Colorado-based excavation and underground utility contractor OE Construction has been adopting new technology over the years to become more efficient, productive and profitable. It’s even helped it track down and recover stolen equipment.
In this episode of The Dirt, representatives of the 16-year-old company tell how small and mid-size contractors can do the same to help their businesses grow. Though the initial costs of technology, such as machine control and drone mapping, can be intimidating, company owner and CFO Terri Olson explains how the savings overtake those startup costs through faster project completion times, fewer errors and savings on labor expenses.
The company has also taken new technology to the back office where it can send and receive data to and from the field for paperless, real-time job reporting, including time sheets and project photos. The photos especially come in handy when proving to project owners the work that has been done. She estimates the technology has saved the company two days a week worth of paperwork.
The company has also found drones a big help. What used to take up to two days of mapping a project with four-wheelers or on foot, can now be done in an hour or so. Then the data are fed into the 3D models, which are then sent to guide the construction equipment on the job.
Olson also explains how the company used its telematics system recently to track down stolen equipment.
OE Construction, which has about 40 field crew members, is not a large company but it’s been able to achieve outsized results by adopting new technology. Find out how it did it and how your company can, too, in the latest weekly episode of The Dirt.
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