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    1. Product News

    DECEMBER TECH UPDATE: Jobsite Technology

    Dec. 13, 2021
    For this category we share information on BuildOps, FieldEdge, Sage CRE, simPRO, Trimble Autobid and Verizon Connect.

    BuildOps - buildops.com

    BuildOps is an HVAC software package built by and for commercial contractors. Designed to keep your entire team on the same page, BuildOps features assist contractors in scaling their project operations with improved communication and coordination. It's used by contractor members of ABC Tech Alliance, MCAA, MCAC and Paragon Electric Corporation, among others. BuildOps software manages HVAC scheduling and dispatching, invoicing, and customer management.

    BuildOps software integrates scheduling, dispatching, inventory management, contracts, workflow and accounting into a single software package for commercial real estate contractors with staff ranging from a few dozen to several hundred employees.

    BuildOps is an HVAC software package built by and for commercial contractors. Designed to keep your entire team on the same page, BuildOps features serve to assist contractors in scaling their project operations with
    Build Ops Logo
    improved communication and coordination. It's used by contractor members of ABC Tech Alliance, MCAA, MCAC and Paragon Electric Corporation, among others.

    HVAC Scheduling and Dispatching Software

    With BuildOps, an office staff has a live view of every technician’s status and who is available for the next job. So planning days, weeks, and months in advance becomes as easy as “drag and drop.”

    • Workforce capacity planning
    • Live updates of technician status
    • Scheduling by a single technician or grouped into teams

    HVAC Invoicing Software

    • Build and track proposals to ensure sales opportunities never slip through the cracks. Customers can accept proposals with the click of a button. Managers can review and approve invoices in real-time.
    • Generate quotes and collect signatures to approve work with the BuildOps mobile app 
    • Invoices sync from technicians’ mobile devices directly to the office
    • Sync invoices with accounting software to eliminate  double entry.
    BuildOps
    BuildOps view of daily dispatch schedule.
    BuildOps view of daily dispatch schedule.
    HVAC Customer Management Software
    • Knowing the customer means knowing their history. Past jobs, equipment, contacts, and more are all in one place, so a contracting team can focus on providing great service and getting the job done right.
    • Manage jobs and equipment across multiple customer sites
    • Photo recognition captures equipment / part numbers
    • Track equipment and automate maintenance reminders

    Justin Wetherby, senior implementation manager for BuildOps, said the first step in a consultation is to understand the HVAC contractor's business.

    "We take a consultative approach on the sales side and especially on the implementation side. At BuildOps I'm part of our product team and implementation team," Wetherby said. "The feedback loop between our customers and our product is really tight. I literally play both roles. Understanding the HVAC contractor’s business is key."

    Wetherby said the top two considerations are size of company and type of HVAC work performed. 

    "Once we understand their type of work, we go down a couple different software paths. They could be commercial or residential, or service, or larger project- focused. They might be half-service/half large project focused. Based on the size of the contractor, we're going to have an idea of what their accounting package will be, some of their processes and key players, because a shop of five techs is going  to have a different makeup in the office than a shop of 50 technicians."

    Next, he said, they consider the existing technology in the contracting business, or its "tech stack."

    "What’s your accounting package, and what other technology if any, are you using? When I'm advising an HVAC contractor on what sort of software they should be looking at, I first want to understand their business, and ask the generic question of ‘where are your pain points? What problems are you trying to solve? Those could include timekeeping, labor management, document control, field-to-office communication. That's where I start when advising contractors on what sort of software they should be looking for," Wetherby said. 

    See this video: https://bit.ly/buildopsvideo

    FieldEdge - fieldedge.com

    FieldEdge has 40 years of experience in service software, and more than 15,000 users. Its mobile tools make it easy for techs to upsell at the job site, boost ticket size, and get more done in less time. 

    • Identify your company’s top contributors by tracking the performance of all techs and office staff.
    • Tie marketing spend to actual sales revenue and see how many leads are turning into conversions
    • Get a running snapshot of your company’s financials to gain insight on your biggest revenue drivers.
    FieldEdge
    Field Edge Laptop Phonei Pad
    FieldEdge Desktop helps owners gain valuable insight on how their business is doing, by referring to key performance indicators. A dynamic dispatch board selects the best technician for a job, dispatches technicians and tracks their progress. It also organizes scheduling and billing, to reconcile payments faster.

    FieldEdge Mobile enables you to take your operations on the go with a powerful mobile solution. Access customer infomration, add notes and provide top notch customer service. This mobile app also creates work orders and dispatches technicians.

    FieldEdge Payments simplifies payments with a built-in payment processing system, and offers paperless invoicing, and the ability to see all information flow smoothly between field to office.  

    SAGE - sagecre.com

    Formerly Timberline® Software, SAGE 300 CRE offers contractors, developers, and property managers comprehensive functionality for managing risks related to subcontractors and vendors, customizable reports and powerful add-ons that improve visibility, and tools that enable real-time collaboration throughout all phases of a project anytime, anywhere.    

    Sage
    Sage
    Each construction project is built upon an intricate web of data, countless decisions scattered across multiple teams, and numerous workflows. Project success depends on the managers’ ability to untangle that data, to provide their teams with accurate, real-time information. 

    SAGE offers SAGE 300 Construction and Real Estate (CRE) as a solution to project disorder. Described by SAGE as the industry-leading construction and financial management solution, SAGE 300 CRE is designed to manage entire project and property lifecycles. SAGE 300 CRE integrates accounting and project management data, to create a comprehensive overview of business performance. Each user experience is tailored to fit a unique role, to seamlessly facilitate collaboration and improve productivity across your entire organization. Real-time updates inform data-driven decisions, and SAGE 300 CRE integrations give project managers the power of choice, in best-of-breed operational solutions. Users are empowered to streamline workflows, bring field and office teams together, and discover clarity in untangling a web of project data.  

    simPRO - Simprogroup.com

    simPRO provides a single job management system. Users gain transparency of all the moving parts in a service business and enjoy the efficiency that comes from housing all jobs under one management system. simPRO helps the business achieve a superior workflow from job start to job conclusion, without spreadsheets, whiteboards or paper.  

    Simproscreen
    simPRO stores all project data securely in the cloud. The sales team will not miss out on work due to slow quote development, because simPRO helps them create competitive quotes, quickly. simPRO can store all of your quote information in a customizable template, allowing you to generate quotes faster, giving you the advantage over your competition. simPRO helps you maximize the efficiency of your workforce and manage all of your field staff from one screen. Connect field staff with the office and streamline individual job processes with simPRO mobile.  

    Communicate with your entire fleet, and send daily schedules to your field staff’s mobile devices, reducing travel time and increasing billable hours. Once a job is complete, invoice the customer immediately, and accept payment in the field, improving your cash flow. Simplify job management with simPRO, your complete, end-to-end operations management software. Track jobs, view work schedules and improve customer service.

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    Verizon Connect - verizonconnect.com

    For businesses that manage and maintain equipment in the field, Verizon Connect has introduced its compact, discreet asset tracking solution that is easy to conceal, self-install and self-manage, to help Reveal customers reduce theft, improve equipment utilization and billing, and reduce equipment downtime with a replaceable battery.

    Designed exclusively by Verizon Connect for customers who are running their mobile business on the Verizon Connect Reveal fleet management platform, the new asset tracker device was built for easy self-installation, customizable check-in rates, and the replaceable battery significantly extends the life of the device and its value1. Now, generators, trailers, storage containers, yellow iron and other equipment can be located and managed remotely -- as well as their vehicles, drivers and jobs -- online through the Verizon Connect Reveal fleet management platform or the Verizon Connect Spotlight app.

    Battery life is estimated for use under optimal conditions. Factors such as low network signal strength, obstacles and temperature can reduce battery life.

    Pure Mechanical Group Levels Up Its Estimating Process with Trimble Autobid

     Pure Mechanical Group, Inc. is a leader in commercial and industrial HVAC construction and services contractor in the Durham Region/Greater Toronto Area, and is the only unionized mechanical company in Oshawa, ON. When Jeff Fertile, President and Founder of Pure Mechanical Group, started the company in 2014 he began by installing pool heaters which soon led to furnaces, and then to jobs with small apartment buildings and beyond. The company has grown significantly since then and it recently started growing the construction side of the business by adding more staff with construction industry experience. 

    Inaccurate Information Impacted Profitability and Efficiency

    When Fertile started bidding on additional jobs, the company was successful just holding a ruler up to the computer screen to measure plans for its estimates. However, he knew the company’s bids would need to be much more accurate if he wanted the company to grow. In addition, as the company began to do more fully installed HVAC projects, Fertile noticed that they were losing money because they were not being true to their hours. The profit margin was always good for the materials, but it was the labor hours that were hurting the bottom line. Another problem with the old way the company was doing estimates was in the limited number of quotes it could produce and the amount of time it took to get them done.

    Beating the Competition with Innovative Technology

    Fertile reached out to his local Union to determine what other companies were using to do their estimates. Several of them mentioned Trimble AutoBid.  Although Pure Mechanical is much smaller than its competitors, the company decided that using the software would help level the playing field and be a good first step in the company’s growth. 

    The mechanical estimating software leverages a prebuilt database of over 100,000 items. Trimble’s AutoBid SheetMetal estimating software includes spec-driven takeoffs that speed up the estimating process by applying specs that automatically determine the properties of items. 

    Accelerating the Estimating Process and Winning More Bids Fuels Company Growth

    Adoption of this software has been a key component of Pure Mechanical Group’s growth. It makes the company more competitive by leveling the playing field against bigger companies, speeds up the estimating process so it can bid more jobs to bring in more work, and increases the accuracy and confidence of its bids. Pure Mechanical is now able to compare pricing and see where it stands against its competitors when bids are awarded. 

    “We’ve been consistently competitive with everyone else. One of the first jobs estimated using Trimble AutoBid, we were off by only $600 compared to our closest competitors,” said Fertile. “We are now focused on making sure we are quoting the right jobs with the right contractors to grow the business. If we can increase our quoting volume, we can increase the number of wins.” 

    The company has won up to $285,000 worth of new work that it would not have had time to quote previously, which also helped it stay afloat during the pandemic and avoid layoffs. In addition, Pure Mechanical has rapidly increased the number of quotes it can bid on for new business and reduced the amount of time it takes to do each one. In fact, within three weeks it was able to quote over $1 million dollars in work, due in large part to the new software. In the past, this would have taken between three to six months to accomplish.

    “If you had asked me six months ago if we could bid that much business in less than a month, I would have said that was impossible,” said Fertile. 

    Improved Accuracy and Material Cost Savings

    The estimating software is also helping Pure Mechanical save money on material costs. Previously, the company would do a job and buy a bunch of materials based on a rough idea of what it thought the project would need. This would lead to either overbuying materials that would sit in the warehouse or underbuying materials and running out before the job was complete. Now, the software tells it exactly what it needs to buy saving both time and money.

    It has also improved the accuracy of the information. Before, Pure Mechanical would print out the blueprints and measure them with a scale ruler.  Now it can do a five-minute takeoff on a computer screen and instantly get the pricing and product data it needs.  

    Fertile was also impressed with Trimble’s tech support during the implementation. “There is so much value, not just in how we use the product day-to-day, but in the amount of support we get. The company is responsive and knowledgeable and there are a lot of resources available to help with learning the product.”

    For a small company like Pure Mechanical, adopting a new software platform was a big investment that has paid off tremendously. “For us, using Trimble AutoBid has altered the course of our business. As we continue to grow, we are pleased to know that the product will continue to adapt to our needs,” added Fertile.

     Find Trimble Autobid for mechanical contracting HERE.