Q. We are looking into options for electronic daily reports / construction project management systems. A brief web search has pointed me to systems like Procore, Maxwell, Dexter+Chaney, Sage, Meridian, etc. Before I spend loads of time reading through vague product descriptions, I was hoping to get some feedback from others who have been down this path.
To be specific, for the daily logs, we are looking for something that does more than a paperless or document management system that stores a PDF copy of a form or something of the like. For example, we would like to be able to collect data like timesheet records and export this to our accounting/payroll system for timecards and capture production data in a way that can be queried or used for reports or exported to Excel. To do this, the form would have to be able to be customized to include the fields we need. We are really looking for something that can be heavily customized, not just boiler-plate stuff.
Is anyone using something like this? If so, did you build it internally? Off-the-shelf? Cloud/SaaS? What has your experience been, good or bad?
Thanks in advance,
Jeremy Hicks
GOETTLE
A. Not sure if you are a building contractor or highway contractor, but we have been using HCSS HeavyJob for a couple of years. Field systems allow foremen to enter daily time card info for labor, equipment and material along for various cost codes, with corresponding quantities installed. The manager system of HeavyJob interfaces with our payroll/accounting package (CGC). HCSS is also rolling out mobile app version of this software for field use on tablets.
Thomas C. Bluhm, P.E.
Cold Spring Construction Co.
A. SharePoint might be the ticket for this. It is very customizable, it does forms very well, and it speaks sql fluently, so you can move data where you need it. We are just starting down that road ourselves, so I have no specific firsthand experience to report. I’ve seen enough examples of other people’s SharePoint installs, however, to know that it will be well received in our organization.
Chris Zeppa
Walker Engineering
A. We're also headed down the SharePoint path for field reporting. We've seen SharePoint templates built out for this purpose and were impressed with the final solution, along with the fact that it will "plug in" to the SharePoint infrastructure we have in place for other business processes.
Keith Murley
Schimenti Construction Company