The asphalt industry is just about as complex and diverse as the medical industry when it comes to specific roles, technology and equipment.
Even after engineers have designed the plans, and construction crews have laid the base layers, the ability to properly pave, assess, or repair an asphalt road requires a level of skill that few possess.
Participants, from flag persons to heavy equipment operators, need to attain qualifications for the specific field they are working in on a daily basis.
A lot of that skill-set is acquired over time as workers climb from entry level positions to those they become capable of performing over a long period of time.
Unfortunately, it is abundantly clear that a large percentage of the industry starts out with several misconceptions that are never corrected.
First, is that all asphalt is the same. "It's what I bring home on my boots."
Second, is the believe that the old way is the best way. "My grandfather paved the first road in our town and it's still under there somewhere."
We hope to enhance everyone's historical skill-sets while removing any potentially ineffective beliefs based on conditions that no longer apply, and allow industry members to not only learn new skills but prove to their employers that they can take on new roles of responsibility without risking the safety of workers or the reputation of their company.
Student Expectations
You don't become an expert on any topic overnight.
For all intents and purposes, an expert is someone with authoritative credentials, and acquired knowledge, who presents their own "newly-informed studies" to the world which are based, and supported by, the information acquired by those who have preceded them.
It is very much like a patent application where someone provides their own unique twist or incremental upgrade to all of the methods and processes that existed prior to their brainstorm.
Unless you've just arrived from another planet, you can't be considered an expert unless you attribute some of your insight to the great minds who came before you.
Brainstorms simply do not exist without the random connection of acquired knowledge.
What we want to do is to provide you with the connective knowledge which will not only allow you to learn from the past, but inspire you to profit from it.
Your Knowledge Has Value
Commercial successes occur when people monetize the connections that others either fail to see, or fail to act upon.
Expertise in any field is the ability to incrementally obtain comprehension of previously recorded data from others, (which might seem at first to be incomprehensible), as well as the ability to trust the value of your own personal experiences (regardless of conflicting data).
You need to take what you know already, on any given day, and attempt to advance your knowledge just one step further.
That one step, through a platform such as this, allows you to interact with those on the same, or higher levels of material fact or experiential knowledge.
Eventually, you will have the confidence to speak out about your area of daily activities such that you have an opinion about what is the best solution to the current problem based on a distillation and evaluation of what purported experts have had to say on the matter in the past.
You may even have a commercially successful brainstorm that will enrich you and those who support your goal to achieve more each day.
Build your own brand
Never underestimate the value of what you see or comprehend as a front line worker, especially if it conflicts with what you are told is the recommended method.
But, be warned. As soon as you know more than the person above you, you can expect to either be promoted or fired.
Therefore it is best to avoid conflict while proving your worth.
Work towards obtaining certifications and advanced knowledge such that you have valuable job skills which are recognised as transferable, even if your employer won't pay for these courses.
