Background
Bluewater Services, Inc. is a hazardous material abatement and demolition contractor located in Oakland, CA that employs over 130 people. Their services include asbestos, lead, and mold abatement, building demolition and hazardous and non-hazardous debris hauling.
The Problem
Keeping track of training status and employee health and safety records for the rapidly growing firm was becoming an administrative nightmare. In addition, each project required an inordinate amount of administrative involvement for preparing the project estimates, proposals, project submittals and contract paperwork.
Once the project commenced, communicating project details from the estimator to the business manager, and then to the warehouse and the field supervisor was a difficult process.
The Solution
The company purchased the SMART software initially to manage the training, medical examinations, and respiratory protection status of the field staff. Once the office staff became comfortable with the system, it was expanded to include project estimating, proposal generation and contract preparation.
The computer network was later expanded and a server added so all office staff have access to the system at their desks. PC Anywhere connections were added to key workstations so estimators and senior management can obtain information from the system when they are out of the office.
Currently, all projects run through the SMART and customized business management system developed by EcoLogic Systems for Bluewater, which is capable of managing all aspects of their business. The system generates all agency notifications for asbestos, project submittals for the consultant, and prepares final invoices. In addition, the system tracks the status of on-going projects, staff assignments to projects, warehouse orders and prepares project close-out reports.
Due to the added efficiencies provided by the software, the administrative staff has actually been reduced, even as the firm has grown saving them tens of thousands of dollars a year. In addition, vertical integration of the software throughout the organization has allowed the senior management to better understand the sales pipeline, streamline the project related communication between all departments, improved estimating capabilities, and increased the firms profit margins.
