Concrete: A better living. A better life.
Concrete: A better living. A better life.
This article was provided by Concrete Ontario, the association voice of ready-mixed concrete producers in Ontario. For more information, go to https://www.rmcao.org/careers or follow #ConcreteCareers on Facebook @ConcreteCareers or Instagram @Concrete_Careers.
Here I was, a single mom like many of us are, working as a waitress.
End of a very long workday with little to show for it.
Cleaning up the bar with another colleague and it just slipped out:
“I need to find a better job.
I need to make a better living for my kids.
I need to make a better living for me.
Maybe I need to be a truck driver.”
My colleague actually laughed and responded there was no way I could get my trucking license.
And that was it.
What that colleague didn’t realize was that I come from a big family of strong, determined women.
When we’re challenged, we step up and prove people wrong.
So when I was told I couldn’t get my AZDZ license, that’s just what I went out and did.
Meet that determined woman: Melissa De Carvalho. AZDZ achieved.
Mom of two wonderful girls: 12 and 14.
Experienced driver now of over 12 years, with the last eight spent in Ready-Mix: her happy-delivery-professional home.
So where did you drive before finding a happy work home in ready-mixed concrete?
I’ve had prior experience in delivering with both flatbed and roll-off bin. They were with smaller companies with fewer trucks and unreliable hours and the industries felt a bit unpredictable safety-wise.
I am thankful for the experiences though. One of the family-owned companies had been passed on to the daughter to run. I had a couple bad first weeks as a driver and almost packed it in. She sat me down and said she wasn’t letting me go. She recognized they hadn’t given me very good training when they put me behind the wheel so she connected me with a more experienced driver and I quickly learned proper techniques.
Those early experiences in roll-off and flatbed also really helped me appreciate the ready-mixed concrete industry. There are great safety rules in concrete with the JobSafe program. When you identify that something isn’t safe or the proposed route doesn’t meet the JobSafe safety requirements, no one tells you to just try it or no one pushes you to go in. My company and this industry really support driver safety. The JobSafe policies have completely changed the landscape. The concrete industry is super safe.
Why Concrete Delivery over other types of Delivery Professional roles out there? What made you stay here after not finding a fit in a few other driving roles?
The amazing thing about being a Concrete Delivery Professional is that it’s not just a driver job, its an operator’s job. Yes you get to drive this pretty cool truck. And you get to make sure the concrete’s good – it’s “live” concrete. That’s what makes concrete so neat. You’re part of a team bringing this important product to where it is needed to build pretty great stuff.
There’s some pretty amazing simple pleasures in this career. It feels pretty great to experience the start to finish process of the project and being part of something. Learning about what builds the city up around you. Every project is different so you never get bored and you’re usually not going to the same job every time.
The other thing I like is the balance of what we do in a day. It is so bad for our bodies to be in the same position sitting for 8 to 10 hours. We get a good healthy balance going from the plant, to the road, to the site, and what we do outside of our truck in those spots. We get time behind the wheel operating our truck and we also get to embrace the movement we get in our day. It’s great.
All these things, along with my great team work environment and the pay & benefits, have contributed to me staying in Concrete after switching out of a few other driver roles, and leaving waitressing behind in the rear-view mirror.
Speaking of that, how do you feel about the pay & benefits and work-life balance in this career?
The pay & benefits are just really great. There’s no way else to say that. Some people don’t take the time to understand what all the elements of a benefits package add up to. The one with this job with medical, dental, pension and all the other pieces along with our work rate … it’s a great living.
In terms of work-life balance, I work 6 days a week – up to my 14 hours when I can. I choose that. When I’m offered a Saturday, I always take it.
That’s me. I like to work hard and it’s easy cause I love my work.
It means that summers are quite busy for me which comes with really great money. And then in the winter, things are really balanced and I get amazing balanced time with the family.
I’m also a team player so I want to help my plant team and Dufferin when they’re short and need another driver.
The good news is that works both ways.
When something happens, Dufferin has always been very flexible and accommodating when it comes to unexpected mom stuff.
I always give professional notice for important things – daughter’s graduation or a medical appointment, etc.
Being a single mom, it makes all the difference knowing that my employer understands that things happen. If there’s an emergency and I have to be there for one of my kids, they support me to do so.
It works both ways – I respect them and step up for them, and they respect me and step up for me.
What do you enjoy most about your career as a CDP?
In this role – I’m just more engaged. Never bored. Always a new job. It’s interesting. You’re always learning and the stuff we get to see and be involved in delivering to construction sites is pretty fascinating.
And let’s not forget the bragging rights. I loved it when my girls were little. There were an awful lot of pointing moments: “Mommy brought that concrete” with my little kids cheering me on and saying things like “it looks so pretty”.
Even moments when I’m on my own, I love the feeling where you’ll start off delivering concrete to a building and you’ll see the foundations and structure – and you’ll go back and see the whole building built reaching for the sky and know you were a part of that landmark.
You mentioned safety earlier. Do you feel safe driving your truck, at your plant, on job sites day-to-day? If not, in what ways?
I feel very safe driving my truck.
I’m very confident in my driving skills. I also love that I get to help training new drivers now as well.
I drive the way I train ~ be constantly aware of your surroundings. Always be paying attention.
I also really believe in the “Look 3 times” rule and really knowing how to use our mirrors.
We have great training in the ready-mix industry to develop these skills and drivers who are committed to learning to drive their trucks safely have every opportunity to do so. It’s great.
The JobSafe policies set rules around what a ready-mixed driver can be asked to do with the truck on job sites. I never feel like I’m pressured to do something unsafe on site with my truck. That was a big positive change for me when I starting driving in ready-mx.
If I had one wish, it would be that the MTO and “civilian” driving schools would put more truck awareness in their learn-to-drive for the public programs and also in the exams to get your driver’s license.
Simple things like: Don’t tailgate. Don’t expect a truck to take off like a rocket on a green light. Right Turn and Blind Spot Awareness.
I’m so glad to hear the industry has invested in great videos, posters, and other tools to help the public, children, cyclists to get more Right-Turn and Blind-Spot-Aware. It is such simple stuff and just makes everyone that much safer.
You mentioned you’re a trainer. What advice would you give to RMX companies when they are onboarding / training a new woman driver?
I was a bit unusual – I was hired in November. In this industry more new drivers are hired in February and March.
Because of the November start, I was kept in training longer than normal. We had our formal training program, but then this informal training too. All my team member drivers at my plant volunteered to take me on a training ride along. It was amazing because I got to see different tips and tweaks in how different people did things. I learned so much and then I was able to develop the skills that made sense for me.
I’d give RMX companies the advice to try and mimic this in training – do the formal training and if you can – make sure all new drivers, not just women, have a chance to get out with a few other drivers as part of training. Great learning for safety, truck operation, even learning how different drivers handle themselves with customers. Great team-building too.
Part of my job now involves training new drivers. Now I tell my trainees – follow company best practices, learn from everyone, and within that, find what works best for you.
I’ve had the pleasure of training a couple of women drivers as well, and my 3 top simple tips for them and for all new drivers actually:
- Even though the chutes are light, be kind to your body and practice proper lifting like we should with everything. Keep chutes close for proper distribution of weight.
- Always be smart and aware about your surroundings – behind the wheel, at plant, onsite.
- For customer service: A smile and a positive attitude goes a long way – sets the right tone as you arrive on site and then you really get to enjoy working with your clients to build great things.
Every career has its ups and downs. What do you find the most challenging, day-to-day?
Washrooms. 100% Washrooms.
I know you didn’t expect that – but it’s something we have to talk about and the whole construction industry needs to think through.
At my home plant, there is a woman’s washroom that women plant team members use and that is great. And I’m hearing more concrete plants are addressing this. It’s key. If you want women drivers/batchers/dispatchers to feel welcome at your plant, there’s no way around this.
On sites, there is still an issue. So sites are getting way better. There are always a women-dedicated porta-potty. It is always locked. You can understand why. The issue is what it takes to get the door unlocked to use. It’s just awkward. Have to bother your client – and then they have to radio someone – and get the supervisor there with the key. It turns out to be a huge big thing. It ends up being easier to use a Wendy’s or Tim Hortons and you just have to find ones where you can park your truck.
I’m not sure what the construction site solution is but I hope everyone is thinking about this. Maybe they need to go with a key code for the lock on the women’s washrooms on site that changes every day so the key code can just be shared over the radios rather than someone physically having to deliver a key . It’s so great seeing more women on site. Just need to get some heads together to find a better way to advance on this item to better support them.
What I think is the most misperceived challenge about this job? I’m here to tell you ladies, there is nothing you can’t handle physically about this job.
The Chutes? They are light. They are aluminum. You get taught simple techniques so they are easy to manage. If your truck is operating properly, and good concrete companies do proper maintenance, there’s nothing you can’t do.
Yes you can have long summer shifts. Those can get physically-tiring as any long day in any career can be. The difference for me with this is you take home great pay with that. We’ve all worked other jobs with long hours and then got home and asked ourselves “for what?”.
We can do it – even the tiniest of ladies can do this. There truly is nothing stopping a woman from doing this job, enjoying this career, and making a great living in concrete.
So did anything almost stop you from becoming a Concrete Delivery Professional?
Two things.
The hiring process was a bit long. It can be a bit of a deterrent. I get it and I like that the company has to do its due diligence. That keeps everyone safe and ensures your team is a great one. I like that. There’s just a balance in terms of doing that due diligence and how long that takes so you don’t lose great Delivery Professionals to other industries.
The other thing knowing that from a seniority perspective, I’d be at the bottom and might not get much winter work if it wasn’t a busy construction winter. I was lucky. I had some contacts already working in ready-mix. They told me how there were so many winter-only driving employers and how easy it is to get hours doing snow plowing. They convinced me it would be worth it. So that’s what I did my first couple years – a split between concrete in spring/summer/fall and then snow plowing the 407 in the winter. And it was great. And my contacts were right. It was super quick that I was then getting full year hours in concrete and it was absolutely worth it.
Along those same lines, have you had any moments where you wanted to leave this profession? Is there something the industry can/ should be doing to reduce the root causes of those moments for women?
I guess where I would start, is the support I get from my colleagues is pretty awesome. I would not want to leave my home plant for anything. I get along with everyone. Everyone is so helpful – lots of tips and advice. We treat each other with respect and that’s what you get back. It’s pretty great.
Have there been some moments where I’ve been treated improperly on site? Yes. 8 years ago it happened a lot. Today it happens rarely. I have to tell you the younger generation of crews of our clients are just amazing. They are so supportive. They are the ones changing things on site.
Those times now when I do come across someone that says something inappropriate or unprofessional to me on site, I just remind myself: “Remember why you’re here. Their issue. Not yours. You’re where you’re supposed to be. This is a great living and a great worklife”. I remain professional. I kill them with kindness and my skills. I ask them “How can we setup the truck for you today” and get on with delivering the top customer service I pride myself on and let them figure out on their own that women are here to stay in construction and there is no room for that kind of talk anymore.
The growth and support of Zero harassment policies are very important. Companies all through construction are doing so much more to make sure everyone is aware and everyone follow them. It lets all kinds of people know they belong. And lets people know they can professionally and respectfully tell people “it’s not ok for you to say that” and know that you will have support. It’s more and more rare that there are any kind of negative comments. There are so many more men supporting women than not. And then having the zero harassment policies in place are just that foundation of support that make all the difference.
So what kind of reaction did you get from family & friends when you first started working in the concrete industry?
My family is actually two generations of big families of women. I’m one of seven; six girls, one boy. My mom was one of eight; seven girls, one boy. We’ve got twi generations of strong women working in everything from banking, to politics, to construction, to health care. So there was no surprise in my family that I’d choose something at the time that was atypical for a women to make a great living and lead a great life for my girls.
Even on the street when people see me behind the wheel, I still get the jaw drop and thumbs up all day every day. It’s pretty great.
How could the industry reach more women interested in starting a new Concrete Delivery Professional career?
Things like this. Get the stories out so people in general know how much things have changed and are changing. Let them know the industry is truly welcoming. More supportive. And that they do belong here. That you can work in this industry and be skilled woman and still enjoy and balance your femininity no problem.
I have to tell you – in even the last month alone, the women I’ve seen on site. I’ve seen Pump operators; Women walking around with tool belts – carpenters, electricians, shotcrete operators, and more. At our own plants, we now have women in maintenance which is pretty cool to see.
One of our concrete flatwork clients, I’ve watched the daughter of the owner of that company go from being a labourer, to finishing the sidewalks, to last week I saw her now working as Foreperson leading the crew.
In our own company on the management side – we have more women supervisors and managers which let’s me and other women who want to drive here or work as batchers / dispatchers know that they are welcome here too.
The other thing I would do is try to find a way to get out to women events or community events where women can touch and feel a truck and realize they just aren’t scary. Advertise. Most women just don’t know that they’re welcome and what this career is all about. That and telling the stories of other women who are loving working their careers as Concrete Delivery Professionals out there so ladies realize its great and are not intimidated will make a difference if we keep at it.
Any last thoughts?
I hope more women understand that they can choose to get their AZDZ license, have their independence, make a great living for their family, and feel great at work every day as you get smarter, stronger, more successful working with your team as you learn, adapt, and grow.
I hope me sharing this helps more women know how great this is. And that they belong here.
I feel so lucky that someone challenged me and told me there was no way I’d get my license so that my “you can’t tell me what I can’t do” gene kicked in. That moment along with finding concrete changed my life.
