The problem: Pen and paper reporting and safety practices were insufficient
At first, Diamond Concrete would use pen and paper alone for daily reports and safety, then they would scan those documents and save them digitally. However, that process soon became cumbersome to manage all the paperwork as the company grew and safety regulations became more prominent.
“I hate paper,” says Clark Dunn, the owner of Diamond Concrete, recalling their early days with frustration. “I hate having to keep up with it. It’s a waste of time.”
The solution: Saving time and protecting their work with Raken
Things immediately got easier for Diamond Concrete when they switched to Raken. “The daily reports, implemented with safety, far outweighs anything else.”
By digitizing their daily reports and safety practices, Clark has been able to save time, protect his company’s hard work, and improve operations as a whole.
Detailed daily reports show the full picture
When using daily reports, contractors can not only improve operations by keeping detailed records of the work they performed, but they can also protect themselves against litigation.
In fact, by using Raken’s photo documentation feature for their daily reports, Diamond Concrete was able to avoid hundreds of thousands of dollars in a dispute. For one project, they were pouring concrete for a fuel island and, after a few months, the customer found a leak. The customer claimed that there was a form spike driven through the lines, creating a leak that had been going on for a month, contaminating the surrounding soil.
Because of this, both the EPA and OSHA had to get involved to launch an investigation. Luckily, Diamond Concrete had just started using Raken for daily reports.
“I said, ‘well, let me go back and look at this new thing we have and see if somebody took some pictures,’” Clark recalls. “Sure enough, he had taken about 20 pictures and a video, and there was no form spike where they say that it hit the line. There was nothing in there. So it was a dead issue. Pictures are worth a thousand words.”
Having time and date-stamped pictures from the jobsite is crucial for contractors like Diamond Concrete to protect their work and cover all their bases for what is or isn’t their fault. Without the detailed proof, Clark and his company would have had a long, expensive road ahead of them. “Daily reports for me started off as a hassle,” Clark says. “But in this day and time, it saves you in court.”
“Raken has paid for itself and then some.”
Automated daily reports keep everyone informed and make sure you know exactly what happened each day on the jobsite. In Raken, you can set them to send to the office and other project stakeholders as soon as they’re signed. This helps subcontractors keep a strong line of communication with other teams on the job. Plus, everything is stored in one place—easy to find when you need it.
“We look really professional when we set those daily reports to go to superintendents and safety directors every day.”
Digital safety features protect everyone
When overlooked, safety issues can be another huge expense a construction company must face. “Not being up on safety—that’s the most expensive loss and liability.”
Clark continues, “You can even get sued for not training your workers on how to use a shovel.” However, with Raken’s digital safety tools, Diamond Concrete is able to proactively avoid those issues. “If you do toolbox talks every day, you can show that your workers were trained,” Clark says. “The signatures are right there.”
The team at Diamond Concrete even adds a picture of the safety talk to further prove they completed it, which they can quickly upload and store in Raken.
Ease of use leads to high field adoption
Raken was adopted pretty quickly by the boots on the ground. “We sat them down and talked to them and said ‘it’s five minutes out of your day,” Clark says.
To make it as streamlined as possible for the team, they customize their Raken processes to minimize the amount of typing needed with surveys, Yes/No questions, and check boxes.
Now Raken has become a normal part of the Diamond Concrete teams’ schedule. “Like I tell them—’you don’t forget your wallet, your phone, or your keys—and you don’t forget Raken.’”
Better performance and scalability
Over his time in the industry, Clark has evaluated 10-12 different software providers. Because of this, he has an appreciation for the simplicity of Raken and how easily scalable it is. “Raken is a catch all for a lot of things.”
“Companies like Procore and Trimble are just for big GCs. Raken grows with businesses large or small.”
He and his team also haven’t experienced any down time with Raken, something other software companies strive for but rarely achieve.
Learn more about Raken
Our all-in-one field construction management platform does more than just save you time and money—it also saves you from lengthy and expensive litigation. Find out how we can help you optimize your work and protect it at the same time.