Better Roads Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85919
Beating the recession In 2008 and 2009 when the U.S. economy sank into recession and job prospects were cut by more than half, Cosper's ideas and prac- tices were put to the test. North Carolina, with its big banking sector, took a heavy beating. What kept Granite Contracting afl oat dur- ing these lean times was fi nancial management – Cosper knowing his costs and working with his control- ler Ryan Haynes, offi ce manager Torrie Thompson and project man- agers to make smart decisions. "There are a lot of folks who are great construction guys, but they don't pay enough attention to the business aspects," Cosper says. "They don't know what drives their profi tability and they don't put processes in place to monitor that. We know our costs down to the penny. If you asked me how much stone we ran from a particular quarry from 2 to 4 p.m. on June 22 of 1999, I could tell you. We carry it out to the third decimal place. It's easy to make sure everybody is there at 6:30 in the morning. But it's tough to have the processes in place so that you can understand your yields and manage the ma- terial fl ow and all the conveying expenses. Business is risky enough without leaving holes in the plan." The crews Cosper also gives credit to his fore- men and crews. "They are the face the customer sees every day and the biggest reason we get a second chance with an owner. They make it happen every day in adverse weather and challenging conditions in a safe professional manner." Higher ed Part of his business acumen comes from coursework Cosper took towards a MBA degree. Due to 35c June 2012 Better Roads North Carolina. "That was a big help," Cosper says. "On day one, rather than try to raise $4 million in the equity markets, we had access to bonding and capital and their asphalt plant," he says. "It took fi ve years off the curve when we were getting started." Rigorous cost disciplines also extend to the management of the asphalt plants. The plants have the ability to use a variety of fuels, waste oil, diesel, propane and natural gas and will use whatever is least expensive at the time. Addi- tional effeciency is found in stock- pile management, material handling and yield management. Digital technology Paving the drag strip adjacent to the Charlotte Motor Speedway brought Granite Contracting praise from the racing community. transfers and the demands of job and family, he didn't complete the degree, but he learned enough to put in place cost controls and cost analysis systems in his own company. "The accounting side is just half the picture," Cosper says. "You learn to take fi nancial information and use it in your estimates so that you are a better predictor of costs. You have to turn that into useful information to take to the bidding table." Another smart move Cosper made when setting up his company was to solicit an equity partner, J.T. Russell and Sons, from Albemarle, At the end of every week cost data is collected from every component in Granite Contracting – labor, ma- terials, equipment and management – much of it compiled digitally via telematics, laptops and other technology tools. The data is then dumped into cost control programs and closely scrutinized. By Mon- day noon Cosper and his project managers have a too-the-penny look at the performance of all the jobs for the previous week and have compared it to estimates to fi gure out exactly where they stand. Adjustments are made swiftly to any component, machine or process that isn't performing as expected. In the offi ce, they use AutoCAD, AgTek Earthwork and Bid2Win soft- ware in the preconstruction phase. In the fi eld they have deployed Trimble GPS rovers, various truck telematics systems, Caterpillar's Vision Link, J.D. Link and Precise MRM. Cosper says he may have gotten into the deep end of the technol- ogy pool at little early. "Instead of cutting edge it was more bleed- ing edge," he says. But the early