Arcoro is an HR technology company focused on the construction industry, offering solutions to help companies hire, manage and grow their back office, professional and skilled trade workforce.
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Trimble GC WinEst
Score 5.0 out of 10
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With thousands of users world-wide, WinEst estimating from Trimble GC is a database-driven construction project management solutions on the market. It looks and feels just like Excel with familiar Windows navigation, including drop-down menus and ribbon bars. Behind the covers is a database with multiple work-breakdown structures (WBS) and filters that can be customized to the user's preferences so that estimating data can be sliced and diced and presented in different ways. WinEst…
For my industry, ExakTime is incredible. The geo fencing, and clock-in locations and job types works incredibly well. I am likely to recommend because I have and I do recommend it constantly to others in my industry. I would say the only reason more people are not trying is it, is because they are of an older generation and using a virtual program can be daunting.
It's very flexible when building an estimate and selecting items to include. You can either click your way to the datebase or quickly copy and paste similar items.
The numerous ways to view and estimate whether it's by CSI, Uniformat, Master Format, or any view you'd like to see. One of ours is by program area, i.e. Sitework, Tower, Parking Deck, etc. After that, you can sort by Bid Package, CSI, etc. Quick buttons can be created far all the views you'd need which allows changing between views a breeze.
The visual interface is pleasing and easy to read.
It's easy to create your own database using Excel. Once you tag an item with unit costs, sort codes, etc., Winest will import it. You can also build it manually within the program but Excel was faster.
At times, WinEst controls feel counter intuitive. Also the tools available for actually developing the database can feel clunky. This means that if you do not take the time to create a robust import file, you will spend a serious amount of time fixing your errors.
WinEst is also an object based database which means that it is difficult to do mass dumps of information (mainly takeoff) into the program. While this is great for ensuring that everything is done purposefully, it does lead to extended hours of data entry
It takes hours upon hours of use before you begin to realize the true potential. The sheer number of tools is overwhelming and their help resources are very basic and only explain how to correctly enter the data but not the feature's best use cases.
I don't have any major problems with Exaktime so I do not see a reason to switch to something else. All the bugs and learning curves have been worked out so move to another company will take too much time of which we do not have. I have become an Exaktime expert and don't trust another software that guarantees geofencing timekeeping.
ExakTime is very intuitive and easy to use in some cases. From an ExakTime Mobile perspective, it is very simple and easy to use. The Clock In/Clock Out screen is intuitive and easy to learn. Similarly, the ExakTime Connect side is very smooth and simple for Time Card Detail viewing and Report usage, but it is sadly lacking in User Experience in Scheduling.
I have had problems outside of normal business hours and I get a return phone call from them pretty quickly. There has only been I think 1 instance that I waited for too long to be able to fix my situation.
Doug Quinn was our trainer and travels all over the country. Whenever I have an issue I shoot him an email and he quickly responds as soon as his training gets a break.
Gave a notice to all employees to come to work 15 min early on the day planned to implement the program. I had Spanish and English signs on how to down load the program and log in I showed them ALL how to log in and out and explained that they are responsible for reporting accurate time. I had them all sign a policy that lunch breaks were mandatory for all employees at least 30 min per day. This ensures safety on the roofs. We had a few people who did not have passwords to the app store and we had a few problems with android phones but most of them were on their way quickly. Most not happy about the change but I hope they see the benefit of it now.
This is the first product like this that we've used. We've been using ExakTime for several years now, and I can't imagine going back to manual entry! I also wouldn't think there's any comparable product on the market that allows as much customization or would be as user friendly as ExakTime
WinEst simply blows excel and Timberline out of the water. The shear depth of functionality is unparalleled. Not only does WinEst deliver a better product, it also shortens the amount of man hours required for each bid, alternate, pricing exercise, etc. On top of this, it has a number of redundant safeguards for catching errors that the others don't have.
Improved payroll accuracy and employee time breakdown by type of work, greatly reducing the manual data tracking and time spent by employees on such tracking. More time for actual work!
Employees can interact via field notes while on the job, providing revisions to data entered if appropriate. Improves administrator efficiency as well.
Reports significantly improve time tracking, positively effecting job costing recordkeeping and evaluation.
