When Kevin Kroger, a Putnam county electrician, wanted to keep better tabs on his business, he turned to the man who created his company website for help. “Core Fusion” has ended Kroger”™s daily dilemmas when it came to tracking expenses, workers, logs, trucks, equipment and monitoring job sites.
Chuck Cook, who designed Kroger”™s website, went to work on a software program that would let Kroger monitor comings, goings and equipment and at the same time give him the means to protect both his business and his workers from frivolous losses.
“Most of my business is in the Hudson Valley, Westchester, New York City and north Bergen County and some in Fairfield County as well,” said Kroger, “so I can have anywhere from 10 to 15 employees at various locations at one time, depending on how busy we are.
“Thanks to Chuck, this software program lets me monitor my work force, track my equipment and help the electricians on the job pinpoint a hardware store near them ”“ they each have a laptop assigned to them ”“ so they do not have to drive all the way back to the job site the next day because they didn”™t have the right size screws. They can also check out the job before they leave to go to it to make sure they have brought what they need with them.”
One of the tools of the trade includes a digital camera, which Kroger”™s electricians use to take pictures before, during and after the work is completed. “It”™s a big help. We can look at the work in progress to see if it”™s done properly, especially if the foreman has to go to another location; an electrician who has not been on the site can see how far the work has progressed and what”™s needed.” It can also help if a building owner registers a complaint.
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“One of our customers claimed the electricians tracked tar in from the roof,” said Kroger, “and ruined the flooring in his entrance. But we had pictures of the entrance before we ever set foot inside it.” Result? No more complaint calls. “That would have cost $7,000 to replace had we not had it on film” said Kroger. “These days, and even in ”˜boom times,”™ for a small business owner, it is a lot of money to pay for something your workers did not do but you cannot prove. Now the burden of proof is on the owner, not on us. We are no longer guilty until proven innocent.”
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Kroger says Cook”™s computer know-how and his 20 years of experience as an electrician have combined into one powerful program that “people over the age of 30 can deal with ”“ that”™s me,” said Kroger. “I”™m an electrician, not a tech person. But I need to have this information at my fingertips. I can”™t search around to find a fax machine to get change orders in to clients. I can”™t have men showing up for a job 100 miles from their home only to find out they needed a 10-foot ladder when they only have a five-footer on the truck. And if I need to go out of state, or want to take a vacation, I can do it and still be on top of my business.
“It took five years to get Core Fusion where it is, and it is so simple yet so comprehensive I”™ve had people who work for me in other industries come in and ask if they can get it for their office,” said Kroger. “The nice thing about it is Chuck can tailor it for another industry if he works directly with the person who is the owner and knows exactly what his business needs are. And you can always make changes and keep improving it. It”™s truly a work of art.”
Kroger says it has helped him rein in his business expenses, which translates to better profits for the company and for the electricians who are his work force. “We all benefit. These guys work hard, and this program makes their life easier and makes it possible for us to make more on each job we do than we would if we were trying to track everything manually.
“For me, it was an answer to a prayer,” said Kroger. “For the first time, I had a real handle on every aspect of my business and the technology to use it that didn”™t make me go crazy. It”™s been a blessing to our company, and we”™ve made sure it stays with us and have gotten the necessary rights and patents to make sure it stays with us ”¦ Unless, of course, we find someone else who might be interested in finding out if they can have it tailored for their own business”™ use.”
