McKinstry set out to gather more insight into fabrication shop productivity and enhance the connection between its Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) and Fabrication teams. They partnered with MSUITE to improve communication and better understand the costs of work, which ultimately will help them target investments and improve overall project management.
Driven by their passion for innovation, technological expertise, and a deep sense of responsibility to positively impact the environment and community, McKinstry has established a reputation for building the future, and they have discovered that prefabrication and manufacturing is the way to do it. The contractor turned to MSUITE with the specific goals of removing the spooling bottleneck, providing the field with an easier method for submitting and tracking orders, and coordinating multitrade prefabrication with multiple contractors and shops.
Companies are moving away from using spreadsheets to track manual activities such as fractions of labor hours, worker shifts, completion dates, materials, quantities, and multiplier formulas to calculate estimates. MSUITE automates and provides predictive analytics to improve fabrication operations. McKinstry chose MSUITE to help improve productivity tracking, status tracking, and demand forecasting for shop operations. “We selected MSUITE because it provided the greatest fidelity into our shop operations and the strongest link between VDC and Fabrication teams,” said C. J. Best, director of manufacturing at McKinstry. MSUITE enables McKinstry to increase visibility, productivity, and accuracy in the shop by managing production as work moves from drawing approval through site receiving.
Whether it is the endless emails asking when things will be shipped or the drawing changes on the fly, MSUITE streamlines communications between office, shop, and field teams with real-time notification of things like approvals for fabrication, drawing markups, and trucks leaving the shop.
MSUITE also enables McKinstry to leverage their building information modeling (BIM) data to review shop productivity across several vantage points. Currently, fabricators understand that pounds-per-hour or diameter-inches per hour are industry-standard metrics, but these metrics do not always provide enough insight into fabrication shop operations. For example, when fabricators are processing material that is cut and kit (commonly found on plumbing copper systems), measuring diameter-inches per hour makes very little sense, because none of the material is joined in the shop.
MSUITE allows contractors like McKinstry to track all work based on workflows that have a different number of stages. When the fabrication shop crew performs the job, time is associated with each stage (and the related material or joint). Those data are connected to the work package and tied to the project. Such deep data connections allow McKinstry to better understand how their fab shop is performing by setting a baseline for comparison benchmarks. Now, new investment, training, and process flow changes are tracked, giving McKinstry insight on whether those processes should be deployed across all shops or one shop at a time.
Like other contractors, McKinstry operates with a network of shops, synchronizing their capacity planning and workload allocation across the Pacific Northwest. Using MSUITE can ensure project demands are met without confusion or missed opportunities—notably in tracking material and labor capabilities.
As fabrication processes continue to move towards automation, the insights provided by MSUITE are more crucial than ever for contractors to make informed capital investment decisions. Without this insight, construction firms are forced to rely on metrics that do not account for recent advancements in technology, networking, or human behavior.
MSUITE is helping McKinstry gain better visibility into their workflow, which will allow them to optimize manufacturing schedules for guaranteed project schedules. Tighter collaboration between detailing and manufacturing will help them deliver higher quality and strict tolerance compliance. Streamlined supply chain management will lower costs and decrease delays for clients. The ability to fabricate more equipment in their shop ultimately increases safety, quality and cost management for McKinstry.
With a goal of eliminating paper in the shop, increasing efficiency in cutting, and using barcode labels to improve shop workflows, Postler & Jaeckle started working with STRATUS software from GTP Services in 2015. Since then, the company has seen a continuous return on investment with STRATUS, most recently by using labels to increase efficiency with hangers.
To reduce the amount of time field workers spent laying out hanger points or searching for material, Postler & Jaeckle began using STRATUS to create hanger packages, pre-cut hangers in the fabrication shop, and generate labels. STRATUS extracts information directly from the model, makes it available in a digital model viewer, and prints it directly on the label.
Postler & Jaeckle uses STRATUS software from GTP to generate labels directly from models that give its workers all the information they need to install hangers. The approach allows smaller crews to get the work done faster.
The contractor previously tried different methods for hanger installation. For example, they would send a person with a tablet to layout points on the floor in advance and have an installer use the tablet to continuously find the location of each hanger. Another method involved using a total station to map out points or creating a shop drawing with dimensions and tags. All of these approaches led to a bottleneck further in the process, as the field workers were left depending on one person with a tablet or total station or waiting for the drafting shop to complete a sometimes difficult-to-read installation drawing.
STRATUS bypassed all those issues by simply creating a label designed for manufacturing and installation. The labels include information such as the hanger number, rod size, rod length, hanger type, elevation, attachment type, and grid offset. The grid offset tool in STRATUS tells a user exactly how far east, west, north, or south of a gridline to install a hanger. Now, an installer can easily read the hanger coordinates on the label and install a hanger without using a tablet or referencing installation drawings.
In a recent project that involved more than 10,000 hangers, Postler & Jaeckle prefabricated most of the hangers in packages of roughly 250 hangers each, with a built-in allowance for rod length adjustment. They had 3,000 hangers built in the truck before installation began, and they did not have any issues with slab sag or structure. Overall, fewer than 1.5 percent of the 10,000 hangers were duplicated or changed. That project solidified the company’s conviction that manufacturing from labels reduces material handling and dependence on tablets or internet connections. As a result, Postler & Jaeckle could install hangers with smaller crews and reduced supervision time.
Postler & Jaeckle uses STRATUS to create hanger packages, pre-cut hangers in the fabrication shop, and generate labels, reducing the amount of time field workers spend laying out hanger points or searching for material.
“The STRATUS Manufacturing and Installation Labels (MAIL) have allowed us to gain double-digit productivity savings,” said Jesse Gorman, operations manager at Postler & Jaeckle. “Productivity gains allow us to have bigger margins and win more work.”
Utilizing labels for efficiency does not stop with hangers. Postler & Jaeckle continues to pioneer innovation with labels for pipe installation. Using a system of sequential lettering labels, the field crew can install assemblies similar to building with an erector set. Starting with a STRATUS “reference” label to locate one specific part in a package coupled with the grid offset functionality, the “A-A” or “B-B” labels on each end of every assembly quickly show the orientation of assemblies. This simple approach provides an installation roadmap for the workers in the field.
Postler & Jaeckle’s commitment to embracing streamlined and impactful solutions drastically decreased redundancies, increased efficiency, and contributed to the quality of their finished product. In New York state, where journeyman labor costs $1.20 a minute, saving minutes brings value quickly. As demonstrated by Postler & Jaeckle, increasing efficiency by building directly from labels produced by STRATUS is a quickly attainable win for any company.
In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Waldinger Corporation had several projects delayed or cancelled, while the John W. Danforth Company needed additional detailing support. Using GTP Services’ STRATUS software, they successfully collaborated on a large project, to the benefit of both companies. STRATUS allowed the contractors to share resources and also digitize their paper-based workflow, eliminating mistakes and increasing productivity.
Waldinger, located in Des Moines, IA, purchased their first Tigerstop automated cutting saw in November 2017 and integrated it using a new software tool: GTP’s STRATUS. After a few months of trial and error, they had a workflow setup that sent information directly from the model to the Tigerstop saw. Not only did STRATUS control the saw, it generated a label that was applied to the hanger and had all the fabrication information needed.
Danforth set up its Tigerstop cutting system with STRATUS software to improve fabrication processes and eliminate paper-based processes. Waldinger helped Danforth get up to speed with STRATUS as the two companies worked together on a project for the University of Vermont Firestone Research Center.
Fast forward three years to 2020. Danforth of Tonawanda, NY, was contracted for an addition and renovation to an existing laboratory building for the University of Vermont Firestone Research Center, and Waldinger had an unexpected decline in workload. As the two companies discussed collaboration, the main concern was how to integrate fabrication and construction processes when the companies were using different modeling software. The solution was GTP’s STRATUS software.
Under the direction of Danforth’s project management team, including Craig Rexford and Thomas Walker, Waldinger’s Virtual Design and Construction team completed a coordinated, construction level detail for the project. The original building posed construction challenges because of its short floor-to-floor heights filled with a myriad of laboratory gas apparatus and other piping.
After construction and coordination was complete, the first items to be fabricated were the hangers in May 2021. At about the same time, Danforth had just purchased a new Tigerstop cutting system for their hanger fabrication and were starting to work with the STRATUS software.
Waldinger offered Danforth a login to their STRATUS software, enabling Danforth to drive their Tigerstop with the Waldinger STRATUS database. Teams from both companies worked together to develop a label that would work for Danforth’s fabrication and field crews. In the end, Danforth fabricated 4,500 hangers in their Tonawanda shop and shipped them to Vermont for field installation.
Patrick Moran, Danforth’s vice president of Virtual Design and Construction, said, “We’ve been doing hanger fabrication for a long time. We purchased STRATUS and the Tigerstop to help take our fabrication to the next level and eliminate some of our paper-based processes—but being able to partner with someone who had already implemented the Tigerstop with STRATUS gave us a jumpstart and reduced our implementation time.”
Waldinger’s Director of Preconstruction Services, Stacy Zerr, added, “STRATUS is a tool that we are using to eliminate paper through our shop fabrication processes—from hanger fabrication to pipe cutting and shop assembly. We were grateful to be able to collaborate with Danforth and keep our detailers busy through an unexpected dip in our workload. We were able to share best practices and software tips that aided both companies. It’s a great example of how MCAA brings contractors together for the benefit of both organizations.”
After winning a renovation project to transform the Waikiki Trade Center into a 230-room contemporary Hyatt Centric hotel, the Dorvin D. Leis Company, Inc. (DDL), Hawaii’s largest mechanical contractor, decided to ditch the string and tape for the Trimble RPT600 paired with Trimble Field Link software. The cutting-edge technology helped DDL save time, increase productivity, and bring a constructible process from the office to the field and back again.
Transitioning from Tape to Tech
For over half a century, DDL has been Hawaii’s go-to mechanical contractor for projects ranging from resorts and high-rise complexes to schools and hospitals. As the company transitioned from 2D plans to data-rich, truly constructible building information modeling (BIM), realizing the benefits meant finding a way to share information seamlessly between the office and the field. DDL had been relying on tape and string measure for layout, which was error-prone and, in many ways, hindered the adoption of a constructible process.
Brady Pennington, DDL’s BIM manager, viewed the ability to extend data to the field as one of the biggest benefits of a constructible model. “We invest a lot of time and resources in creating pristine, data-rich models,” he said. “A large part of the return on our investment is bringing that data to the field so our crews can use it to work faster and smarter.”
Building a Better Model
DDL’s Kekai Kamakawiwo’ole used the laser beam in Trimble’s RPT600 to measure and identify exact locations on the building that correspond to points in the constructible model, making it easy to layout and install the ductwork, fire sprinklers, and plumbing hangers faster and more accurately than ever before.
The renovation project had its share of challenges. Because the 22-story, 248,000-square-foot high-rise was originally built in the 1970s, the as-built model lacked exact dimensions. The building was twisted and 2” off-center from the ground to the top floor, which caused discrepancies in measurements that made it difficult to determine placement of walls and, as a result, ductwork, fire sprinklers, and plumbing hangers as well. In addition, the building was occupied during construction, which required the various teams working onsite to minimize disruption.
The first step was using the Trimble RPT600, a total station designed for construction layout, and Field Link to collect existing condition data points that were then imported into the design model. Collecting the as-built points with the RPT600 and merging them into the model allowed DDL to accurately modify the sleeve locations so fabrication would line up in areas where the building was twisted. With this new data, Pennington and his team could easily identify clashes and correct problems before work began.
The RPT600 comes with an automatic setup function, so it does not require leveling procedures that typically slow down field crews. According to Pennington, “The RPT600 won our crew over because they could literally take it out of the box, set it on the tripod, turn it on, and start working immediately.”
Confident in the constructible model, the crew began layout. Using the Field Link software, they were able, for the first time, to view the model on a rugged Trimble Kenai tablet. With tablet in hand, the worker could see exactly what the instrument was seeing and could point, visualize, and position the instrument directly from the screen. The RPT600 has a laser beam that measures and identifies exact locations on the building that correspond to points in the constructible model, so the information conceived in the office is shared onsite seamlessly. The laser made it easy to layout and install the ductwork, fire sprinklers, and plumbing hangers faster and more accurately than ever before.
“Without the RPT600 and Field Link, we would have had to load the floors with raw materials, stick-build the entire project, and take down the resulting waste,” said Pennington. “It provided massive savings. Not only could we get the job done faster, but one person could layout five times as many points as a two-person team using manual efforts. My crew spent more time with their skills and less time using tape and string.”
Bridging the Communication Gap
Trimble’s cloud-based collaboration platform, Trimble Connect, also played a large role in the project’s success by ensuring that field layout points were seamlessly passed between the office and the field. The crew could easily download, upload, and share data with project teams and stakeholders through Trimble Connect. Openly sharing the design intent with the field crew allowed DDL to work in a truly collaborative way. By using technology to bridge communication and information gaps, all trades and project phases were more complete and better connected—ultimately driving smarter, constructible workflows.
With this combination of hardware and software, DDL was able to lay out approximately 22,000 points and install the ductwork, fire sprinklers, and plumbing hangers.
“The ability to communicate and share constructible data with the field has drastically reduced our layout time and manhours in general,” said Pennington. “You can make a wonderful model all day long, but if your crew in the field can’t use it, you’ve wasted money, because they will have to field-coordinate where hangers should go when we’ve already done that work in the model.”
Improving Fabrication Productivity
Pennington also noted that the RPT600 increased fabrication productivity. “We can fabricate more because we know that our hanger layout is going to match our shop drawings. If your business is interested in fabrication and BIM, this is an essential tool. There’s no reason to create a data-rich model and not use it to its fullest. You just can’t communicate a thousand hanger locations efficiently in any other way.”
DDL now uses the RPT600 for all of its renovation projects with consistent accuracy and efficiency gains. “The RPT600 has saved us a tremendous amount of time across projects,” said Pennington. “We completed a project recently where a single journeyman was able to lay out over 300 hanger points in a mechanical room by himself, all in one day. We couldn’t work this fast without the RPT600.”
Just two years after implementing STRATUS software from GTP Services, University Mechanical Contractors, Inc. (UMC) saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in packaging, spooling, and cutting costs and eliminated its cumbersome paper processes. UMC credits STRATUS with increasing efficiency, multiplying output volume, and enhancing its modeling capabilities.
First Step: Paper to PDFs
Roughly two years ago, UMC set out to transform the way it issued deliverables to the fabrication team, moving from paper to a digital platform. Each fabrication package contained a set of drawings, bill of materials (BOM), material request, purchase order, cut list, packing slip, and identification stickers for each spool or assembly. Creating these items was labor-intensive and manually driven; printing multiple copies was burdensome.
UMC initially tackled the printing and copying issue by switching to PDF documents viewed on mobile tablets. Moving to a PDF workflow helped with document control and reduced paper, but UMC still had separate systems to manage production and draw deliverables with Smartsheet and Bluebeam, along with a separate workflow inside of FABMEP, where UMC created the cut lists, BOMs, and packing slips. To support this work, UMC either had to train its fabrication team and purchase separate software licenses or rely on its virtual construction (VC) teams, which were already laden with deliverables.
Transitioning from paper to PDFs was a radical step for UMC, but PDFs did not take advantage of the integrated 3D models created by the VC teams. The VC staff spend countless hours poring over design documents to develop a constructible product in a 3D environment that is embedded with powerful information, such as cost and labor.
Next Step: PDFs to an Integrated Platform
In November 2017, Doug Smith of Dynamic Systems, Inc., introduced UMC to GTP Services’ STRATUS software, a construction manufacturing and logistics solution that uses Autodesk’s Forge Platform. The product was in its infancy at the time, but UMC appreciated the vision and potential and so became an early adopter.
At its core, STRATUS is a data aggregator that allows UMC to access and manipulate all the information contained in its models in any number of ways—solving the problem of maintaining PDF drawings separately from cut lists, BOMs, hanger reports, and other data. It can also connect to tooling, such as Watts Plasma, TigerStop, and Greenlee Tubing Benders, eliminating the manual effort of creating the lists or typing them into machine interfaces. UMC found that the STRATUS integration with tooling resulted in a large savings in material costs through its nesting routines. Because STRATUS connects to its printers, UMC eliminated another manual process.
The ability to create spools and assemblies inside of STRATUS was a major improvement for UMC. STRATUS gives UMC the opportunity to work directly within the model, eliminating the need for text and annotation. With the ability to rotate a model virtually, the user no longer needs multiple views on spool sheets, and UMC can put the power of the model in the shop personnel’s hands. In addition, STRATUS pairs the visual aspects of a tool like Navisworks with the manufacturing tool. It allows UMC to take full advantage of the VC teams’ work by building digitally. The modeling team now does less reporting and more modeling, and workers in the field can generate reports themselves through STRATUS if needed.
Early Adoption Pays Off
A six-month snapshot of UMC’s return on investment while running STRATUS integrated with TigerStop showed a total savings of more than $330,000. UMC also runs its shops using three TigerStops purchased from GTP Services. UMC appreciated how GTP Services listens to the needs of the end users. GTP Services’ continued dedication to improvement and contractor involvement in development has transformed STRATUS into a powerful tool that met UMC’s initial challenge to change its shop from a paperless workflow to a digital workflow with mechanized integration.
By implementing Jonas Construction Software solutions in the back office and on the front lines of service, Current Mechanical has made operations more efficient across the board, boosting the bottom line. Current Mechanical ultimately selected Jonas after speaking with many existing Jonas clients, researching competitors, and experiencing several demonstrations. “The overall positive feedback we received from others we spoke to within and even outside our industry really sold us on the software,” said Ted Current, vice president and CFO of Current Mechanical.
Established in 1978, Current Mechanical is a family-owned, high-quality solution that offers a complete range of services to ensure that clients’ buildings and homes are healthy, comfortable, and energy efficient. Current Mechanical’s services range from preconstruction consultation to custom fabrication in their prefabrication shop to annual preventive maintenance. Their mission is to solve customers’ problems by finding the right solutions for each unique customer. So, it is fitting that Current Mechanical took the time to find the right solution for themselves.
User-Friendly Software
Since putting the Jonas software in place, Current Mechanical is running a more efficient and integrated business. With the user-friendly nature of the software, real-time reports are easier and quicker to create, and the ability to create a new job is now seamless. On the service side, Current Mechanical is fully operational on Jonas eMobile, so technicians can perform and complete jobs directly from the field using their tablet devices.
“Before we had eMobile, we were using a lot more pen and paper, which was definitely less efficient,” stated Current. “Now, since implementing Jonas eMobile, our techs are able to complete jobs from the field and no longer have to return to the office to drop off their paperwork on a weekly basis, which has really allowed us to have access to more timely information.”
In addition, Current Mechanical no longer needs to run reports for every single aspect of their business. Instead, they can go directly into the Jonas system and access information in real time.
Faster Billing, Less Paperwork
The benefits to the business have been tremendous. Current Mechanical is now able to bill much quicker and has been able to reduce payroll processing time.
“Jonas has allowed us to significantly reduce our manual data entry, thanks to their mobile solutions and fully integrated nature, which has allowed us to save about half a day of data entry for our payroll staff,” Current said.
Seamless Transitions
Current Mechanical recently acquired two businesses on the residential side, and both were using QuickBooks. Both have since seamlessly transitioned off of QuickBooks and on to Jonas, allowing Current Mechanical to operate with only one accounting system and centralize all of their data. Current Mechanical was also using Trimble ConstructJob software, which has now been replaced with Jonas’ Project Management solution.
“By transitioning off both QuickBooks and ConstructJob and only using Jonas for all our functional business areas, we have been able to reduce our overall software costs and improve our bottom line,” said Current.
“Jonas has allowed us to significantly reduce our manual data entry, thanks to their mobile solutions and fully integrated nature, which has allowed us to save about half a day of data entry for our payroll staff.”
— Ted Current, Vice President, CFO, Current Mechanical
As a whole, Current Mechanical has been able to grow their business without having to add any back-office personnel, all while running on Jonas. They have also seen an increase in employee satisfaction, as several of their staff are now using Jonas who were not using the old software.
Growing Together
While the decision to make the switch to Jonas involved a lengthy and exhaustive search, Current is sure it was the right decision. “We really find Jonas to be a quality software solution, and we are very confident that as we grow, Jonas will be there to grow with us,” he said. In making the decision to invest in Jonas, Current Mechanical has been able to take their business to new heights and are now positioned for even greater success as they continue to grow and evolve.
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, design-build contractor Western Allied Mechanical, Inc. has been using Viewpoint software for over a decade. As a result, it has streamlined project management and processes—for example, cutting RFI response time from days to minutes.
Western Allied adopted Spectrum, a completely integrated construction enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, in 2005. The move helped Western Allied significantly modernize its operations, drastically reducing its reliance on paper and manual processes—like spreadsheets and duplicative data entry into disparate construction management solutions—to facilitate workflows, accounting, and financial reporting. Several years later, when Spectrum became the first construction ERP to move to the cloud, Western Allied took advantage of the easy, browser-based access to construction data and collaboration tools in real time to further improve productivity.
Opening the Box
Operations Manager Jim Jeffrey said Western Allied really committed to “opening the box”—that is, taking full advantage of Spectrum’s features. The company deployed Spectrum’s document imaging functionality throughout the company, implemented deep reporting and business intelligence tools, and tracked productivity in its sheet metal and piping shop. As a result, it has streamlined project management and job compliance tasks.
“Using Spectrum’s job compliance features really helped in keeping us on track, knowing when all of our compliance documents are completed,” said Project Administrator Donna Nielson. “It makes it very easy to see, with Spectrum’s dashboard, when you’re out of compliance. You can just click on that dashboard item and drill down.”
Western Allied has taken part in several product and new functionality beta tests with Spectrum and Viewpoint. This year, it is beta testing both Viewpoint Team™ and Viewpoint Field View™ products.
“We’re finding Team to be a very powerful program. It allows for the compilation and organization of submittals and RFIs and other project documents. It has shortened our RFI response time from days to literally minutes,” Jeffrey said.
“Field View, meanwhile, allows the field to provide on-the-fly issues logs and punch list documents to be sent to project manager and office support personnel,” Jeffrey continued. “This has been both a refinement and a boon to our field QA/QC issues. This product has and will speed up the zero punch process that we employ.” Western Allied has also embraced Viewpoint’s Service Tech solution, increasing efficiency among technicians in the field and for back-office processes. The company can now keep a digital history and enhance scheduling of its entire service department—that is, everything from electronic dispatch to time keeping and site history to work orders and purchase orders.
“When I saw Service Tech, I was really excited because it looked to be just what we needed,” said CFO Jeff Pierce. “We wanted a solution where we could push out work orders, service calls, and preventative maintenance tasks and be able to get the time back in and facilitate the billing process quicker. For a CFO, that’s always important.”
Keeping pace with the changing technology and landscape of the field is important to Western Allied. “We have clients that are very dynamic companies, and their needs can change even between the time you’ve started a project and when you’ve delivered it,” said Jeffrey.
Western Allied was awarded Viewpoint’s 2017 Innovator of the Year for Spectrum. Watch the company’s full story here.
For a recent retrofit, Arden Engineering Constructors knew that an accurate as-built assessment of the project was essential to ensure a smooth process, so they put their Trimble® TX6 Scanner and RealWorks® Office software to the test. The scan took one field worker about 4 hours, compared with an estimated 32-man hours for manual measurements—a labor savings of 90 percent.
Technology Investment Pays Off
Several years ago, Bill Cameron, building information modeling (BIM) manager for Arden Engineering Constructors recalled, the company began to see a substantial uptick in the number of RFPs for MEP and HVAC systems renovation and retrofit jobs, as opposed to new construction projects. As a first step, such work typically requires an accurate picture of preconstruction conditions. For every pipe and duct in a HVAC system, for example, there are numerous hangers, sleeves, and other components precisely positioned within the structure to support it. An as-built model gathers precise measurements for all relevant MEP elements of the building, so contractors can determine current conditions and assess the impact of the redesigned system. The conventional method for generating as-builts for MEP systems is to measure and record all components across the building site by hand. To modernize this process, Arden Engineering Constructors sought out 3D scanners and point cloud modeling alternatives.
Already a loyal user of Trimble technology, including Trimble PipeDesigner 3D and SysQue® for Autodesk Revit™ MEP, the team adopted the Trimble TX5 laser scanner and later the TX6 scanner along with RealWorks office software. They chose the Trimble TX6 3D laser scanner because it provided the speed, quality, and range to make in-field data collection fast and efficient. RealWorks allowed them to create 3D deliverables. Arden Engineering Constructors estimated that the TX6 scanner paid for itself after about four projects with increased speed and
accuracy of gathering as-built preconstruction data.
“One of the biggest benefits of the TX6 scanner is the high-speed scanning and consistent accuracy. We estimated it would have taken about four days or 32 man-hours to complete an as-built assessment manually.”
For a new and retrofit project for a small biopharmaceutical facility located in Cambridge, MA, Arden Engineering Constructors took on a project that included HVAC, controls, balancing and fabrication work, and the addition of a roof mezzanine. Phase 1 of the project required them to set up a temporary boiler and
chiller plant to service the existing nine-building campus, which featured 644,771 square feet of laboratory, office, and retail space across nearly eight acres. It also included all remodeled and installed duct work for the existing area and the addition to support the next phase of the project. Phase 2 involved integrating the chill water plant, new chillers, and new chilling towers.
Completing an accurate as-built assessment of the project was essential to ensure that retrofitting of additional MEP systems would not clash. Arden Engineering Constructors used the Trimble TX6 3D laser scanner to gather the precise 3D location of surfaces, HVAC components, objects, and duct work. Scans were conducted outside and indoors with scanning speeds of 500,000 points per second and a scanning range of 80 meters standard on most surfaces (and 120 meters with an optional upgrade). Cameron said each scan took approximately
seven minutes, and all the scans were completed over a four-hour period. During each, the scanner collected millions of data points, also called a point cloud.
“One of the biggest benefits of the TX6 scanner is the high-speed scanning
and consistent accuracy,” said Cameron. “We estimated it would have taken about four days or 32 man-hours to complete an as-built assessment manually.”
Cameron continued, “With the Trimble scanner, we had access to high-quality data fast, and we were able to quickly capture clean data even in bright sunlight. We scanned this project as sort of a favor to the contractor on site, so they didn’t have to put it out to bid. That saved them approximately $10,000 and helped us
secure future phases of the project.”
Arden Engineering Constructors relies on Trimble’s TX6 Scanner to capture a building’s MEP details much faster and more accurately than workers measuring by hand. Using RealWorks software in concert with their other BIM programs, they translate the data into digital models that are essential to effective planning and coordination among all the contractors involved.
From Data to 3D
After the scan, the data were exported into Trimble RealWorks software to register, analyze, model, and create 3D deliverables. RealWorks essentially segments the cloud data into bite-sized pieces, which is easier for CAD modeling software to digest.
Using RealWorks, Arden Engineering Constructors modeled the point cloud’s specific MEP components and exported these solid objects to the 3D design package, Autodesk Revit, for finish detailing activities. The point cloud served as a starting point for MEP system detailing efforts and was used to determine the
project design impacts on the existing structure. Once the laser scan of point cloud data was converted, the team used SysQue to inject greater intelligence into the 3D BIM model. With SysQue, Arden Engineering Constructors was able to include real-world content in the design, including detailing, fabrication, manufacturing, and installation specifications. The model was viewed in Revit, then exported to Autodesk’s Navisworks software, which created a snapshot of the project including models, the scene’s environment, viewpoints and redlines, and measurements for coordination among trades.
“After we scanned the building, we forwarded that information on to the construction manager on the project,” said Cameron. “The point cloud from the scanner and RealWorks gave us a clear and accurate picture of what we were looking at for phase 2 of the project. We also liked that the point cloud data from the scan folded seamlessly into our Revit, SysQue, and Navisworks workflow.”
A Step Ahead
Cameron believes Trimble scanning technology along with the ability to convert point clouds into modeled 3D components help set Arden Engineering Constructors apart as a leading HVAC and MEP services contractor. The team can tackle complex projects for customers and offer comprehensive and innovative solutions that save time and money and meet the industry’s highest quality standards.
“We see the industry trending towards relationships, more than pure dollars and cents,” said Cameron. “Customers want to know that we can provide complete MEP services including balancing how our scope of work on a project impacts all other trades and the project’s overall cost. Trimble’s 3D scanner and software helps us do this and it fits into our BIM workflow. It’s just one more reason why we’re positioned much better to help customers in the MEP and mechanical services space because we’re thinking big picture.”
Instead of uploading photos from jobsites manually and trying to keep them organized and accessible, contractors are using the FotoIN mobile application to streamline the process, saving time and improving productivity. Users have found FotoIN easy to use in the field and in the office and report that it works well with other office systems.
Mechanical contractors are increasingly required to document conditions onsite with photos and key information to capture details about the condition of assets, work progress, and other specifics for scoping, estimating, and documenting finished work. Yet, they are wasting time with inefficient, overly manual, archaic field processes. Efforts such as the following can be cumbersome and time-consuming for both field and office staff:
Capturing many photos with many devices on many projects and writing notes by hand
Manually uploading, naming, and filing each photo to the right folder back in the office
Wasting time waiting for the photos or searching for them to estimate work, resolve disputes, or report to management and the client
FotoIN helps speed up the photo documentation turnaround time. Users gain control of photo management with an end-to-end easy, actionable, and open solution that:
sends photos to the designated server directly from the site, saving thousands of
hours a month with automated filing and organization;
creates a well-organized photo archive (capable of storing millions of photos across hundreds of thousands of projects) that is easily searchable;
enables easy, daily reporting, saving time; and
works seamlessly with other systems, such as Egnyte and Salesforce.
Office staff saves time by having FotoIN pull job names and codes directly and automatically from Salesforce, for example. FotoIN then names the photos and files them to the correct folder in real time. Automated filing in turn enables
project managers to get access to the photos faster than manual processes, which helps them expedite the estimating process time for the client. Having an easily manageable and well-organized photo archive also allows for effective dispute resolution.
Contractors have found that using FotoIN increases overall productivity and efficiency of photo documentation. It also improves customer satisfaction by shortening turnaround times (e.g., in finding photos).
To speed the design and fabrication workflow for a customer’s research facility build, North Mechanical Contracting & Service used Trimble® systems, saving an estimated $1 million in costs and cutting by 400 percent the time that would have been needed for traditional materials takeoff tasks. The project required North Mechanical to generate material takeoffs and fabricate all mechanical and plumbing components for a laboratory building in south-side Indianapolis, IN. It represents the company’s largest fabrication contract to date for one of the area’s largest manufacturers.
North Mechanical is well known in the industry for successfully using the integrated project delivery (IPD) method to deliver challenging industrial projects on time, under budget, and with fewer risks. IPD is a collaborative approach to project delivery that integrates people, systems, business structures, and practices of all stakeholders to optimize project results and increase value to the owner.
Dustin Allen, project and building information modeling (BIM) manager for North Mechanical, explained that technology is fundamental to the IPD process and critical to optimizing the design-to-fabrication-to-construction workflow. “Today we take on a lot of industrial IPD builds, which means we have a much bigger role in the actual project design piece,” said Allen. “There is a real need for more intelligent, fabrication-ready models that have the actual system components included. That’s why we turned to Trimble SysQue®.”
Technology Improves Efficiency
Traditionally, manual processes for this type of work included measurement of end-to-pipe and pipe-to-hanger dimensions, manual quantity takeoff, and individual component labeling. With the typical fabrication cut sheets consisting of about 50 pieces, elevations, and more than 30 fittings each, the process is tedious, prone to errors, and inefficient. Looking to eliminate unknowns and create a more automated and accurate fabrication workflow, North Mechanical adopted Trimble SysQue and the Autodesk® Revit® platform—first for the fabrication of hangers and then for pipes and components.
“We knew we wanted to eliminate manual steps for fabricators and improve the accuracy and efficiency of everything from fabrication down to installation,” said Allen. “When you add fittings into SysQue, the model is smart enough to give you the pipe length, and when you get to the end, pipe length is reflected in the schedule. You can cut 100 pieces at five feet and put pieces on with fittings with extreme accuracy. We knew this would save a tremendous amount of time and rework, and the big payoff would be big savings for our customer.”
North Mechanical uses SysQue to design fully constructible Revit LOD 400 models based on manufacturing-specific content. Using SysQue in Revit enhances the model of systems with materials and sizes based on actual manufacturer products by name and part number. As a result, fabricators can produce pipes, fittings, and hangers much more quickly and accurately than using conventional methods. Allen explained that with SysQue, the model includes relevant fields for spool drawings for fabrication and installation, such as piece number, diameter, nominal size, size, family and type, system classification, system abbreviation, material, count, and length.
The laboratory project also helped North Mechanical establish a completely new fabrication workflow for producing piping spools and fabricated skids that can be replicated for other projects. That includes importing raw component data into Excel and Word programs to easily organize, print, and apply labels to each
hanger and component.
“Having this level of manufacturing detail on our hanger and component labels increased our efficiency and allowed us to cut our workforce in half during the peak of the job.”
—Dustin Allen, Project/BIM Manager, North Mechanical
“Having this level of manufacturing detail on our hanger and component labels increased our efficiency and allowed us to cut our workforce in half during the peak of the job,” said Allen. “By allowing us to fabricate roughly 90 percent of components offsite, we also reduced our footprint on the job and allowed for increased efficiency among our partners because they had more insight into and they had longer to complete their work,” he added.
“Our new workflow with SysQue and Revit has helped improve collaboration with fabricators tremendously.”
—Dustin Allen, Project/BIM Manager, North Mechanical
Using SysQue on the lab project, North Mechanical fabricated 60,000 linear feet of piping and over six dozen skids and preassembled modules. Allen believes that the solution has strengthened the quality of the piping and component design by providing fabricators with access to 3D, information-rich models very early in the prefabrication process. “Our new workflow with SysQue and Revit has helped improve collaboration with fabricators tremendously,” said Allen. “They now ask more meaningful questions, which leads to better coordination between us, less rework, and higher quality design. This new process eliminated 90 percent of rework on the lab build, which is huge. We had zero change orders due to clashes or coordination issues on that job, which is outstanding. The intelligent 3D model gives fabricators a better sense spatially of the components and eliminates problems before they happen.”
“This new process eliminated 90 percent of rework on the lab build, which is huge. We had zero change orders due to clashes or coordination issues on that job, which is outstanding.”
—Dustin Allen, Project/BIM Manager, North Mechanical
Leveraging Just-in-Time Ordering
North Mechanical is also generating material takeoffs from the schedules developed with SysQue and Revit. Vendors receive a part list with approximately 1,000 line items, organize and accept the spreadsheets, and place orders directly using North Mechanical’s schedules. In most cases, components are delivered in two to three days—enabling fabricators to have the exact materials they need, precisely when they need them.
Allen estimates he has ordered 90 percent of all materials for the lab project from his desk with 100-percent accuracy in terms of the precise number of components, fittings, and valves required. This precision allows Allen and his team to be more focused and deliberate with fabrication and management on the job. He estimates it can cost tens of thousands of dollars in restocking fees and labor costs to perform takeoffs using conventional methods. With SysQue, North Mechanical has eliminated those expenses and other possible unknown expenses required for takeoff. Altogether, Allen estimates today the company is saving 400 percent of time compared with traditional materials takeoff tasks.
More Accurate Layout and Installation
North Mechanical is also using Trimble Field Link for MEP, a solution that consists of the Trimble Field Link software powering a ruggedized tablet connected to a Trimble Robotic Total Station for laying out hangers and assigning naming conventions to embedded structures in the field. This approach reduces errors and extends the BIM workflow by allowing North Mechanical to export hanger points or cable tray attachment locations from the 3D MEP models to the field for simplified field location and staking.
Overall, Allen believes that one of the biggest competitive advantages of using SysQue and Revit is that the platforms have improved their models and they deliver a higher quality of design and higher quality of installation. “With SysQue and Revit we’re able to validate install with the BIM model first, which increases savings and reduces rework and change orders required dramatically,” said Allen. “Overall, I would estimate we achieved at least a 10-percent shared cost savings using SysQue and Revit on the lab build, resulting in about $1 million savings in total. Best of all, it made our customer very, very happy and we now have this streamlined fabrication workflow in place that we’ll leverage, and it will make us more competitive going forward.”
For more information, visit www.trimble.com. MCAA thanks Trimble for being a supporter of MCAA18 and providing a convention souvenir.
North Mechanical will present on best practices at the MCAA 2018 Fabrication Conference.
Implementing a fully automated, integrated software solution from Jonas Construction Software helped Flo-Tron Contracting streamline their business, enhance efficiencies, and reduce payroll processing time by 50 percent. “The software we were using prior to Jonas was very limited, and we found ourselves having to regularly pay for external services and consultants to handle many of our business processes. With the fully-integrated nature of Jonas, we could handle all facets of our business in-house, which truly helped us meet all of our needs in a single software solution,” said Kari Cordell, controller at Flo-Tron.
With Jonas eTimesheets, Flo-Tron experienced an immediate impact. As Cordell explained, “With eTimesheets, I no longer have to manually type in hours for our office staff and technicians. Instead, everyone logs their own hours, and all I have to do is upload and review, which has truly changed the way I do my job for the better.”
The office staff is much more productive as well, so employees can focus on more meaningful tasks and even redistribute the workload more efficiently. Flo-Tron has reduced the time it takes to complete union remittances, which used to take half a day. Now, they can be done instantly with the simple push of a button.
Seamless Transition
Having trainers who walked through the process many times ensured that Flo-Tron migrated to the new system proficiently, minimizing staff training time. Jonas Construction Software trainers understand construction, accounting, and technology, which made the transition the best experience possible, from Flo-Tron’s perspective. Jonas trainers were also flexible about meeting Flo-Tron’s needs, and staff members were able to learn the software at their own pace.
Pruning Paperwork
Since partnering with Jonas Construction Software, Flo-Tron has significantly reduced their manual processes as well as the amount of physical paperwork in the office thanks to Digio, Jonas’ document management system. “With Digio, we are not only able to scan and upload documents, but we are also able to quickly locate and open any document as well. The drill-down functionality, however, is what impressed us the most, as we can go into the details of any given project and instantly view the purchase orders and committed costs in actual dollars, which has been great for us and our project managers,” said Cordell.
“We found ourselves having to regularly pay for external services and consultants to handle many of our business processes. With the fully-integrated nature of Jonas, we could handle all facets of our business in-house.”
—Kari Cordell, Controller, Flo-Tron Contracting
Streamlined for Success
The continued support Flo-Tron receives has also been a huge benefit to their business. With a full internal support team at Jonas, Flo-Tron gets the help they need on an ongoing basis, which keeps their business running as efficiently as possible with no downtime. Being primarily a service-based construction business, the dispatch scheduler in Jonas has helped Flo-Tron manage their technicians better and has made the lives of their dispatchers much easier. Flo-Tron is now able to schedule the nearest technician to the closest service job by leveraging GPS. They can dispatch more quickly with all information stored in a single system, and they have been able to reduce error-prone double entries as well.
The decision to partner with Jonas Construction Software has already proven to be a great fit for Flo-Tron Contracting and has helped them transform their business. Flo-Tron has been able to streamline their business in all aspects. By eliminating time-consuming manual processes and reducing physical paperwork, Flo-Tron’s back office is able to operate in a more efficient and organized manner. With Jonas Construction Software, Flo-Tron is confident they have the right software solution to help their business continue to grow and improve going forward.
Move Slashes Payroll Processing Time, Improves Cash Flow
With their new Jonas Construction Software, Harrell-Fish Inc. (HFI) has reduced their billing cycle, enhanced payroll processing, and improved their overall service operation. HFI began looking at software solutions so they could rely less on manual processes. They also plan to transition to mobile technology. Jonas helped HFI realize immediate results, while HFI positioned themselves for a successful transition to Jonas eMobile in the near future.
On the construction side of the business, with the Jonas Purchase Order module, HFI has seen a big improvement. Chief Financial Officer Dave Conner explained, “Prior to Jonas, all of our purchase orders were handwritten, then manually processed and matched with the invoices when they arrived. It was just a very manual process overall. Now, with Jonas, we were able to write 15,000 digital purchase orders within Jonas in our first year alone, allowing us effectively to go from no electronic processing to a completely digital process.”
Over the past three years, HFI has grown from $9 million to $13 million on the industrial side. With Jonas, HFI has accommodated that growth without hiring any additional back office staff. Notably, HFI is now able to turn around billings about five days quicker with Jonas, improving their cash flow in the process. They have also reduced their payroll processing time from about four hours a month spread out across three employees to about an hour only with Jonas.
By partnering with Jonas Construction Software, HFI is running a more organized and efficient operation. With the service dispatch board, they are better able to schedule and manage their technicians through an easy-to-use dashboard view. If any discrepancies occur, they are quickly able to locate and correct them before the problem worsens.
In terms of overall functionality within Jonas, HFI has been impressed so far, “The great thing about Jonas, and this is very important to us, is that they have demonstrated a constant improvement of the product and take the input of their customers very seriously when making enhancements to the software,” stated Conner. “We truly wouldn’t be able to do things we are doing now without Jonas.”
Jonas Construction Software “allow[ed] us effectively to go from no electronic processing to a completely digital process.”
—Dave Conner, Chief Financial Officer, HFI
HFI also likes the ability to design their own forms with Jonas, which helps to simplify the entire reporting process. Also, with the additional savings they have attained through optimizing processes with Jonas, they have been able to put more money into the completion of actual projects. Since becoming a Jonas Construction Software partner, HFI has made great improvements with respect to enhancing and streamlining their business processes. HFI took the time to prepare for the transition to Jonas, which led to a smooth deployment process and put them in a position to succeed from the start. By implementing the software on a gradual basis, they allowed their employees to get acclimated to the system. Having already provided their technicians with tablets in the field, they are ready to implement Jonas eMobile solutions. With the backing of a fully integrated and automated software solution in Jonas Construction Software, HFI knows they can continue to grow without having to worry about investing in further software.
Prout Boiler, Heating & Welding, Inc. relied heavily on Trimble’s AutoBid Mechanical and PipeDesigner 3D® to plan out a multitrade prefabrication approach during the bidding process for a hospital expansion project and take charge of multitrade coordination throughout the expedited construction schedule.
“On many jobs, the mechanical contractor is the prime trade coordinator, bringing together all mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and sprinkler systems,” explained Mike Savko, construction manager with Prout. “3D technology, and PipeDesigner 3D specifically, is very familiar to the industry. From a coordination standpoint, everything we do is clear to the other trades. The fact that we can coordinate with people we work with is a big plus.”
Building information modeling (BIM) solutions are keeping Prout competitive in a field with increasingly frequent demands for fast-track, multitrade coordination and prefabrication that begins long before the structural framework is in place. In the past 10 years, Prout has invested in 3D tools that have helped the firm deliver ever-more-complex piping solutions with greater efficiency, while also setting the stage for emerging business opportunities.
Take, for example, the Salem Regional Medical Center’s patient private room tower in Salem, OH. Savko explained, “This project, among many others, demonstrates just how much our business has changed in recent years and the importance of technology to meet expectations. Technology in the way of bidding and 3D detailing software is a game changer for us—and our clients.”
Youngstown, OH-based Prout Boiler, Heating & Welding is a commercial and industrial plumbing, HVAC, and process piping company, with emphasis in the construction and renovation of health care and education facilities primarily in the state of Ohio.
Synchronized Workflows
The Salem Hospital tower project was the first project in Northeast Ohio to use multitrade prefabrication. The $42.5-million project includes three floors of private patient rooms, guest and visitor amenities, and a two-level, underground parking structure. The owner stipulated an 18-month construction schedule, with completion in 2014.
“AutoBid Mechanical has allowed us to generate full labor and material reports fast enough to turn bids around in as little as a day or two. … In the old days without the software, we would already be behind.”
—Mike Savko, Construction Manager, Prout Boiler, Heating & Welding, Inc.
To facilitate the fast-track schedule, the overhead corridor rack systems, patient room bathroom pods, and medical gas headwall units were prefabricated in parallel with the structural work.
Savko said, “Most new building construction puts the MEP trades on hold until at least the structural framework is available. With the expedited schedule on the Salem project, the owner could not afford for that type of sequential construction. Instead, we used our in-house design team to coordinate the plumbing, HVAC, fire protection, and electrical work with BIM and began prefabrication at an offsite warehouse in parallel with the tower shell erection.”
Tools of the Trade
Savko noted, “It wasn’t that long ago that our legacy pipefitters used pencil and paper to take measurements in the field and draw things up by hand. That’s not something that we can do anymore and stay competitive. Owners won’t pay for that. They expect work to be handled with technology for improved accuracy and less waste. We agree—though not just any technology will do.”
Prout first invested in Trimble AutoBid Mechanical in 2000 as a way to generate labor/material quotes quicker than by hand. Savko said, “AutoBid Mechanical has allowed us to generate full labor and material reports fast enough to turn bids around in as little as a day or two. When there are multiple projects to estimate week after week, or if another subcontractor asks us for a last-minute price, we are able to meet the deadlines. In the old days without the software, we would already be behind.”
Prout used its in-house design team to coordinate the plumbing, HVAC, fire protection, and electrical work with BIM, followed by offsite prefabrication that began while the building shell was being built.
The biggest benefit of PipeDesigner 3D, according to Prout detailers, is the ability to create pipe fabrication drawings. Detailers take advantage of PipeDesigner 3D’s extensive database with over 36,000 items with representation from 34 manufacturers every day to create drawings. Savko said, “It’s easy to pick pipe and fittings from the library. If it’s not readily available, or it’s a special item, PipeDesigner 3D’s Data Editor makes it easy to create or revise an existing similar object. We can do anything with the software.”
Detailers also appreciate the automatic creation of a bill of materials from the 3D model, a list that includes cut links and fittings tags, along with installation information and fabrication points for welded projects.
“Thanks to 3D technology, we keep finding efficient ways to expedite the whole piping process from layout to design to fabrication and enhance our multi-trade coordination capabilities. … Since implementation in our company, it’s paid for itself tenfold.”
—Mike Savko, Construction Manager, Prout Boiler, Heating & Welding, Inc.
Another big advantage to PipeDesigner 3D for Prout is coordination. Savko added, “Many of our competitors sub out their coordination tasks to an engineering firm. With this technology, we are able to do it all in-house.”
Prout also implemented Trimble DuctDesigner 3D in 2014—even though they are not a duct supplier. “We’re a piping contractor,” emphasized Savko, “but because we are often the model coordinator for trade subcontractors, we needed the ability to draw duct accurately in our drawings with speed so that we get truer as-built conditions. We’re saving time doing coordination with the DuctDesigner 3D.”
The company’s use of PipeDesigner 3D came in particularly handy on the Salem tower project.
Racks and Tracks
As part of the Salem tower project, Prout detailed all the mains and branches and designed and fabricated 60 corridor racks. The corridor racks were each 20′ long by 8′ wide by about 27″ high. Bathroom pods were roughly 6.5′ square by 10′ tall.
Savko explained, “We own the corridor rack design, so I drew the structural racks from scratch, placed our piping, duct, the sprinkler fitter’s piping, and the electrician’s conduit using PipeDesigner 3D to verify fit. The other subs did not have PipeDesigner 3D available, but because we were able to lay everything out for them, it wasn’t necessary. We accounted for everyone’s line sizes and number of conduits in various areas to designate ‘zones’ that belonged to each sub.”
Once the racks, pods, and walls were complete, the prefabricated items were delivered to the tower construction site for installation.
While Savko doesn’t know exactly how much time was saved on the project, he is very aware of the advantages created by prefabricating the bathroom pods and corridor racks. He added, “We were installing bathroom pods and corridor racks before exterior walls were going up. We were in the building doing install right after the floors were poured with concrete. Normally, we would have just started putting hangers and piping up. On this project, we had full corridor main systems and bathroom groups completed.”
Looking Ahead
Prout recently used the combination of AutoBid Mechanical and PipeDesigner 3D to bid a hospital heat exchanger project. In this case, the mechanical room was jampacked.
Savko said, “With our laser tools, we were able to get measurements in a couple hours, draw it in PipeDesigner 3D, and then draw in a new heat exchanger along with details about how we’d do the replacement, including labor hours and materials. We refined our material-based drawings and won the job and the subsequent fabrication, and, as an added bonus, we had installation drawings ready for our field guys.”
The benefits of estimating and detailing solutions are also playing a big role in the company’s strategic growth, which includes expanding its industrial pipe fabrication and commercial prefabrication services. Prout detailers are looking forward to using Trimble’s Quick Link integrator tool that will allow take-off in AutoBid Mechanical and define route lines in PipeDesigner 3D to automatically draw pipe and fittings, which would expedite the drawing process. Savko said, “Much like the Salem tower project, the owners want the project completed faster so they can start generating revenue earlier than conventional construction. We’d like to expand our fabrication shop to meet growing demand—the success of this endeavor will depend on our detailers and PipeDesigner 3D.”
Savko concluded, “Thanks to 3D technology, we keep finding efficient ways to expedite the whole piping process from layout to design to fabrication and enhance our multi-trade coordination capabilities. I went for training on PipeDesigner 3D in 2007. Since implementation in our company, it’s paid for itself tenfold.”
For more information, visit http://www.trimble.com. MCAA thanks Trimble for being a supporter of MCAA 2016.
Since implementing Jonas Construction Software, Chiller Systems Service, Inc. has reduced their billing cycle from three weeks to just one week, which gets them a faster turnaround on their invoices, improving cash flow. Using Jonas’ eMobile module, Chiller reduced their IT expenses by 50 percent, replacing laptops with more cost-effective tablets in the field. Jonas has also helped Chiller streamline their service operation and improve customer service.
Chiller offers HVAC repairs, retrofits, and maintenance service in Denver, CO. The company realized they needed to upgrade their software system and wanted one that understood the intricacies of their HVAC business and could provide a complete, all-in-one solution.
“I can’t imagine life without mobile technology, and using Jonas eMobile for that technology has worked well. It’s a huge advantage for us that our technicians are working in ‘real-time’ for our customers’ benefit. There are just so many time- and cost-savings associated with having eMobile, it’s been great for us,” said Scott Tracy, president.
During the initial transition to Jonas Construction Software, a test company was set up—a standard process for all new Jonas clients. As Tracy said, “With the test company, we were able try the software out and vetted a lot of the issues prior to going live without having to worry about the impact on our business. This was a really powerful tool and a huge advantage for us, as we were able to really train and learn the software, which gave us a great deal of comfort knowing we would be ready once the we went live with Jonas.”
With the dispatch scheduler from Jonas, Chiller is now able to easily schedule their service tickets, as well as forecast much better and schedule service jobs in advance. The Digio document management system allows Chiller to locate documents quickly and easily, from anywhere and at any time, which has proven quite useful to their business.
“With Digio, if a customer calls in and I need to access a particular work order or invoice, I can simply go into Digio, search, and access the work order, which not only saves us time, but helps improve our customer service as well,” said Tracy.
Chiller also appreciates the Jonas executive dashboard, which allows them to view financials, key performance indicators, and highlights from a single dashboard view. Since deploying Jonas Construction Software, Chiller has reduced their billing cycle, reduced overall IT expenses with Jonas eMobile, and is now running a more organized and efficient service business. Not only are their employees more satisfied with the user-friendly Jonas software system, but with Chiller’s ability to provide exceptional service, their customers are much happier as well.
When a business has been using the same software system for years, it is easy for employees to get trapped in a cycle of doing things the way they have always done things. It does not occur to them that there are different—and sometimes better—ways to tailor their software to fit their needs.
When a software system is first implemented, it is designed to meet the needs of the business at that time. But soon, two things happen. First, the software changes. Most software companies are continuously improving their software and often provide free upgrades. The improvements typically include a lot of newer functionality. Second, the needs of businesses change. A function that was not needed just a few years ago may now be the company’s key to success.
When it comes to discovering previously unused features of your software, how do you figure out what is available and what could be of the most benefit to your company? First, step back and look at your software as if you were buying it for the first time. Does it fit the needs of your company today? Where are your areas of greatest inefficiencies? Here are a few other ways to educate yourself about all the features of your existing software:
Take advantage of online demonstrations and e-learnings provided by your software vendor. Even executives should periodically reeducate themselves about how their systems can work. If your company had a tool in the field that your technicians were only using half right, you would immediately insist that they learn how to fully utilize that tool. Your software is no different.
Ask for a system review. Many software companies will spend time at your company shadowing your users and reviewing current processes, then provide advice on areas for improvement. These checkups are designed to provide recommendations tailored to your specific business needs.
Network with other companies using the same software. Talking to a similar business about the way you each use your software can be invaluable. In talking through each other’s successes and failures, you will learn what to try and what to avoid. If you do not already know another company that uses the same system in a similar way, ask your software company to connect you with one or more businesses.
Attend a users’ conference. Many software companies host an annual customer conference that brings together a diverse mix of different users of that company’s software. In addition to providing opportunities to meet and network with other users, these events expose users to new software functionality. Breakout sessions showcase new product features, and experience centers offer the opportunity to test drive those new features.
“The WennSoft solution has helped us do a better job in tracking and converting our new construction customers to become service maintenance customers.”
— Dick Hoffman, President, Atomatic
By moving from an outdated accounting system to WennSoft Signature® and Microsoft® Dynamics® GP, Chicago-based HVAC firm Atomatic Mechanical Services dramatically streamlined its accounting processes, improved its service management capabilities, enhanced its customer service, and boosted employee productivity.
“Our first requirement was that the solution needed to handle the basics, such as core accounting, which Microsoft Dynamics GP does very well,” recalled Dick Hoffman, president of Atomatic. “Ultimately, it was the service management functionality of WennSoft that drove our decision. As a mechanical services company, our needs around managing service contracts and dispatching are unique and rigorous. WennSoft offers an extremely strong package in that regard and does a tremendous job of listening to users in our industry and responding to needs.”
Time for a Change
Since the early 1990s, Atomatic had relied on a Concord job-costing system and FACS service management system to support operations. Lack of integration between these systems meant that once each week, employees in the accounting department had to manually re-enter data from the service management system into the job-costing system, which the company also used exclusively for payroll, accounting, and reporting. This time-consuming process resulted in an average billing cycle of three to four weeks and a lack of real-time insight into the business.
“Our job-costing system was based on UNIX® and grew increasingly cumbersome to use and manage,” said Steven Wiet, CFO of Atomatic. “The process for looking up and retrieving data was not user-friendly, and it was always difficult to find IT people who could help us support the system.” The legacy system also lacked some basic features that the company needed to manage business proactively. “We didn’t have the ability to see purchase orders or committed costs before the invoice came in,” explained Wiet.
“The moment we went live on the [WennSoft] solution, our billing cycle reduced from over three weeks to less than two weeks, without us having to change our processes.”
— Steven Wiet, CFO, Atomatic
Improved Service and Better Insight
The service management capabilities of Signature helped Atomatic improve in several areas. Now, when on a service call, Atomatic service team members can capture cost and history not only by customer but also by each piece of equipment, enabling them to track service history and promptly answer customer inquiries. Atomatic representatives can also provide customers with insight, such as when the cost of maintenance fees outweighs a new purchase.
“With the WennSoft solution, we can offer our customers details about their equipment and service agreements that save them money, such as benchmarking and other metrics,” said Wiet. “Our customers might otherwise keep track of this information on their own or they might not. But we’re winning accounts because we can offer this level of service.”
In addition, “the WennSoft solution has helped us do a better job in tracking and converting our new construction customers to become service maintenance customers,” Hoffman said.
Reporting is also much more powerful. “Our ability to analyze profitability and optimally manage our operations has gone up considerably with the new solution,” said Wiet. “Microsoft Dynamics GP, because it is based on Microsoft SQL Server®, makes it easier to access data and report on data. When I investigate something, it takes me half the time that it used to.”
Billing Cycle Reduced, Cost Tracking Enhanced
After implementing the new solution, Atomatic dramatically improved several accounting processes. “The moment we went live on the solution, our billing cycle reduced from over three weeks to less than two weeks, without us having to change our processes,” said Wiet. “And as we continue to improve our processes in the future, the billing cycle will only get shorter.” Weekly payroll processing once took more than an hour, but now Atomatic can complete the task in less than five minutes.
Because of the system’s flexibility, Atomatic can track costs by customer, equipment, technician, sales category, or other criteria. The company uses the pricing matrix to adjust categories, see labor rates and parts involved, and examine pricing on subcontractors. “We can set a fixed margin or tweak it to apply to the situation. In today’s economy, it’s especially helpful to have a tool like this that lets us easily analyze costs and see how those costs impact our profits,” Hoffman said.
“The greatest benefit we’ve received from our new system is integrating our job costing and service management,” said Hoffman. “Our dispatch and billing are much improved, and we have information about equipment, contracts, and quotes in a single place and available to more people.”
Hoffman is confident about his company’s future with Signature. “That this solution is based on technology from Microsoft is reassuring,” he said. “And, we are confident that WennSoft will continue to refine it to meet the needs of mechanical services firms.”
For more information, visit www.wennsoft.com. You are invited to attend the MCAA 2014 technology session Demystifying Mobile Technologies, where Jim Wenninger of WennSoft will be a panelist.
Devastated by Tornado, Joplin, MO, to Get New Hospital in 2015
The new Mercy Hospital Joplin in Joplin, MO, is on schedule to open in 2015, thanks in part to efforts by U.S. Engineering. To meet the needs of this fast-track effort to replace the former St. John’s Mercy Regional Medical Center, destroyed on May 22, 2011, by an EF-5 tornado, U.S. Engineering used a host of Trimble solutions to establish one of the industry’s most efficient, accurate, and repeatable design-to-fabrication-to-installation workflows ever put in place on a hospital project.
Mercy, the sixth largest Catholic health care system in the U.S., initiated plans to build the new $335 million Mercy Hospital Joplin with a design-to-construction-to-commissioning goal of just three years. The decision was made early in the design phase to bring in the major MEP partners in a design-assist role, or modified integrated project delivery (IPD).
As part of the team, U.S. Engineering was contracted to handle the mechanical and plumbing design, fabrication, and installation of the entire project. Given the tight schedule and size and scope of the job, and the survey-accuracy positioning required for every component, U.S. Engineering knew it would have to draw on all of its technology expertise to keep the project on track.
Design to Fabrication
The new 875,000-square-foot Mercy Hospital Joplin, designed to withstand a powerful tornado, will include beds for surgical services, critical care, women’s and children’s services, behavioral health, and rehab. The bottom three floors of the structure will include hospital space along with a seven-story patient tower and a four-story clinic tower rising above the hospital space.
The facility also incorporates heavy duty mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems. A new 30,000-square-foot central utility plant (CUP) will house emergency equipment and generators located away from the hospital with a strengthened exterior. Utility service access to the CUP from the hospital will be via a 450-foot underground tunnel.
The hospital mechanical and plumbing systems include the necessary components for fuel storage, air supply and return, chilled water, condenser water, HVAC, and plumbing, as well as piping for the tunnel between the hospital and the CUP.
For example, the CUP system includes three steam boilers and boiler feed pumps fed by a high-pressure 12” steam main. The CUP chilled water system includes three 2,000-ton chillers and three chilled water pumps with 24” supply and return mains from the chillers to the tunnel and chilled water return main from pumps to chillers. The CUP also has three cooling towers and three condenser water pumps connected by a 30-inch underground main.
For the project, all of the subcontractors were required to have 3D coordination capabilities. Because of the fast-track nature of the project, the goal was to use the detailed 3D model, which would include all MEP elements, to issue construction documents and facilitate a speedier start to fabrication concurrent to contract documents.
Jeff Kiblen, U.S. Engineering’s project manager of fabrication/3D coordination oversight for the mechanical and plumbing systems on the project, recalled, “We came on board in December 2011, and we were putting in deep underground by March 2012. Most projects of this scope and scale would require six weeks to complete drawings, issue documents, and finish detailing. Because of the modified IPD methodology, we had to be exponentially faster.”
Tech Support
The Mercy Hospital Joplin project broke ground in January 2012. Once the foundation and structural steel had been installed on the site and the first floor deck pour was complete, U.S. Engineering began installing the
hangers and sleeves for the piping and sheet metal components that would be routed overhead.
Kiblen noted, “This was our biggest challenge on the project. On any given day, we’d need to locate hundreds of points on a given floor, which spanned over 100,000 square feet. At the beginning of the project, we had three Trimble RTS robotic total stations to be used by our six-to-eight-member field team.” The pace of the project design, fabrication, and installation drove the need for more robotic total stations, which U.S. Engineering was able to rent from Trimble.
For the hospital project, the team used three Trimble RTS773 Robotic Total Stations connected to the Windows 7 Trimble Field Tablet and two Trimble RTS655 Robotic Total Stations connected to Nomad handheld units. The Trimble robotic total station units integrated radio frequency communication capability instead of Wi-Fi, ensuring no loss of signal.
“The military-grade radio has made a huge difference in connectivity and communication throughout the project,” said Kiblen.
Point-to-Point Precision
Once design of the mechanical and plumbing systems was coordinated and approved, U.S. Engineering used Trimble Point Creator for CAD and Revit (TPC) to create 2D and 3D field points within Revit. “This was the first time that we had used TPC to this magnitude. One great advantage of the tool is the ability to break systems up into more manageable sizes,” said Kiblen. “For instance, the mechanical systems might be broken up as third-floor patient tower exhaust, return and supply air.”
Once the team was ready to move into the field, the points were exported to a Trimble Field Link for MEP robotic total station to lay out the floor penetrations and hanger support embeds.
“Overall, it took us two to three weeks to complete each floor, including setting units, triangulating, and then positioning,” said Kiblen. “On average, the field layout person can routinely layout between 40 and 50 points an hour in good conditions.”
To date, U.S. Engineering has completed the design of the mechanical and plumbing systems and located in excess of 78,000 points for sleeves, embeds, floor penetrations, drains, and hanger supports. U.S. Engineering has also used the TPC and Trimble Field Link for MEP connection to verify as-constructed conditions with the architectural floor plan.
In terms of accuracy, U.S. Engineering is very satisfied. Kiblen said, “Any inaccuracy, especially with sleeve layouts in walls for plumbing, would have created significant fit problems. We needed to be within .25 inches or .5 inches because of the density of ceiling spaces and tight coordination with all the other systems. Thus far, we’ve realized incredible accuracy thanks to our 3D model-to-field workflow.”
The building exterior was completed in November 2013, and the CUP is scheduled to be operational by March 2014—just over two years after construction start, with the main structure expected to open in early 2015.
In 2012, ACCO Engineered Systems of Glendale, CA, trained more than 200 service technicians to use its new MobileTech system, tailored for ACCO by WennSoft, and immediately realized more benefits from the system than expected. The new technology speeds up and even eliminates some paperwork and improves communication. By using the streamlined, electronic quoting features, ACCO has already realized a return on its investment in MobileTech.
Laying the Foundation for Mobile Success
ACCO has long understood the value of mobile technologies and has been planning a mobile strategy for years. Their first step toward a mobile solution began in 2005, when the company implemented WennSoft Signature, built on Microsoft technologies, as its new operational software solution. Chris Leu, director of information technology enterprise applications for ACCO, said the ultimate goal of the switch was to go mobile. “WennSoft had a complete system,” he said. “Even back in 2005 they had a mobile strategy.”
At the time, however, ACCO was not ready to add mobile capabilities. Instead, the contractor planned to hold out for better device options. Leu said, “In 2005 we didn’t have tablets, Androids, or iPhones. Back then it was very expensive and challenging to put that technology together.”
The administrative staff once spent every Wednesday inputting labor from work orders. Now they simply double-check the information as it is submitted, freeing them to focus on more valuable tasks.
Implementing Mobile to Simplify Business
By the end of 2008, ACCO was ready to add WennSoft MobileTech to its existing WennSoft solution. The company conducted a pilot run through at the beginning of 2009, with several goals:
Incorporate maintenance contracts and service calls.
Speed up the payroll process by having techs electronically enter time at the end of each job, rather than completing a written work order.
Enhance the quoting process by having techs submit recommended work electronically rather than through a paper-based process.
Gathering valuable input from its service techs through the pilot program, ACCO worked with WennSoft to tailor the MobileTech solution to its needs. Leu said, “We worked with WennSoft to come up with a tailored screen, so the techs would see the same paperwork they were used to looking at for the last 25 years—just electronically.”
Increased Efficiency and Return on Investment
Following training of service techs throughout all locations in March 2012, ACCO saw the benefits of the switch to mobile. Because the electronic dispatch system automatically fills in the name and location for each job, the time to complete work orders was reduced. Many service techs can now process a work order in less than a minute, allowing more time to focus on customer needs.
When ACCO service techs identify a potential repair, they use WennSoft MobileTech to submit a quote directly to the appropriate person in the office, saving administrative time, eliminating the chance of losing paperwork, and enhancing the opportunity for new business.
Additionally, electronic dispatching reduced the number of calls in which the service techs arrived at an incorrect location. In the past, techs would rely on phone calls or pages to determine where to go. Phone calls were often misunderstood or pagers, limited to 240 characters, would not show the complete address, leaving the techs to guess the location.
Additionally, electronic dispatching reduced the number of calls in which the service techs arrived at an incorrect location. In the past, techs would rely on phone calls or pages to determine where to go. Phone calls were often misunderstood or pagers, limited to 240 characters, would not show the complete address, leaving the techs to guess the location.
Through MobileTech, ACCO has also met its initial goals. Service techs electronically enter their labor at the end of each job, rather than doing paperwork at their leisure and driving to the office to turn it in. “The techs can spend a minute on each job to enter labor, and with one click, it is sent to the office,” said Leu. “After that, they don’t have to worry about the call anymore. That’s a pretty big advantage.”
By entering labor in the field, service techs also relieve the billing team. The administrative staff once spent every Wednesday inputting labor from work orders. Now they simply double-check the information as it is submitted, freeing them to focus on more valuable tasks. “The company used to shut down from a service perspective every Wednesday,” said Leu. “It was a big weekly challenge to process payroll, especially when you have about a dozen locations and a couple hundred techs.”
With real-time information, ACCO can now bill on a daily basis, rather than its previous two-week schedule. The sales team also benefits—they can access information that they can act upon daily, rather than waiting 10 days for the information to become available. “It improves our visibility of what’s happening on a service call, so we can be a lot more proactive,” said Leu. “I know our sales team likes it, because I hear from them right away if the system ever goes down.”
Furthermore, the solution streamlines the quoting process. Previously, service techs would fill out work authorization forms for recommended repairs they identified while on a job.
“The electronic quoting has paid for the entire project. The nice thing is we’ll get that return every year, minus maintenance and the cost of replacing equipment.”
— Chris Leu, Director of Information Technology Enterprise Applications, ACCO
The techs would then hand the forms to an administrator who, in turn, gave them to a project manager or sales member to analyze and discuss with the customer to get approval for the work. Now, when the techs electronically submit a quote, it bypasses the administrator and goes directly to the appropriate person. This saves administrative time, eliminates the chance of losing paperwork, and enhances the opportunity for new business.
ACCO hardly deals with paperwork through its fully integrated system. All documents are automatically filed in WennSoft’s document imaging system and immediately show up on sales reports, which saves the company the time of tracking down paperwork. “There’s almost no touching of a piece of paper,” said Leu. “We used to have nice, extensive filing systems at all our locations, but most of them have been shut down for two to three years.”
Through these efficiencies, ACCO has achieved a quick return on investment from its MobileTech solution. “The electronic quoting has paid for the entire project,” said Leu. “The nice thing is we’ll get that return every year, minus maintenance and the cost of replacing equipment.”
Overall, ACCO finds that the mobile solution adds value to the company. ACCO is growing without adding resources, and its staff is now dedicated to more valuable tasks rather than re-entering information or moving paperwork around the office. Leu said, “Ultimately, it improves what we can deliver to the customer.”
To win the contract to renovate the Green Bay Packers’ Lambeau Field, Tweet/Garot of Wisconsin put Bidtracer’s invitation management software to work to solicit bids and organize proposals from vendor and subcontractors. Once awarded all of the mechanical work (HVAC, plumbing, and radiant systems) for the Packers’ $165-million South End Zone Project, Tweet/Garot turned to Bidtracer again for construction project management software for the submittal, request for information (RFI), and change-order process.
Tweet/Garot started using Bidtracer three years ago with the goal of increasing efficiencies in handling subcontractor proposals on the estimating side to the automated handling of the submittals process on the project side. They found that the software streamlines communication, saves time, and increases efficiency across the board.
‘Put a Bid Together from Anywhere’
Using Bidtracer’s bid estimating software, Tweet/Garot’s upper management can view monthly activity of how much bidding is taking place and easily see charts of the status of the bidding process, ensuring proper follow-up is taking place by the sales team. “Through Bidtracer, we are now able to view vendor quotes immediately upon upload,” said Ben Delcore, Tweet/Garot estimator. “No more running to the fax machine to check and see if a sub has their quote in. An estimator can now put a bid together from almost anywhere through Bidtracer.”
Delcore continued, “This has opened up communication among team members, when you have multiple people working on bids. The audit trail gives estimators more access and control of subs and also the option to add more subs/vendors at any time to get the best possible price on bid day. We are able to obtain and organize more vendor quotes from subs.”
Project Management Software Increases Efficiency
Bidtracer’s unique submittal tool has helped Tweet/Garot save time gathering, organizing, and tracking submittals on the Lambeau Renovation. In the past, typical submittals took a lot of phone calls trying to organize one submittal process. Now, the project team can access realtime documentation both in the office and for the team working at Lambeau Field from an iOS or Android tablet. Alan Van Mun, project manager and LEED Green associate for Tweet/Garot, pointed out, “The increase in efficiency, though not documented, is roughly threefold. The submittal module allows project players to upload and review all pertinent project documentation.”
Van Mun particularly likes the automatic reminders built into the software. “The automatic reminders notify vendors of upcoming submittal and operations and maintenance deadlines, streamlining project start-up and closeout. The automatic reminders allow me to focus on pertinent tasks, not spend time chasing vendors and subcontractors for information.”
Van Mun continued, “The best part is all the files are contained on the cloud, allowing access to specific information for all team members from the office, jobsite, or anywhere your job takes you.”
Tweet/Garot streamlines management processes and increases efficiency using Bidtracer software, such as Project Management software that shows the status of change order requests, including tentative changes [bar graph], and allows them to drill down for more details [pie chart].
Tracking RFIs and Change Orders
With Bidtracer, you can set a default response time so that the software automatically e-mails your customer, subs, or vendors when the RFI is overdue. “The RFI process is significantly shortened by giving the general contractor or construction manager the option to answer directly within Bidtracer,” said Van Mun. “This in turn eliminates the e-mail or paper transfer issue and allows us to reference the RFI during change-order processing. The reduction in processing time equates to more time spent effectively managing projects, resulting in increased profit.”
Tweet/Garot knows that when change orders fall through the cracks, the bottom line is affected. With Bidtracer, a potential change order is generated at the time of an RFI to avoid such oversights. “Tying a tentative change order to an RFI helps increase the potential of our projects and helps our project managers not miss any change orders, increasing our profitability,” said Van Mun.
Thanks in part to Bidtracer software, the Lambeau Field project has been a success for both Tweet/Garot and Packers fans, who are excited to enjoy the renovations in this upcoming NFL Season.
To chat online with a Bidtracer sales rep, click “Online Sales” at www.bidtracer.com or call 888-708-0921, extension 105, to talk to a representative.
While some contractors are focused on weathering the storm of the current economic environment, others—such as Egan Company in Brooklyn Park, MN—continue to grow their business aggressively. To improve customer service and become a more sales-oriented company, Egan turned to its longtime partner WennSoft® for an integrated customer relationship management (CRM) system. Now, Egan is improving relationships with current customers, better identifying new prospects, and honing its competitive edge.
Egan has 700 employees across four divisions: mechanical, electrical, cladding, and building automation. In addition to providing new construction expertise, Egan also has a service group. Based on his belief that having the strongest possible operational solution will support Egan’s continued success, Jim Nonn, chief information officer, has always implemented solutions that give his company an edge in productivity and customer service. Beginning in 1998, Egan partnered with WennSoft for operational solutions that control costs, increase operational efficiency, and improve profit margins.
Over the years, Nonn and Chief Financial Officer Jim Johnson have worked with WennSoft to implement Signature Job Cost and Service Management, as well as Microsoft Dynamics GP. These solutions have resulted in significant increases in invoicing speed and service dispatch efficiency while also accommodating the company’s growth. Egan has nearly tripled in size over the past 13 years to become a $150-million company.
Filling a Communication Gap
As the company grew, Egan struggled with its internal communications. Customer records were only kept for accounts payable and receivable purposes, so key project management personnel had limited information on the customers they served. Johnson said, “I’ve heard of instances where one business group would call on a customer, not knowing that the customer was just contacted by a different business group.”
Nonn added, “Oftentimes, the right hand didn’t know what the left hand was doing.” Egan determined that a CRM system would help keep everybody on the same page.
When considering solutions, Egan’s goal was to have a unified customer database that could be accessed and updated by all of the company’s groups. In addition, “We wanted to have a more proactive sales approach, rather than wait for calls to come in,” said Nonn.
To find the best solution, the company did its research. “We went to peer groups and spoke to people who were using different CRM solutions with different levels of success,” Nonn said. Eventually, they decided that Microsoft Dynamics CRM® would be the best fit for the company. Not only did it provide the desired functionality, but it also integrated seamlessly with the company’s existing WennSoft Signature solution.
With the solution in place, Egan has created a unified database that contains information on more than 2,100 companies. Perhaps most important, Egan employees throughout all divisions can access the database, so everybody can work together to enhance customer service and drive sales.
CRM Improves Customer Service
Now, before making contact with any customer, Egan employees can research the case history, so they aren’t gathering information from scratch each time. And an employee from one business group can be mindful if the customer was recently contacted by another group. “Basically, it helps us to understand our customers’ needs better,” said Nonn.
Furthermore, the implementation of Microsoft Dynamics CRM has helped every Egan employee become more sales-focused. “CRM helps our business groups cross-sell,” said Johnson. “It helps them feed off each other.” For instance, while an electrical contractor is on a job, he may notice that the customer also needs service on a mechanical system. Then, he can update the information within CRM for Egan’s mechanical group, which can then sell its services to the same client.
Additionally, Microsoft Dynamics CRM has allowed Egan to run targeted marketing campaigns. The first campaign centered on a green energy conference at the company’s facility. Nonn wanted to get the word out to all customers, so he used the solution to create lists for targeted mailings. He also used it to track prospects from the conference. “CRM was a great tool for this, and we had great attendance at the show,” he said.
Improving the Competitive Edge
WennSoft solutions have not only helped Egan keep better track of its customers and prospects, but they have also helped the company monitor its competition better, thanks to CRM. Every time the company bids a job, it records the outcome. “If we lose a job, we track who we lost it to, and for how much,” said Nonn. “We also keep track of the jobs we win. Over time, this information will help us accurately determine what margins we need to bid against different competitors.” Now, Nonn’s goal is to refine how the employees enter data into Microsoft Dynamics CRM, which will help lead to more measurable results and a better understanding of its customers and competition. And as Egan continues to improve the process, the company continues to grow. Egan’s backlog is larger, and its relationship with its customers is closer than ever. According to Nonn, “WennSoft solutions are a big part of our overall success.”
