Challenges & Business Objectives

Timesheet Automation

Collection of hours worked from multiple sites

Firesafe relied on manual methods to collect the hours worked by both employees and subcontractors at each site. Typically, on-site supervisors were tasked with gathering individual hours, which were then communicated to headquarters via phone or fax. HQ would then compile these hours for the purpose of individual payments.

Tender and Project Setup Automation

Firesafe are invited via email to participate in providing pricing for a Tender to undertake specified works on projects by Prime Contractors who are bidding for the entire project. A significant proportion of these tenders are advertised a construction specific Tender portal, the main one applicable to Firesafe being the EstimateOne portal. On some occasions, Firesafe may be invited to bid on a project by more than one Prime Contractor. The processing of these invitations to tender was an entirely manual process where designated staff were notified via email that Firesafe had been invited to participate on a particular tender. This would trigger a need for the staff member to access the online tender portal several times a day and download the relevant information. With the information that was downloaded from these portals they would undertake the following:

• Setup up any new projects downloaded by adding them to their internal project management systems and saving the downloaded information into their document management system.
• Assign the project and send emails to relevant personnel within the company alerting them to the new project and request they take necessary actions.
• Add addendums to existing projects to the project setup in their internal project management system, save the documentation in their document management system and alert relevant personnel via email.

Solution Benefits

This not only simplified time entry but also enhanced data capture at a more detailed level. Individuals were now required to specify the time spent on each project, floor within the construction project, and the specific task undertaken. This solution significantly streamlined the client’s payroll process and introduced a level of analysis that was previously unavailable. Managers could now track project progress and identify cost overruns more accurately and promptly, allowing for quicker corrective actions than before.

Reduced Administration: With a centralised solution, the time spent on chasing payroll-related information has substantially decreased. This has led to a reduction in associated risks, and overall staff productivity has increased.

Benefits:

• Reduced risk through better human resource management
• mproved, timely, and less manual reporting
• Enhanced visibility over staff activities
• Lower administrative costs
• Greater flexibility in deploying resources where needed
• Lower administrative costs
• Greater ability to deploy resources where required

Significant time and cost savings were achieved by automating this process using Robotics Process Automation freeing up valuable human resource to undertake higher yielding activities on behalf of the organisation.