As a Green Industry professional, I am asking for your input on this topic: technology and profits. Please take this Technology Survey to support your own industry and profits.
Fortunately, within the Green Industry, contractors are very focused on profitable asset utilization. When they invest capital into a piece of equipment, they want to see a return on that investment. To track that financial return, a ‘Return on Assets’ balance sheet provides the utilization ratio of interest.
However, there is an asset that is often overlooked and holds promise for significant improvement: labor time. Historically, the construction trades have shown poor labor utilization rate. In effect, better utilization moves labor time from “overhead” towards profit making activities. For most contractors there are significant profits to gain by improving labor utilization.
I have met many contractors who are working hard to make sure that every paid labor hour is helping their company make money. Some of the more obvious actions include making sure that workers can check-in directly at the job site, or that all necessary materials and machinery are available and operational.
Some of the less obvious improvements require the implementation of technology. Technology offers many tools that reduce labor time and increase the labor utilization rate. The Green Industry was slow to adopt new technologies, however, that has begun to change. This past January, I attended the Landscape Technology Conference in Florida. It was an eye-opening event! I talked with vendors in the trade fair and attended two days of information-filled sessions. I am a firm believer in applying tech solutions and was happy to see many landscapers are starting to follow suit. It’s amazing to see the technology that landscapers are using. And, it is amazing to see how using technology has improved the profitability of those landscapers. Some are even trialing artificial intelligence!
Now my curiosity is triggered. What tech solutions are Green Industry contractors adopting or trying in our region? In order to find out I created a survey of all the tech items I’ve heard contractors are trying. We will make the collected information available as a guide to help contractors decide in which tech tools they should invest their time and money.
I appreciate your input. The survey is easy to fill out and takes 3-5 minutes to complete. Thank you!
Scott Knowles, CEO Wolf Creek Company
