Proflo Plumbing: Learn how construction software plugged a $1,000 per week leak
Proflo Plumbing: Learn How Neo Intelligence Plugged a $1,000 per Week Leak
Industry: Plumbing
Published: 7 February, 2024
Digitising operations using Neo Intelligence plugged a $1,000 a week leak
For a trade subcontractor, time literally is money when that time is spent on tasks for a client. But without effective and efficient business systems, there are often chunks of effort that slip through the cracks and don’t make it onto the invoice.
For Proflo Plumbing, that lost effort was equating to around $1,000 a week according to company owner, Danny King.
Proflo Plumbing is a mid-sized specialist trade subcontractor that specialises in below-ground sewer services, stormwater services and above ground plumbing across the Melbourne region. A significant share of their client base is developers and contractors delivering medium density unit developments of between three and 16 units.
Many of their jobs encompass the full site works lifecycle, from demolition of pre-existing structures through to the construction and commissioning of the new buildings on the site. They also have up to 100 projects live simultaneously, which means there is a considerable amount of project management, works planning and labour logistics involved in day-to-day operations.
The perils of paperchasing before using a construction software
The success of the business had not, however, been without its growing pains. The project coordination, project administration and workforce management in particular relied on legacy processes that simply weren’t up to scratch.
Danny and his team relied on manual processes such as receiving text messages throughout the day and handwriting tasks and notes in a diary. Variations and small additions to project scopes or works were also manually noted, which often meant some pieces of information that help with invoicing might get missed or not be fully completed. It was clear there was billable work not being properly recorded, which also meant the clients were not being invoiced for it.
In an industry where margins are tight, those small line items quickly add up to a significant drain on profitability.
Another consequence of growth was the hiring of a supervisor for the plumbing side of operations. However, as Danny and this supervisor maintained separate diaries, it was difficult to maintain visibility of the supervisor’s activities and it was hard to effectively consolidate information from both diaries for invoicing and general business management processes.
Overall, Danny saw that there was a level of inefficiency, ongoing risk of reporting errors, tasks falling off the radar and a curb on overall business productivity.
Investigating construction project management software
Danny started investigating construction management software, looking for a solution that would resolve Proflo’s major challenges and improve collaboration, coordination and accountability.
“We hadn’t really used any other software in the past and I was trying to remember everything from what I wrote down and what was in my head. I knew that I was at risk of forgetting things."
He conducted extensive online research and explored various construction scheduling software and construction project management software options to inform himself. After extensive evaluation of what the various packages, platforms and tools offered, Danny decided Neo Intelligence was the best fit for their needs.
One of the major drawcards was knowing the software had been built by subcontractors, for subcontractors. It was also clear to Danny that Neo Intelligence is committed to continuing to evolve the technology to continuously improve the functionality to meet the unique needs and challenges subcontractors face.
The centralised nature of the information management system was an immediate drawcard too. Unlike his legacy system of separate paper diaries and paperwork scattered across multiple locations, Neo Intelligence gave him a way to bring everything into one place and have a single source of truth with real-time visibility for the management team, finance, payroll and site supervisors.
“Neo Intelligence helps address issues related to forgetting tasks and information,” Danny says. “Everything is now centralised and updated through the digital site diaries, which allows for better task management and capturing more details. It also means we are not forgetting about small jobs that we need to invoice for as Neo Intelligence helps us stay organised and bill for all completed work."
Giving time back to what matters
The comprehensive nature of the Neo Intelligence project management features have also quickly demonstrated their value. Functionality including the digital, cloud-hosted project calendar, site diary system and notification system have massively improved efficiency and communication.
With the project calendar, the Proflo management team can efficiently allocate staff and resources, ensuring projects run smoothly and on schedule. The site diary system enables real-time updates and documentation, eliminating the need for manual transfers of information. Nothing gets forgotten, and all essential details are captured and coordinated.
The digital site diary also plugged the leak of billable time, as it allows for tracking the progress of jobs throughout the day. It helps to capture all billable items and tracks the small extras that were previously being missed and not landing on the invoices. Any variations or changes are also entered into the site diary, ensuring Danny has full visibility of any conversations or agreements between Proflo’s team and the builder. This acts as a sound form of insurance in the event of discrepancies or disputes, as the evidence is right there in the construction project management software records and site diary. Review the completeness of our site diary against our Construction Site Diary Checklist
“With Neo Intelligence, we no longer have to rely on memory or scattered notes. The integrated project calendar and real-time site diary updates keep everyone aligned and well-informed, eliminating the risk of missing important details or deadlines."
Review the completeness of your site diary against our Construction Site Diary Checklist.
Avoiding detours on the way to site
The SMS and in-app notifications are another winner, as they improve communication with the team while also saving time. Instead of making phone calls or sending text messages, site supervisors or the project manager can simply click a few times and everyone who needs to know where to be the next day and what tasks they have been allocated gets informed. The notifications also give team members a heads-up on who they will be working with and what the start time will be.
Another aspect of Neo Intelligence that really benefits the Proflo team, given the widely-dispersed nature of their sites, is the notification sent to fieldworkers also includes the exact address of the job site and this is automatically mapped out using Google maps. In a region where the same street name or similar street names can exist in multiple suburbs, this feature is extremely valuable as it saves confusion and the risk of ending up in the wrong place altogether.
Another detour the teams are avoiding is needing to go into the office before heading out to site. Because all essential information is delivered via the app, which any team member can access from their smart phone, they can head straight to site in the morning, confident they know where to be, what they will need to do, and who will be working with them.
This has been a major boost for productivity and efficiency, Danny says. At the office end, there’s also been a major benefit, as it has become much easier to plan tasks, allocate staff and ensure everything aligns with project workflows and contractual milestones.
“The scheduling, communications and site diary management features of Neo Intelligence have been a game-changer for us. We can now efficiently allocate staff, plan tasks, and stay on top of our projects, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks."
Making the switch was simple
Getting started with Neo Intelligence was incredibly easy for Proflo, thanks to the initial setup and training provided by the Australia-based Neo Intelligence team.
In addition to training in how to use the construction scheduling software and support to ensure the functionality would match Proflo’s unique needs, the Neo Intelligence team provided support during the process of entering relevant business information into the system to ensure a smooth and seamless transition.
It quickly became obvious that adopting construction project management software tailored for subcontractors was a smart business decision.
Danny says that now, with each new project, setting it up and rolling it out only takes a matter of minutes. The admin headaches, risks of errors, time-intensive paper chasing and manual diary entries are a thing of the past.
Capturing every dollar
Danny reports that the site diary system combined with improved documentation and information coordination is enabling his team to capture billable time and billable items that were formerly being missed.
“Thanks to Neo Intelligence’s construction software solutions, our invoicing accuracy has seen a remarkable improvement. The intuitive site diary system ensures that every job, no matter how small, is captured, billed, and accounted for,” he says.
“As a result, we have been able to invoice for even the smallest tasks that could have been overlooked in the past, totaling an estimated additional revenue of approximately $1,000 per week or $50,000 per year.”
The convenience and efficiency of Neo Intelligence’s software solutions have also saved Proflo valuable time. By eliminating the need for physical diary alignment, the team has more hours to focus on productive tasks, which has greatly increased overall productivity.
“Neo Intelligence’s construction software solutions have revolutionised our operations by taking our operations digital and eliminating the need for physical diary alignment,” Danny says.
“This simple change has had a profound impact, resulting in significant cost savings for our team. By freeing up the time previously spent on manual diary management, we save at least $600 per week, which adds up to an impressive $31,200 in cost savings per year. These savings have not only improved our bottom line but also enabled us to allocate our resources more efficiently and focus on core revenue-generating activities.
With Neo Intelligence as our trusted partner, we have witnessed firsthand the transformative power of digitising and streamlining our operational processes and the remarkable financial benefits they bring.”
