How a Heavy Civil Contractor Boosted Production by Connecting Their ERP, Field, and Payroll

Coyote Ridge Construction, LLC is a heavy civil contractor specializing in underground utilities, earthwork and concrete, located in Northern Colorado.

At the beginning of 2022, the company established a single word that was at the center of all strategic planning for the year: production.

At the time, the ERP and time collection software used by the construction company did not have the capabilities to report production quantities. Field Supervisors were responsible for turning in production numbers on a paper form. Project Managers then had to input these numbers into the computer. This process took place outside of Coyote Ridge’s ERP, creating a process where employees were “shooting in the dark and hoping for the best”.

With an employee roster of 170 (and growing), along with an equipment fleet of nearly 300, it was time for the company to begin thinking about how to best grow and expand its current systems. In order to do so, Coyote Ridge Construction decided to do a complete overhaul.

A Fast-Track to Implementation

The Administration and Operations team quickly went to work.

To best improve efficiencies, gather better data from the field teams, and automate manual tasks, the team decided that establishing a new ERP system would be the best route to take. Key employees began vetting various ERPs, scheduling product demos and calls with sales teams, speaking with references, and reviewing the potential financial impact of each potential software opportunity. 

After almost two months of decision-making, Coyote Ridge decided on Trimble Viewpoint’s Spectrum ERP and B2W Track for field production and payroll.

Now that a technology direction had been decided on, the company moved on to its next goal of fast-track implementation. Not only did Coyote Ridge aim to implement the new tech in fewer than five months, they planned to implement both solutions simultaneously.

While finalizing the implementation process, the organization also worked to train 25 field supervisors and 10 office employees. They were learning both systems at the same time, and working hard to understand the processes and procedures that would ensure a seamless integration between Spectrum and B2W Track.

The Hard Work Paid Off

With lots of hard work, Coyote Ridge Construction met its goal! And, they are the first company to implement Spectrum and B2W Track concurrently in that amount of time. Luckily, this transition was well worth the time and effort. Coyote Ridge has seen drastic improvement across the organization, including:

• Automated job cost setup via the interface between Spectrum and B2W, reducing the effort needed to build project budgets and phase codes. Previously, this was a manual process that took at least a day to complete — now, it’s less than 10 minutes.
• Simplified the payroll process and reduced the potential need for additional payroll personnel. The field can input hours, equipment usage and production into an iPad that syncs effortlessly into Spectrum. This has eliminated the need for manual keying and the potential for errors by the payroll department.
• Enhanced communication and teamwork between the field and office staff via real-time information.
• Utilized cloud technology to significantly lower previous software maintenance and associated downtime for both the office and field.
• Increased the accuracy of our bids by having concrete information on the actual rates of production and the costs per unit of measure from previous jobs.
• Controlled committed costs, cost projections, and streamlined the accounts payable process by implementing purchase orders.

An Award Winning Transformation

It’s funny how a simple word like “production” can drive such a large amount of change.

Coyote Ridge Construction has seen a positive impact on growth, the organization’s success, and employee happiness since implementing Spectrum and B2W Track. For that reason, Coyote Ridge was awarded the 2023 Construction Award for Biggest Accounting/Finance Team Transformation! 

To learn more about Spectrum and B2W Track, request more information.