Module 1 Know your customer and market 4 hAnalyse
Every sound business in road & bridge development begins with one clear customer and one clear problem. In São Paulo and the wider state, demand is real but crowded, so a small, well-described customer group wins before a broad one.
- In road & bridge development: The client is a public or private owner who buys on cost, time and safety record.
- Write the customer in one sentence: a public or private owner. Add the place, the moment of need and what they use today.
- List five rivals or substitutes within reach. For each, record price, strength, weakness and how people reach it.
- Interview at least eight real customers with open questions. Record exact words, not your summary.
- Count the market in units: how many sections built could one area buy in a month? Use two public sources and your own count, then take the lower figure.
- Choose one first segment and say why the others wait.
Worked example. Weak: 'Everyone needs a road or bridge work package.' Strong: 'Our first customer is a public or private owner within 8 km of the centre, who today pays R$ 99.000 per section built and complains about delay. We target 2 sections built a month by month three.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: ten customers are interviewed for road & bridge development. Seven say price, two say speed, one says trust. Question: which first message do you write, and which interview record backs it? Model answer: lead with the section built price and speed promise, keep trust proof as the second line, and cite the seven price answers by date.
Activity. Write the one-sentence customer, a five-row rival table and eight interview records. Share them with a peer for a challenge round.
Standard to meet. Define a specific customer, build a rival table with prices, and trace every claim to an interview or a source.
Module 2 Rules, registration and data duties in Brazil 4 hUnderstand
Brazil asks every trader to be visible and accountable. Know which register, tax regime and sector rules apply before the first sale, and check each against the current official text.
- In road & bridge development: Public works follow procurement rules; engineers must be registered with the engineering council (CREA).
- Choose a legal form: micro-entrepreneur (MEI) only if your activity appears on the official MEI list, or a company registered with a CNPJ. Regulated activities need their sector authorisation first. Check the current limits and lists on the official portal.
- Learn the tax regime that fits your size and write down which taxes you will collect and pay, and when.
- Find the sector rules for road & bridge development: licences, inspections, professional registers. List each with the office that issues it and the renewal date.
- Personal data of customers falls under Brazil's data protection law (LGPD). Collect only what you need, say why, keep it safe, and name who answers questions.
- Consumer law gives buyers clear rights on information, returns and complaints. Put your terms in plain Portuguese.
Worked example. Checklist for a new road & bridge development trader: 1) legal form (CNPJ, or MEI only if your activity is on the official list); 2) city operating licence; 3) sector licence or register; 4) tax set-up; 5) privacy notice; 6) written terms. Each has an owner and a date.
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a neighbour says registration can wait until the first R$ 450.000 of sales. Question: what do you do? Model answer: do not delay; write the compliance table first, confirm the register, tax and sector licence with the official office, and start only where the table shows no open blocker.
Activity. Build your own six-line compliance table for your first location. Mark what is done, what is pending and who confirms it.
Standard to meet. Cite an official source for every line, assume nothing, and date every pending item. Local law always wins over this course.
Module 3 Design the offer 4 hCreate
An offer states what the customer gets, how well, by when and at what price. For a road or bridge work package, the offer must make the quality visible and the next step easy.
- In road & bridge development: Offer a work package: survey, design, materials plan, programme, quality plan, safety plan.
- Describe the core offer in three lines: what is delivered (a road or bridge work package), the standard it meets, and the time it takes.
- Add one proof for each promise: a sample, a test result, a guarantee or a customer record.
- Price from cost upward and from customer value downward, then pick a price inside both.
- Write a simple one-page terms sheet: what is included, what is extra, how to cancel.
- Create two options at most, so choice stays easy.
Worked example. Offer: 'A road or bridge work package, delivered within agreed time, checked against a written standard, price R$ 90.000 per section built. Proof: a dated record the customer can check and sign. Changes or cancellation by written agreement before work begins.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a customer asks for a discount from R$ 90.000 to R$ 81.000 per section built. Question: decide with numbers. Model answer: contribution falls from R$ 25.000 to R$ 16.000 per section built; offer an extra of value (for example faster service) before cutting price, and accept only if the lower contribution still clears break-even.
Longer notes. Define the offer as a section built: a measured length of road or bridge deck, with the drawing, the layers, the quantities and the acceptance test. Make a bill of quantities and price each line from material delivered, labour days, machine hire and transport. Keep the site office, the yard and the engineers' salaries as fixed cost. Walk the site, record drainage and underground services, and state what the client must provide. Confirm the public-works contract terms, the environmental licence and the work-safety rules before you bid. Record every assumption in the quote.
Extra worked example. A section built sells for R$ 90.000. Materials cost R$ 35.000, labour R$ 18.000 and machine hire R$ 12.000 (a worked-example split, not market data), so its own cost is R$ 65.000 and the margin is R$ 25.000, or 27,8%. With 3 sections a month, revenue is R$ 270.000 and contribution R$ 75.000. After R$ 70.000 of fixed cost, the result is R$ 5.000. A month with only two sections would close at 2 x R$ 25.000 - R$ 70.000 = R$ -20.000, a loss.
Activity. Write the offer card, the proof list and the terms sheet. Test them with three customers and note every point where they hesitated.
Standard to meet. Check that promise, proof and price are consistent, fit the terms on one page, and record three customer reactions.
Module 4 Run the work step by step 5 hApply
Good operations make results repeatable. For road & bridge development, write each step so a new person could follow it on their first day, and measure each step.
- In road & bridge development: Use stage control: set out, earthworks, sub-base, base, surfacing, with tests before each next layer.
- Map the process from first contact to paid and closed. Typical stages: enquiry, quote, preparation, delivery of the section built, check, payment, follow-up.
- Name the key resource at each stage: a surveyed, designed section. Note what happens if it is missing.
- Write a one-page standard procedure per stage: who, what, tool, time, record.
- Choose three measures: speed, quality (errors per 100) and customer rating. Review them every week.
- Fix the cause of a defect, not the symptom. Ask 'why' five times and record the answer.
Worked example. Stage record: 'Prepare. Owner: lead. Time: 30 min. Tool: checklist. Record: signed sheet. Defect found on 1 of 2 sections built last week; cause: missing check on a surveyed, designed section; fix: add check at start, review next Friday.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: of 3 sections built last month, 1 had a defect traced to a surveyed, designed section. Question: what is the defect rate and what is your first action? Model answer: about 33 defects per 100; stop the cause (add a check at the start), correct affected customers, log the cause, and re-measure next week.
Activity. Draw the process map and write procedures for the two riskiest stages. Run each once and time it.
Standard to meet. Write procedures a stranger can follow, record weekly numbers for each measure, and trace one defect to a root cause.
Module 5 Safety, quality and risk 4 hEvaluate
The most serious risk in this field is ground failure or a worker injury. A calm, written risk routine protects people first and the business second.
- In road & bridge development: Traffic management and excavation shoring are the highest risks; plan and inspect daily.
- List ten things that could go wrong. Score each for how likely (1 to 5) and how serious (1 to 5). Multiply and sort.
- For the top five, choose a control: remove the hazard, replace it, guard it, train people, or use protective gear, in that order of preference.
- Write who does what in an emergency, and rehearse it once a quarter.
- Keep an incident and near-miss log. Near-misses are free lessons.
- Check that insurance and legal duties match the risk you actually carry.
Worked example. Risk row: 'Hazard: ground failure or a worker injury. Likelihood 3, severity 5, score 15. Control: written check before each section built, trained staff, log sheet. Owner: site lead. Review monthly.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a near-miss occurs: ground failure or a worker injury nearly happened but no one was hurt. Question: what do you do in the next 24 hours? Model answer: make safe, record the event, ask the five whys, add or tighten one control, brief the team, and set a review date; near-misses count as lessons, not blame.
Activity. Build a ten-row risk register and a one-page emergency plan. Run a ten-minute drill with a peer and note two improvements.
Standard to meet. Rank controls by preference for the top risks, run the drill, and start the log. Where a regulation applies, follow the official rule.
Module 6 People, skills and service 4 hApply
People deliver the promise. Define roles, train to a standard and give feedback in the open.
- In road & bridge development: Train gangs on plant safety, signalling and manual handling; keep a competent person on site.
- Write a role card for each person: purpose, five tasks, the standard for each, and who to ask for help.
- Train by showing, doing with support, then doing alone with a check. Record sign-off per task.
- Set service rules for answering customers: reply times, tone, how to apologise and fix.
- Hold a ten-minute team check each day: yesterday's problem, today's plan, one risk.
- Build a growth path: what a new person can do in week 1, month 3 and month 12.
Worked example. Training record: 'Task: process a complaint. Shown 2 May; done with support 4 May; done alone 8 May, checked: apology, fix, follow-up call. Signed by lead.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: a new hire completes training but a customer complaint shows a skipped step. Question: whose gap is it? Model answer: first the system: check the role card, the training sign-off and the checklist; then coach the person and fix the document so the step cannot be skipped.
Longer notes. Plan the site team from the schedule of each section. Write the daily plan, the traffic control, the safety briefing and the person who inspects trenches and scaffolds. Test new workers on reading a drawing, using a level and compacting a layer. Record hours worked, materials delivered and tests passed in a site diary every day. Keep rest hours and protective equipment under control. Plan one spare worker for sick days and for the shift that covers a concrete pour. Respect the work-safety and working-hour rules when you assign any task. Hold a short safety talk each morning and record who attended it.
Extra worked example. A section takes 7 working days with 12 workers, which is 84 worker-days (worked-example figures, not market data). 3 sections need 252 worker-days. A month has 22 working days, so the team needs 252 / 22 = 11,5 workers, that is 12 workers. A fourth section would need 15,3 workers. Going from three to four sections means about four more workers, 15,3 against 11,5, or one section's earthworks sub-contracted.
Activity. Write two role cards and a training plan for one new hire. Role-play a hard customer conversation twice and review.
Standard to meet. Write role cards with measurable standards, show the sign-off steps in training, and write the service rules in plain words.
Module 7 Money: cost, price and break-even 5 hAnalyse
A business lives or dies on a few numbers. Know your contribution per unit, your fixed costs and the volume you need.
- In road & bridge development: Cash flow depends on measurement and certification; keep claims clean and dated.
- Contribution per section built = price minus variable cost. Fixed costs are paid whether you sell or not.
- Break-even units = fixed cost divided by contribution. Plan to pass it by a safe margin.
- Make a 12-month cash plan. Cash timing matters as much as profit: customers may pay late, suppliers may want money first.
- Keep money for business and money for the owner apart.
- Test the plan: what if sales fall by a quarter, or cost rises by a tenth?
Worked example. Worked example, all figures in reais: price R$ 90.000, variable cost R$ 65.000, contribution R$ 25.000 per section built. Fixed cost R$ 70.000 a month. Break-even = R$ 70.000 / R$ 25.000 = 2,800, so 3 sections built a month. At 3 sections built a month, profit = R$ 25.000 x 3 - R$ 70.000 = R$ 5.000. These are teaching figures that belong to this example only; later examples and the case study use their own figures. Use your own.
Second worked scenario. Scenario: sales fall to 2 sections built a month. Question: what is the monthly result? Model answer: R$ 25.000 x 2 - R$ 70.000 = R$ -20.000; compare with break-even of 3 sections built and decide whether to cut fixed cost or raise volume first. Teaching figures only.
Activity. Build your own table: price, variable cost, contribution, fixed cost, break-even and a downside case at 75% of sales. Show it to a peer or mentor.
Standard to meet. Calculate correctly, give every figure a source or mark it as an assumption, and show a downside case.
Module 8 Grow, measure and renew 4 hEvaluate
Growth should follow proof. Measure, learn, then add; and keep returning to the customer.
- In road & bridge development: Grow by delivering on time with documented quality, which wins the next tender.
- Pick one growth lever at a time: new customers, a higher repeat rate, a better price, or a new offer.
- Set one measurable target for 90 days, such as 'raise repeat customers from 20% to 30%'.
- Ask each customer how they found you, and record it. Spend more where the record shows results.
- Review monthly: numbers, defects, complaints, cash. Write three decisions each time.
- Plan the renewal of licences, equipment and skills a year ahead.
Worked example. 90-day plan: 'Lever: repeat customers. Action: follow-up call after every section built. Target: repeat rate from 20% to 30%. Check: weekly count. Review date: day 45 and day 90.'
Second worked scenario. Scenario: you can add 2 sections built a month by one of two levers: a follow-up call to past customers or a price rise of R$ 9.000 to R$ 99.000. Question: how do you choose? Model answer: test the cheaper reversible lever first (the call), measure for 30 days, and only then try the price change, so you can tell which one worked.
Longer notes. Grow by winning more of the jobs you price. Record every quote with the client, value, date, result and the reason for losing. Visit private developers and municipal engineers to learn their next sections. Photograph finished sections with the owner's agreement and keep the test reports. Review completed jobs for margin: which items cost more than priced? Do not bid on work beyond the crew's proven skills. Record the winning price when it is published, to see how far yours was. Confirm the bidding and contract-guarantee rules before each quote. Keep a table of results and review lessons after every lost quote.
Extra worked example. The company sends 12 quotes a month and wins 25% (worked-example rates, not market data), which is 3 sections. A clearer bill of quantities lifts the wins to 33,3%, giving 4 sections, one more. That section leaves R$ 25.000, so contribution rises from R$ 75.000 to R$ 100.000 and the result from R$ 5.000 to R$ 30.000. Winning 4 of 12 quotes instead of 3 is one more tender in twelve, so the bill of quantities is the first document reviewed after a lost quote.
Activity. Write a 90-day plan with one target, three actions and a review date. Present it in five minutes and take questions.
Standard to meet. Set a measurable, dated target, break the actions down small enough to start this week, and put the review date in the calendar.
