If you run a construction business, no doubt you’ve
wondered at times where certain supplies, small tools, shop inventory and the
like end up. You look at the costs you
incur for these items and ask why it’s so high.
How many hammers, ladders, and other small tools and supplies have you
had to buy over and over again? It’s an
issue I’ve heard about over the years and I’ve offered some suggestions to
mitigate these losses including a quarterly tool allowance which the employee
gets to use to purchase their own tools and keep whatever is left over. This way there is incentive to not “lose” any
tools and you fix the cost. That can be effective, however
with today’s technology there are alternatives.
Just this week one of my clients was raving about
software that tracks tools, consumables, sundries, inventory and equipment so
that these items don’t go unaccounted for.
It builds additional employee accountability into your system using bar
coding methodology. When an employee
takes any item, they must scan it to a job which allows the job cost system to
track it. This enables management to see
exactly how much of these items are being used on a particular job versus the
budget.
Waste in any area, including items in these categories,
hurts the bottom line, the company and your ability to take care of your
employees via year-end bonuses, etc. The
software is called Waterwheel Software www.waterwheelsoftware.com and my
client is a very satisfied customer. As
with anything I discuss on this blog, I have neither a financial interest in
this company nor its products. I haven’t
ever contacted them and I personally have no experience with it. Based on my subcontractor’s high satisfaction
level, and that he was referred to it by another subcontractor happy with the
offerings, I thought I’d pass the information along here. I also noticed several customer testimonials
on their website as well. This seems to
be a system worth considering.
