Not much happens in heavy civil construction without equipment, and those responsible for scheduling and dispatching face four critical challenges:

1. Identifying what needs to be moved
2. Tracking information related to equipment movement
3. Efficiently assigning moves to drivers
4. Communicating with the drivers

Let’s take a look at each of these requirements and how a comprehensive software solution like B2W Schedule offers major advantages over fragmented, off-line tools.

Identifying what needs to be moved

Is there a need a move for today, tomorrow or next week? Anytime a user creates, edits or deletes equipment assignments in B2W Schedule, the system will look to see if a move order needs to be created or updated based on the scenario. The user can also create move orders in the system if there is a need to move a piece of equipment elsewhere. All of these move orders appear in a searchable, filterable move queue for the dispatcher to review on the B2W Schedule Move Planner.

Tracking Information Related to Equipment Movement

Where is the piece of equipment going and when is it needed? B2W Schedule allows the user to enter in the specific details related to the move. Viewing the details by date, time and exact street address is easy. B2W Schedule even allows users to provide a pictures of the drop site to make it clear precisely where the equipment needs to be.

Assigning moves to drivers

B2W Schedule users assign equipment moves to either internal transport crews or subcontracted transport crews through an intuitive drag and drop interface on the system’s Move Planner. Each move is given a stop number to help sequence out the moves on a given day. When a driver is unable to get to the last move planned for a given the day, it’s easy to push it to tomorrow. When every planned move is done, use the “Completed Moves” panel to quickly confirm, and get ready for tackling the next handful of orders.

 

Communicating with drivers

After all of the move orders have been assigned, it’s time to let the drivers know what needs to be done. B2W Schedule eliminates the need for phone calls or printing of reports to communicate assignments to a driver – methods that almost always lead to errors, miscommunication and inefficiency. By using Driver notification within B2W Schedule’s Move Planner, a dispatcher can click a button and quickly send a formatted email or text message to their drivers detailing out their schedule for the day. This notification not only includes contact information for both the site supervisor and requestor for a given move, but also a quick link to a map to help drivers identify exactly where they’re going.

The workflow for equipment moves is an area where software technology can help many contractors make major improvements. So put your pens and post-it notes away and let B2W Schedule drive the process efficiency, accuracy and real-time visibility you need to get the right resources to the right place at the right time.