Prism Design & Construction has been a full-service commercial contractor specializing in designing and building fuel service stations for over 20 years. Operating in Alaska, the company also provides environmental compliance services.
The Challenge: The Paper Treadmill
For most of its history, Prism operated on a paper-based system, which had several problems. According to Shaun Campbell, Prism's Operations Officer, "Far too often, our technicians would neglect to write notes about their work. Or, they would misplace the paper form. It was a constant struggle to get the forms back into the office. And, once we did finally get the forms, they had to be keyed into our Sage 100 system."
First, relying on paper had a huge negative impact on the business, causing a loss of revenue, customer engagement issues, and an overall lack of productivity.
Second, there was a customer engagement issue. There were some customers who closely monitored what the technicians were doing. When those customers called to complain of poor service or equipment that wasn’t repaired, Prism had to take their word for it because there was no proof that the call was successfully completed.
Third, there was an overall lack of productivity. The technicians had to drive to the office from home each morning to pick up their work orders for the day. Then, those forms had to be returned to the office at the end of the day. This was a highly inefficient way of handling service calls.
Shaun also knew that Prism needed a better way of doing things. Specifically, he knew the company had to move into the digital age and adopt a digital system for automating tasks.
“We used a solution that didn't have such a strong integration with Sage 100.” said Shaun, “so we had to make double entries which defeated the purpose. Instead of giving up immediately, we hired a developer to write customized API to get data into the system. But that wasn’t a workable solution either.”
Fortunately, Shaun continued his search for a solution. That’s when he found Operix.
The Solution
Operix’s field operations platform is designed to enhance efficiency and accuracy in work completion and invoice generation, allowing users to increase productivity and expedite cash collection. With Operix, users gain a comprehensive view of all completed, ongoing, and scheduled work, enabling better management of personnel and resources. Additionally, Operix offers seamless integration with top-tier accounting software, such as Sage 100, facilitating the swift creation and distribution of accurate invoices.
"Operix improves cashflow," said Shaun. "Now that our technician's notes and time records are instantly available in the system, we can send invoices immediately and collect payment faster."
Using Operix has also enabled Prism to streamline its service and timesheet processes, which allowed the company to get its finances under control and focus on strategic matters that supported its growth.
Using Operix has saved Prism 10 to 15 hours a week across the board, according to Shaun.
"The biggest thing is time. You don't realize how much time is wasted doing it the old way until you look at doing it the new way."
Operix for Time and Money-Saving Results
Improved Cashflow – “Operix improves cashflow,” said Shaun. “Now that our technician’s notes and time records are instantly available in the system, we can send invoices immediately and collect payment faster.”
Streamlined Processes Enabled Growth – “When we started with Operix, we had four guys using it. Now we have 35 guys using it,” said Shaun. “The fact that we streamlined our service and timesheet processes allowed us to get our finances under control and focus on strategic matters that supported our growth.”
Enhanced Efficiency and Productivity – “Using Operix is saving us 10 to 15 hours a week across the board,” shared Shaun. “That savings comes from not having to chase people down for information and then transposing notes and data from paper into the computer.”
