G-FORCE and BlueSky Create Single-Source Success
BY Valerie Echter
Pavement maintenance is an expensive (and often stressful) undertaking for any organization. From budgeting for capital expenditure improvements and careful analysis of pavement deformation, to clear and concise planning of striping and signage, there are numerous details and boxes to check before a pavement owner can put out a request for bids.
The challenges mount for national organizations that have multiple locations throughout a state, region or the country. Enormous amounts of time and effort are spent finding a contractor that maintains stringent quality control standards and has the bandwidth or geographical reach to complete all their pavement maintenance projects. Dividing up the work between multiple contactors becomes a cumbersome task to manage, which is why many national organizations are putting a renewed focus on single source options when it comes to pavement maintenance.
Creating a Single Source Partnership
In the spring of 2021, Lidl, an international retail chain, approached BlueSky Paving and requested their expertise in developing a single source program to re-stripe 42 of their parking lots throughout the East Coast. BlueSky Paving is no stranger to the organization, as Lidl is a client of their parent firm, Ferrandino and Son.
Lidl had worked with smaller local firms in the past but found those organizations did not have a consistent product and lacked quality control. BlueSky Paving, which specializes in national pavement solutions for multi-site facility partners, went to the drawing board and developed a thorough re-striping plan. Included in the plan was a detailed scope of work for all of Lidl’s lots regarding how they would manage the re-striping execution through strategic partnerships with select subcontractors.
Once BlueSky Paving received the official approval from Lidl to move forward with their pavement striping plan, Kevin Lenover, vice president of operations for BlueSky Paving, knew that sourcing striping contractors was the first step and that “Jack Child and the team at G-FORCE™ would be [his] first call.”
G-FORCE is both a team of industry veterans and military veterans. Each of their 30 locations is veteran-owned, making it unlike any other.
With multiple locations across the United States, G-FORCE was an easy choice to cover Lidl’s multi-state project. Having local G-FORCE locations complete the work would eliminate the nightmare of having to arrange call backs, which becomes problematic when working with traveling crews. The result, in those instances, is to bring in a third party to fix mistakes, which can be costly.
The potential of additional expenses and planning needed to work with traveling crews, combined with G-FORCE’s impeccable attention to product quality and operational consistency, further cemented the partnership for BlueSky Paving.
Project Scope
G-FORCE used their Baltimore, Washington D.C., Richmond and Charleston locations to complete the work, with Rich Schafer, owner of the Charleston franchise, taking the lead and completing 25 of the 42 projects. Schafer is a 25-year Air Force and Navy veteran who served in Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan.
G-FORCE has the ability to install signage and parking stops, as well as perform crack sealing, sealcoating and numerous other services; however, the Lidl project scope consisted of re-striping work only.
Work completed by the Charleston-based G- FORCE crew included striping of:
- Over 250 arrows
- Over 150 twelve-inch stop bars
- Over 150 STOP stencils
- Over 150 handicap stalls and aisles
- Over 20,000 linear feet of hatch marks
- 120 crosswalks
The average lot consisted of striping nearly 150 parking stalls, equating to an average of 80,000 lineal feet of striping at each location.
Communication Helps Navigate Unforeseen Issues
Like many organizations in retail, Lidl is a very particular client with high demands on schedule. Their project parameters required all striping work to be completed during off-hours, meaning G-FORCE had to coordinate with each store to ensure that busy product delivery nights were not impacted.
G-FORCE had requests as well, which were for Lidl to keep parking lot lights on and to turn off irrigation systems. Lenover explains how those requests turned out to be tougher to meet: “We had a few nights where the lights were not left on for the crews. We were able to adjust schedules and come back another night, or sometimes the guys would paint with headlights and moonlight, all while creating an awesome end product.”
Weather also led to project delays for the G- FORCE and BlueSky duo; however, the teams communicated shifts in project planning day by day and experienced minimal interruptions thereafter. Lenover attributes much of the project’s success to communication: “The fact that we had a great partner like G-FORCE and daily detailed communication with them made the project flow well.” He continued, “The G- FORCE team is super easy to communicate with. They were professional and organized from the day we started to discuss price and scope, to the closing documentation.”
Applying a Military Background to Business Practices
As a veteran-owned business, G-FORCE knows the importance of service. Crew members are dedicated to providing first-class customer service and long-lasting results. By using premium traffic paints and state-of-the-art striping and paint spraying equipment, G-FORCE’s work is designed to withstand the test of time.
G-FORCE has the experience, training, equipment and materials needed to finesse any project. When BlueSky enlisted the help of veteran owners for parking lot projects, they received first class, military-style, precision service and responsive communications.
For more information, contact (800) GO-G-FORCE or visit www.gogforce.com to find a location near you.
Valerie Echter has appeared in the pages of AsphaltPro as a Woman of Asphalt.