April 2016
Read the article in ACP’s Constructioneer Magazine
Family owned and operated since 1918, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based James D. Morrissey, Inc. has retained foundational values while adopting a state-of-the-art software platform to complete projects throughout eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey. Estimator and Project Manager John Ehling led the move to add unified B2W Software elements for estimating, field tracking, and equipment maintenance.
Facing Challenges
“When I joined the company in 2011, we were estimating with Hard Dollar on a DOS platform,” Ehling recalls. “The DOS platform was no longer supported, so our fear as we got near the deadline on every bid was that it would crash, and we would lose weeks of estimating work and any chance of being successful. We were also at a competitive disadvantage without modern, time-saving features like a standard database for cost items or the ability to easily pull archival information from previous bids.”
Real-time field tracking was also a top priority. The Pennsylvania DOT provides the majority of the company’s work volume and pays based on quantities completed, as measured by the state’s engineers. “Without an effective tool, our field supervision – like most – would be caught at the end of the day addressing other site issues and would not always have time to adequately meet up with state inspectors to confirm quantities,” Ehling explains. “We had no way of confirming or disputing the state’s calculations until we received payment.”
B2W Solutions
“We investigated HCSS and B2W for estimating,” explains Ehling. “B2W had the edge when it came to features, but what really sold us was how the B2W team was easy to work with and open to our specific needs.”
Success with B2W Estimate generated interest in linking estimating and bidding with field tracking. “B2W Track has paid for itself many times over on the DOT jobs by giving us instant feedback from our field forces by early the next morning on the previous day’s progress so we can get properly reimbursed, and that is just one small feature of the program,” says Ehling. “We put 25 iPads in the field right away, we’re constantly using more and more of the features and we still feel like we’re only scratching the surface of how we can use the software to streamline field tracking processes and improve analysis.”
With B2W solutions for estimating and field tracking in place, executives became more aware of the liabilities of continuing to manage equipment maintenance and repairs with spreadsheets and added B2W Maintain. Information on equipment and labor were already entered and accessible in a unified B2W operational database established for Track, so the implementation was smooth and collaboration across the two elements was ensured. Ehling says the specialized maintenance management program has streamlined work order processes.
“To say I was surprised at how quickly and enthusiastically our team embraced the B2W systems is a huge understatement,” Ehling says. “I was truly amazed, and I attribute it to the ease of use and the immediate impact in terms of making it easier for them to do their jobs.”
James D. Morrissey has also realized benefits beyond the individual features of each B2W application. “We’ve discovered with Estimate, Track and Maintain that there is now so much data available to us and so many ways to use that data to operate more efficiently and more profitably,” Ehling says.
Plenty of Support
“Never in 25 years in construction have I dealt with a company like B2W,” Ehling says. “Every single employee – and I’ve met many of them – is pleasant, and we always get an answer instead of an excuse.” “Like its software, the staff at B2W makes my life easier and makes our team more effective,” he concludes. “We gain the operational and strategic advantages provided by the software without getting bogged down in the challenges of making the software work.”
