Football players find themselves in the center of the controversy over concussions and the long-term effects of head injuries.

While there is great debate among the fans, doctors, teams, and players as to what role repeated impacts and concussions have on future brain function and mental health, there is no question that professional football players wear out quickly.

The tools on this list are not “standard” for the stone industry, but they are standard on a top-notch install rig. Many of these tools will pay for themselves the first time they’re used, and from then on they’re making us money!

For many stone shops, the pickup is the universal means of transport. From hauling the boss to an appointment, hauling slabs to the shop, and hauling finished counters to the job site, it can do it all.

Have you seen NASA’s Suspended Equipment Technology (SET) and how they’re using it to load 1,000-pound space components into the payload bays on their next-generation rockets?

Prior to the development of this advanced technology, if you can believe it, NASA technicians had to muscle these awkward systems into place under the wing and then lift them from ground level up into the open loading bays.

Installer injuries have become too commonplace in the stone industry. And with installer injuries come workers comp claims.

When an installer suffers an injury, there’s more at stake than his job. His family and his livelihood become vulnerable. And his career as an installer may come to an end. While it may not happen immediately, an injury, no matter how small, can impact an installer for years.

Frequently we are asked why the No Lift Install Cart

has a max capacity of 600 pounds.

Considering the trend towards full slab islands, it’s a fair question and we will answer here.

I’m assuming you will agree with this, of all the jobs in the stone business (besides ownership) installing has got to be the toughest.

They’re stuck on site till the job is complete, they have to solve a myriad of unforeseen problems with the customer looking over their shoulder, and often they finish work that was missed by measure-up or the shop!

To help you help your shop help your installers, here’s a short article:

Install turnover is a hidden expense often tolerated by fab shop owners. It’s “hidden” because the true cost in terms of dollars and disruption to the overall business performance is not fully understood.

How can you improve your installs? Do you want to make them faster, better, easier — all of the above?

In our latest video from our Installs Made Faster & Better series, we share with you three key principles on how to get countertops ready for install before your crew shows up to load them and head to the job site.

If you’ve seen the light, and understand why an enclosed trailer is the best install option available, the next step in your install evolution is understanding how to best to set it up.

While simply transferring the A-frame out of your pickup bed and into the trailer would be a definite improvement, consider these five key factors that enable your installers to achieve optimal install performance.

In your stone business, the glues, razor blades, and acetone run out.

Transmissions, diamond blades, and CNC spindles wear out.

The consumables are simply replaced. The equipment, if maintained properly can sometimes be repaired. If not, it must be replaced too, usually at great expense.

In the stone business, the shop guys seem to have all the toys and all the advantages.

Even the most simple shop set up will have a forklift, slab clamp, and boom, not to mention lots of extra room, including bathrooms and break rooms.