In the concrete construction industry, everything happens in real time. Throughout the day, Producers and Contractors must make immediate decisions about project work, and there is only so much time until concrete hardens. Up until recently, Producers and Contractors did not have access to real-time delivery management tools such as the iStrada Delivery Management Platform. When concrete deliveries and project details are not current, things can go wrong very quickly, increasing stress and costs.
It is important that concrete Producers have documentation to support themselves in the event of a problem, or they risk losing a customer. Paper tickets have long been inefficient for managing concrete deliveries. The use of electronic tickets, or e-Tickets, helps to improve safety, reduce errors, save time, and optimize workflows.
Lots of information is generated in the concrete production and delivery process that is collected, managed, and shared with many people. Using e-tickets instead of paper-based systems improves tracking, archiving, and exchange of this information. e-Tickets optimize workflows and improve safety by decreasing interactions between workers, construction equipment, and traffic.
An e-ticket depicts a delivery in real time. e-Tickets may include basic informative details regarding the Truck, Driver, Time Requirements, Load, Job, Order, Financial, Sales, Delivery, and more. Beyond the basic information, more specific information may be provided regarding the Customer, Mix, Ticket Acceptance, Inspection, Delivery Status History (including times), Products, Mix Design, and Photos. Businesses and trading partners can better understand project-related activities with access to such information.
With a paper-based ticketing system, the Driver typically scribbles all of this information, and then somebody else jots down their name as accepted. Aside from the handwriting and reading problems, tickets are frequently lost or misplaced. Using iStrada for e-ticketing, all of this information is captured and stored in the cloud; Drivers only have to arrive at the job site, take pictures, and sign the ticket with their mobile devices as necessary. After that, the Driver can continue with his route, and all of this information is neatly organized and accessible online.
Using e-ticketing, mixers can enter and exit locations more quickly, which results in more efficient deliveries. It’s amazing how much time can be saved with this one feature alone. The system eliminates the risk of tickets going missing, as well as the need for back-and-forth transactions between parties.
Through the iStrada platform, e-ticketing can also serve as a stepping stone to even more functionality. Some other features provided by iStrada include real-time GPS truck tracking, auto-truck status, turn-by-turn navigation assistance, mobile KPI dashboard, contractor and inspector access, online customer order request, employee time and attendance, pre and post-trip DVIRs, VOIP, two-way voice/text communicator, driver call-out with SMS/email notifications, drum sensors to automate “pouring” and “washing” statuses and more.
Based off original article by For Construction Pros