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Travis Snow, estimator and project manager at Feller Enterprises
Eliminating two limitations of spreadsheets
Feller Enterprises faced two problems familiar to contractors relying on Excel.
To assess daily performance in the field, estimator and project manager Travis Snow had to retrieve production quantities from foremen, labor hours from a payroll system and equipment hours from Vision Link. He then entered this data into a custom spreadsheet that showed profitability for the whole job, but not for individual tracking accounts.
Estimating with Excel also meant he could not review past performance according to those production accounts to improve the accuracy of future bids.
Game changing benefits with B2W track
“We implemented B2W Track first, and it was a game changer for us,” says Snow.
The B2W application for performance tracking replaced the manual process of combining production, labor and equipment data from three different sources. Now, all of that information is recorded on electronic daily field logs and can be reported on immediately.
“We can see daily, not only how each job is performing, but also how each line item or production account for each job is performing,” Snow adds.
Information and motivation in the field
Foremen at Feller Enterprises use the B2W Track mobile app daily to compare progress on tracking accounts against quantities that were bid.
When an owner asks for anything outside of the original scope, that time and materials work is added to the field log on the spot. Owners sign the tablet, providing the documentation for billing.
B2W Track also inspires foremen to take more responsibility for profitability.
“They like to look at the summary reporting in B2W Track and make sure that they are staying at or as close as they can to estimated cost,” Snow explains. “We even set goals and award bonuses based on their actual in-field performance versus what we estimated.”
Feller Enterprises
Allen Feller and his son, Tyler, founded Feller Enterprises in 2003. The company is based in St. George, Utah and specializes in excavation and site development. Feller also has extensive experience in flood control, soil stabilization, rock quarrying and custom crushing.
