Keystone Excavating Ltd.
Reductions in Overtime Pay is Only the Beginning
Challenges
In business for close to 30 years, Keystone Excavating Ltd. knows that efficiency is a key to success. Their manual paper process and radio communications were no longer making the cut. Holly Goulard, Keystone's Controller, cites an example of the inefficiencies inherent with the manual system, "When I started at Keystone, one timesheet was handled 11 times before being filed." Keystone wanted an automated mobile workforce management system to streamline job costing, billing and timesheet management.
Solution
The chosen system is comprised of Mentor Ranger® mobile computers, BBX Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) and telematic data collection devices, and Mentor Fleet® mobile resource management software. HandySoft's BizFlow business process management software runs at the head office.
Dispatchers use Mentor Fleet to send new job assignments to the appropriate vehicle where they are displayed on Ranger. Ranger facilitates two-way electronic data messaging, delivers job-related instructions to the field worker, and captures login times and equipment codes for job costing. The real-time location of Keystone equipment is tracked using Mentor Fleet. In addition, Fleet's reporting tool displays historical data, such as which pieces of equipment were in use at certain times, and helps managers identify vehicles that were idling unnecessarily or speeding. Managers are then able to quickly verify timesheets for billing, and address the improper use of vehicles to reduce fuel consumption.
Results
Since using the solution, one of the biggest benefits Keystone has realized is the ability to capture real-time information. As Holly explains: "We see real-time hours and know where every piece of equipment is. We're billing the real deal. We've gone from having two people whose full-time job was reviewing job codes and hours worked, to this being only one part of one person's job." Keystone has also been able to downsize its schedulers staffing requirements because field managers handle most of this work remotely.
With the better time management afforded by this solution, each operator is able to get to their next job more than 20 minutes earlier than before. Keystone's success with this technology is also evident in their return on investment. According to Holly: "The money we invested in this technology was expected to be returned in three years, and it has been returned in one. That isn't even accounting for the overtime hours we're saving."
|
The money we invested in this technology was expected to be returned in three years and it has been returned in one. 
Demos
Podcasts
Data Sheets
White Papers