Immediate CMT test results and Inspection reports from the field with eFieldData!
Executive Summary
Tierra South Florida, Inc. (TSFGEO) needed an integrated solution to streamline its field and lab reporting process for Constructions Materials Testing and Inspection. The company wanted a solution that was cost-effective, scalable and it wanted to work with a vendor who could provide a customized solution to meet its unique business requirements. TSFGEO turned to eFieldData’s On-Premise workflow automation solution to streamline its processes — from scheduling to field data reporting & lab management to timesheets & invoicing.
Business Challenge
As its business grew, delivering accurate reports on time became a challenge for TSFGEO. It was drowning in paperwork, and there was a never-ending backlog of reports due to clients. TSFGEO recognized that it needed to find a more efficient way to increase the productivity of its staff. The company needed to streamline its reporting process and move towards automatic billing.
Solution
eFieldData’s On-Premise software with its mobile app empowered field technicians to not only generate, and send reports from the field, but also to turn in digital timesheet for automatic billing. And all the relevant parties — project managers, design team, and contractors had real-time access to test results.
Results
TSFGEO managed to reduce turnaround time for signed and sealed reports that used to take up to one week to less than 24 hours. The company has increased both client satisfaction and employee satisfaction.
“We’re able to review, sign and seal clients’ reports within 24 hours. We have become more efficient from “A to Z”- from the time we setup the project to billing; we know exactly what’s done in the field and we bill accordingly”
— Francois Thomas, P.E., Head of CMT Department, Tierra South Florida
Business Challenge Story
A need to streamline field and lab reporting.
With headquarters in West Palm Beach, FL, Tierra South Florida, Inc (TSFGEO) is a fully-certified FDOT DBE that provides geotechnical engineering, construction materials testing and inspection & specialty testing services. The company owns and maintains a state-of-the art laboratory certified by Construction Materials Engineering Council (CMEC) and approved by Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for soil, concrete, and aggregate testing.
Client Satisfaction is a top priority for TSFGEO — the company knows who its clients are, what is most important to them and what their expectations are, and it strives to exceed its client’s expectations. TSFGEO pays special attention to keeping with project deadlines while adhering to ASTM’s Quality Control (QC) standards. Its main goal is to empower its clients with the information needed to deliver successful projects by providing accurate, certified reports on time.
TSFGEO relied heavily on paper forms for field data collections — technicians had to come to the office to get project details, and make copies of drawings before going to the field. Once they complete their field tests like “density test”, the technicians completed the forms manually, and these forms had to be brought back to the office for the admin staff to type out the reports before the project managers could review them — it was a long process that was prone to transcription errors and they were drowning with paper work. With its business growing, and having to keep up so much paper work and filing, it became more challenging to generate accurate reports for clients in a timely manner.
In addition, TSFGEO was also using manual timesheets, and it was time consuming to keep track of billable hours to generate invoices. This resulted in duplicate data entries and delays in invoicing.
TSFGEO knew that it was imperative that it streamlined its reporting process for Construction Materials Testing and Inspection services to remain competitive. The company wanted a solution that was not only scalable to meet its growth but also flexible in meeting its requirements. Furthermore, TSFGEO wanted the solution to be fully integrated with timesheets and invoicing. The company evaluated several workflow automation software providers for geotechnical engineering before signing up with eFieldData, who not only met their budget but was also able to deliver a customized end-to-end solution from scheduling to field data management to lab management to reporting and billing ahead of schedule.
Solution Story
Digital Forms on Mobile Devices to capture field data and Digital Timesheets to keep track of billable hours.
Before embarking on its mission to automate CMT and Inspections reporting, TSFGEO gathered feedback from its clients on what would make them happy. It then used the clients’ input to determine what it needed, and got eFieldData to design customized forms that adhered to ASTM and AASHTO standards.
With eFieldData, technicians are able to get the project specifications through their mobile device — the digital forms on the mobile app are populated with the required parameters and drawings. And, once they complete the required field tests, they are able to update the digital forms and submit test results immediately from the field to the relevant parties including designers, contractors and project managers. According to Francois Thomas, P.E. who runs the CMT Department at TSFGEO, this is especially useful for clients when there’s a need for retests as they have immediate access to test results. Also, the technicians are able to submit their timesheets from the field as soon as they complete their work orders, making it easier to track the time spent on each project.
And most importantly, TSFGEO’s clients are delighted with the changes as noted by Francois Thomas, “Our clients are very happy as they can participate in the system — they are able to retrieve their reports anytime, and they love the new format and presentation of our reports that include photographs and drawings.”
Results Story
Eliminated paper work, improved productivity and made staff and client happy.
By moving to eFieldData’s automated workflow solution, TSFGEO managed to reduce paperwork by 80%, and send test results to clients immediately from the field. Mr. Thomas says, “We’re able to review, sign and seal clients’ reports within 24 hours. We have become more efficient from “A to Z”- from the time we setup the project to billing; we know exactly what’s done in the field and we bill accordingly.”
- “Scheduling and keeping track of projects is a lot easier now as I have all the information that I need in one place in the system. For me time is very important. I have reduced time spent on invoicing by 50%.”
- Wilson Gonzalez, Scheduling & Invoice Manager, TSFGEO.
“It’s the best thing that we did! We have managed to streamline our process, and it has freed up time to focus on marketing and bring in more business,” said Francois Thomas. His advice to other companies who are evaluating eFieldData, “Give it a try, it’s money well invested. We are very satisfied with the support team from eFieldData.”
About TSFGEO
With headquarters in West Palm Beach, FL, and branches in Miami and Tampa, Tierra South Florida, Inc (TSFGEO) is a fully-certified FDOT DBE that provides geotechnical engineering, construction materials testing and inspection & specialty testing services. The company owns and maintains a state-of-the art laboratory certified by Construction Materials Engineering Council (CMEC) and approved by Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for soil, concrete, and aggregate testing.
About eFieldData
eFieldData, is a powerful cloud-based automated workflow solution from Vconnex Services, Inc that increases productivity and profits for civil engineering companies. Its intuitive, easy to use interface facilitates quick on-boarding, and empowers engineering companies to get their job done in real-time with mobile app for field data collection, lab management, and industry standard reporting (including ASTM and AASHTO). A big picture dashboard, allows you to keep track of who is doing what job when and where. Both cloud and on-premise versions are available.
