#244 Refocusing

I'm sitting at a table in the socializing area of the Riverside Hotel at the 2014 Great Basin Anthropological Conference in Boise, ID. I've only heard about five papers but I've come to a realization that I think I came to subconsciously months ago. DIGTECH, as a CRM firm, is done. Sort of.

I've got some contracts that I'll still be working on when they come around in the next couple months, but, I'm not going to be actively looking for other work. There are several reasons for that, some of them personal, and some professional.

The Other Half of CRM is Communication

Just seeing a few papers at this conference has made me realize that DIGTECH simply can't do the type of work we need to do to put out quality, scientific, papers like the ones I've seen and the countless others that are at this conference. Sure, I can rock some fieldwork, record sites with the latest technology faster and more efficiently than anyone, and I can do it all at what should be a more affordable price. If I'm not able to put the time into the analysis and technical side of these presentations, though, then what's the point? 

It's not that I don't know how to do this stuff, or can learn, anyway. I just don't have the time and resources to do it. If I could just find some people willing to build this with me that aren't looking for an immediate return and that can see the positive influence we'll have on the future. There are a few people I know that would probably come along with me, but, they're risk-averse for one reason or another and would rather just stay in the safe place they're in right now.

Anyway, I don't want to do this right now if I can't properly communicate the results. Maybe CRM should stand for "Communicating Resource Management".

Find Out What You're Good At, and Crush It!

What I feel I'm good at is developing new ways to make our science more efficient. I'm good at explaining things. I'm good with technology and understanding what new tech works and what doesn't. Why not focus on that and bring it all together? It's what I enjoy and it's what I love to talk about.

For the next few sections I'll discuss the future of my three other companies.

Field Tech Designs, LLC

This company was started with a co-Founder, Theron Isensee. He operates Dreamers, Inc. which is the parent company of many of his other ventures. Theron is the financial reason for the existence of FTD. He also had, and has, the same vision I do for the future of archaeological field recording. 

Here's where we're going in the next three to five years, in order:

• Complete development on Field Notes, a digital recording app for iOS and Android
  • Nov/Dec 2014
• Expand Field Notes to the rest of the states west of the Rockies
  • Dec/2015
• Include shovel testing and other generic forms for the east coast
  • June 2015
• Add mapping capability to Field Notes (sub-meter integration and sketch and feature mapping)
  • April 2016
• Add in-app reference material to Field Notes
  • Dec 2016
• Expand Field Notes to every state and territory
  • Dec 2017
• Expand Field Notes to other environmental fields (biology, geology, wet lands, etc.)
  • Dec 2018
• Take over the world!
  • Jan 2019

Those aren't deadlines. They're guidelines. I don't rigidly hold to timelines if I don't have to. With the way tech evolves and changes, you have to be willing to throw it all in the trash and start over.

Archaeology Podcast Network

This is a project that I'm getting off the ground in the next month or so. It's based on the fact that I want to do about five or six more podcasts. Also, I want other shows to come into the network so the public and professionals can find all their archaeology podcast info in one spot.

The formation of the APN requires a partner and some quality programing. I've been talking to Tristan Boyle of the Anarchaeologist Podcast and he's just as fired up as I am to get this going. So, We're bringing his show and probably one other into one convenient location.

In addition to the CRM Archaeology podcast and the other two shows we're producing a few more. Here are the shows we're recording right now:

• ArchaeoTech
  • A podcast about technology and computing in Archaeology
• Excavating Sex
  • A show about sexual differences in the archaeological record
• Profiles in CRM
  • A segment I've had on the CRM Arch Podcast but want to spin off into a separate show.

So, that'll be six shows total. Not too bad. You'll be able to subscribe to each show individually or subscribe to a feed that has all the shows in one. And of course, it's all free.

A note about the "free" bit. It's time consuming to record and edit these shows. Also, it costs a bit of money for equipment, hosting fees, and bandwidth. So, we'll be including some sponsors in the shows and probably some ads. I'm going to do my best to find sponsors and ads that make sense for the show. You probably won't hear an ad for stamps.com if I can help it.

Heritage Conservation Incorporated

The name is still in flux, but, this is a website dedicated to quick, concise, training in all thinks CRM and heritage conservation. The idea is to create short modules and packages of short modules that people can take in advance of a project or a field season. If you're going to the Great Basin and have never worked there, or haven't in a while, take the modules on Great Basin cultural groups and point typologies. Need to know about Section 106 and any local regulations, take the short modules.

Tests will "certify" the test taker for about one year. That way, the info stays fresh and you get continuing education credit. Since it's only valid for a short period of time, the tests will be very affordable, about $5 per test. There will be discounts for packages, students, companies, and returning students. Took the Section 106 last year and want to take it again? Here's a discount.

Still working out the details, but, this is basically it.

So, I'm keeping busy, but, just not on what I thought I'd be working on. This post is now tl;dr, so, I'll kill it there.

If you're at the GBACs, stop me and say hi!

Thanks for reading and I'll see you in the field

#243 Great Basin Anthropological Conference

#GBAC2014

I'm headed to the Great Basin Anthropological Conference (GBAC2014) in a little while. Would have been nice to have someone ride up with me for the 8 hour drive to Boise, but, now I get to listen to podcasts the entire way.

The theme of this year's conference (they actually only happen every two years) is "Transitions" which seems appropriate. I've been in a "transitional" period for a couple years now. In fact, I was laid of from my last company about a month after the last GBAC.  

Transitions are good, though. They keep you sharp and keep you always on your toes. When I went out on my own two years ago I started out with just this blog and a crapy podcast. The podcast was basically me reading news items from the week and it was boring. 

Now, we're about to record episode 45 of the new format podcast, the CRM Archaeology Podcast, the blog is doing well, I'm setting up an Archaeology Podcast Network, I'm the co-founder in an app development company for field recording (Field Tech Designs) and, I'm developing a website for archaeological certification and training. Lots of irons in the fire, but, keeps me busy. 

I hope to get some more posts up here about the conference, but, I'll be focusing on interviews for the podcast. So, stay tuned and go check out the CRM Archaeology Podcast. 

#242 The Winning Bid

Click on the image to go to the source.

The title of this post is incredibly ironic. I don't really know what it takes to put in a winning bid on a large project. As of right now, I've worked on a number of smaller projects where it is likely that no one else was bidding. I was contacted directly by the client or the proponent. In the last 16 months, however, I've lost about 10 large proposals for projects on Bureau of Land Management Land (BLM) in Nevada. Let's examine the last two and try to figure out why.

First, a word about RFQs

The proposals I've written or have been a part of were Request for Quotes (RFQs) issued by the Nevada BLM. They are released under the Government Service Administration (GSA) program so you have to be a GSA contractor to bid on them. The requirements for getting on the GSA Schedule, as it's called, are very strict and expensive. Right now my company doesn't qualify on its own.

About a year ago I was contacted by a GIS firm that found me on LinkedIn. They were looking for a small-business archaeology firm in Nevada so they could bid on the projects here. The southern California firm and I began submitting proposals together right about the time the government decided to shut down. 

One of the big requirements of the BLM RFQs is Past Performance. They require references for past work of a "similar scope and type" as the one you're bidding on. Oh, and they like it to be "relevant" which means it happened in the past three years. They have a provision for new companies like mine where you can claim "Neutral Past Performance" but, I think that's most likely some sort of cruel joke.

Pine Nut - The WTF Award

On all of the proposals I've lost I was underbid. In fact, when you ask who they awarded the project to, pretty much all they say is who won and how much they bid. This last one though, the Pine Nut (don't bother with the name, it's a placeholder), was absolutely absurd. Lets go over the numbers.

The Numbers from the BLM

Here are the basics of the Scope of Work:

• 3,430 acres
• 13 discontiguous, irregularly-shaped, areas
• Rough terrain
• In an area with MASSIVE mining activity from the mid-1800s on
• In an area with a high amount of obsidian and obsidian-related prehistoric resources

DIGTECH's Numbers

Most of you probably know about the difference between an hourly rate and a billable rate. For those of you that don't, no worries. I didn't know what the difference was for the first few years I was in CRM. Your hourly rate is exactly that, the pay you get per hour. Of course, the state and the Feds take their cut, but, that's between you and them, not the company you work for. The billable rate, however, that's where it all happens.

The billable rate is the amount the company charges the client for each hour you work. As a field technician, you might get $15 per hour, but, your company is billing you to the client at $50 per hour. WTF? You might say. That extra $35 is what pays for your employment taxes, office space, trucks, Trimbles, unbillable office people (secretary, accountants, etc.), and myriad other overhead expenses. It's also where the profit comes from. 

I've heard that many firms use a "multiplier" to determine the hourly rate so everything is even across the board. For example, if you make $15 per hour, your billable, with a multiplier of say 2.5, would be $37.50. More likely, it's way higher than that. The billable rate is also likely based not on what you actually make, but, on the high end of the range for your position.

Here are DIGTECH's hour and billable rates:

• Field Technician
  • Hourly average: $20
  • Billable: $35
• Crew Chief
  • Hourly average: $23
  • Billable: $38
•  Project Manager
  • Hourly average: $26
  • Billable: $40
• Principal Investigator
  • Hourly average: $28
  • Billable: $45

Sites and Coverage

The two biggest factors in determining what you'll bid for a project, aside from billable rates, relate to how fast you can get the project completed. That is determined by two things: the number of sites already in the area combined with the number of sites predicted, and, the amount of land one person can cover in a day.

The number of sites here in Nevada are generally predicted by using the online site system called NVCRIS. It's accurate to about 4-5 years back but is a good way to get a general idea about the area.

Coverage is where companies really start using shady math. I have a spreadsheet where I type in the variables: total acreage, number of people, and hours in a day. Once I type in the "Acreage per Day per Person" I get the number of person days and the total number of days to complete the project. One company I used to work for put in 40 acres per day and drastically underbid a project. The reality was about 15 acres per day due to a high site density.

Because of the terrain and potential for a high number of sites and challenging mining complexes I put in 20 acres per day. Even that was probably overestimating. Once the other costs, such as per diem, vehicles, and tablets were entered, and the costs of actually processing data and writing the draft and final copies of the report were entered, my spreadsheet came up with a value of about $88,000. Remember, I had a GIS firm as the prime, so, they entered their numbers. Once they entered their "discounted rates" for GIS work at $80 per hour and an overall project management rate of $100 per hour, the total proposed cost came out to $120,000.

The winning bid was $78,000. WTF?

How did they do that?

So, what the hell happened? If all the other factors stayed the same, I would have had to increase my acreage per day to almost 45 acres to bring my cost down to that price point. Even if the GIS was half the cost and I kept my acreage at a realistic level my overall proposed cost still wouldn't have been close. Either the bid winner thinks they can cover more ground than is humanly possible, or, some of the principals are working for free. I don't know what it is. I do know that when a company gets stressed out because there isn't enough work coming in that they'll do whatever they can just to make payroll. Even if they don't make a profit on the project, they'll probably be able to hand out paychecks for another month as a result.

Maybe that's what happened, or, maybe not. I don't know. I do know that I simply won't inflate my acreage per day just to win a project. It's shady and it ultimately costs the taxpayer more money when work has to stop for the filing of a change order.

The Spruce RFQ

I'll only briefly mention the other project I lost. My bid was $130k and the winning bid was $120k. Again, I think it's a "trying to make payroll" issue because I know for a fact that the bid winner has higher billable rates than I do. They must be slightly inflating what they think they can accomplish. 

This, my friends, is called "underbidding" and we all complain about it. The reasons for it are as varied as the ways it can be done. Does anyone bitch when they're employed? Probably not. They may only have that job, however, because their employer underbid the project. It would be nice if we had regulated billable rates, or at least ranges. That way, the only differing factor would be the speed with which the project is completed. That has it's own problems, though.

In the end, I think I'll have to partner with another archaeology firm in order to get ahead in this business. Either that or just focus on app development and education. I'm actually good at that stuff!

Thanks for reading and I'll see you in the line for soup!!

#241 The CRM Archaeology Podcast - Podcasting the Profession and Educating the Public

The Blogging and Social Media session for the 2015 Society for American Archaeology meetings in San Francisco is live on the submission website! I've invited a number of people and a few others are considering it. You don't have to be invited to join in, though. Just make sure your submission is related to media, blogging, social media, video, podcasting, or any other media before you submit a paper.

When you go to the submission system, click on the link for an invited session and type in session 910.

I submitted my paper today. Here is the title and abstract:

The CRM Archaeology Podcast: Podcasting the Profession and Educating the Public

Since the first podcasts were available on Apple’s iTunes in June of 2005, podcasting has become a powerful way for anyone to deliver information to the world from the comfort of their home. Podcasts can be informal conversations to expensive productions from major networks. Archaeology podcasting has seen shows come and go and has had a rocky past. The only podcast focused on issues related to CRM Archaeology has been recording since February of 2013 and has tackled everything from ethics on the job to issues specific to women in archaeology and in the workplace. We’ve found that podcasting is a great way to engage with thousands of professionals and the public alike. We don’t run conversations, we start them. Podcasting is a medium that is here to stay and the archaeological community should recognize it as a valuable and useful resource.

Get your submissions in today!

Thanks for reading and I'll see you in San Francisco!

#240 Happy Archaeology Fun Time

I've been meaning to highlight a friend of mine's YouTube page because he's got some really good stuff on there. As of right now he's got 11 videos up. Below, I've linked the videos I'm featured in because I need one more thing that can boost my ego. I recently found that my ego isn't quite big enough. Well, now you have some video to look at. 

If an ad appears, support The Man in the Hat by letting the ad play. If you click past it he doesn't get a dime. He's a regular CRM field tech just like you! Thanks.

The Happy Archaeology Fun Time Channel is here.

COOL STUFF - Podcasting and The Average Archaeologist

I remember when I was just starting my CRM career, years ago. I literally tried every search term I could, and found a lot of meaningless fluff labelled as archaeology information.

Realities Of The Job - The P90X, Crossfit...Etc. Of Archaeology

Realities of The Job - Another Day Older And Deeper In Debt

The Man In The Hat just put up a new video about working in Northern California. Since he did that job with me, and, since I recorded it with him originally but the camera died at the beginning, I'll include it here.

Things You Should Know About - Northern California

Thanks for watching the videos and I'll see you in the field!

#239 - SAA2015 BlogArch and Social Media Session

Click my poorly drawn image to go to the SAA submission system.

The submission deadline for the 2015 SAAs in San Francisco is September 11! Check out the title and abstract of the Social Media symposium I've set up and feel free to submit a paper.

Not Just Blogging Archaeology - Media and Social Media’s Influence on Archaeology

Since the time of Renfrew and Binford, archaeology as a profession has embraced both a scientific methodology and the new tools science offers. From radiocarbon dating and geophysics to 3D imaging, these tools have enhanced the way we understand and communicate the human past. Now, the internet and 21st century technology offers new, multivocal venues through which we can relay archaeological information to the profession, enthusiasts, and the general public. From blogging and podcasting to YouTube videos and television series, communicating archaeology has never been easier. Anyone can start a blog, shoot some video, or record a podcast. Technology has reduced the cost of access and can allow archaeologists to speak directly to the public and peers. This session seeks to ask the following questions: is the use of social media helping or hurting archaeology? Are there drawbacks? Have we created an easy resource of archaeological information for looters? How has social media, via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram, to name a few, influenced archaeology in practice and the public’s view of archaeology? This session solicits input from bloggers, podcasters, and film producers, each with a unique perspective rooted in the medium they’ve chosen to represent archaeology.

We're now excepting papers on ANYTHING related to communicating Archaeology through various forms of media and social networking. Be creative! Below is one example of a paper we could use:

Instagram - Benefits and Best Practices

What would a paper on Instagram entail? I'd go through and show what sorts of pictures can be found using several popular hashtags. Two that come to mind are #archaeology and #crmarch. There are many others, though. You could also talk about Instagram best practices. For example, what type of metadata does Instagram strip out of photos and what stays in? What can you do with your photos to mitigate the chances of looters gaining access to whatever it is you're taking pictures of?

I'm doing a paper on podcasting in archaeology. As far as I know, it's never been done. I'm also working on a live recording of the CRM Archaeology Podcast for the SAAs. If some of my co-hosts can't make it I might be looking for some guest hosts. Keep your ears open for an update!

Thanks for reading and I'll see you in San Francisco!

#238 Job Creator or Scary Effing Responsibility

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I just finished week two of a three week project where I had to hire my first employee. It’s an interesting arrangement all around. DIGTECH was subcontracted to do the fieldwork for this project and they needed two people. So, there’s me, and someone I’ve worked with on excavations before, RC.

On post #236 I talked about all the pay and per diem troubles I was about to have so I won’t go back to that here. What I want to talk about here is the silver lining on all this stress: being a job creator.

Creating Jobs

We always hear about jobs in the news. Around election time, people up for the big offices talk about how many jobs they’re going to create. Their policies might bring in companies that will hire people but they are not real job creators. I gave a friend a job. That’s an amazing feeling. Even if it is just three weeks, he has work because of choices I made. Oh, and I’ve only been in CRM for about 9, almost 10, years. Up or out, I always say.

During my time in CRM I’ve worked with a lot of people. I’ve also argued with a lot of people. Most of the time I can only sit by for so long while leaders above me continue to make bad, or inefficient, decisions. At some point I call them on it. Early in my career I call them on it in a way that made them resent me. I tried to learn from those instances, but, the result was always the same no matter how hard I tried to help. Those people are still toiling away for someone else. I hope they’re happy.

So, I started my own company. It’s been a long and difficult road, but, things are starting to change for the better. There are big things in the works right now and if it all goes well it will mean creating jobs for a lot more people. I don’t want just any field tech, though. I want the best.

When I put out a job posting, I’m going to want to see your LinkedIn profile with recommendations. You’re going to be paid well for your time and you’ll be respected. Because of that, I expect to deal only with true professionals. If you plan to get drunk and high every night after work you can work for someone else.

For leadership positions I’ll also want to see what you’ve written. This doesn’t just mean technical writing, either. I want to see what you’ve written to support your passion for archaeology. Show me your blog, your Twitter feed, your Instagram feed, or your contributions to LinkedIn and Facebook groups. If you aren’t writing and talking about archaeology with your peers and the world then you won’t be a Crew Chief of Project Manager with DIGTECH. I’m pretty deeply entrenched in online archaeology so if I haven’t heard of you and if we aren’t already connected online then we probably won’t have much to talk about when you call to ask for a job.

I have very simple requests. They are difficult for some people to comprehend and some might say that I won’t find anyone that fits the bill. I say fine. If those people don’t exist then I’ll go to universities, get new graduates, and create those people. I have a passion for archaeology and a respect for what we do. I don’t care about making a million dollars or saving $2 on my next project. I care about giving good, honest, people a chance to help make the world a better place by doing good work and good science. 

If you want to join me, then, get your online persona together and let me know you exist. I’ll be adding to my very small list of people to call soon and I hope I can give each and every one of you passionate professionals a place you can be proud to work and contribute to.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you in the field!