Loaded: The Hahn Ready Mix Podcast
A podcast for the employees of Hahn Ready Mix
Loaded: The Hahn Ready Mix Podcast
65. Spring Check-in
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Andrea and Griffin discuss Memorial Day, an important sports development, and a check in with each department on what is going well and what we're working on.
Welcome to Loaded the Hahn Ready Mix Podcast with Andrea Meyer, Griffin Hahn, and producer Lex, who said he's going to do all the talking today.
SPEAKER_02All the talking, he said. And still nothing. Still nothing.
SPEAKER_00He is here.
SPEAKER_02At least you're consistent. You know what I mean? You always know what you're gonna get from you. I show up. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00This this may not be our best. This is the last hour of the day on the Friday before Memorial Day.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, this one was a little tight squeezing it in. Yes.
SPEAKER_00Somehow the week got away from us.
SPEAKER_02It did. It was a busy week. It was a busy league. It's really good to be busy again. And for real's busy. So we had, I think I said it before, we had the the busiest April we've had since 2018. And we're on pace for the busiest May. Um actually we could be the busiest month period.
SPEAKER_00It's early. I'm gonna say it's it's only the 22nd. I know, but it could rain all week next week.
SPEAKER_02If it doesn't rain all week, we could be looking at the busiest month period since April of 2023. So we've had a a few years where it's been pretty pretty slow, and so it's good to be kind of moving again.
SPEAKER_00We love it.
SPEAKER_02It is wonderful. It is wonderful. All right, what news do you have?
SPEAKER_00I have a little bit of an update to an announcement from last week about the east entrance of the river plant. They're doing um some construction, and that is actually going to start on Tuesday, so probably the day that you're listening to this podcast, if you're keeping up in real time, today is the day.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00What about you?
SPEAKER_02Well, Lex and I have some big news. He's looking confused, but he'll realize. So uh our favorite soccer team won the English Premier League. Okay. So if anybody wants to join us in a course of uh North London forever, anytime, just come see us and we'll we'll Yeah, we'll start belting. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Just remind me to close my door before that happens.
SPEAKER_02Sure. Yeah. So that's exciting.
SPEAKER_00Congratulations. Thank you. What an accomplishment.
SPEAKER_02You know what? It's been 22 long years, and I can't speak for Lex, but I know that I've earned it. So I've cried real tears.
SPEAKER_00So of joy or of sadness in previous seasons?
SPEAKER_02Yes. Of joy. Yes.
SPEAKER_00Okay. Okay.
SPEAKER_02Uh also it's Memorial Day this weekend. I mean, everybody will have listened. Um by the time you listen to this, it'll be done.
SPEAKER_00How was your Memorial Day?
SPEAKER_02I don't know. What are you planning on for Memorial Day?
SPEAKER_00Um, well, it is softball season. Actually, it sort of worked out that both of my kids are playing on the same day. So I'm not having two days in a row of softball. I'm having one double, double day.
SPEAKER_02I didn't know that there were any breaks in softball or baseball. I thought it was like 24-7, 365.
SPEAKER_00It is a lot. So I actually have Sunday and Monday wide open to my family, Fancy Nancy and Geneseo. The people in Geneseo know Fancy Nancy because she just got a new pool. So they had some concrete delivered out there. So we were uh we're excited to go check out her new pool.
SPEAKER_02Cool.
SPEAKER_00What about you, guys? Lex too. What are you up to?
SPEAKER_02Our parents have my boys tonight. So parents' night off, which is nice, and then we're picking them up tomorrow and heading out to my in-laws' cabin for Memorial Day to hang out out there. So uh in central Illinois. So that should be fun. There's uh a pond, and we'll do some fishing, and so it should be a good time.
SPEAKER_01I ran into uh a little injury, so I am not able to do a lot of the things I enjoy to do. You're quarantining with your dog.
SPEAKER_00Well, tell us more.
SPEAKER_01No. So I'll be boring and maybe go for a run, mow my lawn.
SPEAKER_00But I bet you'll be editing a podcast.
SPEAKER_01You want to mow my lawn while you're at it?
SPEAKER_00Mine too. I have a portion of my yarn here.
SPEAKER_01I already have to do this.
SPEAKER_00Call Lex if you need help with your yard. He doesn't have much else to do. Okay. Are we gonna do a podcast today? Let's do it.
SPEAKER_02I thought it would be fun since we the season is really underway. I threw it out to all of our management team and said, hey, give me one thing in your department that is going really well so far this season. And one thing that we're either keeping an eye on or actively working on. Uh so I just thought it would be interesting to share uh all those items that came back through that little survey.
SPEAKER_00I wonder if they'll match my thoughts. Oh should I should I have a reaction to that? You should go first.
SPEAKER_02That's what we should do. You go first, and then I'll see.
SPEAKER_00I'll say what I think is going well in every department.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00This would be good to hear. It's all a surprise to me.
SPEAKER_02So well, what what department do you want to hit first?
SPEAKER_00Uh let's let's go inside to outside. Let's start with accounting here.
SPEAKER_02Accounting. All right. The report back was that they have continued to refine a bunch of processes this year. And is that you know, for them, the workloads don't go up and down as much as the operation side, right? So it's not like, well, we've ramped into this busy season so much, but that they've really worked on. Um, you know, I know they've worked a lot with the raw material logistics and and the needs. And yeah, so really refining a lot of processes, which is great. And then one thing they're working on is we are going through an ERP change, which is uh essentially our accounting software. So that is a really big deal for any company to do something like that. It's I think minimum a six month process. So they are just getting, they're just like stretching before the race to get into that.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, that'll be that is a that is a big long-term project. I think something people might see even sooner than the ERP change is I know they're working on our purchasing cards. I think there's gonna be a change in the system that we use for that. Where the new um like expense report approval process will go through Pelocity, which we're in all the time for our time off and everything else.
SPEAKER_02Dear Lord, let it be simpler than I think it will.
SPEAKER_00I've seen the demo, I think it looks like it's gonna be a vast improvement.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_00At least it's just one less password. You know, it's the same system that is you're already in.
SPEAKER_02That is good. Yeah. Okay, what's the next department you want to tackle?
SPEAKER_00Dispatch.
SPEAKER_02Dispatch. So Chris reported that you know, as we've gotten busier, that is really a lot more work and a lot more stress on the team in there, and that they have really stepped it up and have been very consistent and courteous and dealing with that extra workload really well. So he he's very happy with how the team has gone from you know winter and and where they're not super stressed in there to to kind of full on the gas and and doing a great job. And they are keeping an eye on and and looking forward to some some software enhancements that may change how they do some things in that office. So uh yeah, lots of lots of software things so far that we're of course, of course.
SPEAKER_00I'd say along with the like higher volumes in dispatch, it's always a stretch on people's hours too, right? Like we're getting people in here earlier and staying later. Yeah. And I know that that is disruptive to people's lives, but they've been they're so great about, you know, kind of sharing the workload and trading days that work for people. And uh, we got a new computer so people can do start times from home. Like we're just doing everything that we can to try and keep that flexibility as much as we can, knowing that we do have to extend hours. So I appreciate that.
SPEAKER_02Hit me with the next department you want to do.
SPEAKER_00Uh let's do QC, like kind of inside and outside.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. You want to report it, Lex, since you're here? Sure. Do you want to you want your paper back to review?
SPEAKER_00We need to ask a question again.
SPEAKER_01No, it's good. So we've kind of alluded to it a lot, but we are much busier at the start of the season than we have been probably the last couple of years since I've been here. The one thing is we've had a lot of QC-oriented work, and we haven't really had that over the last few years. And I feel like sometimes our people are feeling a little short. So that is the one thing. I mean, we've dealt with a lot of mass concrete, lightweight concrete, and a lot of state work. And I think we've done a great job at keeping up with that kind of stuff. Night patching. Night patching, too. I didn't even I forgot about that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you already blocked it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's erased from my memory. But those are some of the things that it's not necessarily something, but it's just what we're doing. Yeah. And it's been going well in that sense. And some things we're working on is we've had some, I would say, issues with mixed designs and such air issues for sure. And I think we've done a lot to kind of tackle those things this year, and we're going to continue to do that. And another thing we're going to be working on is finding more breaks from our mixed designs so that we have more data to give out to whether it's engineers or our customers will have a bunch of data for them.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. It's it's been a thing that you know, we over-design so much that strength is not really a concern, right? We're not like worried that our mixes aren't going to perform. But if a lot of times we get to submittals and they're like, provide us with 30 strength results, and we're like, we have three for this mix. So if we're lucky. If we're lucky. So uh so I is yeah, it's more of just a having having cleaner information. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And being able to find it and share it easily, sure.
SPEAKER_02Well, and I think the I would also say something that's worked really well is the new uh test field testing report that the batchers can see. And you know, so that that helps us be more informed when we're making water trim and and air dosage decisions. So I think that's been really good.
SPEAKER_00I agree. Do you have shop shop info?
SPEAKER_02Yes. So the shop is reporting that they're starting to have a lot more luck with part issues, and they really feel like they've sped up the uh issues diagnostics in the shop. So when something comes in and figure, you know, identifying what the problem is is improved. Those are certainly better. And then we're still getting recurring issues with things like injectors and fuel line fittings and things like that. It's not something that we um have a ton of control over, but uh that they're certainly working hard on trying to uh identify those and get them taken care of as soon as possible.
SPEAKER_00So what's going well is that the issues with parts availability is easing up a little bit. Is that what you're saying? Yeah. I I agree with that to some extent. We're seeing the you know the repair turnover go a little bit quicker, but there's still some times where like I know there's I don't know which truck it is, but there's one truck we're waiting on where they're like, we will let you know if we find a part by next Friday at 1230. Uh okay. What should we do in the meantime?
SPEAKER_02Like I think it's a relative improvement. I think for us that are don't live in that world, it's like, oh, this is two weeks to find out about a part, and it used to be four, maybe. And so we yeah, so yeah.
SPEAKER_00I just don't want anyone to like have their hopes up that their truck's magically gonna be ready when you hear this podcast. Yes, I do think it's getting better, but there's still issues. Yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Okay, what do we got next?
SPEAKER_00Um, what's what's left? Sales? Did you talk to the sales team?
SPEAKER_02Yep. So I kind of populated some of that myself.
SPEAKER_00We you just made up answers.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Uh our quoting activity, we talked about this before. Quoting activity is way up. So they are so busy they couldn't respond to my questions.
SPEAKER_00There you go. On the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, I'm sure.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. So yeah, we we have, you know, when we compare where we are today versus a year ago today, and and what we'd quoted in the previous nine or 12 months, it's way up. So that bodes well for the rest of the year, and I think that it that's great. The what they're working on is still getting Brian Jackson's computer to actually use our our what we're using for a CRM. I got it, I got it.
SPEAKER_00Noted. Noted.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, he told me today that it was still couldn't use it. So yeah, there are that's a struggle.
SPEAKER_00The quoting activity is so interesting because some things we're quoting are things that'll happen pretty quickly, and some things that we're quoting are things that might not ever happen or might happen a year from now or later. So it's there's no real correlation between what we're quoting right now and when that work will happen, but it does always feel better to be quoting more than less.
SPEAKER_02So yeah, we you know, we have to do a sales projection for the bank. And, you know, they've asked kind of like monthly by monthly. And in a lot of industries, I feel like you can put in like we're gonna do this many widgets in this month and this many widgets in this month, and it's for us. Unpredictable. It's like there's a thousand yards, it could be you know, nothing for six months and then a thousand in one month, or it could be twenty yards a month for the next three years, and and a lot of times we just have no idea. So we did, I just shout out to that team. We did just uh update the sales projection for the bank for this year, and that's always a big task.
SPEAKER_00So very good.
SPEAKER_02All right. Um let's do plant operations. So the batchers, loader guys, those things. We made a lot of changes this year to inventory control and our needs process. So we kind of alluded to that earlier, and that has really gone well. I think we we saw the fruits of that this winter on the inventory control, and and the needs process seems like it's really getting streamlined. So I'd say that's going very well. And uh the feedback from Darren, uh, things that he wants to keep working on is the communication and collaboration between the plant managers and QC. That a lot of times we could do better identifying which loads should be tested and doing more on that front, and then making sure we're integrating the results that we're getting from job sites and at the plant into our batching decisions. So that's that's something we can keep keep pushing the ball forward on.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I see, I see and agree with all of that. Um, I'll also say we have been shorthanded on the batcher staffing side, and Darren has been actually batching quite a bit lately, which takes him away from all of his other responsibilities. So that's um a challenge on that side. Uh on the other side of that, Chris Hull's back this week. And he's gonna be learning some of the batching side and helping out on the plant operation side. So no pressure at all, Chris, but we're glad you're here.
SPEAKER_02Yes, absolutely. And we told him he was asking a question today about something. We said, well, if you would listen to the podcast, you would know. And he's like, it wasn't even working. So it's available anywhere. Hope you're listening now. Yeah. Uh okay, the plant maintenance team, they're doing really well with their kind of internal teamwork and getting along great and getting a lot done. And they're also doing a lot outside of that maintenance specific role. So a lot of driving mixers or running loaders or batching and kind of flexing out to do a lot of things. So that's all going very well. Um, and that's something they have to keep working on because it's kind of a challenge this time of year. You know, we fire up plants for the first time in a season, and and that's invariably when things go wrong and they're they're cleaning up, you know, some of the the punch list stuff from the winter, winter maintenance checklist, right? So they've just got a lot of balls up in the air. And while we're still gearing up with drivers, is when we call on them for more help than any other time. So yeah, so they're they're working through that busyness this year.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely, and not necessarily under the best conditions, right? Like ideally, you'd learn to batch, you know, at a nice, easy pace with some direct oversight, and they have been able to jump in and just handle it. I appreciate that. And I know we will continue to try and get them the hands-on support that they should have to do that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, absolutely. Um, I heard from Muscatine that they're really think we're in a good spot with the quality of concrete. Sometimes we have uh challenges isn't the right word, but more obstacles because of the aggregates we use down there versus in the quad cities. And so it seems like things are going really well with that. And it seems like we're in a good spot with our customer care and relations, and things are really strong. And one of the things they're working on is getting orders in in advance earlier, we'll call orders and things like that. We're still having a number of surprises down there, and and make just makes it hard for dispatch to plan and we don't want to be late and we want to service everybody. So that's something they're working on pretty hard. Similarly, in Geneseo, the customer relationships was came out that that is uh a real strength. And I know Sean works really hard at that and is is out meeting with customers and and all that all the time. And he said that's that's what he's working on hardest is being proactive with getting work, right? Going to job sites that he know what are happening and talking to the general contractor, talking to the owners, just really kind of showing the value that we can bring because it's a pretty tough competitive market over there. So he's doing a good job.
SPEAKER_00He's doing a great job. I I love that he's doing that. And I I like that we get to talk about both sides of that in a podcast like this where we talk about being busy and kind of stretching, but also like we're still fighting for all the work that we can get and we we want more work. So I hope everybody gets both sides of that message.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, absolutely. Um, and then the final one we had was some stuff about our drivers. So we had a number of things here. First of all, what's going really well is a lot of our new team members that have joined us are really engaged and learning very quickly. So hearing great things about all of our new guys and gals. So really, really appreciative of their hard work. That first season is so hard. Yes, you know.
SPEAKER_00So absolutely. And we don't have trainees without trainers. So I want to make sure we shout out those people too.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, absolutely. And one of the things we're working on on that front is some new videos for training drivers. So um, I was working on that today, and I might send that out as something that people can work on next week is refining uh our kind of our what we want to talk about in the videos and then getting our videographer that we've yes, I haven't looked at it yet, but uh I'm excited to give you some feedback. Yeah. Um, some other things we're working on on the driver front. This came in from a number of different people, but uh I think we've still seeing some issues where we can improve on PPE on job sites. You know, uh that's that's always a constant uh battle to make sure that we're we're doing that correctly. Following ticket directions, you know, making sure that we're getting to the job site in the way that the contractor wants us to show up. Um and and you know, just being prepared on site. We've had a number of issues where people didn't have their shoots on or had earbuds in or something and weren't weren't ready to go because yeah, the pace is quick right now. So we gotta be we gotta be matching the the energy from the from the field. Yeah, just still working on finding more uh team members to help fill the trucks up. And I even mentioned it before, but scheduling partial time off if you need it, like if we can in the afternoons, because we tend to be busier in the mornings, and so if we can set that doctor's appointment or whatever for the afternoon, and a lot of times that's that's a huge help to us if we can have everybody in in the morning and we can taper as the day goes on.
SPEAKER_00Yep.
SPEAKER_02No notes, great. All right, well, that's all I had.
SPEAKER_00I liked it. This would be a great uh thing for people to get feedback on, too, if there's something that you see that you think is going really well or something we should be looking into.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00That was a great time to send us a message.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. Well, I hope everybody had a great Memorial Day by this time of week. So thanks for listening.
People on this episode
Podcasts we love
Check out these other fine podcasts recommended by us, not an algorithm.
