In this episode of The Contractor’s Best Friend Podcast, longtime construction expert Brad Humphrey sits down with Jason Hurdis, Caterpillar’s global market professional for quarry and aggregates, to discuss a workforce issue in the industry: workers who are talented but show a lack of consistency, absenteeism, motivation or other issues. 

In the latest episode of The Contractor’s Best Friend Podcast, longtime construction expert Brad Humphrey talks with Jason Hurdis, Caterpillar’s global market professional for quarry and aggregates and Lonnie Fritz, Caterpillar’s senior market professional construction industry expert with a focus on heavy construction and roadbuilding, about the challenges of hiring workers. Many contractors are giving former employees a second chance on the jobsite to help fill workforce gaps. 

In this episode of The Contractor’s Best Friend, construction expert Brad Humphrey sits down with Jason Hurdis, Caterpillar’s global market professional for quarry and aggregates and Sam Meeker, Caterpillar’s dozer and compact track loader specialist. The three discuss how to get the maximum value for heavy equipment when doing a trade-in. One way to do this is with telematics, which can track and record maintenance and related records for machinery. The process involves more than looking up the trade-in value, they said. 

One of the hottest topics in the construction industry today is finding workers and training. In this episode, construction expert Brad Humphrey talks about finding the time to train employees. He is joined by Jason Hurdis, Caterpillar’s global market professional for quarry and aggregates and Lonnie Fritz, Caterpillar’s senior market professional construction industry expert with a focus on heavy construction and roadbuilding. When adverse weather strikes, slowing work productivity on the jobsite, it's the perfect time to train employees, they said. 

In the latest episode, longtime construction expert Brad Humphrey is once again joined by Caterpillar Safety Expert Morgan Grigsby, as well as Lonnie Fritz, Caterpillar’s senior market professional construction industry expert with a focus on heavy construction and roadbuilding, to talk about jobsite safety. The use of smart cameras is improving safety on jobsites by increasing visibility around heavy equipment. Equipment operators are given the right information at the right time to make decisions to improve the safety around them. 

Construction expert Brad Humphrey sits down with Lonnie Fritz, Caterpillar’s senior market professional construction industry expert with a focus on heavy construction and roadbuilding, to discuss the importance of implementing intelligent compaction technology on the jobsite. Compaction technology benefits contractors who move, grade and compact materials to specified moisture and density levels. 

Ever wondered how to create preventative maintenance plans for your jobsite heavy equipment? Construction expert Brad Humphrey sits down with Jason Hurdis, Caterpillar’s global market professional for quarry and aggregates and Lonnie Fritz, Caterpillar’s senior market professional construction industry expert with a focus on heavy construction and roadbuilding, to talk about how proper maintenance plans can save money and remain competitive. 

In Part 2 of this podcast series on jobsite safety, construction expert Brad Humphrey sits down with Jason Hurdis, Caterpillar’s global market professional for quarry and aggregates and Lonnie Fritz, Caterpillar’s senior market professional construction industry expert with a focus on heavy construction and roadbuilding, to talk about how technology and equipment can improve security. As construction industry equipment theft continues to be a problem, the latest technology can help prevent such theft and keep crews safe. 

In the latest episode of The Contractor’s Best Friend Podcast, longtime construction expert Brad Humphrey talks with Jason Hurdis, Caterpillar’s global market professional for quarry and aggregates and Lonnie Fritz, Caterpillar’s senior market professional construction industry expert with a focus on heavy construction and roadbuilding, about keeping construction jobsites safe from equipment theft and other issues. More than ever, construction contractors are concerned about jobsite access and crew safety through the use of cameras, radar and other technologies. 

In this episode of The Contractor’s Best Friend Podcast, construction expert Brad Humphrey talks about the effort to lower the impact of CO2 emissions on the environment through the reduction of fuel use. He speaks with Jason Hurdis, Caterpillar’s global market professional for quarry and aggregates, about how minimizing the use of diesel fuel on the jobsite directly lowers the amount of carbon dioxide produced. Construction bids more frequently require an estimate of CO2 produced, which is produced based on fuel use on the site. Hurdis describes the phase-in of alternative power on the jobsite to reduce emissions. 

In the latest episode of The Contractor’s Best Friend podcast, longtime construction expert Brad Humphrey talks about proactive safety with Morgan Grigsby, Caterpillar’s safety expert, and Jason Hurdis, Caterpillar’s global market professional for quarry and aggregates. According to Grigsby, the construction safety talk on jobsites is shifting away from what was done incorrectly, to what’s going well and where there is room for improvement. A proactive discussion about safety can be profoundly more effective than a reactive one, and Grigsby explains why.

In this episode of The Contractor’s Best Friend, construction expert Brad Humphrey sits down with Sam Meeker, Caterpillar’s dozer and compact track loader specialist, to talk about what construction contractors should consider when buying or leasing heavy equipment. Sizing and intended applications are a good start, but there are other considerations, as well. The pair delves into more of the complex intricacies of what to consider in this episode. 

As the use of cameras in work vehicles, including heavy equipment, continues to increase, their use brings up a host of issues, from improved safety to questions about how operators are impacted on the job. It's what host Brad Humphrey calls "the good, bad and the ugly of cameras in vehicles." Humphrey is joined for this episdoe by Caterpillar safety expert Morgan Grigsby and Lonnie Fritz, Caterpillar senior market professional for construction industries, specializing in heavy equipment and road building. While employers and contractors want to have a video record of what's happening on the jobsite, there is sometimes resistance from the operator perspective that the recording could be used punitively. The three talk about the realities, including the positives, to using cameras in work vehicles.

Whether moving rock, gravel or other heavy loads on the jobsite, each payload cycle is an opportunity to increase profits and decrease costs. In this episode of The Contractor’s Best Friend Podcast, longtime construction expert Brad Humphrey sits down with Jason Hurdis, Caterpillar’s global market professional for quarry and aggregates and Lonnie Fritz, Caterpillar’s senior market professional construction industry expert with a focus on heavy construction and roadbuilding, to chat about how the latest heavy equipment technology can improve payload profitability. 

In the latest episode of The Contractor’s Best Friend Podcast, longtime construction expert Brad Humphrey talks about 3D Factory Grade Solutions with two heavy construction specialists from Caterpillar. He is joined by Lonnie Fritz, Caterpillar’s senior market professional construction industry expert with a focus on heavy construction and roadbuilding and Sam Meeker, Caterpillar’s dozer and track loader specialist. The three discuss advances in grade control, such as factory integration, and how it can bring the operator up to speed as fast as possible on the job site. 

In this episode, construction guru Brad Humphrey talks with Jason Hurdis, quarry and aggregate expert and Lonnie Fritz, heavy construction and road building expert for Caterpillar. Every piece of equipment eventually slows down and becomes no longer viable for the jobsite. Contractors should keep track of a machine's number of hours to get a better idea of when it might need to be replaced. There's also lots of new technology -- both software and hardware -- on the market that increase a number of efficiencies, which may persuade a contractor to replace equipment sooner than planned. 

In this episode, construction guru Brad Humphrey talks with Jason Hurdis, quarry and aggregate expert and Lonnie Fritz, heavy construction and road building expert for Caterpillar. They discuss the importance of capturing the true operating cost of each machine on the construction jobsite. Construction companies, no matter the size, need to establish a budget for equipment maintenance throughout the year to remain profitable. Talking to the equipment dealer is key to knowing maintenance and extended oil intervals.

In this episode, construction guru Brad Humphrey talks with Jason Hurdis, quarry and aggregate expert and Lonnie Fritz, heavy construction and road building expert for Caterpillar. The three discuss fuel efficiency and how contractors can be more fuel efficient on the jobsite through the use of data. It's important to measure fuel usage, determine where fuel is being used and create a plan of action for the future. Contractors need to be aware of their equipment's true idle and warm-up time needs. Knowing those times may help improve fuel efficiencies. 

In this episode, construction guru Brad Humphrey talks with Jason Hurdis, quarry and aggregate expert and Lonnie Fritz, heavy construction and road building expert for Caterpillar. Fewer people are growing up with a farming, mechanical or construction background like in years past. It's no small hurdle, but most contractors are dealing with it today: teaching construction skills to young and new workers without construction experience. Pro tip: It's going to take a tailored approach to education and mentorship to bring the new hires up to speed. 

In this episode, construction guru Brad Humphrey talks with Jason Hurdis, quarry and aggregate expert and Morgan Grigsby, safety expert for Caterpillar. There are several aftermarket safety devices and techniques that can be applied to construction equipment that can greatly enhance the overall safety of the construction jobsite.