Concrete Love
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by Concrete Ontario as part of their initiative to highlight and support women in trucking. It has been edited for length and republished here with permission. Concrete Ontario is an association that represents approximately 96% of all ready-mixed production and manufacturing in Ontario.
As we finish up our interview, I reach out to thank Steffany, and she shakes my hand, saying: “I love this industry, this company, the people I work with. I love my truck. And who doesn’t love making plus or minus six figures? I just wish more women knew this was an option for them.”
Meet Steffany Elford. 22-year driving career. Eight years as a concrete delivery professional. Proud holder of both an AZ and B license and an always clean CVOR. Let’s start back at the beginning of the interview and how Steffany found her rewarding concrete career.
Tell us about your journey to where you are today as a successful and respected concrete delivery professional.
Complete truth? Trucking isn’t where I started. I was in nursing. But my dad and uncle had a business that involved equipment and trucking services. While I was in nursing, I also got my licenses and starting doing little driving jobs here and there. Tractor trailer. Different agencies. Some cross border. It wasn’t too long that I figured out nursing wasn’t for me and truck driving became my main work. I was so excited. I got a job driving for one company exclusively. It was my first “away from home” job.
After a bit, I wanted to start a family. My son was on his way, and doing long hauls just wasn’t going to support me being a good mom. I needed something local, but no local company was hiring drivers with limited experience. Even Canada Cartage wanted 12 months experience. I applied there anyway. I got hired and then came that first day screening. The trainer actually said to me he wasn’t sure if I would make it. I mustered the courage to speak directly to the operations manager. I needed this job to make a solid living and be home with my son every day. Told him I absolutely can do this job and asked for a chance. And I got it.
Then the learning began. I had great trainers and support. And I pushed myself to try any different piece of equipment offered to me.
Reefers taught me about sensitive loads. B-train tankers taught me about weight. Driving downtown Toronto with a trailer taught me great spatial awareness. Being a float driver taught me how to manage various routes. Snow and tow-plow taught me even more patience and safety. And when Canada Cartage and AllMix (now Innocon) formed a relationship, I got exposed to my now favorite ride: my concrete mixer.
What were your first impressions? What did you enjoy about driving a concrete mixer?
Driving a ready-mixed truck in the city was like driving a sedan after taking 53-foot tractor trailers down there. I really enjoyed the size change.
I like some of the little things. You’re higher up in this truck. Feel very confident and empowered. You get to be your own boss in that cab. And I like some of the big things. Being someone who is creating change. That shocked look from guys on site when I first pull up, and then they’re smiling and giving me a thumbs up.
Pulling up beside school buses and little girls’ faces pressed against the glass waving at me when they realize that it is a woman driving this mixer truck. At first, I was used as a rental truck so I went into a lot of different plants, met a lot of different people, and saw a lot of cool operations and projects. The variety is so interesting. That’s the thing about ready-mix. There’s this nice balance of a bigger social aspect along with the lone wolf time behind the wheel.
How has your local team (other drivers, supervisors, plant colleagues, managers, etc) supported you as you’ve grown in the industry?
Innocon has been fantastic. Just so very supportive. They care. I really enjoy the group of guys I’m with at my home plant. I trust them. I can ask them for advice on anything and they won’t judge me. I’ve also been really lucky to have some great mentors:
My first manager when I went into Ready-mix, Mike Capizzo. I happened to be standing near him when we were doing the Allmix / Canada Cartage orientation. I mentioned to him that I was a little nervous about all these new male managers. He didn’t miss a beat and said, “If you ever have a problem come see me.”
My trainer Dave Fox who gave me straight talk, no sugar coating, the real answer. Having that straight talk is super important for anyone to learn and especially for new women on the job.
Hasan Amla, who is my everyday go-to guy. His guidance has meant more to me than he knows. He's exceptionally knowledgeable, talks to me with kindness always and he genuinely cares about my well-being.
I hope other women know that men do want us to succeed in this industry. I’ve been lucky to have the support of these talented guys and the way they support me has kept me in ready-mixed concrete for sure.
What do you find most challenging day to day?
During the peak of the season, a lot of our weeks are 70 hours back to back – Monday to Saturday. Some companies have some mandatory Saturdays during the year, others don’t. There’s a pretty incredible upside to this though. That much overtime and not spending money?
I can’t tell you how very lucrative that is. With the recent rate increases, I would have cracked $100k this year. When I was doing long haul and other types of trucking, I made maybe 60% of that with a lot less home time.
The other thing would be that I have had some challenges with certain guys on site. One foreman was not respecting my personal space. I couldn’t tell if he was doing that to test me. Or if he was trying to flirt with me. Or if it was dangerous. What I did know is I didn’t like it. I asked him calmly and firmly to step back and there wasn’t any movement away on his part.
The other time was when a pump operator gave me a really hard time. Long story short – I backed up to a pump and started unloading. The pump operator said my concrete clogged his pump. The pump wasn’t making clogging noises and I know my load looked good to pump. Then a broker driver backed up beside me so the pump operator decided to unload him first. I asked the other driver to stay for 5 minutes while I unloaded a couple meters, sharing with him that the pump operator might be giving me a hard time as a woman driver. After getting a couple more meters off my truck under this cover without any clogging, the broker truck drove away. As soon as he pulled away, the pump mysteriously "clogged" again. I informed the pump operator that he’d already successfully pumped off 2m3 from my load with no issues and all of a sudden the rest of my load went nicely through the pump. He can't give me eye contact to this day!
What advice would you give to RMX companies trying to attract new women drivers and when they are onboarding / training a new woman driver?
To help with retention, identify those people who want to be that mentor and have those qualities of trust and confidentiality and who are genuine and approachable. Every new driver will have questions and want a “safe place” to ask those questions. If you supply that, those new drivers know that it’s a great place to work, learn, and grow. Also, keep investing in keeping team members safe.
We’ve learned at Lafarge and Innocon to always watch and ask. How safe is this yard at dawn and dusk? Could we add more safety lights? Should we invest in video surveillance? Should we have a text group where the last out of the yard texts, “I’m in my car and heading home”?
In terms of attracting women – We absolutely need to look for opportunities to show women / young girls that concrete careers are a great option; maybe through colleges or high schools. In the meantime, I’m doing my part. I talk about working in ready-mix all the time and how great a job it is. I have a good friend who is going to get her DZ. She came to check out a mixer with me a year ago and now she is going for it.
What’s been your favorite project that you’ve contributed to building?
I’ve delivered to the Toronto Zoo. I’ve delivered to Union Station. Being involved in 6000 m3 raft slabs – they are like a well-coordinated symphony of concrete trucks and pumps and it is a pretty cool thing to be involved with. And the opposite end of the scale – I amazed myself and a local crew with a 40-point turn into a back alley for a home landscaping / wheelbarrow job. Such a neat opportunity to practice skill and patience and customer service. But I absolutely do have a clear favorite project. The project where I met my boyfriend. He flipped my chute and started chatting with me about the project and about driving. Eventually we realized it was “concrete love.”
Concrete Love. For Steffany that’s not just about her boyfriend, but also about her love for her career.
Extras
Steffany’s fleet and delivery operations manager, Daniel Capizzo, shared these thoughts:
"There is a massive untapped potential for female drivers in the concrete trucking industry. We at Innocon pride ourselves on being an inclusive workplace environment, and we want to continue to support the efforts to get more women driving our trucks. Women only represent 3% of the driving workforce in Canada and as leaders, we have an opportunity to inform women about the fulfilling career that driving can provide. Engagement, encouragement and the success stories of women like Steffany being shared can only have a positive impact down the road."
About the Author: Andrea Boddy, owner and chief consultant for Andrea Boddy Consulting, offers marketing, strategy, business advising, sales, training, and coaching services to concrete construction and related industries. Once a fairly lone "shewolf" in the Ontario concrete industry in the early 2000s, Andrea is passionate about supporting women and others to discover and succeed in rewarding concrete careers. She is a past board member of ACI Ontario and Concrete Ontario, and has a Masters of Applied Science from University of Toronto and an Executive MBA from Queen’s University.