Case Study: Software Selection – Heavy Civil Contractor – California

Download Case Study PDF

Client

Large Civil Contractor performing large earthwork projects for California and Nevada

Client Size

$200M to $500M
(Annual Revenue)

Icon of a magnifying glass with a question mark.

Problem

The company’s information system, bought many years ago, was falling further and further behind the company’s requirements. The equipment department was operating completely autonomously with a series of stand- alone spreadsheets and databases. Both the accounting functions and the rental functions were extremely inefficient.
Icon of lightbulb comprised of puzzle pieces.

Unique Challenges

A few people within the organization liked things the way they worked and saw no reason to change. Further, accounting was rather isolated and viewed as a mere bookkeeping service. With that kind of division within the organization, finding a single solution was going to be difficult, and getting it implemented would be even more of a challenge. Senior management in this organization was not well versed in the management of information systems and would provide little help in resolving these conflicts.
Icon of a person and cogwheel.

Approach

Burger Consulting Group facilitated a software selection process for this company with input from personnel at both offices. Through this process the client evaluated, purchased, and implemented a software product specifically designed for the construction industry and one that is fairly structured in its operation. This was desirable as the company did not have, nor did they want to develop, a larger and more sophisticated staff.

The product chosen also had a unit-price estimating product available with an innovative interface to the Job Cost, Billing, Purchasing, and Subcontract Management applications. The company found this to be a significant advantage over some of the nonintegrated packages they were considering.

3 images illustrating business technology.
Icon of a cogwheel insight a lightbulb.

Resolution

The company now runs both offices on one system, which means everyone has access to the information they need. Duplicate entry has been nearly eliminated and the timeliness and accuracy of the information is much better. The Vice President in charge of Equipment as well as the president are much happier with the equipment system both from a repair history and preventive maintenance-scheduling standpoint.
Icon of a person speaking.

Lessons Learned:

  • Review the resumes of any consulting or training staff that will be involved in the implementation.
  • If multiple people from a single vendor are going to be involved in the implementation, make sure they have a channel of communication in place that works.