Being a construction startup is far from easy. After setting up shop, many companies try to navigate the industry’s exorbitant amount of aspects and deny the use of technology. After several years of banging their heads against the wall, the companies with a strong desire to succeed will finally relent.
For HCSS customers on the Unlimited User Plan (UUP), the results are pure magic.
Does Grade A Construction’s story sound familiar?
Today, Grade A Construction is a massively successful construction firm. They started as a grading contractor and have now grown into a one-stop shop for sitework and general contractors in that arena. After first being founded back in 2013 in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee just outside of Nashville, there were definitely some growing pains, especially those first few years.
“Technology, led by HCSS, is our guiding star. We’ve harnessed technology to propel us forward, putting Grade A in the driver’s seat. We don’t just access data; we access the future. The power of technology lies in its ability to furnish accurate, real-time insights, which in turn fuels confident decision-making. HCSS is not just a cog; it’s the backbone of our efficiency. It’s the tool that doesn’t just align with us but elevates our standards.”
– Rachelle Reigard, President & Founder
“We didn’t really use a lot of technology, anything but what we thought was working and hoping it was cash-positive,” says Kris Neely, VP of Construction. “Over the course of my 7 years being here, we’ve tried different programs, time card modules, tracking mechanisms – nothing really stuck until we went down to HCSS in Texas.”
On that same note, John Alan, Senior VP of Business Development, has been with the company since the beginning, back when they consisted of only 4 employees – whereas today, Grade A has over 300 full-time workers.
“When we first started, it was like caveman times, honestly,” admits Alan. “Reality is, it was all paper-driven. Less processes, no collaboration from department to department, no ability to react in real-time.”
First recognizing the significance of streamlined equipment management, Grade A turned to the dynamic duo of Equipment360 and Telematics, setting the stage for a complete transformation.
“We seemed out of the ordinary at first to want to prioritize technology and want to spend money on that, but it was just a few years into it when it seemed like the world started catching up with us,” recalls President and Founder Rachelle Reigard. “This is the way of the future and it makes sense to do all this. We brought with us from other industries the need for technology and how important it was. Now we know that everyone in the field would not want to do without any piece of technology that we’ve introduced to them so far.”
Their journey began with equipment software.
Prior to implementing equipment software, the biggest issue Grade A experienced with the equipment division was the people in the field not knowing what was going on with the equipment, including what was down, what was available, how long pieces would be down, and everything else of that nature. At the same time, the team didn’t know when it was time for preventive maintenance.
“When we implemented E360, right off the bat, it took away one of our big issues,” says Jessica Cox, VP of Corporate Services. “We were able to figure out what was happening to every single piece of equipment and what the status was. We were able to see, real time, where all our pieces of equipment were instead of wasting time calling the field. It made us more efficient and not having to bother people in the field to lose production.”
Grade A is like most construction companies in the sense that their equipment, a significant investment, is at the heart of their operations. With Equipment360 and Telematics, the team was able to orchestrate a dramatic turnaround in the entire equipment division.
“Mere years ago, chaos reigned supreme,” Reigard adds. “We grappled with equipment location, maintenance scheduling, and even fueling. In a pivotal shift, we adopted E360, ushering in a new era of strategic efficiency. This shift is profound; it has empowered us to be in control, aware of each piece’s status, health, and utilization.”
Here’s what the unlimited user plan can do.
After opting for an in-house implementation at the HCSS office to get rolling with Equipment360 as quickly as possible, they soon learned the benefits of the unlimited user plan – more commonly referred to as UUP – which allows maximum access across every program on the HCSS platform.
“That’s probably the best decision we’ve made,” Cox says. “We felt welcomed and learned a lot about other products – FuelerPlus, HeavyBid, HeavyJob – and decided to jump all in. That week we implemented 4 different systems with HCSS. Today, it has helped our organization grow tremendously. We went from everything being on pen and paper to now everything is digital – in no time.”
Fellow VP Neely remembers the shift fondly, as if it was yesterday. “We fell in love with your products. They’re not out there just to have. They’re out there to solve a problem to where you can actually grow in the future,” he says.
Grade A has witnessed their processes go from paper to real-time data, where at the click of a few buttons, they are able to pull up information that directly came from the field just minutes ago. This varies greatly from back when they started, where they were lucky if paper made it back to the office.
“They could bring a folder in, it might have stuff, it might have a McDonald’s wrapper stuck in there too,” John Alan laughs. “That’s just the way it works in construction, we all know it. As we’ve changed over the years, we’ve systemized that to where every single person can have an iPad or phone in their hands, or a PC if you’re a project manager. Put that information in there, we have it within seconds. We’ve seen it’s out of the dark ages to the new frontier.”
Project managers never have to leave the office.
Connecting the field to the office is a challenge every construction firm wrestles with, and prior to HCSS, the project managers at Grade A didn’t always know what was going on at their jobsites. “Are we on schedule? Off schedule?” These are the questions that persisted.
“There was no way to know, without actually taking a PM out of the office and out of the day-to-day activities,” comments Kris Neely.
Grade A implemented both HeavyJob and HCSS Plans to help eliminate unplanned costs and rework. Through the use of HCSS Plans, their operational side set up processes to use the Sheets Overlay feature to track progress and identify all plan changes. Establishing best practices in the software enables the company to stop rework and capture all costs in change orders before they occur, among numerous other benefits such as client communication.
“This allows for project scheduling and quality information to be sent to our clients weekly,” Neely also says. “In this day and age in our industry, your company has to be different to become more attractive to large clients. We use HCSS and all of its services to do just that in all aspects of job performance.”
Similarly, the use of HeavyJob helps them stand out as an industry leader, especially when connecting HeavyJob and HCSS Plans. “The Daily Digest allows our project managers to keep key stakeholders informed in real time with accurate information,” Neely adds.
According to Rachelle Reigard, the company is still seeing the positive effects trickle in as the software helps them manage all of the data in the most effective way possible.
“The day-to-day impact has been huge as we’ve expanded,” Reigard says of their operations. I can sit in my office and feel like I know what’s going on with the company, but when I have 20 different jobs going on, guys all over the surrounding counties in all different areas, trucks everywhere, equipment everywhere, I really don’t know what’s going on. To have some technology I can depend on to tell me what I need to know is priceless. It’s what the office needs to have in order to have that comfort level that we’re doing the right thing and our company is on the right track.”
“That’s probably the best decision we’ve made. We felt welcomed and learned a lot about other products – FuelerPlus, HeavyBid, HeavyJob – and decided to jump all in. That week we implemented 4 different systems with HCSS. Today, it has helped our organization grow tremendously. We went from everything being on pen and paper to now everything is digital – in no time.”
- Jessica Cox, VP of Corporate Services
