Using Paper is Costing Your Business Money

Why is it important to stop using paper to document your projects?  

Did you know?

• It costs an average of $20 per document to file it.

• The average search time for a document is 18 minutes.

• It costs $125 to for each document that is misfiled.

 • Each lost document costs $350 to $700.

• More than 70% of today’s businesses would fail within 3 weeks if they suffered a catastrophic loss of paper-based records due to fire or flood.

• 67% of data loss is directly related to user blunders, making them 30 times more menacing than viruses and the leading cause of data loss.

• At any given time, between 3 and 5 percent of an organization’s files are lost or misplaced.

• U.S. managers spend an average of 4 weeks a year searching for or waiting on misfiled, mislabeled, un-tracked, or ‘lost’ papers”

• Large organizations lose a document every 12 seconds.

Mobile Resource Management Software along with your smart phones, tablets or laptops can eliminate the need for paper and more accurately document every aspect of your project. 

Facts about Paper - The Paperless Project - Join the ... (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.thepaperlessproject.com/what-are-the-facts-about-paper/

Time 4 Fun - 6 Phases of a Project

I saw this joke recently.  It’s one of those jokes that everyone tenuously giggles at because it hits really close to home. 

6 phases of a project

1.  Enthusiasm 

2. Disillusionment. 

3  Panic 

4. Search for the guilty 

5. Punishment of the innocent 

6. Praise and honors for the non-participants.

Can you see my Point?  We have all been thorough these stages.  Probably repeatedly with each new project.  

Wouldn’t it be better if it looked more like this?

6 Phases of a project

1.     Enthusiasm

2.     Organization

3.     Progression

4.     Improvements

5.     Completion

6.     Praise and honors for the participants

This may not be as funny but I bet the smiles last a lot longer.

So how do you take your project through the correct 6 phrases?  Mobile Resource Management is the answer.  Today’s technology allows you to collect, track and document everything that happens on your job site.  You can then send that information back to your office in Real-Time where you can make critical decisions that affect your project.  Having information readily available lets you manage effectively through every phase of a project. 

Time 4 Fun - Construction Definitions

Construction Definitions

1. Contractor – A gambler who never gets to shuffle, cut or deal!
2. Bid opener – A poker game in which the losing hand wins
3. Low bidder – A contractor who is wondering what they left out
4. Engineers estimate – The cost of construction in heaven
5. 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.
6. Delayed payment – A tourniquets applied at the pockets
7. Completion date – The point at which liquidated damages begin
8. Liquidated damages – The penalty for failing to achieve the impossible. 

Construction Definitions When using a "Mobile Resource Management Solution"

1.     Contractor – A "Risk Manager" who knows exactly where he stands on all of his projects.

2.     Bid opener -  Knowing exactly what you can give and take on a project.

3.     Low bidder – No Worries!

4.     Engineers estimate – The true cost of construction based on past projects and future projections.

5.     OSHA –  No Worries!  We have all of our forms and documentation easily accessible and correctly filled out.

6.     Delayed Payment – What?  We have everything documented so well the checks just come right in.

7.     Completion date – Right on time or ahead of schedule.

8.     Liquidated damages – Never heard of it! 

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."