>>>INTHEFIELD
NO TIME TO LOSE
Network Consulting Services (NCS) had a system for tracking
its project data—its field technicians just didn’t like using it. So
although the IT consultancy required its technicians to regularly
track project data, they put it off because they found the process
time-consuming and frustrating. The administrative side of
managing the data was also cumbersome, which only added further delays.
Projects were falling behind schedule and cash flow was stalled.
“Time-tracking is essential to our success, but in the past, one
of our biggest challenges was getting our technicians to track their
time punctually,” says Brian Zifkin, sales manager for NCS.
In April 2008, NCS implemented Vertabase 4.0, resource
planning and project tracking software from Vertabase Inc.
“The principal distinction between Vertabase 4.0 and the
numerous other software solutions that we tried is ease of use,”
says Mr. Zifkin. “
Pull-down menus eliminate the
need to type, and a Web-based interface means that
timesheets may be sent
from any location.”
NE TWORK
CONSULTING
SERVICES, DETROIT,
MICHIGAN, USA
Challenge: Delays in project track-
ing and billing
Solution: Vertabase 4.0
www.vertabase.com
ROI: Streamlined billing process
and improved cash flow
The software also eases
client billing woes by providing centralized access
to project information and metrics.
“Vertabase compressed the time it takes to complete
time-tracking tasks, so we are able to deliver information to
the client in a shorter period of time and reduce the time
between performance of services and receipt of payment,” Mr.
Zifkin says.
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TAKE CARE
With a client list that spans the United States, Russia and 150
other countries, Carestream Health Inc. has built a solid business
for its healthcare imaging and IT systems. But as the number and
locations of projects has grown, so has the complexity of the company’s products and the associated installation times.
And the job of interpreting
and integrating the progress on
all those projects also became
more difficult because there
was no universal method for
coordinating staff or managing
milestones.
Carestream Health staffs
each project with a project
manager, explains Michael
Hopmere, healthcare IT solutions
professional practice manager.
“Once project managers are
CARESTREAM
HEALTH INC.,
ROCHESTER,
NEW YORK, USA
Challenge: Manage a growing
number of complex global
projects with uniform project
planning
Solution: Tenrox Project
Workforce Management
www.tenrox.com
ROI: Time savings of up to
15 hours a week
on site, they report progress back to their regional managers,
who oversee general project progress through location-based
portfolios.”
But there was no big-picture view.
“We had no simple way to compile all the data we needed to
get an aggregate view of how all the projects from around the
world were doing,” Mr. Hopmere explains.
Complicating matters was the fact that there was no common format for progress reports, leaving regional managers to
manually compile data from multiple file formats into regional
portfolio reports. And that could mean up to 15 hours of work
each week.
That changed when Carestream implemented Tenrox Project
Workforce Management. Project managers can now access a central
online portal to report project metrics, with uniform templates for
formatting reports. The company is currently using the system in
the United States and Canada and is preparing to launch it in
Europe and Asia.
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