Several of our Small Job Project Managers handle multiple types of jobs, ie.. LR, SP, NAC Projects, and even NAC Work Orders. Since several on the call are responsible for managing some NAC Work Orders we spent time reviewing the NAC WOFC and the changes that are taking place effective Tuesday April 17. (For more info on this see Dispatcher, Service Manager, and NAC P2P narrative). We also quarried the group as to how they are tracking Lighting Retrofits, (specifically those that have a duration longer than 2 – 3 weeks). Several methods are being used, from “not tracking at all”, to PATS (not many are using this), to branch specific database management systems, to Green Solutions. We discussed the value of being able to not only track production for job cost monitoring (even if labor is paid piece work), but also the value of collecting and using historical data to feed back to estimating. We also discussed the value of using production rates from “piece work jobs” to help manage similar installation that are paid hourly… especially Davis Bacon hourly jobs. It is simply amazing how production varies between the two types of jobs. Bill G mentioned that IT is working on adapting Green Solution which is “specifically designed for utility programs with fixed pricing and rebates” to be able to be used for our other LR projects which are “non- Public Utility Jobs”. The change will allow for “price flexibility” so that customized pricing can be set up. This will be a Game Changer for estimating, purchasing, cost monitoring, and managing LR projects.
