When it came to sharing vital job data between the office
and the field, Dynamic Systems Inc. was anything but
dynamic. All jobs were being managed in Excel and the
accounting system was nearly 30 years old. With siloed
field data and manual reporting, this $400 million Top 10
ENR company with eight nationwide branches found itself
constantly mired in duplicated data entry, wasted rework
and excess materials.
"There were guys in the field doing the installations and the
drawings and that data just wasn't getting captured," said
Randy Smith, Dynamic Systems applications manager, "the
stakeholders got together and said, 'how can we have a
pipeline of information that creates one place where all the
data is stored?'"
The answer: data integration.
While that's a simple answer, experts warn the path toward
integration is far more complex. Like Dynamic Systems,
today's construction firms are using a vast array of disparate
data collection tools, distribution and storage methods —
field apps, office ERP systems, drafting software, to name a
few — that make it difficult to access information when and
where it's needed for maximum efficiency and margins. Even
companies with updated ERP systems may still be fighting
against siloed data and inefficiency because their systems are
not fully integrated.
HOW CAN WE HAVE A PIPELINE OF INFORMATION THAT
CREATES ONE PLACE WHERE ALL THE DATA IS STORED?
THE ANSWER: DATA INTEGRATION.
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