May 31, 2023
Advanced Features Enhance Communication and Further Streamline Heavy Construction Workflows
B2W Software, a Trimble company and leading provider of heavy construction management software, has added extensive alerts and notifications capabilities in the current release of its B2W Platform.
The features let contractors communicate automatically and in real time across the office, field and shop for further efficiency in resource scheduling, field performance tracking, and equipment maintenance workflows.
“Things change constantly in construction, and immediate alerts and notifications are emerging as important options for getting information into the hands of people that need it, when they need it,” according to Bob Brown, general manager for B2W Software.
More than two dozen actions taken in the B2W Schedule, B2W Track and B2W Maintain applications can now trigger immediate messages delivered to selected recipients by text message or email. These actions range from creation of resource assignments and maintenance requests to submission, approval or rejection of field logs and mechanic timecards.
The B2W Track application for field performance tracking and analysis can now trigger alerts and notifications when field logs (for crews) or work logs (for individual employees) are created, submitted, approved, rejected or transferred. B2W Maintain users can now generate and manage messages indicating when preventive maintenance services are due and for the creation and status of maintenance requests, work orders, and purchase orders.
Electronic forms created with B2W Inform can also be set up to generate alerts and notifications based on the data entered into specific fields. Common examples include identification of a defect on an equipment inspection form or notification of an injury on a safety incident form.
Notifications regarding new or changed personnel assignments, equipment moves or material deliveries can be sent to employees or external recipients with the B2W Schedule application for resource scheduling and dispatching. The May 2023 update includes enhancements for reviewing these notifications and for communicating acceptance, rejection or completion of the activities initiated by the alerts and notifications.
The B2W platform approach gives contractors advantages in extending real-time benefits of alerts and notifications across multiple workflows without overwhelming recipients with too much data or conflicting data, according to Brown. “Unified applications and a single operational database for lists of jobs, employees, equipment and other information make it easier to manage and monitor these instant messages cohesively,” he explains.
The B2W platform includes applications to manage estimating, resource scheduling and dispatching, performance tracking, equipment maintenance and electronic forms and reporting. Additional 2023 B2W Platform enhancements include:
- Expanded API connectivity and vendor and subcontractor management features for B2W Estimate a
- Clock in/out and geolocation capabilities for individual performance tracking within the B2W Employee App
- The ability to accept, reject or complete assignments for equipment moves and materials deliveries in B2W Schedule
- Enhanced purchase order and inventory management features within B2W Maintain.
About B2W Software
B2W Software, a Trimble company, empowers heavy construction companies to win more work and complete it more profitably. The unified B2W Platform connects people, workflows and data and includes applications to manage estimating, scheduling and dispatching, performance tracking, equipment maintenance, forms and business insight. B2W is headquartered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
