Submersible Pumps Crucial to Salmon Run Adapted from Information by Tsurumi Pump Every year in northwestern Oregon, hundreds of thousands of fish take a trip from the Pacific Ocean up the Columbia River and into its tributaries, returning to their place of birth to spawn. Since this round trip is done only once in their lifetimes for some species, its success is crucial to the survival of wildlife in the region. On the Sandy River, human activities such as the removal of Marmot Dam as part of the decommissioning of a hydroelectric project, channelization, as well as road and bridge construction upset the delicate balance of the area’s animal and plant species. This led local and state governments to search for a solution to restore the fish habitat. Biohabitats, an ecological restoration organization, was contacted to help build new procreation habitats for salmon at two sites along the Sandy River, the first in Oxbow Regional Park and the second in Dabney State Recreation Area. The organization decided engineered log jams (ELJs) could be used to act as fish spawning refuges. “Think about ELJs as subterranean skyscrapers, made of logs, boulders, and slash (a low swampy area overgrown with brush),” said Jacques Varvel, an ecological restoration specialist at Biohabitats. “The whole point of erecting these structures along the river’s side channels is that they work as spawning grounds, providing a relatively calm and safe environment for the fish to procreate before returning to the river and the ocean.” ENV The Real Reason Construction Companies Fail Adapted from Information by CONEXPO-CON/AGG The Small Business Administration has identified some startling information about the failure rate among start-up companies: roughly 20% fail in the first year - 50% fail within five years - 66% fail within ten years. The news for construction companies isn’t much better with roughly 67% going out of business within five years. If you ask company owners, they tend to attribute the problem to external factors such as insurance, taxes, politics, an inability to get enough workers. However, those may not really be the cause, which is why competitors down the road seem to be doing just fine. Here are a few reasons for failure, and some suggestions to help your construction company succeed: Starting the business for the wrong reasons. A lot of companies don’t start out with a strategic business plan, the owner simply wants to be their own boss and make lots of money. Problem is, nobody gets rich quick in the construction industry. Starting a construction company should be based on a legitimate opportunity, i.e. little competition in a growing market area. The owner needs to have a clear vision of what they want the company to be, along with a road map toward profitability. Creating a strategic road map can also help new companies avoid another common cause of failure: trying to grow and diversify too quickly. Poor company culture. Nobody wants to go to work in a war zone, and if that is the type of culture at your company, people will simply do the bare minimum. This leads to high employee turnover, sloppy work, higher workman’s comp claims, and financial losses. To succeed, leadership must identify what employees want, what the company wants, and how to get there. It takes commitment and time, but it can be done. Poor hiring. When you simply hire a pair of hands, you never get a head. For longterm success, companies need to focus on the people being hired and if those people have the desire and ability, to grow with the company. Warm bodies aren’t enough. Poor financial systems. Many construction companies can’t track if they’re making or losing money until the very end of the year. Good financial systems are an absolute must. Accounting software can help, but won’t solve everything. A good accountant or in-house financial manager may be advisable. Poor customer service. A lot of companies do not listen to their customers very well. Companies just focus on completing the work according to the contract. It’s important to remember, construction companies are in the business of serving customers, and that includes good customer service. The reality is, most construction company failures can be controlled by the owner. Fixing the problem isn’t always easy; it takes planning, discipline, and hard work. 58 DECEMBER 2020 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® eranhenderson@gmail.com New & Used Tricones PDCs Drag & Claw Bits Drill Collars Bit Tipping Subs & Stabilizers HDD Bits & Reamers DTH Hammer & Bits Custom Fabrication Junk Mills / Fishing Tools Rod Henderson 661-201-6259 Eran Henderson 661-330-0790 C&G Submersible Pumps cont’d on page 64.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDk4Mzk=