around the Ames area. 

Concrete and asphalt both have an inventory of work to get the spring started with.  It's amazing the amount of work done this winter and still much more to go when the weather turns warmer.  It almost seems like the winter shut-down totally evaded us. 

Currently I have five Ready Mix drivers and 1 DT/Tanker driver to keep us hauling concrete and delivering material to the plant.  In between deliveries I have the guys busy trying to line the bins with urethane to help keep the wear factor down on the metal.  Instead of replacing metal we'll replace pieces of urethane. 

The shop is busy trying to get all the equipment and trucks back in prime condition for the upcoming season.  It's mind boggling all the different pieces of equipment they have to make sure are ready at "start-up" in April.  Brian P always seems to have a grip on it as we are always ready to go when the weather starts to turn warm.  With almost 100,000 tons of asphalt already on the books the plant needs to be gone through and replaced old tired parts with new ones.  It sounds like Tim will be moving out of the shop to the cooler outdoors around the first of March.  From everything he says needs to be attended to.....he'll be busy till start-up. 

During the winter we've tried to tie up some loose ends in our safety department.  Standardizing our new hire training and interviewing process for the foreman is one major area we have been looking at.  Also, we want to be able to present "job descriptions" for the different areas of employment we offer.  A continuous flow of plans have crossed Duane, Brad or Steve's desk for bidding with many more to come in the near future. 

Let's all remember our Supervisor's Meeting -1. Safety, 2. Quality & 3. Productions.  I hope you all have a great '06 season.