A Perfect Partnership: Technology and Skilled Labor

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Technology and manual labor are often thought of as an odd couple. Leading installation companies have found the marriage of the two to be a match made in heaven, especially as the pandemic continues to ravage major markets throughout the country.

Furniture dealerships adopted CAD/visualization software to bridge client visions and product offering years ago, and manufacturers have long had superhuman machines to assist with production output. Today, top-tier installation companies are upping their technological prowess to keep the industry moving amid the worst market collapse in generations.

With permission, this article pulls back the curtain to unveil the extraordinary digital toolbox that Installation Specialists, Inc. (ISI) has honed for years. As the leading installation shop in the Chicago region, ISI has successfully embraced—and balanced—the power of technology with the brute strength of its field team members.

ISI maintains its position as an industry leader by leveraging both product and peer influence. From a product standpoint, the combination of a highly customized and pseudo-proprietary operating system (with a swath of third-party desktop and mobile applications) keeps the company moving efficiently and effectively. And ISI’s long-standing partnership with Facilities Services Network, an international peer group focused on professionalism and progress in commercial installations, gives insight into global best practices that are surgically incorporated into their digital kit of parts.

ISI’s operating system, OrderWorks, is a true project repository and CRM. In fact, everything from quote to invoice is handled within the same system. Perhaps the best way to depict the symbiotic relationship of technology and labor from both the office/warehouse and the field is to view it through multiple roles within a typical installation company.

The Project Coordinator

While an operating system is the technological hub for many installation companies, the Project Coordinator (PC) serves as the communication conduit. As the consistent point of contact, an ISI PC leverages technology to interact with the receiving, warehousing, scheduling, and trucking departments. Through manual entry and automated workflow processes, the following can be accomplished daily through the system:

  • Capture of client, site, contractor, and key contact information

  • Conversion of a sales quotation into an actual order

  • Entry of product received through warehouse

  • Creation of furniture pull and site delivery tickets

  • Routing and reconciliation of dealer receiving worksheets against provided purchase order

  • Automatic report distribution to dealer alerting of in-stock and delayed product

  • Request for manpower based on system calculations

  • Request for trucking based on product phasing and scheduling

  • Dispatch and assignment of fleet based on deliveries, pickups, and equipment only runs

  • Route planning and assignment based on proximity, distance, traffic

  • Processing of invoices based on final status reports from the field

  • Automatic calculation, generation, and distribution of storage invoices based on square footage

For a company of ISI’s size (average of 200 daily installers and 8,000 projects a year), implementing failsafe points within its technology platforms is critical to business operations. Multiple checks and balances create a pause for the PC and other support crews:

  • When a project quote is converted to a work order, the system requires the PC to enter a purchase order from the dealer to proceed. This helps ensure that all labor deployed has been pre-approved.

  • A final invoice cannot be processed until a final status report with customer sign-off is submitted by the field foreman.

  • Staff assignments are based on materials/products being installed and with any client-requested foremen. System workflows guide crew staffing and scheduling, while removing unavailable installers.

  • Built-in capping on company-wide deliveries prohibits overbooking of fleet resources and overextending warehousing staff.

  • When a hard time slot is provided for a project delivery, the system intuitively disables fleet vehicles/drivers that are unavailable.

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The Project Manager

Project Managers leverage technology to communicate complex, multi-phase project progress to clients. Through a combination of reporting from the OrderWorks central operating system and PlanGrid, ISI project managers gain perspective AND communicate from multiple viewpoints with a series of integrated reporting mechanisms:

  • System reporting features identify upcoming projects so site visits can be conducted ahead of time, proper insurance paperwork can be filed with building management, and dock access/elevator times can be reserved.

  • Daily progress reports from foremen give visibility to each project’s progress. These are used to communicate to the client, verify product placement, and troubleshoot challenges that arise due to field conditions.

  • Integration between PlanGrid and OrderWorks allows for filtering of site photos and notations complete with timestamp technology. This allows one combined report to be generated for a client that details any site issues, product damage (due to manufacturing defect, shipping, or installation), completed tasks, and trade coordination.

  • Smart toggle fields allow for the generation of photo-only, RFI, and final punchlist reports. The ability to scale features based on need is invaluable for dealer clients as they can throttle information prior to distribution to the end user.

  • Similar to failsafe points for PCs, Project Managers utilize ISI’s technology to mitigate field discrepancies and protect both the company and dealer partner from unsubstantiated costs.  For example:

  • Project managers can review scans of receiving documents against product delivered to the warehouse. This helps ensure that skids or loose product is accounted for between transit from the manufacturer to the ISI warehouse.

  • Photograph libraries from each project site, tagged to project floorplans in PlanGrid, allow visual representation of site conditions and progress for out-of-state dealer partners. Given common contractor delays on project sites, coupled with today’s COVID-19 restrictions, ISI technology truly allows dealers a first-hand view of the space despite geography.

  • Chronicled progress reports are great resources when product appears to be misplaced. Tagged and timestamped photos are critical in unsecure sites with multiple trades as they can verify if product was on-site and then later was removed. This is especially important when furniture magically grows legs and walks away…

  • Accurate and thorough archiving within ISI’s operating system allows the team to search many years of a project’s life. This is necessary when warranty work is requested, and an end user has taken it upon him/herself to move furniture within a space. This is also helpful when a facility manager needs historic documentation for a reconfiguration, or when a dealer partner has lost key staff and cannot produce historic install drawings or product proforma.

 

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The Foreman

The Foreman is responsible for labor and serves as a bridging resource for the documentation from the office/warehouse. He/she must lean on technology to communicate effectively and efficiently so crews can focus on moving, installing, and putting the finishing touches on product. Equipped with tablet devices, PlanGrid, access to ISI’s operating system, and a company-issued smartphone:

  • Foremen are copied on automated alerts to site contacts. Alerts provide badge photo and contact information of installers/foremen assigned to a project. This alert system is for the safety and security of our clients, contract tracing efforts in the COVID-19 era, as well as ensuring proper staffing are accounted for throughout an install.

  • Foremen can easily notify dealer partners and ISI warehouse/support crews of issues with product damage, unloading, trade interference, or missing componentry from the factory through their tech-enabled devices.

  • Foremen produce a digital daily progress report using their tech tools. This is a daily record for historic data on a project installation with tagged photographs, completion metrics, look-ahead views of remaining work, and comments on challenges and successes for the day.

  • In addition, Foremen can access a robust repository of cloud-based information related to the project including filed certificates of insurance, receiving tickets, electronic installation drawings, purchase order information, work orders, and email correspondence.

And because many projects require new and/or used product to LEAVE a site and return to the ISI warehouse for storage or disposition, Foremen utilize technology to ensure that assets are protected while in their possession.

  • Product return forms are required with sign-off from both the Foreman and fleet driver before departure. Such forms detail product quantities being loaded, describe why it is going back to the warehouse, and are accompanied by photographs of the load showing proper protection for transit.

Without question, technology has long played a significant role in the design and construction of interior environments. Speed to market, margin erosion, client customization, and health and safety concerns are forcing secondary and tertiary trades to adopt technology at warp speed. Installation teams are no exception to the rule and are a critical piece of the puzzle. By way of this article, which only scratches the surface and addresses a few team roles, ISI hopes to serve as inspiration of similar best practices for installation shops and their dealer partners across the nation.

About Installation Specialists, Inc. (ISI):

Established in 1973, ISI is Chicago's largest commercial interiors installation company. They install, receive and deliver, and provide asset management services for commercial furniture, architectural walls, window coverings, millwork and other interior products. ISI consistently sets the bar for expertise, professionalism, and best practices among peers.

ISI is an active member of Facilities Services Network (FSN), an international group of independent installation firms which set new benchmarks for performance and value in the management, installation, and care of contract furniture.

Anthony Hansen