Construction companies offer coordination at their core. They bring together multiple specialties, each at their appropriate stage, to turn a project and a plot of land into a usable, compliant structure. This blog looks at how their operational priorities are behind a trend Shepherd has noticed: choosing to implement only its timekeeping module. To find out why, and where this can lead, read on.
Work crews: a constant construction investment
A trend exists among these companies whereby they use Shepherd purely for its timekeeping module. They have no need for service orders but they do have a need for knowing how long stuff takes. This might be to track how long machine operators or site workers work. The system may have a wage value: the workers or managers record the time worked, giving management basic payroll information.
Naturally, based on dates or times, the system can apply bonus rates for holidays or night work. It can also ensure that workers are not working for longer than they are legally mandated to, if the work is hazardous in some way.
Construction: machine-heavy, but often asset-light
You may be asking yourself the following: “Surely a sector like construction is bursting with machinery that would warrant a chunk of Shepherd’s product portfolio!” Well, as it turns out, that is not necessarily true. Is there a case for companies to use Shepherd for maintenance management, for example? Probably, but not always, and here’s why.
The types of machinery used in construction are a tad pricey. So companies don’t buy it unless they’re going to use it. There seems to be a rule of thumb that says unless a construction company is going to use an asset on around 65% or more jobs, it is not worth buying, making rental the smarter choice. Those rental firms might be Shepherd candidates, but that is a different story.
Back to the case in hand: construction companies buy only the baseline equipment that they use regularly, and rent the rest on a needs basis. By contrast, one resource they use all the time is a trusted workforce. And that workforce needs to be monitored, and paid, which is where Shepherd gets construction’s vote.
That tracking goes beyond wages, too. Construction is a single project, typically linked to a contractually-agreed and penalty-laden schedule. Its execution, on the other hand, is made of multiple, distinct phases, with a particular order or priority. Each phase will have materials needed for it to work. Those materials have a cost too, and a lead time. An accurate view of the schedule’s progress against reality means they can know when to order in the materials needed for the next stage, rather than being faced with a rush to bring materials in or the headache of storing them for longer than planned.
As is often the case, before implementing Shepherd, companies had integrated but outdated timekeeping solutions in place whose cumbersome nature could cause problems. Some may not even have had an ERP, and if NetSuite was a contender, Shepherd became a natural complement to that choice.
The further benefits of onboarding Shepherd
In the grand scheme of software implementation, Shepherd’s timekeeping module is not considered costly. Timekeeping is a straightforward module to roll out, and so a customer in the construction industry wanting to tune up and smooth out its timekeeping infrastructure could get an effective solution for a relatively small investment.
Construction, being a hazardous industry, is likely a good candidate for Shepherd’s Health, Safety, and Wellness module. It often acts as a gateway task to other functions. So, for example, a mandatory equipment checklist could be installed that must be completed before any time entries can be added. That gives the management an audit-compatible paper trail that shows they are meeting their obligations to staff and legislation alike.
Likewise, if the business evolves in a way that invites an equipment tracking facet, Shepherd’s broad-spectrum NetSuite-native EAM solution is designed to keep a comprehensive record, and all of it able to feed into NetSuite.
The gist, then, is that companies running NetSuite, and wanting a reliable, NetSuite-native option to manage time (and feed into NetSuite accounting systems) can choose Shepherd as an easy roll-out option. And, once Shepherd has a footprint established, expanding that is easier than without one. Whether you’re in the construction sector, or otherwise, why not book a demo if time is on your mind, too?
