Based in Niagara, Ontario, Lineworx Cable Contracting is an outside plant building, maintenance, and repair company servicing Bell, Rogers, Cogeco, Execulink Networks – “anyone who has fibre optics, basically,” says Principal Owner Richard Radowsky. They deal daily with the challenges of changing technology, so digitizing their paperwork was a natural next step for the aerial specialists.
Paper and Laptops Didn’t Cut it
Working in the telecommunications field, Lineworx knew all about the need to adapt to new technologies to stay current and connected. Getting rid of paper to save printing costs and to make HR assets more readily available to field workers was a priority, from accessing safety information to having certifications and permits at the ready for ministry officials.
They’d tried different solutions, like Excel spreadsheets and bulletproof laptops in the field. But it simply wasn’t effective; laptops would die or get wet, and some users lacked computer literacy. What they needed was “a software solution in the palm of their hands that was going to bring all these things together – the safety end of it and the projects end of it.” From a hardware perspective, Radowsky observes that employees are a bit more diligent about keeping their own devices charged and dry.
Easy Adoption with Corfix
While they considered other tools on the market, nothing felt like the right fit until they met Corfix.
The main thing was the support. Corfix had more of a vision of how things would evolve, constant upgrading – those are things you want to hear.
Radowsky explained that technological proficiency was a stumbling block in the past, and implementation was a concern.
But the onboarding process led to a seamless roll-out, and the platform digitally mimics their pre-existing daily routine which made it easy to adopt. “You have to check in, you have to see the tasks that come up, you have to see the project notes, you have to acknowledge a lot of things, that’s pushed toward you.” Radowsky notes the workers particularly like being able to submit written notes and nudge things towards management instead of verbal communications going “in one ear and out the other.”
Everything They Need, in the Palm of Their Hands
By bringing together many aspects of their business onto one clear, customizable dashboard, Corfix solved many problems at once for Lineworx. Organizing all the moving parts of a project in one spot instead of searching different sources for different information has been a huge time-saver, and made the management role considerably easier.
The ability to immediately get a permit to a worker in the field, immediacy of access, time stamping and push notifications to force people’s attention to information updates, needs, and concerns are favourite features at Lineworx.
Invoicing is 100% easier, a quick cut and paste instead of transcribing handwritten field notes.”
They’re particularly enjoying the Binders feature, which has taken their assets like user guides and instruction manuals from “crumpled up and wet in the back of a truck or in a baggie somewhere.” When they actually need it, the manual is accessible from the palm of their hand.
At the end of the day, Corfix just puts everything in the palm of your hand.”
What would they tell someone considering investing in safety software? “Without giving away industry secrets,” laughs Radowsky, “I do like telling people how much this helps, that it’s much more than safety. Rising tides raise all boats after all.”