Landscape Architect Articles

LCDBM commentary April 2010: New Tools of the Trade04-05-10 | 11

New Tools of the Trade

By George Schmok

As we at LC/dbm gear up for next month's Annual Buyer's Guide, get ready to launch a new look for LandscapeOnline, finalize the program and marketing campaign for the 2010 Landscape Expo, and put the finishing touches on a new, comprehensive circulation/demographic capture system, I've been reflecting (like with all that, I got spare time ?!?) on how the tools of the trade have changed over the past 25 years . . .

Back in 1985, I first started LC's sister publication Landscape Architect and Specifier News, with a the brand new Macintosh with a 400 'K' disc drive, 156 'K' of internal memory and a nine inch screen. Now my desk computer has a 22'' screen and some 200 ''Gigs'' of memory. Any day now I'll be receiving my pre-ordered I-Pad with touch screen programming and who knows how much capacity. (Ironically it has about the same size screen as that first Mac Classic . . .)

When we first launched LandscapeOnline around 1992, LOL meant LandscapeOnline . . . To access LOL you needed a phone (land) line and a modem so you could connect to one of six modem ports on our new ''top-of-the-line'' Mac, which was about the size of your printer topped with a 12'' screen. All the conversations were in a green screen format. Some one would write in and ask if we had an article on Irrigation and we would type back, ''Yes, give us your fax number and we'll send it over . . .''

Now, about 3,000 professionals visit LandscapeOnline every day and have access to about 20,000 articles, 10,000 vendors and 180,000 personal accounts through their cellular PDA's.

Back in '85, we had to paste up the magazine with wax, a razor blade and a ruler. To change a single word of type, we had to go to the typesetter, order the word, get it back, wax it up, cut out the old word and try to place the new word evenly in the allotted space . . . Heaven forbid that the word didn't fit!!!

Then we would send out for picture scans and send a twenty pound package to the printer by Federal Express. Today, we take a picture on our phone (my first car phone cost $3,500), copy it to ''InDesign'', flow the text and send it to the printer digitally . . .

Yep, things have changed in publishing . . . And the same is true for the landscape industry . . .

Just the other day, I was looking at a new computer program for Landscape Contractors that allows you to access a property by GPS satellite and measure the area, eliminating the structures, with incredible accuracy, in about 15 minutes. You can count the trees, measure the turf and put together your bid or maintenance plan in just a few extra minutes . . .

On page 14, we report on another computer program that assists you in setting up a work schedule for all of your crews, assists in billing, and tracks each project's profitability and employee expenditures.

There are several programs available that allow you to take a picture of a property, design a landscape, show its 5, 10, or 20-year growth, in day and/or night, interchange plant materials (or any other element) all while the property owner is looking over your shoulder and getting their hands into the project as well . . .

Yep . . . Being a Landscape Contractor used to mean getting your hands dirty, driving a truck, moving earth and keeping things green on site. Now you can do almost all of that from the comfort of your office . . . (I'm not sure if that's necessarily a good thing since most of you enjoy being outdoors and seeing things happen in the field.)

But . . . speaking of the field, there are a ton of new machines out there like paver-layers, curbing machines, mini-loaders and about a 1,000 loader attachments that make so many jobs so much easier.

Now, as we move into the busy season, and as if you don't already have too much to do (hopefully!), success as a Landscape Contractor in today's market means you must explore these new tools, whether they be indoors or in the field, and look beyond the pick-up truck and a business card to help your business grow . . .

So get out there, keep your eyes on the future, explore the new and have a great Spring . . .

?EUR??,,?(R)God Bless

George Schmok, Publisher