Dual Temp: Getting a Handle on Costs
"Thirteen divisions of financial reporting are done with a few clicks of a button. We enter information once. You just consider any single item once."
David Noel
Owner & CEO of Dual Temp
State of Affairs
For David Noel, owner and CEO of Dual Temp, a midsize mechanical contractor located in Allentown, Pa., an accurate depiction of the cost of doing business is essential. So when Noel decided six years ago to replace his company’s service management and jobcost software, he sought out a system that would provide him with the detailed information he and his employees required to make sound business decisions, thereby enhancing the bottomline.
The Search
Noel’s search for such a software package ended with the implementation of the Service Management Series and Job Cost solution developed by WennSoft, New Berlin, Wis. “I chose (WennSoft) for a number of reasons,” Noel recalls. “It was a very slick, very complete package.”
One aspect of the WennSoft suite that Noel found especially appealing was its ease of use. “There was nothing to learn in terms of terminology. Everything was intuitive. Anybody can learn how to query it in under an hour,” he says. Additionally, Noel found WennSoft’s integration with Microsoft Business Solutions’ Dynamics accounting software especially beneficial.
“Thirteen divisions of financial reporting are done with a few clicks of a button,” says Noel. “We enter information once. You just consider any single item once. A Dynamics Purchase Order becomes a committed cost item in WennSoft Job Cost. When our project managers do their cost forecasting, everything is there on screen. Every cost incurred or expected to be incurred, updated to that very minute, is available for further drill-down scrutiny. Labor is entered once and automatically feeds Dynamics Payroll. When a foreman orders routine material from our replenishable stores, a single transaction debits Job Cost and credits the Dynamics Inventory. When our materials yard receives equipment raw stock, the purchase order is closed and a Dynamics Payable is created, with all transactions immediately reflecting in Job Cost. It’s totally seamless across the business.”
Technology is a vital component of Dual Temp’s success. In fact, the contractor has increased its reliance on technology tools in recent years as it strives to achieve its goals, which include enhancing design integrity and workmanship quality while increasing value to customers and delivering a unique product to the industry. Not surprisingly, WennSoft has made it easier for Dual Temp to attain those goals.
“Every year we get an upgrade. It keeps us technologically current,” Noel says. “That’s important for a company like ours from a competitive standpoint and a cost standpoint. The retraining is very minor.”
Noel is also impressed with the level of service and support provided by WennSoft. “We get unlimited telephone support and Internet-based support. In truth, we have not required tons of support, but they’ve never left us cold. You can’t put a price on that,” he says.
Dual Temp is a full-service mechanical contractor that performs heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC); plumbing; and building-automation services for clients in the commercial, institutional, and industrial markets. The firm’s institutional projects range from major high-rise hospital construction to education projects and retrofits. Additionally, Dual Temp has been involved in several commercial office projects as well as small, private ambulatory surgery facilities. Recent project completions include a mechanical redesign/build of a nail polish factory’s explosion-proof, fume-extraction station for a client based in France; mechanical design/build of the world’s largest auto auction for a client based in Atlanta; and complete mechanical, plumbing, and controls installation of an FDA-approved pharmaceutical packaging facility for a client based in Canada.
The company also boasts a strong background in commercial plan and spec construction, and the fastest growing aspect of the business is design/build/maintain projects, which involve Dual Temp throughout the lifecycle of a facility. As a result, service has become another growing business segment for Dual Temp as it strives to meet the myriad needs of building mechanical systems owners.
New Reliance
Dual Temp relies heavily on WennSoft to manage its diverse project portfolio. For example, the company uses the Service Management Series for dispatching, scheduling, invoicing, and maintenance contracts. The customer service database holds equipment records, service histories, maintenance contracts, and accounts receivable inquiries. Meanwhile, Job Cost is a detailed project-tracking system that Dual Temp uses for change orders, subcontractor management, union reporting (the company is a merit shop but also uses union labor), and certified payroll. Other features of the program include billing and accounts receivable, change-order management, contract administration, estimating, and reporting.
Additionally, the system has helped Dual Temp eliminate its reliance on paper. “We are totally paperless in the office,” says Noel, who adds that all important documentation, including financial records, can be retrieved electronically.
One way in which Dual Temp encourages efficiency and cost savings is through its employee incentive program, which was instituted following the WennSoft implementation.
“Without this system, I do not dare have an incentive program,” Noel admits. “If it’s not the best scorekeeper in business, I don’t know what is. It gives us a common dollars-andcents focus.”
Access to detailed project information makes managing an incentive program a breeze because the cost savings that result from decisions made by project managers or superintendents, for example, are easily monitored. “Now, there’s a common focus for everyone to strive for,” Noel concludes. “Maintaining a strategic and tactical relationship with WennSoft is a vital part of our success plan.”
Information compiled from the Focus on the Customer supplement to Constructech magazine