Transforming Field Workforce Projections for a Large Electrical Contractor
A prominent national U.S.-based electrical contractor faced challenges in forecasting their field workforce requirements. The company relies on Computer Guidance Corporation’s eCMS ERP system and a custom CRM to track projects. However, their existing Excel and SQL-based projection tool had limited functionality, daily refresh delays, and lacked the ability to integrate data from multiple sources.
The Challenge
- A need for accurate, near real-time field workforce projections
- Integration of data from ERP, CRM, and ad-hoc hypothetical projects
- Discrepancies in data due to Excel reports being refreshed at different times, leading to misalignment between executives and project managers
- Replacement of a legacy system that struggled with performance and data integration
The Solution
Onware delivered a powerful, user-friendly solution using Microsoft Power BI, connecting to source data in near real time. The tool integrates ERP, CRM, and manually inputted hypothetical projects to generate field workforce projection curves, which forecast the number of field staff required based on project progress and remaining hours. This curve utilizes models developed by the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA, https://www.necanet.org/) for enhanced precision.
Additionally, the report leverages time sheet data from the ERP to calculate remaining hours by comparing hours already worked to the revised project budget, ensuring highly accurate projections. For potential projects, a percentage of the contract is used to estimate the labor portion of the budget. In these scenarios, users can manipulate adjustable parameters to create and fine-tune different projections, offering flexibility and empowering informed decision-making.
Key features include:
- A main dashboard with filters for company, department, project manager, and customer
- Detailed breakdowns by union local and job role
- Exception reporting for identifying missing contract values or project dates
- Unified access for executives and project managers, ensuring everyone sees the same data and reports, minimizing discrepancies and promoting better collaboration
Impact
- Enabled dynamic workforce planning with up-to-date, consistent data
- Improved integration of multiple data sources, including ad-hoc projects
- Replaced the daily-refresh Excel/SQL tool, solving performance issues and ensuring alignment across roles
- Leveraged detailed time sheet data and adjustable parameters to provide reliable remaining hours calculations and flexible scenario modeling, bolstering decision-making
Why Onware?
Onware’s expertise in data integration and visualization empowered the contractor to make more informed, timely decisions, optimizing field workforce allocation and project performance.
