Mark ,your only crime is the fact you have so much compassion for what do (love) no worries.Blinded? well mabye not ,you were trying to find work for your employees,And I hope your employees understand how hard you work for THEM.Sometimes that compassion consumes us a little,we cannot help it.As Iam guilty of it myself.Take care hope all is well,and look forward to reading more posts from you.     trav

Travis,

You are totally correct I did not mean to take anything away from Precision ProCut and their job removing the stair case which was also impressive. I too would like to read more about a start up company doing their first wallsaw job or the first time they drill a large hole. I think I got blinded by the fact I looked at this project and priced it and got it wrong. I knew that it took courage to undertake this project as a cutting company.

I really respect your views and if i step out of bounds on comments like i did here just point it out to me

Mark

The magazine now has its own forums on www.concreteopenings.com and we need posts, so please keep the comments coming and use the boards on the new site too!

Thanks for your post Travis. You're right in saying the Next Gen group, and the association as a whole, are always working hard to ensure new members feel welcome and know who to approach for assistance.

In terms of the magazine, I want to clarify (to all) that we do not simply pick a cover based on how big or complex a job is, but by other criteria. Yes, we get some great shots of our more high-profile jobs, but as the June issue shows we consider all four stories we publish in each issue for the cover. If a small company does a job that is considered a little more low-key, we still want to cover it. All we need is a Job Story Form and some good photos.

However, no matter how great the photos are, we cannot use them as cover shots if a guy's hard hat is on backwards, no eye protection, no blade guard, etc. This has, and continues to be, the case. We do not want to get companies in trouble by providing evidence of them breaking safety regulations or generally performing unsafe working practices.

Similarly if a photo is too small, blurry, etc. we cannot use them as cover shots either, no matter how great the job. These are just a couple of things we want to tell people about at next year's workshop, and also dispell some other misconceptions about the magazine. I will be making my first convention appearance in 2011 (while we're relatively local), so I look forward to meeting you and everyone else! 

Knowing That someone at CSDA "judges" what story is unique enough to become a coverstory,then having people chime in and state how you guys got it wrong, is only going to futher discourage others from submitting stories.The little company just starting out( new members included) is not going to send in a story about a 3x7 door way, which is very special when you can afford your first wallsaw.I deleted my first comment on this subject,but feel that something should be said.Im not against tough or unique jobs,Its what my company thrives on.New members show up to conventions and feel awkward when nobody comes up and talks to them,Do you really think they are going to go home and rush to send in a story? there not going to get involved,(Mark this no offense to you ,but imagine how those who were on cover must have felt,after your comment.)and I dont blame them.Myself and Next Generation are making changes.Ty Conner will make you feel right at home ,so look forward to meeting him,you wont be able to miss him ,he will be at the door shaking your hand.PS ,other than Gala and Pres reception ,I will show up with blue jeans covered in slurry .

That's was a huge job Joseph, and although it wasn't cutting concrete it was definitely a good example of what a wire saw can do! In my defense, I wasn't even living in the country when the Tricolor went down in '02, let alone working for CSDA! : )

We're always on the lookout for stories, and if any cutting stories make the news then we're on the phone finding out who did them. The worrying thing is that many of our contractors do some great jobs but don't think they'll be any good for the magazine. THEY WILL, and we'd love to have them! One of the primary aims of Concrete Openings is to promote CSDA members and their methods. We want your stories! Go to www.concreteopenings.com and download a Job Story Form, then whenever an interesting job comes along you can begin filling it out.

Here's a wire saw job you missed!

http://jalopnik.com/5584840/how-to-salvage-a-sunken-car-freighter

Thanks for your comment Mark. We had certainly considered the Matcon job as a possible cover for the June issue of Concrete Openings, and we chose to have this job as our lead story because of the unique nature of the work. That said, we have to take into consideration many things when choosing a cover shot, and some of the images we had from the other job stories were more suitable.

We encourage our contractor members to take as many images as they can to a high resolution, and to ensure the content of the images are in line with the latest safety protocols. If we don't have the images we need for a cover, I often scour the internet and contact general contractors or customers to find some good shots of the job site/location. Sometimes I get lucky, like the March cover that the Dallas Cowboys were generous enough to release to me, but other times I don't. Had I not got these images, we may have had another job on the cover.

If there are any other contractors out there reading this, there will be a short workshop held at the CSDA 2011 Convention in Bonita Springs, Florida, next March to help concrete cutters get the most out of submitting a job story. The aim is to give myself and the rest of the Concrete Openings staff headaches when selecting jobs, cover shots, etc. by working with our members and explaining exactly what they can do to give them maximum exposure in the magazine. Afterall, it's got to be THE best form of free publicity out there! Contact the CSDA office on 727-577-5004 to speak to me and get more information.

Regards,

Russell.

 I don't know how the cover story is chosen but i think you guys got it wrong this time. The job Matcon Diamond did in Pittsburgh Pa. should have made the cover. The reason I say this is because I looked at the job. I was going to bid the job but walked away from it because I did not want to take the risk.If we as cutters cut something wrong it can be replaced it can be poured back and you move on.What Matcon removed could never be replaced. I had thoughts of operators dropping a tile after it was cut free and things like that. I never thought of approaching the job the way Matcon did either I looked at it as a wiresaw job.

  I really hope the guys at Matcon submit this job for a Diamond Award