Q&A: Raising the Bar
Utility Contractor recently caught up with Russ Young, Chief Business Development Officer at Tenna, to discuss how construction tech is driving improvements in contractor communication, efficiency and financial performance.
Utility Contractor: What are some of the needs of your clients in the underground utility construction market? In general, are contractors looking for solutions in equipment/fleet management, field operations, resource management, scheduling, all of the above? What trends are you seeing?
Young: Specific trends we are seeing among utility contractures currently include an uptick in focus on safety and risk reduction. AI dash cameras, equipment inspections, compliance tracking etc., are all hot topics right now, in addition to the other “have to haves” around equipment fleet management (maintenance, resource management, dispatching, scheduling and more). Not only will the existing value of equipment management systems continue to benefit businesses over time, but there are several areas where it can provide benefits in other ways in the future as technologies continue to mature and richer data becomes available.
UC: How have some of these areas – software use for equipment/fleet/field operations management – evolved for contactors in the past 10 years?
Young: Despite the construction industry’s hesitation to evolve when it comes to the use of technology, specialized technologies such as AI and data analytics provide contractors with new and more effective methods to ensure they are making the most of their equipment management systems. Until recently, data shows contractors have struggled with seeing real gains and value using construction tech. However, contractors are adopting construction-focused equipment management systems rapidly to see measurable improvements in communication, efficiency and financial performance. The future of the industry is moving more towards a “cloud stack” and predictive analytics that will fuel advanced business intelligence we have yet to experience. This, combined with advancements in machinery such as autonomous equipment, robotics, assistive devices, etc., will raise the bar for the requirements in equipment management.
UC: How can effective fleet management affect a contractor’s bottom line?
Young: Equipment fleet management directly affects the bottom line in four simple, but significant ways. First, it improves productivity and progress. Used effectively, it reaches employees in all levels and departments in a construction business, beyond just operations. This benefits the whole organization and improves employee attitude and adoption. Second, it provides insights on operational efficiencies and performance. Performance insights can keep a fleet operational with reduced downtime. These insights can help improve the balance sheet by exposing underutilized machines that are continuing to cost money. Without accurate utilization data, contractors provide estimators with inflated internal costs, which they apply to bids for projects that require similar work. This can make or break a bid and impacts project margins. More accurate bid rates can increase overall competitiveness over time. Finally, the examples covered all directly relate to a reduction in capital expenditures. With equipment resources being one of a contractor’s highest cost centers, better purchase, disposal, rental, and maintenance decisions that can be gleaned from asset management system insights can save a contractor many thousands of dollars each year.
UC: It’s important for contractors to be up to date on project finances. From your perspective, what challenges do they have?
Young: Contractors can spend more time working with their team to verify their data is correct than they do making strategic decisions based on what their data is telling them. A company’s ERP is seen as the source of truth for their financial data. However, decision making can be limited if real-time equipment data does not automatically flow into their ERP. Manual data entry processes not only take up valuable time, but also are more prone to human error. Without accurate financial data, contractors are forced to utilize unreliable information to prepare for future projects. ERP and equipment management integration solves a multi-million-dollar business need for contractors, making it easier for them to see where they are bleeding capital and helps them get better control over how they leverage their current resources to ultimately benefit the books.
UC: How can you help optimize preventative maintenance on equipment?
Young: By using equipment management technology, construction businesses can track the utilization and condition of their equipment in real-time and identify potential problems before they become serious. This helps identify potential issues early and allows for quick action, and can be used to optimize maintenance schedules, ensuring that equipment is serviced at the optimal time. By identifying patterns and trends early, contractors can take proactive measures to prevent equipment downtime. Additionally, any time a work order is needed, whether it is preventative maintenance or an emergency repair, this information can be sent automatically from Tenna to various construction ERPs via integration, for accurate utilization and cost sharing.
Tenna’s powerful new feature, Parts Inventory, makes it easy to manage cost tracking for parts, efficiently schedule preventative maintenance when parts are available, and have more control over inventory issues that can delay projects.
UC: Do Tenna’s equipment management solutions integrate with accounting and other business systems that contractors might use? How has software integration evolved?
Young: As technology becomes more specialized, construction companies are likely to adopt a range of software and hardware solutions instead of a total solution. That is why it is critical that an equipment management platform can integrate seamlessly with the other software in a contractor’s tech stack.
Tenna allows contractors to link all of the tech in their ecosystem in one, unified place. Specifically, Tenna integrates with accounting and ERP software, cloud-based software providers – such as project management and estimating software – and OEM and rental telematics. Tenna strives to align an organization’s business objectives with their existing IT ecosystem. This includes tailored software and process workflow definitions during the implementation of an integration. Custom built integrations may seem more tedious than the increasingly prevalent but very generic Open API, however, in an industry with very specific needs, a ‘one-size-fits’ integration is simply insufficient.
UC: How have areas such as safety, regulatory compliance and recordkeeping for audits been improved by software solutions such as what Tenna offers?
Young: The combination of equipment management software and mobile technology makes it easy for construction businesses to mandate equipment inspections, monitor safe driving and more. Most recently, artificial intelligence (AI) has been a game changer in camera technology. Paired with IoT, AI-driven video, such as that from the TennaCAM 2.0 fleet camera, not only intervenes immediately when safety issues are detected but also allows safety managers to review issues and revise policies.
For compliance monitoring, Tenna supports the process of calculating fuel tax that contractors are liable to report to the federal government. Tenna’s International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) feature provides automated reports of miles driven per jurisdiction which contribute to accurate tax estimates. Tenna also supports the process of maintaining hours of service (HOS) for ELD compliance while improving on-road safety with our integrated Electronic Logging Device solutions. Tenna triggers notices when rests are needed so that drivers do not become overtired at the wheel. This automation improves the process of manually collecting and analyzing how many miles a vehicle drove, reduces paperwork and minimizes the risk of errors and non-compliance while increasing driver safety overall. Tags: Software, Tenna