MCC Contractors, a civil construction company based in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, was processing timber when they noticed a shortage of companies preparing the roads for timber companies. The company now provides a wide range of services across Australia’s largest stage, including road construction, plantation work, and bushfire mitigation.
Phillip Lewis, Operations Manager of MCC Contractors, joined the company two years ago, transitioning out of fly-in, fly-out work for the mining industry. As the company expanded their services and tackled more areas, handling paperwork and timesheets for their fluctuating workforce became a time-consuming challenge.
Key Takeaways
- Timesheets collected & processed 6x faster
- Data collected from remote sites
- Ability to tender for larger, more complex jobs
Remote Work & Timesheets
When Phillip started, MCC Contractors had about 15 pieces of equipment and ten operators and had just begun taking on remote work across the state.
The company also pays their workers weekly, making the process of obtaining timesheets a ‘monumental task.’
“It would take three people and 5–6 hours on Friday mornings to collect the pay sheets,” explains Phillip, “I felt surely there must be a better way of doing this.”
Soon, a major part of Phillip’s job would entail using Assignar’s operations platform to streamline their existing processes.
"It would take three people and 5–6 hours on Friday mornings to collect the pay sheets. I felt surely there must be a better way of doing this." - Phillip Lewis, Operations Manager
Adopting Assignar
Initially, MCC Contractors adopted Assignar for the digital timesheets. Over time, Phillip says Assignar became the cornerstone of the company’s operations. He immersed himself in the platform and taught the rest of the team. With workers between the ages of 17 and 75, technical expertise varied.
Even so, Phillip says it only took a couple of hours to show the product and a few refresher sessions before workers picked it up.
“You can’t really make a mistake, and the [timesheet] mistakes they may make on the app is a 30-second fix for me on a back office computer.”
Gradually, the team transitioned their entire paperwork process onto Assignar, including daily requirements such as take fives and pre-starts on vehicles.
Phillip attributes a large part of his success with Assignar to his Customer Success Manager, Amanda Brumm.
“I’ve been able to expand Assignar not only through her knowledge of it, but through her natural smarts,” explains Phillip. “She gave me ideas that allowed me to get more and more out of Assignar.”
“Between us, we’ve grown Assignar into an integral part of the business.”
The Results
Since adopting the platform, MCC Contractors experienced significant improvements in efficiencies. For example, time spent collecting and processing timesheets was reduced from multiple people working for several hours to just one person working four hours a week.
They also improved their environmental impact too. Now, there’s no need for filing cabinets dedicated to timesheets and workers get their weekly paychecks on time, without delay.
Plus, with up to 50 staff at times, MCC Contractors can successfully collect data from various projects into one central hub, improving data management and accessibility.
“One [crew] could be doing roads and another could be doing bushfire mitigation,” says Phillip, “I collect all that information from numerous sites, straight into my computer here, which is absolutely fantastic.”
With jobs that take their workers up and down Western Australia, Assignar’s cloud-based system ensures they overcome connectivity challenges and get the data they need.
Assignar also played a crucial role in MCC Contractors’ growth, enabling the company to transition into a mid-tier entity. Phillip says that before Assignar, they wouldn’t consider tendering for jobs like repairing flood damage on roads, a huge step forward from the timber processing work they began with.
"One [crew] could be doing roads and another could be doing bushfire mitigation. I collect all that information from numerous sites, straight into my computer here, which is absolutely fantastic." - Phillip Lewis, Operations Manager
Giving Back
Even as MCC Contractors grows, the company continues to work closely with their community.
When a large bushfire threatened their home base in Denmark of Western Australia, the team responded to a call from the local shire to work alongside the fire brigade and community members to defend the town. The collective efforts saved homes and earned them heartfelt accolades from the local shire and community.
“To be able to mitigate those potential disasters before they happen and keep people’s homes and livelihoods safe is something we are pretty proud of,” says Phillip.
MCC Contractors is also one of the largest employers in Denmark. The business branched out to hire formerly incarcerated people to give them a second chance with a secure job.
Technology for Growth
By solving MCC Contractors’ immediate challenge of paperwork efficiency, Assignar also supported the growth and diversification of its services. By embracing technology and leveraging Assignar’s capabilities, MCC Contractors enhanced operations and environmental sustainability, and positioned themselves to undertake larger, more complex projects.
The team can now offer more services, cover more areas, and continue to do more with their resources so they can care for the community that means the world to them.
The success of MCC Contractors with Assignar exemplifies how implementing technology into current processes can lead to holistic improvements in operations and pave the way for future expansion.
