FEATURES
Technology on the Job

by Anne Morris
Design software, management tools and GPS

Image courtesy of PRO Landscape. For customers that have trouble visualizing landscape designs, PRO Landscape’s Image Editor lets you create before and after images of the proposed landscape using a digital photograph of the customer’s house or building that can be turned into a 3-D presentation.

Everybody is looking for ways to bring their overall costs down, and making use of technology is one way to reach that goal. The right software can help you to run your business more efficiently and, thus, more economically. GPS systems can be used to get crews to the job site, but some systems now offer much more.

What is important is adopting technology that fits your specific business. Jason Kallevig, vice president of data services at Kaltec Technology Center (www.kaltec.com) in Monticello, Minn., is involved in creating custom software.

“Basically, a business owner will come to me when they are unable to find software they feel can adequately manage their business or a certain aspect of their business,” he said. “They’ll ask us to develop a set of tools—software—that will automate a time-consuming or a difficult management portion of the business. At that point we start looking at the business needs, and we design a database.”

For example, they have developed custom software for the home remodeling industry to automate the estimating process. The estimating system Kallevig produced had close to 60,000 item codes. He says that this particular system was very accurate, with 1 percent cost versus estimate.

Kaltec has been providing custom software since 1993, and the company’s current customers typically have anywhere from five to 500 employees. Generally, the goal has been to introduce efficiencies that bring costs down in the long term.

Kallevig said, “Labor hours are typically the most expensive, and if you can automate through software, you can reduce the total labor hours.”

Photos courtesy of Kaltec. Kaltec has been providing custom software solutions since 1993.

It is best to come to a software designer with data about your business and a clear idea of what you want done. “Sometimes, companies approach us with dreams, but no hard data,” Kallevig said. “The process goes smoother if the company approaches us both with vision and some historical data that we can design from, because collecting the data takes time. In addition, before the system really starts to work, it has to be in place for a period of time before you start being able to pull that data back out of it.”

Kaltec also offers e.r.i.s., a customer-based data management system that integrates with Microsoft Office technology to allow the user to locate the needed information, wherever in the system it may be stored. It tracks data and stores it in a logical fashion, so the user does not waste time looking for particular contact information, or for the latest e-mail communication from a customer. Data becomes more valuable, because it can be easily accessed.

There are lots of other options by way of standard software packages that can meet and exceed a company’s business management needs.

Maxwell Systems’ (www.maxwellsystems.com) American Contractor software offers functions for estimating and proposal management; project management, such as job costs, scheduling and invoicing; accounts payable and receivable and a general ledger are in the financial management tools; payroll capabilities; and equipment management. The company’s goal is to provide integrated solutions, from beginning to end.

Image courtesy of Maxwell Systems. Perhaps the most exciting way to verify your site is with the 3-D View in Maxwell Systems Quest Earthwork. This gives a dynamic, realistic aerial view of existing and proposed elevations.

All of Maxwell’s products are focused on enabling contractors to save time and money and ultimately become more profitable. When there was plenty of work, it was easier for contractors to be profitable without a high concern for optimal productivity, streamlined and automated processes and exact profit margin. Now, however, business owners must work smarter and be tech savvy to remain competitive.

Maxwell Systems makes a comprehensive business management software solution for the construction industry that goes from takeoff to final bid. The Maxwell Systems Management Suite is a fully integrated estimating and accounting solution.

Two of the company’s specific products for sitework and heavy construction are StreetSmarts, a business management software solution for heavy and highway construction, and Quest Earthwork, a core earth-measuring program. StreetSmarts 7.0 has new features that allow a contractor to track bids and analyze the profitability of each project. It also has Microsoft Outlook integration, to speed workflow and improve document tracking.

Image courtesy of PRO Landscape. “Given the current circumstances, this is a tool you can’t be without,” says David Sloan of PRO Landscape design software. The package includes photo imaging, architectural-type design and an estimating piece. There’s also a holiday lighting application.

Maxwell Systems’ Quest Earthwork is an automated earth-measuring system that enables the user to measure cut and fill quantities quickly. Plans are placed on a digitizer board and traced with a stylus pen, once for existing elevations and once for proposed elevations, to generate accurate cut and fill quantities. It can save time and prevent mistakes.

A Picture is Worth $1,000

Several professional-grade software programs have been created specifically to help landscape designers produce a realistic picture of a project they have planned. David Sloan, sales manager for PRO Landscape design software (www.prolandscape.com), sees it as a way for landscapers to profit despite the economy.

“Given the current circumstances,” he said, “this is a tool you can’t be without. People are spending less, so you have to be able to maximize your time.” The package includes photo imaging, architectural-type design and an estimating piece.

Top, The MDT-860 Mobile Data Terminal from Navman Wireless enables users to send job details, directions or messages to crews on the road. Bottom, From Navman Wireless, the M-Nav650 is a combined messaging and navigation device in one.

One application that’s hard to pass up this time of year is PRO Landscape’s holiday lighting designs. With the push of a button, you can show the customer a special holiday lighting design created just for their home.

PRO Landscape adds 30 to 40 new features every year. The latest PRO Landscape is Version 14. The company that produces it, Drafix Software, Inc., has been in operation for 16 years.

“Throughout the year, we listen to our customer base and pay attention to what they think the software needs to do that it doesn’t do, or what kind of plant material needs to be added,” Sloan said.

They also add new images each year. Currently, the database has over 6,000 items, including a mixture of plants, hardscapes and statues. This year, they added features such as new perspective tools, curving wall tools, a berm and contour tool and a paver tool. Contractors who own an older version of PRO Landscape can purchase an upgrade to Version 14. Cost is on a sliding scale. Upgrading from Version 13 costs $295; from Version 10, the cost is $795.

Design software allows the creation of a design on a laptop, which can then be shown to prospective clients. “It’s worth the investment if they can close even two or three more sales in a month,” Sloan said. “A picture is worth a thousand words, and in this case it’s worth a thousand dollars.”

Other landscape design software companies include Design Ware (www.Designware33.com) and Visual Impact (www.visualimpactimaging.com).

GPS solutions

Emily DeJoris, marketing coordinator for Navman Wireless North America (www.NavmanWireless.com), points out the economics from a product such as their fleet-tracking Qube or the ConEx, which measure vehicle performance. There is also the M-Nav, which is a GPS unit that can also be used to communicate with crews.

“We sell a complete solution that allows customers to save fuel, save overtime charges, save on fuel tax,” DeJoris said. “You can see which are the most effective routes and predict an accurate arrival time.” These systems give fleet managers the ability to stay abreast of what is happening with their employees.

The M-Nav 650 is a new technology from Navman that helps reduce fuel and labor costs by integrating job dispatch and satellite navigation. Push a button, and it takes you right to the job, while maintaining two-way messaging both to and from the office.

Other companies that offer GPS products include Leica, www.leica.com, and Haas GPS, www.haasgps.com.

Anne Morris is a freelance writer in Austin, Texas.