Issue link: https://construction.trimble.com/en/resources/i/1520059
CASE STUDY KITSAKI PROJECTS UNIFIED APPROACH IMPROVES ESTIMATING, FIELD PERFORMANCE TRACKING AND THE LINK BETWEEN THE TWO. "B2W Estimate and Track have had a profound impact on our company," says Benson Thoudsanikone, general manager of Kitsaki Projects. The company has close to 200 employees and focuses primarily on utility-based construction projects in Saskatchewan. Kitsaki implemented the B2W Estimate and Track solutions in tandem, with the goals to establish faster, standardized estimating processes that linked field operations and to gain more timely insight into field performance. Thoudsanikone says estimating and field tracking go hand in hand, and it made perfect sense to implement both of the B2W elements as a unified solution. Previously, with independent systems, managers at Kitsaki struggled to pinpoint why some jobs were unsuccessful. "We couldn't determine whether we were underbidding in the first place, or just not performing as effectively as we projected in the field," Thoudsanikone explains. "The reality was it was a bit of both. The bidding process was inconsistent from job to job, and we couldn't really translate bids to the field to make it clear to the foremen and their teams what we bid on and what was expected. The link between Estimate and Track automates that connection." Thoudsanikone says economic challenges in the Canadian market are forcing contractors to focus on improving efficiency and productivity through specialized software. Estimators at Kitsaki previously relied on Excel spreadsheets to produce bids, but the process was long and prone to persistent errors. Elements: B2W Estimate B2W Track "What used to take us four days to bid, now takes us less than a few hours with B2W Estimate," • Replaced spreadsheets and paper-based field tracking • Bidding is now faster and accurate • Linked bidding process to field operations • Able to make better decisions through faster access to field performance data