Mr. Brandon Paslay, NWE’s Owner/CEO, spent three years searching for the right project management solution to help improve operations at his company. Since its founding in 1979, his company grew and faced many challenges including document control, communication, reporting accuracy, lost revenue, limited risk management – errors in the field, and responding to RFls.

As the Chief Executive, improving business practices was paramount to selecting the right solution platform to migrate from using Dropbox and Excel files and Network directories in day-to-day practices. Another key issue included implementing an easy-to-use system with extensive communication capabilities for the field and office to automate many processes throughout the project lifecycle.

“Fortunately, our original project delivery process using Drobox, Excel files, and File Directories were not far off from the project management best practices subscribed by the eSUB platform, so NWE’s transition was much easier than anticipated.”

• Lost revenue – Time and Costs
• Document control between office and field
• Real-time access to files by all key staff no matter the location
• Reducing risk and errors from poor documentation and miscommunication
• Increasing RFI Responses

NWE selected eSUB’s cloud-based project management platform because it not only enabled document control and expanded access to the field, it was a user-friendly process oriented system designed for the subcontractor. eSUB allows NWE to easily manage RFls, Change Orders, Submittals and Reports, among many other capabilities. “When we reviewed eSUB, it had many benefits that directly improved our daily business practices and increased visibility on all projects. It also significantly reduced the risk of miscommunication between the field and office.”

User adoption is crucial to the successful implementation of any technology. eSUB’s easy-to-use system is what differentiates the product from other project management platforms. “The office and field users immediately bought into eSUB because it mirrored our existing daily activities and simply automated many workflows. New user training took approximately 2-hours, so we were up to speed and running our first project within a couple of days. In addition, on-boarding new employees only takes an hour or two, which is a huge time and cost saver. eSUB’s ongoing service and support help us maintain excellence for our own customers,” said Mr. Paslay.

eSUB’s Field Works Mobile application enables the New Way team to document and update project data from anywhere in the field. To his delight, Mr. Paslay was recently on vacation in the Dominican Republic (1,000 miles away) and still able to conduct business with his project teams. Utilizing cloud technology, eSUB’s mobile application allows team members to communicate quicker, increase productivity and reduce re-work.

eSUB also enables NWE’s project team members to stay connected to each other while on a jobsite, shaving precious minutes and even hours from the work schedule. And by not having to chase down or call the office about contracts, insurance documents, RFls, change orders and the most current project plans, employees keep projects moving forward while working in the field. The office personnel and field staff essentially become one unit.

Using eSUB, staff in the field can create, store, and access all projects from their mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, and laptops). They also have the ability to capture photos and annotate from the field and share in real-time with the office and other eSUB users. With access to project files such as plans, pictures, specs, RFls, and more, field staff can take and log notes, search, call, text, and email project contacts and access project data securely. The field is empowered to do the work correctly and efficiently while being on the same page with the office.

eSUB’s cloud-based project management platform offers the core technologies necessary to manage the entire project lifecycle, including:

• RFIs
• Daily Reports
• Change Orders
• Submittals/Transmittals
• Purchase Orders & Pay Applications
• Project Summaries & Pay Applications
• Correspondence
• Virtual Filing Cabinet
• Issue & Equipment Tracking
• 2-Way Email Integration
• Drawings
• Contact Management & Calendars
• Time Card Management
• Document Management

Improving communications between the field and office at NWE was greatly improved with email integration, document notifications, Task/Event delay notifications, subcontractor notifications and detailed reporting. Calls to the office have been greatly reduced because everyone has access to current files with crucial reports and notifications. Mr. Paslay is also current on all on-going project activities and milestones.

eSUB’s ROI for New Way Electric has been significant from the start. “The eSUB system paid for itself after the first job,” according to Mr. Paslay. “Lost time on every project has cost my company significant revenue over the years, but eSUB helps prevent this from occurring in the field and office. Personally, it saves me 2-hours per day in work since I’m not only the Owner but lead Project Manager overseeing several projects with Project Leads out in the field. The constant calls from the field have halted because we have a ‘communication fabric’ and standardized system for managing project delivery and everyone has real-time access to job information being updated by the minute.”

• Real-time access to project data from any Internet-connected device
• Consistent and auditable workflows and processes
• Improve field to office communications
• Reduce response times with instant notifications and alerts
• Increase efficiency and productivity of distributed teams
• Improve accountability with documentation, tracking, and record keeping
• Reduce risk, rework, and operational costs
• Increase ROI on every project