Masonry Magazine August 1975 Page. 30
Advertisers Index...
LET THEM KNOW YOU SAW IT IN MASONRY
AA Wire Products Company 12
Anchor Manufacturing Company 24, 27
Brick Institute of America 13-20
CNA/insurance 28
Essick Manufacturing Company 10
Robert G. Evans Company (Target) 4
Goldblatt Tool Company 25
Grefco, Inc./Building Products Div. 21
International Masonry Institute 9
Mayco Pump Corp. 24
Morgen Manufacturing Company 4th Cover
National Concrete Masonry Association 3rd Cover
Stone Construction Equipment, Inc. 2nd Cover
This index is published as a convenience to the reader. Every care is taken to make it accurate but masonry assumes no responsibilities for errors or omissions.
Have Wheels/Will Travel
How do you market a system so unique and innovative that it is almost impossible to describe and much too large to carry in a briefcase? F. W. Dodge Division of McGraw-Hill Information Systems Co. of New York City had this problem with its Dodge/SCAN microfilm viewing system.
The Dodge/SCAN Microfilm Service reproduces architectural and engineering drawings and specifications on microfilm and mails them daily to subscribers, who project the drawings back to 100 per cent original size and accurate scale on a special patented viewing table. The viewing table, on loan as part of the service, is in the customer's office. Microfilms of all building projects valued at $50,000 or more in whatever geographical area he wishes are sent to him.
Most prospective customers are used to dealing with large unwieldy drawings which they have to chase down and/or look at in architects' and general contractors' offices. In order to bid on a project, a subcontractor or supplier might have to drive for some distance to see the plans and then wait in line once he gets there.
Some estimators, who might be users of the system, and their bosses, who would pay for it, could not visualize the efficiency of a method that not only would cost money but would take up space besides. The viewing tables are 57" high, 60" wide and 3114" deep, and weigh approximately 100 pounds. Showing prospects a brochure and a roll of microfilm didn't always do the job, and verbal descriptions were difficult.
A couple of Dodge salesmen in Los Angeles decided that a mountain-to-Mohammed approach was possibly in order. With the encouragement of their regional manager, they rented a van and installed a Dodge/SCAN viewing table in it. Then they called a couple of their most skeptical prospects and made arrangements to demonstrate the service. The results were so successful that Dodge has now incorporated "SCAN Vans" as an integral part of its sales program.
Inside the Dodge/SCAN Van there is room for the SCAN viewer and extra space for the salesmen and their prospective clients. Each van is individually decorated by the regional office it serves.
With the SCAN Vans the salesmen can drive to a prospective client's door at his convenience, and the estimators and take-off men can see the obvious advantages of having the projects of their choice reproduced accurately and available at all times.
The salesmen consider these vans a moving office, and demand for their use is high. The vans have generated roughly 15 per cent of all SCAN business in the past two years. F. W. Dodge feels that if the current success continues, it will certainly expand the fleet so each office will eventually have its own SCAN Van.
Cement Industry Reports Gains In
Coal Conversion, Energy Efficiency
The U.S. cement industry is making "excellent progress" in converting from petroleum and natural gas to coal, according to R. D. MacLean, president of the Portland Cement Association.
MacLean said results of a new industrywide survey by the Association show that U.S. cement producers in 1974 used 11% less petroleum and petroleum products-equivalent to a million barrels of oil and 7% less natural gas, which conserved 16 billion cubic feet, compared with 1972 usage of those fuels. These reductions were possible because 1974 coal and coke consumption increased 14% above 1972 levels, he said,
In terms of energy use per ton of cement produced, the industry achieved a 1.6% gain in efficiency from the 1972 base year, MacLean reported. He said the higher efficiency was possible despite a 2.6% increase in electric power consumption made necessary for companies to comply with stringent air pollution standards.
What are the benchmarks of true delegation? Here are four suggested by psychologist Donald A. Lair:
* Responsibility is shared with the subordinate.
* Authority is passed along to him to help get it done.
* Decision making is shared with him, or left largely to him.
* He is given freedom for actions he thinks are needed to reach the objective.
masonry August, 1975