Outlier Construction Uses Raken to Save Time and Stay Ahead

The problem: Standing out from other contractors

From the start (and as their name suggests), Outlier Construction wanted to set their projects apart from the rest. But as a busy self-performing GC, communication between the field and office wasn’t the most efficient.

The solution: Digitizing field and office workflows

With Raken, Outlier Construction can manage all their crews and subcontractors in one place. Since field data is easy to collect and store, Outlier’s team can focus on improving projects—and standing out.

Approaching construction in a new way

Outlier Construction’s early days consisted of working on fold-out tables and laptops from the basement. They even had to go outside to take phone calls. It was during those formative years that Outlier Construction realized their vision: to do things differently from the rest.

“The other companies in this valley can feel stale. It’s the same thing over and over. They do things the same way they’ve been doing it for the past 30, 40, 50 years,” says Robb Mayers, CEO of Outlier Construction. “We’re taking a different spin on things. You can see it in the way we work with our subcontractors, the way we treat our employees, and the way we deal with clients.”

Helping field crews complete reports, faster

Accurate, timely field data is crucial to keeping projects on track. When you know what’s happening on the jobsite in real time, you can ensure things get done (and potentially reduce costs). That’s why Outlier Construction uses Raken to collect daily reports from their field crews.

“Raken has saved us a lot of time and money in a lot of different ways.”

Robb M., CEO of Outlier

“Our guys have to do daily reports every day. While there’s a lot of different ways you can do them, having a tool that is so advanced and unique and great [means] the guys can do them on a phone, without a laptop or a tablet,” says Mayers.

In addition to work logs, photos, and notes, Raken automatically captures weather conditions. That means field crews can send project updates throughout the day—and not spend hours after work manually entering data in the trailer. Reports are more consistent and accurate too, so things can get done faster and better.

“Raken helps our guys get their reports done on time, rather than waiting to do them. Raken also tracks the weather they need to look at, it’s tracking the subs, and the time cards for all employees,” says Mayers.

“There are so many other steps we used to do that we don’t have to do anymore, which is making us more efficient and allowing us to track our jobs better.”

Robb M., CEO of Outlier

Streamlining payroll with digital time cards

Daily reports were only the beginning for Outlier Construction. Time tracking is another key area of construction—and inaccurate hours can eat a company alive. But Raken makes collecting time data (and processing it) easy.

“Before Raken, we spent so much time on time cards and it still didn’t add up,” says Mayers.

“Raken makes payroll processing way easier.”

Robb M., CEO of Outlier

Raken’s time cards can be filled out right from the mobile app. Once they’re signed off, time cards can be approved and locked to prevent any edits. Raken also integrates with accounting software, so payroll teams can import accurate time data every time.

Operations Manager Keith agrees with Mayers. “Raken has improved the time that it takes to do time cards, and the overall accuracy,” he says. “The number of pay complaints from our employees are down to zero.”

Training subcontractors in minutes, not days

One of the most important things to consider about new software is the onboarding process. Sometimes, onboarding and training for subcontractors can last days—taking time away from the projects at hand. Raken made sure Outlier Construction’s crews were up to speed in no time.

“The training on Raken is so easy. It’s pretty bulletproof.”

Robb M., CEO of Outlier

“It’s a five-to-ten-minute conversation with a guy,” Mayers says. “We have them download the app on their phone, and show them what to do. It’s as simple as the superintendent that’s out in the field logging into that job, and putting down what they’re doing for the day.”