Issue link: https://construction.trimble.com/en/resources/i/1520063
CASE STUDY "It's hard to replace something that's not broken, but as we implemented B2W solutions, we realized how much we could improve" • Platform provides technology and communication tools to help teams work together • B2W Maintain and Track complement each other • Smooth integration with Foundation accounting solution M&M EXCAVATING B2W PLATFORM DRIVES TEAMWORK AND COMPETITIVENESS The management team of M&M Excavating had a feeling software solutions could be improved. This led Chris Churches, Estimator, GPS Manager and third- generation millennial, to B2W Software, and the pieces began to fall into place. "It's hard to replace something that's not broken, but as we implemented B2W solutions, we realized how much we could improve," according to Brandie Meisner, the second-generation CFO at the family-owned company based in northern Michigan. She says the visibility gained across workflows has also created more of a team environment, as employees have real-time insight into daily processes and can communicate more effectively. Communication problems related to equipment are what first drove M&M to B2W. "Obtaining accurate and timely repair requests and meter readings from the field to the shop presented a significant challenge," Meisner recalls. "B2W Maintain appeared to be an excellent solution. We also realized immediately that B2W Track, a more robust field tracking application than the one we were using at the time, would allow us to fully leverage Maintain in the field." Considering B2W Estimate to round out the solutions suite was next. "We were generally satisfied with our estimating software, but the deficiencies became more apparent as we saw what B2W Estimate offered, and the value of a unified approach," Meisner says. M&M saw a drop in responsiveness when its previous estimating software provider was acquired by a larger, accounting-focused company, and Meisner sensed that the supplier was moving away from its focus on the specialized needs of heavy construction contractors. M&M was founded in the early 1970s, prior to wide-spread computing. "We were, of course, a pen and paper kind of company for years," Meisner says, recalling a "dreaded, day-long Monday ritual", with two or three employees tracking down and entering field and payroll data manually into the Foundation accounting system.