61. Appreciation and Focus

Andrea and Lex, rambling aimlessly without Griffin, meander through a variety of topics including appreciation for some team members going above and beyond, PPE usage, de-escalation, washout protocol, and maintaining focus.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:09

Welcome to Loaded, the Honready Mix podcast with Andrea Meyer and only producer Lex today.

SPEAKER_01 0:16

We're really missing some some firepower.

SPEAKER_00 0:19

You're going to have to talk today, Lex.

SPEAKER_01 0:21

It's going to be a long day.

SPEAKER_00 0:24

No, I think I actually think many people have said that this might be the shortest podcast in the history, but I like to think of it as efficient. You and I can communicate the same thing that Griffin can in less words.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

Much less.

SPEAKER_00 0:38

So I think everyone should look forward to this. This is going to be a great podcast. We're going to get through it efficiently and accomplish the same amount.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

Yeah. Thank you. Uh I wanted to start with some appreciation. This has been a good busy week, and there's a lot of people doing a lot of things. And I just wanted to recognize a few of them. We've been doing some night work patching. And so that has required a lot of flexing for people. John and Darren have been batching, and you and Jill and even Griffin were out on the jobs. I didn't hear any stories, but I guess it went. Well, I guess I did hear stories about the pump. You, Lex and the pump.

SPEAKER_01 1:20

Yeah, we just don't get along.

SPEAKER_00 1:22

But somehow Jill can make it work.

SPEAKER_01 1:24

Yeah, you know, it's just one of those things.

SPEAKER_00 1:27

Well, thank you, Jill, for saving Lex and everyone from his mechanical failures attempts. And then Gary and Calvin have been driving at night, which really screws up people's life schedule and sleep schedule, and it really is a pain, and we appreciate them doing that. Also, we did some uh dump truck paving this week, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:49

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:50

So we had people helping out with that. Sam was doing some ticketing and batching, which is out of his normal routine.

SPEAKER_01 1:57

Yeah, we had a couple pores, one in Eldridge and one down in River Plant. So I think we really got some yardage out this week, which was good.

SPEAKER_00 2:04

It is awesome, but that definitely requires a different set of skills, a different set of work uh for a lot of people. So we appreciate everybody that was in on that. We were also shorthanded in dispatch this week um due to some some outside events, whatever, but that required extra hours from people in there and people, Chris Jurgens was had to leave and come back a few times due to certain things, and that's unusual that we have to do that. So I really appreciate everybody putting in the extra time there. Um we have been short on trucks on the hauling side also as we've gotten busier. We've discovered issues with some of the trucks, and that requires the drivers to be a little bit more flexible and jump into a truck that they're not used to being in. And that is always tough. I know there's been issues with that this week, but I everybody who was able to come in and make it work in something else, and even the people who didn't have a truck to come into, I appreciate that as well. We also had a lightning storm this week. Were you in on any of that?

SPEAKER_01 3:05

No. What tell me about this?

SPEAKER_00 3:07

Over the week, over the weekend, last weekend, I guess, there's severe lightning that took out basically a bunch of stuff in the muscatine plant.

SPEAKER_01 3:17

Oh, yeah. I do know about that.

SPEAKER_00 3:19

So it was like every piece of it that they fixed led them to another piece of it that was not working properly. So it was like a puzzle that had to be put back together, and the maintenance team had to do a bunch of work, and Darren and Bear and Zach and Jake and Trav. There's just a bunch of people that were all hands on deck when we could have just been having a nice, easy week that had to be putting that back together.

SPEAKER_01 3:42

So yes, but it sounds like the maintenance team found a solution. Yeah, we did have a big storm last night and we did keep the power and everything.

SPEAKER_00 3:49

So we're on the right track there. Finally, we had a situation over the weekend where a mixer got stuck on a job that it was a tough, tough job on a dirt road the day after it rained. You know, that that happens. There were other mixer drivers out there, and uh Bobby Yeesey came out and helped. Uh, we ended up having to get a tow truck, but I just really, whenever we're in those tough situations and customers are getting mad and there's a pump waiting, like it's just a really heated situation for everyone. And I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate people staying calm and cool, getting the truck out, helping the customer, and moving on. That's just awesome when that happens. What do you have? Where's what's your list of appreciation, Lex?

SPEAKER_01 4:31

I think you named it all. We had a we had a busy week, I would say. And this is the first time this year I would say we've been this busy, and I think we kept up great and everyone did a great job.

SPEAKER_00 4:42

Yeah, we're we're doing our best when we're busy like this. I love it. We did have an opportunity today, I guess, because of the rain. We weren't quite as busy. So we got some drivers into Davenport for a quick, you know, driver safety update meeting. And so that's kind of what I want to cover on this podcast today. Sheldon put together some good notes with, you know, questions and follow-ups, things that we wanted to talk about. So I'm gonna try to cover those the same way he did in the meeting. I think a lot of this is gonna be a recap of other announcements that we've made on the podcast, but hopefully, because of the driver meeting, we're gonna have some new listeners to the podcast. I think it's a good opportunity to just get everybody on the same page.

SPEAKER_01 5:21

I agree. There's a lot of good for information, even for the newer guys or refresher for the older, that hey, we're getting into that season. Yep. Let's remember these things. Let's get it done.

SPEAKER_00 5:31

So, did you attend the meeting?

SPEAKER_01 5:32

I did not attend the meeting.

SPEAKER_00 5:33

Oh boy. So maybe this is like a test for you. Like, do you know what we're supposed to be doing?

SPEAKER_01 5:39

Oh boy. Oh boy.

SPEAKER_00 5:41

Not to put you on the spot. Okay, let's start really easy with PPE. You know what PPE means?

SPEAKER_01 5:48

Personal protection equipment.

SPEAKER_00 5:50

Yeah, personal protective equipment, exactly. So a lot of the times, like when you're in the truck, you don't need any PPE, right? Because you're protected by the truck. The truck is your protective equipment.

SPEAKER_01 6:02

Correct.

SPEAKER_00 6:02

Every time you step out of the truck, though, you have to have a few things. What are those things?

SPEAKER_01 6:08

Well, start we need our safety vest so that we can be seen. Yes. Then we need safety glasses for our eyes to protect. And then a hard hat.

SPEAKER_00 6:18

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 6:19

On all job sites.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

Yes. Even if you don't see anyone else wearing a hard hat, you can be the leader of doing what we're supposed to do. The safety glasses, I know it sort of reminds me of like during COVID and you had to wear a mask, and it was so annoying to wear the mask. That's kind of how I feel about safety glasses. Like it makes m feel like my eyes are sweating and very uncomfortable. But what's even more uncomfortable than that is when you get concrete in your eyes.

SPEAKER_01 6:46

Yeah, that sucks.

SPEAKER_00 6:47

It's the worst. I've I've been with people who had concrete in their eyes a few times. Uh surprisingly, they weren't wearing their safety glasses. And so we had to go to occupational health and get their eyes flushed out. And it just the whole experience is painful and really something you don't want to have to go through.

SPEAKER_01 7:07

Yeah. So a lot of time you can save by wearing safety glasses and pain.

SPEAKER_00 7:11

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 7:12

All the above.

SPEAKER_00 7:12

Yes. Just wear them. It's so easy. Have them handy, like keep them right by you or on you so that you have them every time. If you need new ones, if your glasses are scratched up or you can't find them, if your vest is too tight this season, it's okay. Flex.

SPEAKER_01 7:29

Hey, come on.

SPEAKER_00 7:31

I think yours still fits. Well, if we find one that fits, you better hold on to it because I think mine's a medium, right? You're a special size. So you're making it work. But if you need a new one, contact your manager. We have them at all the plants. Sheldon can get if you need a special thing, Sheldon can help you out. Uh just let us know.

SPEAKER_01 7:49

Yeah, and if you see that there are not anything at any of the plants, please let someone know and we'll make sure we get the proper equipment to where it needs to be.

SPEAKER_00 7:58

Very good. Okay, I have another, what's it called when you're using letters? Is that an acronym? Something like that. Something like that. Okay, here's another one. This one is called GOL, G-O-A-L. Do you know what that is?

SPEAKER_01 8:12

Get out and look.

SPEAKER_00 8:14

Yes, get out and look. This generally refers to um job sites, but it can be helpful anywhere. You will even see this like a lot of trucking companies require trucks to put a cone out behind the truck so that they're required to get out and walk around the truck before they can back out anywhere. Um we don't we do so much backing that that would never make sense to do that. But uh the concept of getting out and looking definitely makes sense for us. Especially this time of year when the ground is so soft, just getting out and putting your feet on the ground can give you a much different sense of what you're dealing with than just driving in. We're all kind of getting back into the swing of things, along with the contractors, right? So mid-season, everybody is a little bit more precise with everything that they're doing and where they're putting their tools and where they're putting the cones. Right now, everybody's just a little rusty with how we're doing that. So it's even more important to get out and look at where their tools are, where the people are, where the forms are. It's just so easy for them to be in the wrong place and for us to run them over or push them out of the way.

SPEAKER_01 9:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:20

So when you get out, you have a whole different perspective of what you're working with and what's in your way. And no, it always seems like we should be rushing and get to where we need to be as fast as we can. But sometimes just taking that 20 seconds to get out and touch base is gonna make a big difference.

SPEAKER_01 9:39

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 9:40

And if you're lucky enough to get to a job where Lex is, you can get out and give him a high five or ask him where his hard hat is or something like that.

SPEAKER_01 9:47

Or I'll be asking you.

SPEAKER_00 9:50

I hope so. I hope that's what's happening. Just be extra cautious about where the people, the tools, oh, even f fresh concrete, right? We had an incident with driving through fresh concrete this week. So just take your time, keep your eyes on it, be very cautious. Uh, this next one I feel like we've talked about it a few times, and it's so, so hard. But here's what I'll tell you the city of Davenport, especially, has enhanced their enforcement of using proper washouts on job sites. The rules haven't really changed, right? Like we've always had a requirement, the city's had the requirement that the contractor is responsible for providing a proper washout. Says it on our tickets, says it on our quotes. Like that's been the rule all along. But just like all rules, when they're not enforced, things slide the other direction. And I think that's where we are now, and I think that's why the city's kind of stepping up their enforcement. So we have met with them a few times. Um, sometimes because we wanted to, and sometimes because they wanted us to. We're trying to grasp and understand exactly what they're wanting us to do, and we're doing everything we can to be compliant with with their rules. What they have said is that they don't want us discharging anywhere but in a proper washout. So that means a lined container. So a dumpster with a liner, a washout bag with a liner. Are there other proper washouts that I'm not aware of?

SPEAKER_01 11:27

No. I guess it needs to be line. That is the number one thing.

SPEAKER_00 11:30

Probably into a buggy or into a wheelbarrow is is makes it not our problem, right?

SPEAKER_01 11:36

Correct.

SPEAKER_00 11:37

So what the contractor does from there, we're not in charge of them, but we are in charge of what discharges from the truck onto onto the ground.

SPEAKER_01 11:46

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 11:47

That's what they're really trying to make sure that we are doing what we can to contain that.

SPEAKER_01 11:51

Yes. And going on that, we are probably going to have a lot of kickback from our customers. If you are having problems with a customer, please reach out to me or someone else and we will have a chat with them so that they can understand where we are coming from.

SPEAKER_00 12:10

We are definitely not trying to make their lives harder. We're not trying to make our lives harder. We're just trying to make sure that everybody's in compliance and doing what we're supposed to do. We're trying to communicate up front. We're including information in our quotes that go out, but sometimes there's a lag between, you know, what we get to the office of the customer and the guys that are on the job, you know, may not know what we've already talked about. So if someone gives you a hard time, let us know who it is and where it was, and we can go follow up then and make sure that next time someone goes to them, they're gonna know what's what's expected. It's tough. It's a tough thing to change behavior when we've been doing things a certain way for a long time and and it was okay, and now suddenly it's not okay. So I don't want anyone to think that we think this is going to be an easy change or that we don't understand the frustration that it's gonna cause for people. But we do have to try to do our best.

SPEAKER_01 12:59

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 13:00

I wanted to revisit a topic we talk about frequently, which is dealing with people. I deal with difficult people like Lex all day long.

SPEAKER_01 13:09

You're welcome.

SPEAKER_00 13:11

Lex is by far not the most difficult person I deal with, but it's fun to tease him. How do you deal with difficult people?

SPEAKER_01 13:19

It's hard to say. I'm a pretty calm person. So when difficult people come around, I usually try and diffuse the situation by being as calm as I possibly can.

SPEAKER_00 13:29

I agree. We're we're similar that way. That our frustration turns into shutting down more than escalating.

SPEAKER_01 13:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:36

Griffin, we can get Griffin pretty fired up. He's not super calm. Darren, we can get fired up.

SPEAKER_01 13:42

That's a pretty easy one. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:45

So we're not expecting everyone to have the exact same personality or the exact same approach. But what I want to ask everyone to do is to recognize that you have no idea what you're rolling into with someone, whether it's a a coworker here, another driver, whether it's a mechanic in the shop or a manager or a customer on a job site, like we have no idea what they've been dealing with before we run into them. So that what you do have control over in that situation is your tone and your energy that you're bringing to it. So even if they're in a tough place and already mad and we're late and, you know, whatever their problem is, if we match that negative energy or get loud back at them, we're escalating it instead of diffusing it, like you said. So we want to make sure that we're keeping a calm and professional tone in everything that we're doing, regardless of who we're dealing with.

SPEAKER_01 14:41

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 14:42

How many times do you think you've said yes in this podcast?

SPEAKER_01 14:46

Way too many.

SPEAKER_00 14:48

I appreciate you agreeing with me. At least you're not saying, no, she just wasted five minutes talking about something that doesn't make sense. I guess I guess I'll take a yes where I can get it. Another thing with difficult people and walking into challenging situations, I'm always looking for how I can get on the same page with the other person. Most of the time, when you argue with someone and try to prove them wrong or try to insist that your point is right, you're working in opposite directions of each other. I'm always looking for how I can get on the same page with someone. Like they're mad about us wasting their time. You can easily say you're right. I'm sorry that we're wasting your time. Let's not waste any more time. Let's both be on the same page of getting this done as quickly as we can. If you argue about I didn't, you know, they did something wrong and that's why we were late, that just makes us even more behind. So look for a way to get on the same page and then do the next thing that makes sense for everyone.

SPEAKER_01 15:43

Yeah. And you don't even have to always agree. It's just how do we get to that next step?

SPEAKER_00 15:47

How can we get on this on the same page? Help me help you. Let's work together. So hard when you're in the moment, but it's it's crucial to being successful at this. Getting back into practice, like I said, with the get out and look, keeping everything in the right place. Um, the precision of discharging into pumps or belts or buggies is I think something that you it's like riding a bike. You always know how to do it, but you can get less precise when you're out of practice. Does that sound right? That's what I'm hoping because there's been a few incidents recently of the thing.

SPEAKER_01 16:28

I'm not sure that's just not a lack of paying attention, if I'm being honest. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 16:32

The focus.

SPEAKER_01 16:32

Like I think about if the times I've filled up those things, it's just focusing on what is in front of you.

SPEAKER_00 16:39

I can get distracted.

SPEAKER_01 16:40

You can easily get distracted because oh, you're waiting five minutes for the pump to start again, or you're waiting for a buggy. So it's like, oh, what am I gonna do while I'm waiting for this buggy? But it's just okay, how do I get prepared for the next buggy so I can fill it out fast as well?

SPEAKER_00 16:54

Keeping your eye on the ball kind of thing.

SPEAKER_01 16:56

That's how I see it, but I could be completely wrong because I don't do this every day.

SPEAKER_00 17:00

Well, whatever it is, whatever it is that prevents us from making a mess, uh, please, please keep focused on it. Get back in the habits of doing it the right way, the best way that we can. We're already at almost 20 minutes. We're killing it.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

You're killing it. What do you mean? I've barely said a word. My responses are yes.

SPEAKER_00 17:19

Yes. Okay. I just have one uh one last thing that's on my mind. Um, keeping our workplace clean. I think we're doing a better job with keeping trucks clean. We're keeping a focus on that. I am actually gonna send out a question this week on the tablets about if there are trucks that need to be chipped. I know we got a lot of them chipped over the winter, but I did have a couple questions about that in the driver meeting. So I'm gonna do a quick survey from people and just let us know if if your truck does need attention, we will we'll work on that. So keep on it with the trucks, but also when you walk around the yard, there's sometimes trash, just pick it up. If there's especially gloves or rags or something like that on the ground, that is a sort of considered a next level of pollution because who knows what is on that rag and then it rains and it seeps into the ground. So just anything that you see on the ground, around the office, around the yard, in the parking lot, around the fuel islands, let's just get it cleaned up together. And same thing with the wash bay. Like everybody wants the wash bay in peak condition when you go in there to wash your truck. You don't need another mess to clean up before you get started cleaning up your truck. So if we're all taking care of that and leaving it the the way that we found it or better, it really helps serve the next person and makes everybody's life easier.

SPEAKER_01 18:36

Yeah, I mean it saves you're talking couple minutes once you're done rather than taking 15 or 20 to pick up the next time you come back.

SPEAKER_00 18:46

And Lex hates it when I send him over there to clean up the wash bay.

SPEAKER_01 18:48

So yeah. Yeah, I hate it. I hate cleaning up anything. Actually, I love it.

SPEAKER_00 18:53

So Lex is actually really good at keeping uh shared space picked up.

SPEAKER_01 18:59

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 19:00

So call him. Call him if the wash bay is a mess. Maybe he'll come help you.

SPEAKER_01 19:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:04

Better if we all just keep it picked up. So I think we're off to a great start. I think everybody is, you know, locked in and getting back to work and and doing our best. And I really appreciate it. And I hope that if we just focus on these reminders, we'll be able to take it to the next level next week.

SPEAKER_01 19:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:23

Thanks for listening to Loaded the Hon ReadyMix podcast. Let us know if you like these episodes without Griffin. Maybe we can keep them coming.

SPEAKER_01 19:31

Thanks, guys.

SPEAKER_00 19:31

Or maybe we want it back.

SPEAKER_01 19:33

Yeah.