The Contractor's Best Friend

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. Contractors need to have full visibility into the use and availability of heavy equipment on the construction jobsite. Tracking that equipment utilization comes down to telematics and connectivity.

In this episode, construction guru Brad Humphrey talks with Lonnie Fritz, heavy construction and road building expert and Morgan Grigsby, safety expert for Caterpillar. There are a number of ways construction contractors can upgrade the safety of their existing fleets. One simple safety upgrade would be adding a seatbelt reminder kit to construction equipment to encourage operators to buckle up on...

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. There are a handful of dealer resources that most construction contractors are not using, they said, including certified dealer operators, who are trained in how to use the equipment and will travel to jobsites to train...

In this episode, construction guru Brad Humphrey talks with Scott Hagemann, grade control technology and jobsite connectivity expert, and Lonnie Fritz, heavy construction and road building expert for Caterpillar. After purchasing a new piece of construction equipment, there are some basic steps contractors should follow. For example, contractors should learn how to use the new technology features...

In this episode, construction guru Brad Humphrey talks with construction experts from Caterpillar about the latest construction technologies and how tech can improve grading, loading and other operations.

In this episode, construction guru Brad Humphrey talks with Lonnie Fritz, senior market professional – construction industries and Jason Hurdis, global market professional – quarry & aggregates for Caterpillar. The three discuss 6 keys areas to reduce downtime and mitigate “unplanned” downtime. Learn how to better plan and use preventive measures to take care of the equipment and the equipment wil...

In this episode, construction guru Brad Humphrey talks with Jason Hurdis, construction materials, quarry and aggregates specialist and Lonnie Fritz, heavy construction and road building specialist for Caterpillar. They discuss how much of a construction contractor’s budget should be allocated to equipment maintenance. Several factors go into this calculation, such as hours of runtime, application,...

In this episode, construction guru Brad Humphrey talks with Jason Hurdis, construction materials, quarry and aggregates specialist and Lonnie Fritz, heavy construction and road building specialist for Caterpillar. They talk about the size of equipment, features and technology contractors should consider before buying or renting a machine. Application and future uses are two important components of...

In this episode, construction guru Brad Humphrey talks with Jason Hurdis, construction materials, quarry and aggregates specialist and Alan Pumklin, specialist with Command Remote Console and Station for Caterpillar. They discuss the time and investment required to add Cat Command technology to a construction fleet, including the change management needed within a team. They outline specifics of ho...

In this episode, construction guru Brad Humphrey talks with Jason Hurdis, construction materials, quarry and aggregates specialist and Alan Pumklin, specialist with Command Remote Console and Station for Caterpillar. Cat Command is a group of technologies including remote control, semiautonomous and autonomous machines, which are used in a variety of construction settings today, including mining a...

In this episode, construction guru Brad Humphrey talks with Jason Hurdis, construction materials, quarry and aggregates specialist; Lonnie Fritz, heavy construction and road building specialist and Scott Hagemann, grade technology and fleet compatibility specialist for Caterpillar. They discuss how a second set of eyes can help construction jobsites be more productive and cost efficient. Every job...

In this episode, construction guru Brad Humphrey talks with Jason Hurdis, construction materials, quarry and aggregates specialist and Lonnie Fritz, heavy construction and road building specialist for Caterpillar. They discuss the best ways to select equipment for a job, based on application, or use. Selecting the right equipment for the application can help reduce costs, improve productivity and...

In this episode, construction guru Brad Humphrey talks with Lonnie Fritz, heavy construction and road building specialist and Sam Meeker, dozer and track loader specialist for Caterpillar. The three discuss the factors that go into buying a new dozer, including machine use, such as finish grading work. The three discuss productivity estimates and other information that is available to help contrac...

In this episode, construction guru Brad Humphrey talks with Jason Hurdis, construction materials, quarry and aggregates specialist; Lonnie Fritz, heavy construction and road building specialist and Sam Meeker, dozer and track loader specialist for Caterpillar about managing equipment efficiency. As construction contractors take on more work than they’ve ever had, it’s important to use technology t...

In this episode, construction guru Brad Humphrey talks with Jason Hurdis, construction materials, quarry and aggregates specialist; Lonnie Fritz, heavy construction and road building specialist and Sam Meeker, dozer and track loader specialist for Caterpillar. The four discuss total cost of ownership from a strategic perspective, including fixed and variable costs such as operating, fuel, attachme...

In this episode, construction guru Brad Humphrey talks with Lonnie Fritz, heavy construction and road building specialist and Scott Hagemann, grade technology and fleet compatibility specialist for Caterpillar. The three discuss ways grade technology can save construction contractors money, through fuel savings, machine utilization, scalability, productivity and other means.

In this episode of The Contractor's Best Friend, the Caterpillar experts talk about the habits of successful contractors, such as keeping workers’ training up to date and staying current with the latest construction technologies.

Brad Humphrey and the Caterpillar experts are back, talking again to Chris Seger, fleet manager for Pavecon, a paving and maintenance company in Texas, this time about what technological upgrades to look for in motor graders, such as intelligent compaction.

Brad Humphrey and the Caterpillar experts talk to Chris Seger, fleet manager for a couple hundred vehicles for Pavecon, a paving and maintenance company with several locations in Texas, about how the latest technology in excavators, dozers and wheel loaders can help his bottom line.

When deciding whether to purchase or lease construction equipment, these are many equipment features to consider. Brad Humphrey and the Caterpillar experts review technology features on excavators, dozers, wheel loaders and motor graders, including grade control, payload, safety features and voice commands. They discuss the newest technological details of those features and how they can improve co...

Although it may seem complicated at first, employee development can be a valuable tool to add to any construction company. Brad Humphrey and the Caterpillar experts share how putting together professional development plans for contractors and other employees can boost productivity, improve skills training and bring new ideas and methods to a construction company.

Brad Humphrey and the Caterpillar experts review the importance of participation and engagement with workers as a method of employee retention. Try to get everyone off the bench and into the game, the experts say. Additionally, many times, employees are doing their jobs the way they always have, when there are better methods available. Coaching and mentoring can increase performance and productivi...

Brad Humphrey and three construction equipment experts at Caterpillar discuss the employee retention trends they’re seeing in the industry. While it seems like many contractors are leaving jobs for a dollar or two more an hour elsewhere, Humphrey and the experts talk about the real reasons behind the departures, and what can be done to help keep employees on the job, including proper onboarding an...

Brad Humphrey and the Caterpillar experts tackle attachments on construction equipment, talking about how attachments can help jobs go faster. Caterpillar is constantly working to improve attachments, improving the time it takes to attach and detach them. The group also discusses how to choose the right attachment for the job. 

Brad Humphrey and the Caterpillar experts talk about where construction contractors are going to find workers. Contractors have been forced to get creative in their hunt for new employees, using social media, talking to high schools and other means. Trade shows, industry organizations and events are also becoming more popular.