The dirt-moving field has seen more
change in the past decade than in all the years following World War II, a fact
that is most apparent not only in the equipment being delivered today but also
in the profusion of productivity enhancements that come at us from all sides. No
matter how you slice it, the real culprit is computerization.
Think back to when you bit the bullet
and took your first tentative steps into the computer age. Then compare that
vision to where you are today. You may not like all the changes that have
occurred as a result of that decision, but your knowledge of and control over
the factors that affect your business are light-years removed from what they
used to be. It’s not just efficiency in moving dirt that’s involved here, but in
knowing with precision every aspect of your business, and no activity proves
this than your response to an RFP.
A contractor friend challenged this
by saying, “I can work up a darn good bid on a coffee shop napkin,” and I don’t
doubt that he can. The question is whether this ability is likely to land him a
job in what has become an even tighter bidding melee than ever. More to the
point, even if the client is willing to accept his bid on a Rosie’s Diner
all-purpose work sheet, how sure is he that his Q&D bid is bull’s-eye when
it comes to assessing profit and loss? Understanding these factors comes not
from some cosmic vision but from tools that allow him to peer deep down into the
gizzards of his business with a precision more reliable than the witchcraft and
superstition of bygone days. The bottom line here, whether you’re talking about
estimating software or machine control systems, is that if you’re not using the
most advanced tools and your competition is, sooner or later you’re going to get
stomped.