February 25, 2005

Internet Resources

By Korky Koroluk

When tools walk away

The problem of tools, machines and materials “walking away” from construction sites is as old as construction itself.

Small tools and small pieces of equipment go missing routinely. But it’s not until someone floats a bulldozer away from a site at 3 a.m. that much is said publicly about the problem.

There have been campaigns to prevent thefts, but there is another problem that bedevils many contractors: knowing exactly where a piece of equipment is and whether it has been properly serviced.

Systems of lists or chits, of coloured tags hanging on hooks, of paper logbooks, of computer spreadsheets, have all been tried, but the problem persists.

For the last 10 or 15 years more and more contractors have turned to tracking software, but with mixed results. Some of it is expensive; some requires a lot of training; some of it is awkward to use. Some of it simply doesn’t work very well. And the array of options now on the market can be bewildering.

I’ve been remiss in not writing enough about some of those options, and might not be doing so today had it not been for an e-mail inquiry from reader Mike Zaborsky, of Bestco Construction, a mid-sized general in Ancaster, between Hamilton and Brantford.

There are dozens — hundreds, more likely — of possibilities out there in every price range.

One of the cheapest possibilities and one of the older computerized systems is from an outfit called K-Jon Software. They have packages that range from a Business and Fleet edition that will track just about everything you have, down to a Free-for-3 edition which is, as the name implies, free, but which will only track three vehicles. The company’s customer list ranges all the way from individuals to large corporations, and a lot of their customers are in the construction industry.

You’ll find them on the Web at www.kjon.com.

A more sophisticated offering is called Preventive Maintenance Software, from PMXpert, an Australian firm which has its North American headquarters in Saskatoon.

The company stresses the flexibility of its products, claiming that every user can develop his own unique set of categories, codes, schedules and the like. It also provides the user with reports on parts and fluid usage, flagging costs that might help identify problems before they occur. You’ll find them at www.pmxpert.com.

OmniFleet has several packages, some aimed at fairly homogeneous fleets, like trucks, or delivery vans. But they also have OmniFleet Shop, which is for those with a mixed fleet — trucks, dozers, backhoes, the works. It records complete repair details, including parts, labour, preventive maintenance services and any outside services that may be used. It also keeps a record of employee training and reports when retraining is due.

The company has also just released new versions of its programs, including a Web browser-based remote package. Look for them at www.omnifleet.com.

You might also want to take a look at EZ Maintenance, from Link It Software.

It is a complete packaging for scheduling, managing and tracking all maintenance and repairs. It works for any type of equipment and all vehicles. It even tracks tires, which many of the smaller packages do not. And it tracks both vehicle registration and driver license information, producing a report showing all expiring licenses 30 days before they expire.

It also pays more attention than most to the driver/operators, allowing for entry and tracking of all driver incident reports.

This package leans more toward trucks than the mixed bag of equipment most generals want to track, but it’s worth a look. Get more information on it from www.linkitsoftware.com. There are many more packages out there and next week I’ll come back to some that put more emphasis on tools and other equipment, less on vehicles.

You’re always welcome to comment on anything you see in this column, or suggest topics for discussion. You can reach me at korkykoroluk@rogers.com.

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