Indianapolis-based Herman & Kittle Properties, Inc., a developer, builder and manager of multifamily rental housing for more than 50 years, had reached a point of cumbersome complexity regarding the management of its subcontract payment application process. The firm’s paper-heavy routine was causing delays, extra work, mathematical errors and, quite frankly, a lot of paper.
Herman & Kittle knew it was time to find a document management solution that would ease the burden of the current subcontractor payment application process while working seamlessly with its in-house ERP software. Knowing there must be a better way, a vendor the company had worked with recommended Construction Imaging by Viewpoint Construction Software. Herman & Kittle Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Guzzi was an integral part of the evaluation, decision and purchase of Construction Imaging. Guzzi took some time to share how Construction Imaging streamlines the way his company handles subcontractor billing and documentation.
The Problem
The team at Herman & Kittle was growing frustrated with getting its subcontractors to turn in an AIA Billing that rolled forward properly. Additionally, chasing down invoices and getting everything processed was taking way too much time and over-burdening staff resources. With so many complex projects happening at once, simply managing the paper trail and trying to keep things organized was becoming a difficult task. Working with more than 300 subcontractors nationwide and 5,000 billings per year, something had to change.
The Solution
Once Construction Imaging by Viewpoint Construction Software was implemented and deployed, and internal training completed, it was time to train the subcontractors. “When we first rolled out Construction Imaging, we brought our subcontractors into the office for a massive in-house training. The remote subcontractors were trained in the trailers on the project sites,” Guzzi explained.
“Since training has been completed, we have not heard of any issues from our subs regarding the software – mainly because it’s so easy to use.”
With the software in place, it was time to improve the invoice and billing routine. “Now that we’re online, the subcontractors get a refreshed bill every month that’s linked right into our ERP software database,” Guzzi said. “The roll forward is set based on the prior month’s billing. The subs simply enter their current month’s billings and hard-code the number into the appropriate line and select their PO – and the same numbers are shared throughout the system.
“It’s great because mathematical errors are eliminated,” as have the piles of invoicing and billing paperwork. “We used to be 100 percent paper-driven before implementing Construction Imaging; now we are basically 100 percent paperless.”
According to Guzzi, one of the biggest advantages of Construction Imaging has been the ability to customize online documents to look identical to the paper ones that subcontractors regularly use. “The advantage of the customization that Construction Imaging provides has been invaluable for creating online documents that look just like the paper documents we’ve always used. Familiarity is a big plus when introducing a new process to subcontractors.”
“We’ve been able to save three to four days of work in accounting alone”
The Results
The efficiencies and time savings gained by Herman & Kittle since implementing the Construction Imaging Electronic Forms module have been exceptional. It used to take several people from different departments (accounting, project management, etc.) a full week to track down invoices and get everything processed. Now the whole process has been cut down to only requiring one person for one day.
“We’ve been able to save three to four days of work in accounting alone,” Guzzi said. “The subcontractors are happy too. While not a direct result of Construction Imaging, we used to issue complex, detailed contracts that were difficult for the subs to follow. Now we’ve been able to consolidate the way we issue things, making it easier for them. Deploying Construction Imaging has really made us look at our processes and make the necessary improvements.”
Operating costs also were reduced with Construction Imaging. From the obvious savings of creating a paper-free process to establishing an archived system of documents and eliminating employee time spent printing and searching for items, the savings has already started adding up for Herman & Kittle. Guzzi anticipates even more savings in the coming years as more labor hours are freed up. “Construction Imaging has provided more value to our organization as a whole because we are able to do more – and better – auditing of our company due to the freed-up labor hours. Plus, as we’ve been growing, we’ve been able to maintain our staffing levels so we can truly do more with fewer people. That’s great value.”
