When selling and promoting AboutTime I am often asked about ROI (Return on Investment). How much money will this save me?  While I can quote statistics and provide numbers based on company and industry experience, nothing really hits home like a personal success story.

Not too long ago I was working to get time keeping under control with the CFO of a small to mid-sizefinish contractor here in Colorado.  She regularly worked on Saturdays to manually input employee time into her payroll system.  The weekend was the only time she could focus on the data entry and get it right with no errors.  Try as she might to get it done during the week and there would be mistakes in payroll costing her more time to fix!

Her biggest payoff?  Once they implemented electronic mobile data collection with integration to accounting/payroll, the employee time is reviewed daily by the project managers and she no longer has to come in to the office on Saturday to input time records.  What a blessing for her to now have her weekends free!

Guest Blogger

Eric Hammersmark , Regional Vice President of Sales

AboutTIme Technologies

Eric serves as a senior executive at AboutTime Technologies connecting customers, product development, mobile solutions providers and services firms to deliver the benefits of technology to his customers. In his 13 years in construction-related software, Eric has personally trained and delivered technology solutions to well over a thousand construction companies – from tracking and billing tools and equipment with ToolWatch, to tracking and reporting on employee and equipment time with AboutTime. 

Having a prior varied work experience in the Coal Mining, Oil & Gas Exploration and Construction industries gives Eric a unique ability for understanding the needs of workers in these fields.  Eric’s passion is to help his customers realize the benefits of technology, sharpening their competitive edge and increasing the flow of profit to their bottom line. 

In his free time Eric loves being with family, riding dirt bikes on high mountain roads and trails, and climbing the occasional fourteener in his home state of Colorado.

Don't Miss Out!

After spending last week working the AboutTime booth at the World of Concrete, a corny joke came to my mind.  

Q: What did the fish say when he saw a Concrete wall?  

A: Dam!  

While it’s a silly joke, it brings to mind an important thought.  Many times we are so comfortable doing things the way we have always done them that when something new comes along, like the fish seeing the cement, we run into it and Damn!  We miss out. 

While working the AboutTime booth at the World of Concrete, I realized our biggest competition was not our competitors.  Our biggest competition was paper; paper time cards, paper forms, messy hard to read handwritten notes.  I asked myself  WHY?  Paper is not efficient.  Handwriting time cards, forms and notes, then entering the data into a computer doubles the work load.   Paper is not accurate.  Unreadable handwriting creates guess work.   Paper is not timely.   Gathering large amounts of paper sorting it. Waiting for employees to fill out time cards and forms can easily put a project behind schedule.   So why do we choose to stick with an inefficient, inaccurate and untimely solution?  Because it’s what we have always done. 

 

Isn’t it AboutTime to find a better solution?  

By simply automating the time and attendance process your business can achieve an11% increase in workforce utilization, meaning you will get more productivity out of the same workforce.  With higher productivity comes a higher profit that you won’t miss out on.

Would you like more information on Mobile Resource Management?  

Register for one of our upcoming web casts including topics such as "Risk Management,"  "Managing projects on time and under budget with a mobile resource solution," and "OnDemand Productivity."    

"Protect Yourself"

Many years ago, I entered the world of helping companies - especially in construction - mitigate risk. At that time, I would often ask contractors if they utilized the new technology of digitally capturing Job site Photos. Some companies were forward thinking and already finding ways to harness this new technology while others...well, simply laughed at me!

As the years roll on, Job site Photos have become much more prevalent in day to day operations for companies exposing themselves to risk by building, restoring and servicing for others. However, documenting inspections, before & after, progress, accidents and change orders is usually a cumbersome task. When needed, digital photos may be on an employee’s smart device, company issued camera, an SD card, an external database or worse....WHO KNOWS WHERE!!

When utilizing a mobile time & attendance system equipped with project management pieces such as Job site Photos, Field Notes, Digital Forms, Voice Notes, Video, Digital Signature Capture, virtual real-time Budget feedback and GPS Verification, risk to a contractor is reduced like never before.

Recently, I was speaking to a customer who performs new construction, service, and warranty work on roofing systems. This particular company carefully documents as much of their impressive work as possible. Job site Photos is a critical piece of that documentation. One of their customers logged a complaint that there was a leak at the exact spot where work was performed over a year ago. Within seconds, our customer pulled up the electronic job file, clicked the Job site Photos tab, saved the information and dispatched a service representative. Upon inspection, it was immediately determined that there was a new leak on this pre-existing roof system and additional, billable service was required. When shown a date & time stamped photo and GPS verification of when and where the original work was performed, the contractors customer was more than happy to agree to a new service order rather than un-billable warranty work. Our customer told me that this is just one of the ways that their Mobile Resource Management System saves them hundreds of thousands of dollars year after year after year.

The power of documenting work performed is undeniable. However, the power of efficiently and accurately storing that data in one central electronic depository for immediate retrieval is beyond measure. Through all of my years of experience, if I was asked to sum up my advice to any company performing work for others in two words, it would have to be: PROTECT YOURSELF.

Guest Blogger

David Verl Perry, Vice President of Regional Sales

AboutTime Technologies LLC

Placing top focus on value, David has helped several hundred companies in the Construction and Related Services industry adopt practical approaches to streamlining business operations. Having begun his education & career in the trades, David understands the needs of construction companies who rely on field production performance to stay competitive. Applying over 20 years of real world experience combined with his passion for client success, David works hand in hand to help customers realize the benefits of technology, sharpening their competitive edge.  David now works as a senior executive at AboutTime Technologies connecting customers, product development, mobile solutions providers and service firms to deliver the promise of technology.  

Time 4 Fun (January 20,2014)

Timing...

A guy shows up late for work and his boss yelled "You should've been here at 8:30!"  The guy replied "Why?  What happened at 8:30?"

Happy Monday!  

Have a productive and safe week.  

Is your Data Integrity at Risk?

Time cards filled with scribbled out numbers, fours that look like nines, and inaccurate totals, plague the desks of the unlucky employee’s in charge of entering the data from hand-written time cards into accounting systems.  Countless hours  are spent making phone calls, or guessing in order to get the most accurate information possible.   Throughout the entire process, the data becomes more corrupt until the integrity of the data can’t be trusted. 

The goal of Data integrity is to make sure information is the same as when it was originally recorded.

What if there was a way to maintain the integrity of time and attendance information and cut the time needed to record and integrate it in half?   Using a mobile resource management software can make this possible.   Mobile resource management software can track important assets including employee’s time and attendance.  

Secure Clock in/Out

Data integrity begins with data collection.  In this case it begins with clocking employees In and Out.   Ensuring that the information sent to accounting is accurate is the first priority of a mobile resource management solution.  Using Personalized pin codes or technology like biometrics and GPS, makes knowing   the who, when and where of time and attendance seamless.   A clock in/out method using mobile devices does away with the need for paper completely.   

Real-Time Delivery

Instead of spending hours in line to fax time cards or waiting days for time cards to arrive in the mail, make sure that information is delivered to the correct parties in a timely manner. Using a mobile resource management solution uses modern technology to send this important information from the field to the office in, Real-Time,  giving supervisors a chance to review time cards and answer questions before information is forgotten or misplaced. 

Integration

“To Err is Human….”this statement has never been more true than with data entry.  A large percentage of mistakes are made during the data entry process.  Using a mobile resource management software eliminates these mistakes by automating the process and doing away with “human Error.” 

Data integrity is preventing unintentional changes to information.  When finding a mobile resource management solution that can help your business maintain data integrity it is important to find a system that monitors your information throughout the entire process of collection, delivery and integration. 

What is Mobile Resource Management?

2014 is going to be a great year for your business!  The construction industry is on the rise, which means your business is growing!  Now you have more projects, more job sites, and more employees to keep track of!  While growth is good and exciting, it can also be dangerous.  The more your business branches out, the harder it becomes to track.    The more your business grows, the more risk you take on. 

More businesses are turning to mobile resource management solutions to reduce this risk and stay ahead of their competition. 

What is Mobile Resource Management?  It’s the ability to track your mobile resources in Real-Time allowing you to make critical decisions such as what equipment is needed and where.  Which job site needs more employees working on it in order to complete the project on time?  Which projects are over budget? 

Your mobile employees are your largest resource and possibly the hardest to accurately manage.  Knowing who is where and working on what is critical to the success of any project.  Time and attendance programs that track when an employee clocks in and out answers part of the problem however more information is needed to have a complete and accurate picture of where you truly stand on a project. 

That is where a mobile resource management solution is needed.   Not only can you track who clocked IN or OUT but you can also see what equipment they used, what they are on, how many units they completed during their shift, and then compare all of that information to budgets.  Documenting any changes, mistakes, and alterations to the original project allows you to explain delays, justify added expense and give proper praise to a job well done. 

jobsite

Time 4 Fun!

The first few days back to work after the Holidays can be tough.  Were glad to put a smile on your faces today as you set out to make 2014 an amazing, prosperous year.

Construction Definitions

• Contractor – A gambler who never gets to shuffle, cut or deal!
• Bid opener – a poker game in which the losing hand wins
• Low bidder – a contractor who is wondering what they left out
•  Engineers estimate – the cost of construction in heaven
•  Critical path method – a management technique for losing your shirt under perfect control
•  OSHA – a protective coating made by half baking a mixture of fine print, split hairs, red tape and baloney. Usually applied at random with shot gun.
• Strike – An effort to increase egg production by strangling the chickens
• Delayed payment – a tourniquets applied at the pockets
• Completion date – The point at which liquidated damages begin
•  Liquidated damaged – the penalty for failing to achieve the impossible.