Founded in 1996, Formula Alberta is one of Alberta’s leading large-scale construction companies specializing in design, supply, and the construction of roads, bridges, and other large scale infrastructure projects across Western Canada.
Over the years, the company grew significantly and faced challenges with safety documentation and maintaining engineering documentation. Jena, General Manager and Project Team Lead of Formula Alberta, sought to automate their paper-based systems and improve communication between the field and the office. It was then that they discovered Assignar.
Key takeaways
- Stronger communication between the field & office
- Quicker access to critical information
- Smooth transition and adoption
The problem with hard copies
Before implementing Assignar, Formula Alberta faced significant challenges in maintaining safety and engineering documentation. They relied on hard copy books that contained the relevant documentation, which contributed to delays, mismanagement, and loss of documents. Formula Alberta had to maintain safety documentation records in case of an impromptu audit to meet safety audit requirements, which was a tedious process.
Their workforce consists of around 30 employees working on 20-30 active projects during their busy season, with crew members coming and going as required. In addition, the unique nature of bridge construction and their other large-scale projects presented challenges that required a system that could be modified. Hence, Formula Alberta needed a versatile platform that could not only help them with safety documentation and certifications, but improve field communication.
“Assignar as an overall platform has more versatility available within it than most of the programs that I've worked with in the past have either been specifically for quality control or specifically for safety.” - Sheryl Erickson, Safety Coordinator
Getting rid of compliance headaches
Assignar proved to be a comprehensive solution for Formula Alberta’s challenges. Firstly, it streamlined the safety documentation process and eliminated delays associated with handling paper-based copies. Assignar proved to be particularly helpful in managing and maintaining employee compliance records and preparing for safety audits. The implementation of Assignar has also cleared any compliance-related hurdles that would have otherwise impacted the bidding process.
Secondly, Assignar helped streamline communications between the office and the field, thanks to a range of integrated features that allowed for the digital storage of engineering and safety-related documentation. This platform also helped Formula Alberta schedule workers more efficiently, provided real-time project updates, and accelerated approval processes. Finally, the Assignar platform allowed for customized form creation and offered analytical features unparalleled in the industry.
Digitizing to Minimize delays
The implementation of Assignar resulted in significant improvements in Formula Alberta’s business processes. By digitizing the safety documentation process, Formula Alberta can maintain it on a monthly basis, rather than once a year when they have an audit. The scheduling of projects became a more streamlined process, and the communication between the office and field was much more efficient. The use of customized forms and insights is yielding surprising results as well.
At the same time, Assignar allowed for real-time monitoring of projects across Formula Alberta’s various sites. This has enabled the business to meet deadlines more effectively and contribute to improved customer satisfaction. In addition, custom form creation and inspection reports allow Formula Alberta to share controlled documentation easily.
Assignar proved to be a versatile platform that brought efficiencies to Formula Alberta that they didn’t have with manual processes. It demonstrated positive results in terms of communications between the office and the field, safety documentation, employee compliance management, and project scheduling, making operations more time efficient and effective. Through this platform, Formula Alberta has learned a lot and is grateful to Customer Success Manager Billy Bishop, who has helped them modify and adapt the system to fit their unique requirements.
“All the questions in Assignar are the same ones that we've been filling out for the last 10 or 15 years on paper,” says Sheryl, "So that's very beneficial too. You don't have a huge learning curve when it comes to how they need to get the information into Assignar."
