Finding the perfect piece of field management software can be time consuming: the need to cover so many processes – scheduling, building audit trails, proving compliance, getting visibility over job sites – might sometimes feel like too much to ask from a single digital solution. Well, in reality, that’s not the case
Needing a comprehensive and powerful field management system that could consolidate their processes, workflows and records, construction clients like MV Kelly and Glanville Environmental chose Re-flow Field Management for a host of reasons. And today we’re going to discuss why.
Construction leaders saving time with Re-flow’s compliance features
Life for a construction company without digital software can be dominated by manual workflows and countless paper forms. Meeting compliance standards can be difficult when forms are sent back to the office in emails that are difficult to organise and store. Compiling and searching for information can make reporting unnecessarily time consuming.
But imagine an alternative, where every single form submission is done via an app, and every single action and datapoint is saved to the cloud. That’s every signature, form submission and location-stamped photo from every operative. Whatever data-points that clients request can be recorded.
Well, that’s life with Re-flow.
Seeing these notifications fly in, knowing that the software saves all the forms and creates an automatic paper trail, operations managers and admin rest easy. They gain the opportunity to spend their mental energy elsewhere.
James Goodman, contracts director for Glanville Environmental, was pleased with the customisation options inherent in Re-flow’s form builder: “One thing it’s allowed me to do is when I go into tender presentations or tender situations with either existing or new clients, and they want us to collect bespoke data from the field, I can confidently say yes we can design a form to capture what you want, and we can make it come out in the format you want too.”
Companies elevating their communication with a centralised app
Admin needing to make multiple phone calls to relay information to site and messages not sending due to poor signal is a hard-to-avoid frustration.
Other communication difficulties include data siloing and siloed working. Different parts of a business operating independently from each other can cause confusion, miscommunication and costly errors – whether from scheduling clashes or unusable kit being taken out to site.
The solution to all of this is better collaboration, enabled by field management software built around the specific needs of a construction company.
With all company data stored in one place, issues disappear. Double bookings, scheduling clashes, scheduling workers with incorrect or expired qualifications become impossible. The app makes this so via notifications, and by not allowing operatives or equipment to be scheduled unless specific criteria are satisfied (for example, having workers with the correct qualifications assigned to a job).
All communication to and from site goes through Re-flow. With delivery and read receipts on messages, job visibility is boosted even further. Workflows streamline.
“Communication to and from site was the biggie,” Glanville’s James Goodman said. “We have crews working right across the south west. We ask them to give us feedback on the works they’re doing and information they’re gathering in the field.
“Re-flow allows us to bring that into a digital area so that information is clean and quick and efficient.”
Businesses rooting out inefficiencies, futureproofing and becoming more competitive
Inefficiencies created by using multiple pieces of software, poor communication or too many manual processes sometimes make job planning more of an art than a science. Adapting to change can be difficult. Unexpected costs and delays to jobs become a feature of working life…
Faced with a growing bill as a result, customers get irate. Field management software stops all of this. The BoQ, plugged into the company database, estimates costs to much higher degrees of accuracy.
Costs update throughout jobs as and when the software is presented with new form submissions. Seamless connections between Re-flow and the likes of QuickBooks and Xero ensure companies are on a stable foundation from which to grow.
With the efficiency boosts made possible by Re-flow, customers are happier, and a company’s standing in the industry solidifies.
Richard Lennon, head of IT at MV Kelly, summed it up well: “Re-flow has streamlined communication within our teams. Real-time updates and information have made all safety processes easier to manage. They’ve given us greater ability to plan and prepare for the future. Re-flow has not only reduced manual tasks but also enhanced accuracy and consistency across our workflows. Tasks that were once time-consuming are now easily completed and can be done out in the field (not paperwork in a site office).”
This is just a sample of what Re-flow Field Management offers construction companies.
*Please note that this is a commercial profile.
