SportsField Management, February 2018

time would be saved with the new equipment For example until 18 months ago he and his crew had only a greens topdresser for topdressing some 25 acres of irrigated fields So our turnaround time between coring or verticutting and getting that material picked up and then topdressing was about three days Perruzzi explains Now having a Toro MH 400 4 cubic yard topdresser has cut the topdressing time down from about four hours per field to about 45 minutes And it only requires one person So I try to break things down in terms of how many man hours can be saved to show how we can do more in a shorter amount of time than we currently are able to do Ryan Newman director of athletic grounds at the University of Colorado Boulder also emphasizes gains in efficiency when arguing in favor of a new piece of equipment Before a recent construction project his athletic grounds team was based adjacent to the facilities management grounds department This made it easy to borrow equipment such as forklifts and smaller walk behind turf maintenance machines says Newman Following construction though the grounds department was relocated to the other side of campus making it time consuming to pick up equipment when needed We started documenting the man hours we spent picking up using and returning their fork lift It was an easy sell to the administrators when we presented them with the cost associated to borrowing the fork lift he explains Shortly after he was able to purchase a forklift because it both increased efficiency and filled a need for his department Do your homework The strategy that I have found most successful is going in to the meeting with all of your ducks in a row so to speak says Chris Mason head groundskeeper in Pennsylvania with the Altoona Curve AA affiliates of 12 SportsField Management FEBRUARY 2018 When Tacoma Rainiers head groundskeeper Michael Huie talks about making new purchases he zeros in on the efficiency that a new piece of equipment can bring his crew the Pittsburgh Pirates Be prepared for any questions that may arise because they do Take the time to explain to all parties involved in the purchasing process the benefits of having newer equipment and also explain what your financial strategy is to help alleviate the cost Try to find ways to reallocate portions of your budget each season to go towards this investment Perruzzi seconds the notion that doing your research doing your homework is very important before going to your supervisor You want to come across as someone who has put a lot of thought into it Not just somebody who saw something at a trade show and thought wow that looks nice You want them to know that youve made a calculated assessment of what equipment you think is the best fit for the operation going forward Perruzzi advises In the bigger picture he says sports field managers need to establish themselves as credible and knowledgeable professionals whether thats through formal education becoming certified or seeking out other opportunities to learn Do this and administrators are more likely to listen to what you have to say Perruzzi points out That includes arguments in favor of adding a certain piece of equipment In short before selling administrators on a certain piece of equipment sell them on your own credentials experience and expertise he says Perruzzi also says that different size organizations will have varying layers of decision makers to communicate with before equipment can be purchased But regardless of that internal TACOMA RAINIERS Be prepared for any questions that may arise because they do Take the time to explain to all parties involved in the purchasing process the benefits of having newer equipment and also explain what your financial strategy is to help alleviate the cost