BMHC
ToolWatch Helps SelectBuild Save More Than $400,000 Annually—System Ready for Rollout across SelectBuild organization
Situation
Power to the people. It may sound like the lyrics to a classic rock anthem, but for SelectBuild, it's just a principle of smart business. A subsidiary of BMHC, SelectBuild provides turnkey construction services to the country's highest-volume production homebuilders, including concrete, plumbing, framing, HVAC, stucco and other services. Operating in 10 western and southern states, the company's decentralized structure allows specific locations to identify opportunities to improve business practices that help the company meet or exceed customers' expectations. In other words, the people who work in the trenches have a voice in making the business better.
When two SelectBuild locations, located in Northern California and Las Vegas, Nevada, separately raised concerns about similar problems in their tool warehouses, SelectBuild knew they were facing a widespread company issue. Each location was losing between $2,500 and $20,000 worth of tools each month. And this number was just raw tool costs, one that only grew when the company factored in the time spent checking tools in and out using inefficient, inconsistent systems and replacing items the company already owned.
Solution
Kari Lopez, director of business systems for SelectBuild's parent company, BMHC, was assigned to assess the problem and find a suitable solution that could be applied company-wide. Right away, she identified attributes that would be key to the solution's success.
"The system had to be easy to use and integrate with our current accounting system. When we took a look at what we wanted the program to accomplish for us, we realized that ToolWatch was the best option," Lopez explained.
Encouraged by ToolWatch's comprehensive features, including the ability to flag low levels of consumable items, SelectBuild began a detailed implementation process, bringing together field personnel, the IT team and ToolWatch experts to make sure the tool management system would work seamlessly with software the company already had in place. SelectBuild ran a two-month pilot program to ensure that ToolWatch could work within the company's business processes and would provide the benefits employees needed. The pilot also gave them a chance to smooth any snags that could arise once the system was live.
Result
The two SelectBuild pilot locations that initially raised concerns about their tool management systems have transitioned ToolWatch into their daily operations. Six months after implementation, the results have been even better than Lopez expected. The initial savings analysis indicates the company will save more than $400,000 a year just by using ToolWatch in the Las Vegas and Northern California locations. This savings includes quantifiable improvements to the company's warehouse processes as well—more than 5,600 hours in time saved each year, which accounts for more than $150,000 of the total annual savings.
"ToolWatch has let us spend less time monitoring inventory levels and consolidate purchase orders," explained Lopez. "That means we're not only saving time on all those activities, we've been able to reassign employees new responsibilities and get more tasks done every day."
That makes two down, more than 30 SelectBuild locations to go. As SelectBuild presents its impressive results to the company management team, new locations have the opportunity to adopt ToolWatch themselves. And if their results mirror those of Las Vegas and Northern California, SelectBuild's financial rewards will increase exponentially.
FABCO
Behind the Scenes—FABCO serves clients with the help of ToolWatch software
Situation
As the sole Caterpillar dealer for Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, FABCO serves everyone from homeowners with weekend home improvement projects to large corporations repaving the areas major roadways. Offering equipment rentals, sales and repairs, the company manages the full scope of equipment needs for all these clients. From Caterpillar tractors and excavators to scrapers and loaders, FABCO has it and is the trusted source in its region.
The Milwaukee branchs team of 35 service technicians maintains rental equipment and items purchased by clients, often heading out to the clients own jobsites to troubleshoot problems in the field. Making sure their clients equipment is working means theyll have satisfied customers wholl come back to buy or rent again. The service departments tool room manages the tools these technicians use to repair equipment. Technicians may need just one of the thousands of tools in the room; they may need a whole assembly. They may need the tools for fifteen minutes; they may need them for more than a week.
One tool room attendant, Jerry Lubbert, is responsible for making sure these tools are available to the service technicians when they need them, and for making sure they come back for the next person when the job is complete. But with thousands of tools and 35 technicians, keeping track of whats where when is a tricky proposition.
Solution
Luckily for Lubbert, who has been with the company since 1967, FABCO started using ToolWatch seven years before he moved into the tool room. When he started managing the tools a year ago, this powerful software program was already in place to help him keep the tool room running smoothly. ToolWatch helps him track his warehouse full of hydraulic impact wrenches, specialized sockets, torque wrenches, pullers, jacks and gauges so he can get them to his men, and they can get to work on clients repairs.
Most of the tools have a number assigned by CAT, but Lubbert assigns them each a separate ToolWatch number to input into the database. This gives technicians two separate places to look up the tool they need to locate. This is especially helpful when they need to locate an item the company seldom uses. Since these highly specialized tools are often quite expensive, often just one FABCO branch keeps one in their tool room. But ToolWatch allows Lubbert to assign these tools a number even if they are located at another branch. That way, he can find them and have them transferred immediately when theyre needed.
Were able to put our fingers on it real quick—something like a specialized puller used for taking a component off of an engine. We rebuild engines all the time, but there are many different kinds of engines. Some of them have specialized procedures that require specific tools that we only use occasionally, said Lubbert.
Using ToolWatch means these rarely used items are easy to find, and checking one out never keeps an employee waiting to start his repair job. The same applies for tools FABCO makes itself. When an employee comes up with a better way of doing a job, theyll often design a special tool to help them. ToolWatch gives them a way to catalog the tool, naming and coding it so it can be retrieved later without difficulty.
ToolWatch even helps with consumable inventory, so Lubbert can track the supply levels and make appropriate orders. The system ensures the tool room always has drill bits and saw blades ready to go out on a job.
Result
Between helping technicians find the tools they need with ease and ensuring consumables are ordered strategically and always kept in stock, ToolWatch makes life in the FABCO tool room a whole lot easier.
But the ultimate goal of the tool room is the same as any FABCO employee—making customers happy. Since ToolWatch helps Lubbert and his team run a smoothly functioning tool room, that goal is always within reach. Service technicians quickly get the tools they need and get out to client sites to do their jobs. Its that high level of service that keeps FABCO clients coming back for more equipment. And, behind the scenes, its ToolWatch that helps them reach that goal.
Salt River Project
Trained and Ready—Salt River Project gets more out of software with personal attention
Situation
For Salt River Project (SRP), working in a pressure cooker is a daily routine. As the electric power and water supplier for central Arizona, the company operates a network of power plants, dams and canals that keeps the Phoenix area functioning even on the most sweltering summer days. For the most part, the work of SRP is no more exciting than business as usual. If something goes haywire at a power plant, however, things can go awry quickly.
In cases of emergency, SRP calls in the infantry—a fleet of highly trained Mechanical Services specialists working in the corporate machine shop who, within two hours of an emergency call, can swoop in to put the pieces back together. From mechanical failures and dam patching to power plant overhauls and metal fabrication, these journeymen can do it all.
To accomplish these tasks, the 65-person team uses an assortment of specialized tools. Housed in their own tool room, easy access to these tools can mean the difference between power for Phoenix citizens or a debilitating citywide outage.
Although SRPs machine shop now has a system that gives their teams easy access to tools, that wasnt always the case. The man who managed the tool warehouse for more than 15 years retired with little warning, and most of the information about where things were and how they were managed was stored in his memory. He took years of tool and vendor knowledge with him when he left.
Solution
The department realized they needed a foolproof method for managing their vast tool, equipment and consumable inventory and put Barbara Gebbia, senior cost engineering technician, in charge of finding the solution. Changes in management and the way we thought about our corporate business process helped us rediscover the asset we had in the tool room. Our tools are essential, whether performing the smallest task in the shop or completing a unit overhaul at a remote hydro-generation site. Not only are the tools worth a lot of money, they are the basis for the very work this department does—and they were all over the place, Gebbia said.
Though she doesnt work in the tool warehouse, she knows its culture and quickly realized they needed powerful software that wouldnt overwhelm the people who had to use it every day. ToolWatch, a tool tracking software company, had the perfect solution for SRP and Gebbia.
Were very nervous about introducing new computer technology. ToolWatch, to me, is See Spot Run. Its pure logic, and makes perfect sense, Gebbia said. Easy as it is to use, she knew she couldnt just buy it and leave it to the somewhat technophobic tool room employees to get it up and running.
The company needed help if they were to get the most out of the purchase. Gebbia and Manager Jim Hartz scheduled a JumpStart session with ToolWatch professionals. SRP fed employee and tool information to ToolWatch over the weeks leading up to the on-site session. This was input into the system before the on-site session. When ToolWatch professionals arrived, they were ready to work side by side with tool room employees. Over four days, they helped employees organize the warehouse, tag tools and enter them into the system. All the while, they worked one on one with individuals until they were comfortable performing the specific tasks they would need in ToolWatch.
During implementation, SRP got a good look at the disarray their tool room had been in. It really opened our eyes to how scattered things were.
Youd open a drawer marked clamps and youd find a drawer full of gloves. We had been buying stuff that we didnt need because we didnt know we had it in the first place, Gebbia said.
Result
With 75 percent of the tool and consumable inventory in the system so far, SRPs unnecessary purchases have all but stopped. The department has big plans for recouping their materials budget—20 percent of their $1.4-million annual operating budget. Using ToolWatchs consumable tracking program, they will now have viable records that allow them to charge those items back to the jobs on which they are used.
But its the little changes that are improving tool room operations already. Just by beginning to check out the hand tools regularly, theyve noticed that certain craftsmen have to request the same tools again and again. Now they may just include these items in the tradesmans tool box. Thats exactly what you hope for—learning information that helps us manage the department better, said Gebbia. And making life easier for employees every day. Salt River Project
Trained and Ready—Salt River Project gets more out of software with personal attention
Situation
For Salt River Project (SRP), working in a pressure cooker is a daily routine. As the electric power and water supplier for central Arizona, the company operates a network of power plants, dams and canals that keeps the Phoenix area functioning even on the most sweltering summer days. For the most part, the work of SRP is no more exciting than business as usual. If something goes haywire at a power plant, however, things can go awry quickly.
In cases of emergency, SRP calls in the infantry—a fleet of highly trained Mechanical Services specialists working in the corporate machine shop who, within two hours of an emergency call, can swoop in to put the pieces back together. From mechanical failures and dam patching to power plant overhauls and metal fabrication, these journeymen can do it all.
To accomplish these tasks, the 65-person team uses an assortment of specialized tools. Housed in their own tool room, easy access to these tools can mean the difference between power for Phoenix citizens or a debilitating citywide outage.
Although SRPs machine shop now has a system that gives their teams easy access to tools, that wasnt always the case. The man who managed the tool warehouse for more than 15 years retired with little warning, and most of the information about where things were and how they were managed was stored in his memory. He took years of tool and vendor knowledge with him when he left.
Solution
The department realized they needed a foolproof method for managing their vast tool, equipment and consumable inventory and put Barbara Gebbia, senior cost engineering technician, in charge of finding the solution. Changes in management and the way we thought about our corporate business process helped us rediscover the asset we had in the tool room. Our tools are essential, whether performing the smallest task in the shop or completing a unit overhaul at a remote hydro-generation site. Not only are the tools worth a lot of money, they are the basis for the very work this department does—and they were all over the place, Gebbia said.
Though she doesnt work in the tool warehouse, she knows its culture and quickly realized they needed powerful software that wouldnt overwhelm the people who had to use it every day. ToolWatch, a tool tracking software company, had the perfect solution for SRP and Gebbia.
Were very nervous about introducing new computer technology. ToolWatch, to me, is See Spot Run. Its pure logic, and makes perfect sense, Gebbia said. Easy as it is to use, she knew she couldnt just buy it and leave it to the somewhat technophobic tool room employees to get it up and running.
The company needed help if they were to get the most out of the purchase. Gebbia and Manager Jim Hartz scheduled a JumpStart session with ToolWatch professionals. SRP fed employee and tool information to ToolWatch over the weeks leading up to the on-site session. This was input into the system before the on-site session. When ToolWatch professionals arrived, they were ready to work side by side with tool room employees. Over four days, they helped employees organize the warehouse, tag tools and enter them into the system. All the while, they worked one on one with individuals until they were comfortable performing the specific tasks they would need in ToolWatch.
During implementation, SRP got a good look at the disarray their tool room had been in. It really opened our eyes to how scattered things were.
Youd open a drawer marked clamps and youd find a drawer full of gloves. We had been buying stuff that we didnt need because we didnt know we had it in the first place, Gebbia said.
Result
With 75 percent of the tool and consumable inventory in the system so far, SRPs unnecessary purchases have all but stopped. The department has big plans for recouping their materials budget—20 percent of their $1.4-million annual operating budget. Using ToolWatchs consumable tracking program, they will now have viable records that allow them to charge those items back to the jobs on which they are used.
But its the little changes that are improving tool room operations already. Just by beginning to check out the hand tools regularly, theyve noticed that certain craftsmen have to request the same tools again and again. Now they may just include these items in the tradesmans tool box. Thats exactly what you hope for—learning information that helps us manage the department better, said Gebbia. And making life easier for employees every day.
Bowen Engineering
Bowen Engineering Gets More Than it Bargained for with Tool Tracking Program—ToolWatchs positive results extend beyond the tool warehouse
Situation
Any good project superintendent knows a job will never get off the ground unless his men have the right tools. Ask Scott Runion, a 16-year veteran with Bowen Engineering, a large Indianapolis-headquartered general contractor that handles water and wastewater treatment plant projects in addition to concrete, mechanical and earth work. Between keeping a job on budget, supervising its progress and making sure his men are safe on the job site, Runion has his hands full.
But keeping the right tools in his crews hands wasnt always easy. Not long ago, tool guy was just another hat Runion had to wear, taking focus away from the things that matter most on the job. When a job started, Runion was off to the supply house to collect the tools and supplies his guys needed for the project, not necessarily a quick task since most wastewater treatment plants lay outside large cities and have few large supply houses nearby. And since Runion supervises as many as five jobs simultaneously all around the city with his foremen switching tools weekly, Runion easily could spend entire days running around town to take physical inventories and get tools where they belonged.
Solution
All that changed when Bowen started using ToolWatch, the tool management system the company had purchased two years prior and never implemented. Run out of the main tool warehouse by shop manager Mat Valentine, ToolWatch helped the company get a handle on its extensive tool inventory. Though he didnt expect it, Runion got a handle on his job sites from ToolWatch too. It let him hand over his time-consuming title of tool guy to Valentine and helped return his own focus to running his projects.
Rather than a run to the supply house at project starts, Runion sends Valentine a list of tools hell need and the crew truck shows up stocked with tools. Valentine also sends his project superintendents weekly reports that detail which tools they have and on which sites they are located. This report signaled the end of Runions racing from site to site for tools. A quick glance at the report shows him exactly what he needs, and a phone call gets it heading to the right location.
In addition to saving precious time, ToolWatch has helped Runion better manage his projects bottom lines by keeping track of his tool rental charges. Now when the job is done with a tool, the tool is immediately sent back to the warehouse so that his project is no longer being charged for it which consequently makes it available for other company projects. Employee accountability has soared with ToolWatch. Since ToolWatch lets the company track which employees are responsible for each tool, they have to answer for misuse. And Runion keeps close watch over the tools his projects are charged for. Im not going to let the guys abuse the tools that Ive already paid for; I make sure they take good care of them. Our tools are in better repair now than they have ever been.
Result
Tools in good condition showing up in the right hands when they are needed is an impressive return on its own. And when management comes looking for the numbers to back up the investment, ToolWatch delivers those too. Bowens spending on small- and medium-sized tools has dropped to just $68,000 annually, from $750,000 annually before implementation—thats an astounding 91 percent reduction in tool expenditures. At the recent wrap up of a two-year, $15 million job, the company only had to replace $1,000 worth of tools, a clear testament to the increased attention being paid to tools on the job site.
But if you ask Scott Runion what he likes most about ToolWatch, youll find its not the numbers that matter: ToolWatch made things easier and more efficient. It put me in control of the tools on my sites.
GEM Plumbing & Heating
GEM Plumbing & Heating Saves Money, Empowers Employees with Help from ToolWatch System
Situation
Innovation, creativity and empowerment arent words generally associated with the plumbing trade. Unless youre talking about Rhode Islands GEM Plumbing & Heating, that is.
About four years ago, GEM had reached a point in its growth where it had to make a choice: cut back operations or dramatically change the way they operated. They couldnt raise rates—the market was maxed out—so they decided to completely overhaul the way they did business.
Solution
One of their fundamental decisions was to focus on their core business—which was not managing their inventory. They contracted with Ferguson Integrated, a division of the countrys largest plumbing supply wholesaler, to manage their inventory on-site. GEM doesn't pay salaries for the half-dozen Ferguson workers and doesn't even pay for the $500,000 worth of inventory kept on the warehouse shelves at any one time until each piece is used.
But before turning the inventory over to Ferguson, GEM wanted to make sure everything was in order. They researched a number of tool tracking programs, looking for something that would take them into the future. While other products had useful features, they required gatekeepers to manage the program, which would be cumbersome and expensive because they required additional manpower to run. ToolWatch seemed ahead of the pack in keeping up with technological developments such as partnering with Bosch in offering RFID tracking systems. ToolWatchs wireless technology, which let them transfer information from the field, was another strong selling point. That meant lower labor costs because staff could update information quickly and efficiently. ToolWatch also fit seamlessly into GEMs business model, saving—not costing—time.
There was some initial resistance to investing $25,000 in the ToolWatch system, said GEM vice president of operations Larry Gemma. But in just nine months, replacement tool purchases were down more than $65,000. And because tools are monitored, Gemma estimates he gets at least another years use out of every tool.
GEMs unique tool rental program charges employees for the length of time a tool is checked out, encouraging employees to return tools to the central warehouse as quickly as possible for use by others. Now that tools are monitored with ToolWatch, employees are more careful with their tools, because they know broken items will be charged back to them in the form of payroll deductions or reduced bonuses. And it works both ways—workers notice that with tool tracking not only will they have a tool when they need it, it will be in good condition and ready to use. They appreciate that.
Result
GEM has grown comfortably from 125 to 325 people over the last four years, smashing every stereotype about the plumbing business along the way. GEM is one of the most technologically aggressive plumbing outfits in the world, Gemma says. In fact, GEM has won numerous awards for its innovations. Its GEM University trains and empowers its employees—and even those of its competitors—to do their jobs better, including the use of their tools. In fact, the ToolWatch system is often part of the GEM University curriculum.
Contra Costa Electric
Stolen Tools Recovered with ToolWatchs Help—California Electrical Contractor Gets Added Bonus from Tool Management Program
Situation
When Contra Costa Electric, an EMCOR-owned company and one of Californias five largest electrical contractors, implemented the ToolWatch system in 1996, it was for the typical reason—they couldnt find their tools.
With branches in Bakersfield, Martinez and Fresno, the company handles computer network, electrical system and fiber installations throughout the state. Projects often last several years and cover industrial, commercial, technology and utility fields. The Bakersfield branch alone runs 10-15 projects at a time, utilizing a collection of more than 3,000 tools with a value of more than $750,000. The company had long employed a hand-written system to track tools, and they regularly found it wasnt working.
When a six-month job was finished, you would go to the jobsite and tools would be scattered everywhere. You couldnt find anything. We were replacing the same tools over and over, explains Steve Herstad, purchasing and warehouse manager.
Contra Costa needed a better system and turned to ToolWatch to solve their tool management inadequacies. Not only did ToolWatch get Contra Costas tool warehouse under control, it provided an added benefit the company never expected.
Solution
Since implementing the ToolWatch tool and equipment management system, the speed with which Contra Costa can locate tools and get them where they need to be has improved dramatically. Even expensive specialized tools that the company only has a few of are easily pinpointed and moved from one jobsite to the next with great efficiency. This increased organization is an advantage for warehouse and field employees alike, who are better able to do their jobs when the tool they need is where it should be. Contra Costa expected this efficiency. They did not expect the call they received from a detective last December.
In January 2004, a Contra Costa jobsite had fallen prey to an experienced group of thieves. After presumably surveying the jobsite for some time, the thieves struck over a weekend, veiled by a dense morning fog that concealed their activities. Breaking into several C-train storage containers, the thieves made off with threading equipment, generators and a variety of cordless tools, totaling a loss of nearly $30,000 for the company.
Months passed and nothing was recovered. The National Insurance Crime Bureau estimates that the construction industry loses $1 billion annually from equipment and tool theft. Nobody expected the tools that had disappeared from the jobsite would be an exception. But when members of the Cargo Theft Interdiction Program, a coordinated, multi-jurisdiction law enforcement agency effort responsible for the prevention and investigation of cargo theft in Southern California, discovered a warehouse in Long Beach full of stolen tools, Contra Costa got a pleasant surprise.
Result
Working their way through the recovered tools, officers noticed several with easily recognizable ToolWatch barcodes. They placed a call to ToolWatch and discovered that the company kept a database of which barcodes were assigned to each client. ToolWatch told the officers to call Contra Costa.
The investigating officer called Herstad to tell him that several company tools had been recovered. A year after the incident, Herstad was surprised, but wasted no time looking up the barcodes in his database to provide positive identification. Like many other contractors, Contra Costa also engraves a company marking into each tool. But since it is often abbreviated or unrecognizable to those outside the organization, it was the presence of the ToolWatch barcode that ensured their tools safe return.
So far, Contra Costa has recovered about four of the tools stolen that foggy morning last January. Its not much, but compared with a warehouse full of tools whose owners are likely to never see again, its at least a start. If the police find our stolen tools, ToolWatch gives us confidence that we will get them back, Steve explained. Thats more than most contractors can say.
Kaikor Construction
The Case of the Disappearing Diamond—Kaikor Construction Boosts Employee Accountability with ToolWatch
Situation
When a new $800 diamond concrete cutting saw disappeared from a Kaikor Construction jobsite—then mysteriously reappeared three weeks later—not a single worker could (or would) own up to the loss.
Garrett Sullivan, president of Kaikor Construction, was accustomed to losing tools as part of the cost of doing business in the construction industry. But the lack of accountability among the crew was the last straw. He knew he had to find a way to make workers assume more responsibility for expensive inventory on the job.
Honolulu-based Kaikor Construction specializes in building concrete structures. With 40 employees working on projects all over the Hawaiian Islands, the home office had no way to keep track of who had what piece of equipment.
Then Sullivan learned about electronic tool tracking. He was convinced the right system could both manage inventory and increase accountability.
Solution
Specialty subcontractors like Kaikor rely almost entirely on their equipment. While much of a prime contractors work is office-based—designing, planning and managing a project—subcontractors completing portions of a job do most of their work in the field. So for Kaikor, their specialized, costly tools give them a competitive edge.
In addition to big-ticket items like diamond saws, Kaikor has thousands of small tools such as saws, electric cords, ladders, and power washers. Until the company implemented ToolWatch, Sullivan had no idea of how many small items were in inventory. When he checked out a shovel for a project at home, he was astonished to learn it was shovel #1000.
We had many tool tracking options to choose from, Sullivan said. Most employed some sort of barcode and scanning system, but they lacked ToolWatchs comprehensive tracking ability and customizable functions. Kaikor needed more than tool tracking. The company also needed a database that managed everything involved in the life of a tool—from purchasing to repairs to warranties—to provide that much-needed accountability. And ToolWatchs wireless scanning tools remotely transfer information back to the tool crib, keeping the database constantly up to date and giving users access to information from any location.
Result
Since Kaikor installed the automated tool management system in April 2004, not only has the entire organization become more efficient, the company has also stopped theft and loss. The system shifts responsibility to the employees to know where their tools are. Every payday employees receive a report listing all the tools checked out to them, putting a halt to the Someone must have taken it excuses. The result is a more efficient, accountable organization. In fact, the company has not lost a single tool since implementing the system.
Good tool management even provided a competitive advantage. Now that they no longer manage inventory in stuffed file cabinets, Kaikor can bid on and prepare for jobs faster, while making sure its inventory remains where it should. All that adds up to big cost efficiency. And talk about ROI—the system paid for itself in nine months.
For Kaikor Construction, tool management has definitely paid off. There has been a dramatic change in the way employees regard tools, and tool management has become an integral part of the Kaikor field corporate culture.
Flint Energy Services
Flint Energy Services Keeps Tools in the Pipeline—Oilfield production services provider tracks 60,000 tools with ToolWatch
Situation
Like many companies that grow through conglomeration, Flint Energy Services—formed in 1998 from 32 separate companies—found itself with tens of thousands of tools it had no way to track.
Flint Energy Services is an integrated midstream oilfield production services provider headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with 4,500 employees, 41 locations, and jobsites all over western Canada and the northwestern United States. A single jobsite might employ as many as 600 workers for two years, using multiple tool cribs on each site. But Flint had no systematic method for keeping track of its tool inventory, not even a simple spreadsheet.
As a result, tools purchased for certain jobs might be misplaced before the project began and replacements often had to be purchased for deployment to the site. Then, on the jobsite, workers would take tools from one part of the site to another, to the point that the company had to dedicate several employees to scouring the entire site looking for tools needed on another part of the project. So not only was the company losing big money in lost tools, it was racking up hefty personnel costs just to look for missing items—which might or might not be located.
Solution
The ToolWatch tool and equipment management system proved itself from day one. The first company to implement all four ToolWatch modules (consumables tracking, service tracking, tool and equipment billing, and purchasing), Flint is now well into its implementation process.
Because there had been no system before ToolWatch, Flint tools and small equipment coordinator Ken Bekar started from scratch two years ago, beginning with a single project, applying barcodes, and entering every item either individually or by identity (hammers, wrenches, etc.) into four ToolWatch databases. Bekar has become so adept at using all the ToolWatch bells and whistles that he's become a power user who can solve most of the issues that arise with the system. When he can't, he has been impressed with ToolWatch's willingness to tweak the software to accommodate his needs.
The purchasing module has proved especially valuable to Bekar. Buying tools on site, rather than through a corporate bidding process, didn't give him the luxury of detailed price comparisons. "I can't imagine operating without it," Bekar said. "Now we can keep tabs on vendor price increases, and I can pool the orders to negotiate more favorable costs."
With ToolWatch's certification tracking feature, Bekar has been able to anticipate and respond to Canada's tightened Occupational Safety and Health regulations, avoiding significant potential liability. Using ToolWatch Mobile on a pocket PC, he tracks employee training and certification, assuring that workers have been trained for certain tasks and tools before they are permitted to check out those items on a site.
Result
Two years into the implementation process, Bekar's team has entered 20,000 tool identities or individual items so far, about one third of the probable inventory. He plans to complete the process by 2007. But there have been dramatic changes already.
Now, instead of workers lining up at the tool crib for tools that weren't available, they have a sophisticated management system that makes everyone accountable. Tool loss no longer shuts down the project pipeline.
JE Dunn Northwest
JE Dunn - NW Gets 16% Boost to Bottom Line with ToolWatch in Six Months—ToolWatch system saves $200,000 and pays for itself in first month of use
Situation
JE Dunn-Northwest, a subsidiary of JE Dunn Construction with offices in Portland and Seattle, needed a better tool management system, and they needed it yesterday. With 10 to 20 large jobsites operating simultaneously as far away as Alaska, each renting nearly $30 thousand in tools every month, management knew they needed tight control over the consumable and rental inventory.
But they didnt have control. The one-size-fits-all system JE Dunn was using had long ago outlived its usefulness. It was a paper-driven process, subject to human forgetfulness and disorganization. Plus, the system didnt track exactly where tools were, and sometimes rental items werent billed. Not only were drills and loaders and the like hard to pinpoint. To emphasize the point, immediately after installing ToolWatch, the only manlift in inventory was discovered by ToolWatch at a jobsite not accruing rent. The system, in identifying this error, immediately billed the job for three months back rent. Without ToolWatch in place, this error could have gone unnoticed for a number of months more costing the company several thousands of dollars in lost revenue.
Thinking a custom tool-tracking system was the answer, JE Dunn management was dismayed to learn that designing, testing and implementing a custom system would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars—and take more time than was feasible in their deadline-critical business. So they hired an independent contractor with an interest but little specific expertise to do the job.
Predictably, that approach didnt work, and time was wasting. They had to find an accurate, reliable system immediately.
Solution
A local company that partnered with JE Dunn had been using ToolWatch for inventory management. They offered to demonstrate the system to JE Dunn management, who were immediately sold. ToolWatch provided exactly what they needed, with superior, comprehensive features at a reasonable price—right out of the box. It was easy to use, tracking by barcodes, not slips of paper that could be misplaced. Even consumable supplies can be accounted for easily. ToolWatch reduced human error, too, by prompting users to explain incorrect transfers. When JE Dunn began cataloging their equipment using the ToolWatch system, it became apparent that they were missing some of the smaller tools they thought they had—and had more than they thought of others.
Result
Within six months of recording new tools and logging in returns from jobsites, JE Dunn finally had a solid handle on their real $2.5 million tool inventory. They have dramatically improved efficiency and slashed paperwork, another important objective.
With ToolWatch, we save time preparing for upcoming jobs, said Jim Grabski, director of finance. We use tools more effectively because we know when they are coming off jobsites and immediately reassign them. ToolWatch paid for itself in the first month.
ToolWatch not only paid for itself, but made a significant positive impact on the bottom line: From July through December 2003, JE Dunn identified an additional $200,000 in revenue, improving the companys financial performance by 16 percent. The company attributes that immediate, tangible return on investment directly to their purchase of ToolWatch.
Yates Construction
Yates Construction Stops Gambling on Tool Retention
Situation
When riverboat gambling returned to Mississippi in the early 1990s, Yates Construction hit the jackpot—a business surge that turned a hometown contractor into a construction powerhouse, 34th largest in the nation. But its rapid growth through acquisition also meant the company was gambling that all the various inventory management systems would keep tool costs in line.
They didnt. Each subsidiary had its own system, from pencil-and-notepad logs to spreadsheets. They would send tools to jobsites, but never know whether they were returned. And because there was no central warehouse, performing inventory was next to impossible. Yates couldnt even estimate their tool losses, although companies of similar size reported losing up to $1 million annually.
Solution
Yates Construction management knew they had to automate—everything. They started with a wide-area network, with the intent of providing all the companies under the Yates umbrella with a solid IT infrastructure for accounting, database, inventory, and so on. A key element of that system had to be a comprehensive tool management application that could manage all aspects of the companys business, which ranges from hotels to retail to refineries—in fact, the entire spectrum of the construction field. That meant the highly specialized tool and equipment inventories for each business segment had to be accounted for with extraordinary precision.
Jason Clayton, Yates IT director, was charged with the responsibility of finding a tool management system that would integrate with the companys internal IT system and track and deploy tools and equipment in the field, down to the last screwdriver. After extensive research, Clayton chose ToolWatch. The program made sense. He liked the way it was built and its ease of use. He felt it was designed intuitively, so anyone could learn to operate it in the field—an important consideration when the company begins to integrate multiple databases and users throughout its subsidiary companies.
Yates Construction is one of the first to adopt the new ToolWatch Pocket PC scanner. As an IT professional, Clayton was especially excited about the potential not only to track tools but also to simplify other tasks. An especially valuable feature is its ability to send instant messages. Connectivity is very important in the field, Clayton says, This device gives us an excellent way to maintain communication. Weve tried other handhelds and think the ToolWatch Pocket PCs functionality is far superior. It can even be used to send instant messages to the field.
Another factor in Claytons selection of ToolWatch is the companys superior customer service. Clayton felt confident in the integrity and commitment of the staff—all the way to the top. When they ran into glitches during implementation, ToolWatch CEO Don Kafka stepped in to fix the situation. He personally helped Yates bring the system up to speed. Kafkas personal attention to Yates implementation made them feel even more confident in their choice.
Result
With the ToolWatch system fully implemented in the electrical contracting division, Yates Construction is beginning to get a handle on its vast tool inventory. The company has made demonstrable gains in efficiency after just a few months of using ToolWatch. It tracks tools from one job to another, which was impossible before. Where they previously sent tools to a new job, never knowing what they would get back, Yates now has a firm grip on inventory. But for tool retention, the good news will have to wait, since many current long-term projects must be tracked as much as 18 months into the future.
Performance Contracting, Inc.
ToolWatch Produces ROI in First Month—National Contractor's California Division Tracks Tools, Trucks and TVs
A handy yellow scanning pen has changed Dee McGregor's life. McGregor is purchasing agent and warehouse supervisor for the Interior/Tech Group at Performance Contracting, Inc. (PCI), in Sacramento, California.
PCI is the major subsidiary of Kansas-based Performance Contracting Group, ranked tenth in the nation in 1998 among specialty contractors by Engineering News-Record Magazine. The Interior/Tech Group focuses on drywall, acoustical and clean room installations.
For years McGregor struggled to manage the company's inventory of more than 3000 tools using a patchwork of manual efforts and inefficient spreadsheets. "A lot of tools were disappearing off jobsites and our replacement costs were going up," she says. "ToolWatch has certainly made my life easier."
Then a colleague in another division told her about ToolWatch, a system designed specifically for tracking tools and equipment. McGregor threw away her spreadsheets when the ToolWatch System was implemented in 1996. Now, using the ToolWatch barcode labeling system and the ToolWatch Scanning Pen, she manages a variety of equipment including hand tools, company trucks, even TV/VCR units used for on-site employee training.
McGregor "rents" tools to individual jobsites, tracking tools to individual employees in some cases. With ToolWatch the company can determine whether a tool is in use on a job and can often temporarily "loan" the item to another jobsite. Putting idle equipment to work on more than one project saves time and eliminates costly redundancy.
PCI's projects include the Shriner's Hospital and the new Federal Building in Sacramento along with public and private sector projects in California, Nevada, Utah and Colorado. The company averages some 200 field employees on as many as 30 jobsites.
"In the past, I sometimes spent as much as $10,000 a month filling jobsite orders and replacing lost and stolen tools. Now there are some months when I don't spend any money. ToolWatch paid for itself in the first month," McGregor adds.
In addition to tracking tools between the warehouse and jobsites, McGregor says using ToolWatch cuts down on trips spent hunting for equipment. Says McGregor, "We wasted man-hours and wear and tear on trucks looking for items that we needed for another job. With ToolWatch we know where everything is and can move equipment around efficiently."
Carolina Power & Light
Carolina P&L Powers Up Tool Inventory Management With ToolWatch System—Emergency Response Time an Added Value
When Carolina Power & Light (CPLC) went looking for a system that would allow them to manage the company's inventory of more than 5,000 tools, their goal was to control loss, theft and damage and keep track of equipment on jobsites.
The regional utility saw ToolWatch at an industry trade show and Danny Hall, Senior Technology Specialist said the company was impressed with its flexibility and ease-of-use. Said Hall, "Our tool management program was outdated. We needed a system that would enable us to not only track our tools on jobsites, but allow us to expand our tracking to include on-site equipment."
The ToolWatch System went online in late 1998. Now one employee at each of five repair locations manages tools for the company's field engineering and line and service crews. Employees use a variety of equipment including hand tools, meters, personal safety equipment and underground radar systems worth as much as $20,000.
CPLC's 23 Resource Coordinators located at field sites throughout North and South Carolina use the ToolWatch database to monitor on-site tool and test equipment inventories. Coordinators obtain and maintain tools for line and service crews, and ToolWatch enables them to match tools with specific job needs and manage tool-buying costs.
"The best thing about ToolWatch is their support," said Hall. "Thanks to the ToolWatch technical and training teams, our employees were ready to start using ToolWatch in two days."
Hall says the company has discovered another ToolWatch benefit. With the improved efficiency afforded by the ToolWatch System, CPLC has significantly improved the time it takes to move critical emergency equipment into place during the area's annual hurricane season.
RK Mechanical
RK Mechanical Cuts Tool Loss in Half with ToolWatch—Replacement Costs Shrink as Business Grows
How do you cut tool loss in half in a hurry? RK Mechanical of Denver, Colorado has the answer. ToolWatch!
A regional company with projects like the new Level 3 Headquarters, the Omni Hotel and Lucent Technologies' new office park, RK operates projects throughout Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska. The company was losing up to 40 percent of the tools on some projects, and spent a staggering $400,000 on tool replacement purchases in 1998.
Says RK's shop manager, Martin Lybarger, "We had a system that just didn't work and something had to be done. A competitor told us about ToolWatch and when we implemented our ToolWatch System, things improved right away."
RK's 500 field employees are deployed at as many as 90 jobsites. Each jobsite has a tool budget and managers are held responsible for cost overruns. Lybarger rides herd on an inventory of more than 7000 small tools and 700 large items, including welding machines, trucks, backhoes and a giant forklift worth $60,000. "We operate two separate ToolWatch databases. One controls our small tool inventory, like drill motors and saws, and we also track larger tools and equipment, which we rent to each job as needed. And, we track consumable products by the job too." Lybarger says.
"If a job foreman is finished with a tool, he turns it back to the warehouse right away to avoid being billed for an item he's not using," Lybarger adds. "Now we can make the most of each tool because things aren't sitting around on jobsites where they can be lost or stolen."
RK implemented the ToolWatch System in October 1998 and in the following months, the company cut its tool-related losses in half. One example of the new ToolWatch efficiency is the company's 130 plus two-way radios. At $450 a piece the radios are a critical link in the company's field communications network. "The radios just disappeared, walked away," Lybarger says. "Since we put ToolWatch in place, we know the radios are where they need to be."
What is RK Mechanical's next move? Cut tool replacement expenses another 75 percent. Lybarger says that with ToolWatch that's a realistic goal.
Thompson Electric
ToolWatch Part of Thompson Electric's Success—Replacement Costs Shrink as Business Grows
Ohio-based Thompson Electric, Inc. (TEI) can handle virtually any kind of electrical project, from a simple residential installation to a multimillion-dollar construction assignment. The company has grown steadily since its founding in 1977 and more than 150 field personnel work at jobsites around the state. Among their clients are the Ohio Department of Transportation, Six Flags and Chrysler Corporation. The company's divisions include commercial and residential construction and service, temperature control, high voltage, traffic signalization and outside lighting.
Keeping tools in the right hands was a big challenge for Tools and Equipment Manager, Eugene Thompson. Missing and stolen tools cost the company time and money in delays and lost productivity. While most missing tools are simply misplaced by employees, in one case a few years ago before the company implemented ToolWatch, thieves took an entire gang box from a Sears project site over a weekend. On Monday, the company scrambled to replace the tools so work could proceed on schedule.
Experiences like the Sears theft helped company leadership recognize the need for a better method of tracking their thousands of tools and in 1994 they implemented the ToolWatch System.
Now more than 4,600 tools are assigned to the company's fleet of 65 vans and to individual employees. Says Thompson, "When tools are delivered to a new jobsite, the truck driver hands the foreman a list of tools so he knows exactly what he has on hand."
Another effort that saves time and reduces loss and tool hoarding is the company's monthly tool reporting process. ToolWatch generates a monthly list of tools assigned to each jobsite and field foremen must check tools off on the report and account for any missing items.
Theft is not TEI's major challenge, but tracking tools between the company's more than two dozen jobsites is, says Thompson. "Now that we use ToolWatch, we don't lose many tools, so we don't pay for replacements. Our job estimates are more accurate because we can control costs. That's really important when we're committed to a project budget."
One example of TEI's success with ToolWatch is a long-term project at Chrysler Corporation's stamping plant where TEI's employees work round-the-clock in 12-hour shifts, seven days a week. The company started the project in November 1999 and 80 employees use the jobsite tool inventory worth $200,000. "Chrysler is in a hurry to get the job finished and with ToolWatch we don't have to worry about lost time due to missing tools," he says.
There's a lot at stake. Completing the job on time could result in more Chrysler projects for Thompson Electric.
ToolWatch ensures that Thompson Electric delivers the on-time, on-budget performance the company's clients have come to expect. Mr. Thompson is a self-professed ToolWatch supporter. As a result of his recommendations, several other contractors have become ToolWatch users.
Trepus Corporation
Demolition Specialist Doesn't Waste Time, Money Replacing Lost Tools—ToolWatch System Helps Trepus Respond to Same-Day Demo Calls
Demolishing houses, buildings, bridges and just about anything man can build is the mission of Redmond, Washington-based Trepus Corporation. The young, fast-growing company is making a name for itself working on complex construction projects that require demolition before retrofitting or new construction can begin.
Trepus founder and project manager, Joel Trepus implemented the ToolWatch tool tracking system in mid 1998 to reduce tool and equipment loss and theft, a problem that could cause costly delays and lost business. "As the company grows, so does the tool inventory and we were simply losing too much equipment. ToolWatch enables us to manage our tool inventory efficiently from project-to-project as well as on the jobsite," says Trepus.
According to Trepus, demolition contractors must move quickly. "The demolition contractor comes in first before the other trades can start. If we're not in and out on time, it puts the whole job behind schedule. We often get the call and start the job on the same day, so for us, having all the right tools ready to go is critical."
The ToolWatch System tracks virtually everything the company uses on a demolition jobsite, from consumable items like caution tape, earplugs and saw blades, to expensive items like $1000 roto-hammers and $2500 laser levels. The company uses shipping containers as portable on-site shops. Using the ToolWatch System, bar coded tools, equipment and consumables are checked out to the site and delivered in the container.
The company also uses ToolWatch to track their vehicles and heavy equipment including trucks, bobcats and a 20-ton crane. Shop manager, Bryan Harding sets up each vehicle as a location, with assigned tools and equipment, and employees assigned to vehicles are accountable for the inventory.
Harding says because of the speed with which jobs are set up and completed, keeping track of tools and equipment is always a challenge. Tools may be purchased and put to use the same day. Says Harding, "In the past, if a tool was purchased and taken directly to a jobsite, it would be easy to lose it because it was never entered into the inventory. Now, I can inventory new tools at a jobsite from the tailgate of my truck. I just attach the bar code label and scan it with the ToolWatch Pen.
In addition, Trepus may work on a job with as many six other contractors, increasing the potential for tool loss. The ToolWatch bar code labels act as a theft deterrent and, in some cases, jobsite tool loss has been cut by as much as 80 percent.
Unusual demolition projects require creative solutions and special equipment. On Seattle's Pier 66 project, Trepus employees worked under the pier as well as topside. Workers cut 20' by 30' openings for new elevator shafts in two-foot thick concrete and had to connect I-beams to keep chunks of concrete in place while the work was under way. The company rigged a giant tarp under the pier to prevent falling debris from polluting the harbor and the waters of Puget Sound.
Although tool loss and theft have been dramatically reduced, items from the Trepus tool inventory of more than 2500 occasionally are lost or stolen from jobsites, but now the company can generate an up-to-date status report from ToolWatch making the replacement and insurance claim processes more efficient.
Even with the company's steady growth, the new tool purchase budget is modest because ToolWatch reports allow the decision-makers to get an accurate assessment of new tool needs. Adds Harding, "We have to move fast and hold employees accountable for the tools under their control. With ToolWatch, we can spend our time getting the job done, not looking for our tools."
