Time and again our companion publications, Stormwater and Erosion Control present horror stories of installations gone wrong—horribly awry—and would you care to know who gets to eat the cost of replacing these failures? The general contractor?…Rarely. The developer?…Sometimes. But only when nature has outdone herself and loosed biblical torrents of rain. No, folks, more often than not it’s the installer who takes the hit, and you know who that is.
We hear a lot about the fines various agencies dole out, and, yes, they can be company-busting, but generally they’re reserved for genuine bad actors who choose to flaunt regulations without making any real effort to comply. A more likely situation involves the failure of an installation where you have to stop what you’re doing—maybe even break camp on a completely different job—to go back and clean, replace, or perhaps create from scratch a system or practice you thought was out of your life for good.
It needn’t be anything monumental like the slump of a hillside or undermining of a roadway to suck the profit out of what should have been a good project. Even something as simple as having to go back and flush out a storm drain that has become clogged with construction debris after you’ve moved your crew offsite can cause damage not only to your bank account, but to your reputation as well.
Contractors who have availed themselves of regulatory compliance training programs and achieved recognized certifications have an advantage over those who haven’t, regardless of whose project they’re bidding on [put yourself in the shoes of any developer and see who you would choose to work on your project].
I’d like to think that if you (or people working for you) don’t already hold stormwater or erosion control certifications, you’re wondering, “How do I go about getting certified?”
I would like to suggest that you stop right now and arrange for your free subscriptions to Stormwater and Erosion Control magazines, both of which can be accomplished through our Internet portal at www.forester.net. Simply click on Subscribe in the upper left corner and then follow the instructions. Both magazines are filled cover-to-cover with valuable information on their respective subject areas, educational and certification opportunities, and their websites—accessible via the same portal—maintain libraries of prior issues.
Oh, yes. If you are not currently a Grading & Excavation Contractor subscriber or if there’s someone else you’d like to see getting the magazine, by all means take care of that while you’re there was well.