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Simple in the field... Powerful in the office!
Showing posts with label time sheets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label time sheets. Show all posts

Monday, April 7, 2014

To Err is Human


We all make mistakes but when those mistakes cost your business money sometimes they are harder to forgive.   Mistakes happen all too often when there is a lack of communication from the office to the field and back again.  Anytime paper has to switch hands there are numerous threats for mistakes to happen.  Unreadable forms, lost forms, inaccurate data, and untimely information can all be the cause of problems.  However, they are all mistakes that could have been prevented.  How?  By allowing Automation to help manage your projects.  A mobile resource management solution can provide all of the tools necessary to reduce mistakes from the field and send timely accurate data to the office. 


1.    A mobile resource management solution should be simple to use.
Keeping it simple takes away any excuse to not use the system.  Clocking into a job should be easy and only takes a few seconds to complete.  Gathering important information without the hassle is what automation is all about.

2.    It must have a time and attendance feature.
Your employees are your largest asset.   Therefore, time and attendance is the basis for all other information that is gathered.  Knowing who is at work, where they are working and what they are working on provides basic information that is needed later in order to track productivity, assign future tasks and follow job progression.

3. Mobile resource management solutions should track labor and productivity?
Automating your Time and attendance is a big step to take when you are beginning but with the technology that is available today there is so much more that your solution should be able to do.  Comparing how much has actually been completed on a project with what was budgeted gives a clear picture of how much labor a task actually takes to complete.  Not only will this information help to monitor current projects, but it will also help to estimate the costs of future projects. 

4.    How does the solution handle all of the messy paperwork that must be filled out in the field and delivered to the office?
Misplaced or lost forms cost your business money for many reasons.  The time spent trying to locate misplaced documents adds up but even more important is the threat of not having the information you need to protect your business because a form is missing.  A good Mobile resource management solution should have a forms module that allows forms to be electronically filled and signed in the field.  A system like AboutTime’s FormsXPress attaches pictures, notes, signatures to any form you build then sends the form back to the office. 

5.    Does it integrate with your accounting system?
It’s one thing to collect important information but what do you do with it once it has been collected?  Automation is most effective when the automation completes your workflow from the beginning to the end.  The less room for human error the more accurate the information is.  Make sure, whatever solution you choose, it provides a solid integration with your accounting or job costing system.  

Friday, January 31, 2014


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.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

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?  

Monday, December 9, 2013

Time 4 Fun! (2)


Happy Monday!  We hope everyone had a great weekend.  As promised.. a little something to start your work week off with a smile.



Enjoy!



A receptionist who was being paid by the week approached her employer and held up her last paycheck. "This is two hundred dollars less than we agreed on," she said.

"I know," the employer said. "But last week I overpaid you two hundred dollars, and you never complained."

"Well, I don't mind an occasional mistake," the receptionist answered, "but when it gets to be a habit, I feel I have to call it to your attention."


Have a safe and productive day!


Collect • Track • Document • Deliver • Manage • Integrate

Learn more about AboutTime Technologies.




Monday, December 2, 2013

Time 4 Fun!

We hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving weekend.   Time spent with family, friends and lots of food is time well spent.  


The first day back after a long weekend is always a busy work day.  So today enjoy a short-N-sweet post to brighten up your work week.  

A construction worker dies in a fishing accident on his 40th birthday.  He finds himself greeted at the Pearly Gates by a brass band.  Saint Peter rushes over and shakes his hand, exclaiming proudly “CONGRATULATIONS!!!”

“Congratulations for what?” asks the construction worker. 

Saint Peter says, “We are celebrating the fact that you lived to be 160 years old.”

The construction worker responds, “but that’s not true, I only lived to be forty.”

“That’s impossible," says Saint Peter. .  .”we added up your time sheets!!!”