Concrete Pavement Progress www.acpa.org 14 I N F R A S T R U C T U R E I N V E S T M E N T A N D J O B S A C T seekers, and others how skilled trades careers are important and are a good choice for many people,” saidWeaver. “We are also dealing with some unknowns with materials,” saidWeaver. He described a situation for which his company needed 300 feet of pipe for a project but could only find 120 feet in his state. “As contractors begin jobs that require a significant supply of material, they may want to work with state or local agencies to build time into the schedule as well as space on the job site, to procure and store critical material before the job begins.” Equipment is also another area that contractors must plan ahead. “Equipment manufacturers are doing their best to compensate for shortages,” says Leonard. “Steel has not been a problem, so fabrication has continued, but other components that we rely on are not always available on a steady basis. GOMACO has never been a just-intime manufacturer which has helped us when lead times for components get extended beyond normal.” “You can expect to wait six or seven months for some new pieces of equipment,” saidWeaver. “The good news is that we know there will be more work over the next five years, which allows us to plan more, recruit employees who know they’ll be working steadily, and order equipment ahead of time.” Throughout 2022, bidding will be more important than ever, saidWeaver. “Contractors should not be overly optimistic about their ability to get people, equipment, and materials for a job, and they should plan for contingencies,” he said. “As an industry, we’re comfortable with the bidding process, but we also need to be realistic about challenges we face this year.” Innovative Program Tackles Industry Labor Woes Be Pro Be Proud is an initiative led by the Associated Industries of Arkansas to inform young people, school personnel, and job seekers about the opportunities and benefits of a career in the skilled trades. The initiative’s centerpiece is the Workforce Workshop, a mobile unit that provides hands-on experience with skilled professions while showing the jobs to a live audience. The workshop is a specially designed bus filled with interactive simulations that include a plumbing wall where the students connect pipes together to join four points, a commercial truck driving simulator, a welding simulator, a healthcare station where students can view 3D replicas of each system in the body, a hand-eye coordination game, a robot rover to maneuver around cones, and virtual reality goggles that replicates being in the back of a bucket lift restoring power to a community. The mobile unit visits schools, special events, job fairs, and other locations. Be Pro Be Proud initiatives are also found in other states, including Georgia and South Carolina. For more information, visit www.beprobeproud.org. » continued from page 13
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