Fortney & Weygandt’s employees say they can’t live without the company’s custom-designed administration Superview 2000 software. But cutting-edge technology is nothing new at the company, which is in one of the oldest, most traditional industries.
The main component of the can’t-live-without-it-technology connects in-house and out-in-the-field employees with computerized timesheets, phone logs, daily field reports and schedules.
“The most successful part of Superview is the increase in efficiencies,” says Chris Lutjen, marketing director at Fortney & Weygandt. “It allows supervisors to spend more time on the project than filling out reports.”
Employees are equipped with laptop computers that allow them to use the program in combination with a fax and e-mail server. Electronic notes are posted and updated daily for all members to see. Users claim the program has saved about 60 percent of the time it took to fill out the hand-written paperwork.
Lutjen says the program was designed specifically for users who are not necessarily computer literate, so minimal instruction is required.
Bob Fortney, president of Fortney & Weygandt, attributes the efficiency of the program in part to his direct involvement in the design process. During development, hey frequently met with programmers to ensure the program would be compatible with the company’s internal structure.
Although, Fortney hired an outside contractor to design the first version of Superview, the second version was created by the company’s MIS department, which has continually upgraded and improved each version of the custom software. For example, the first version took hours to synchronize daily updated information, but it now can process that same data in minutes.
Fortney says cutting-edge technology is one of the reasons his company has grown and now generates approximately $70 million a year. But it’s all part of doing business in this day and age for Fortney.
“You can’t shoot for numbers, you have to shoot for improvement. Growth and profitability are a byproduct of that improvement,” says Fortney. How to reach: Fortney & Weygandt, (440)-716-4000 or www.fortneyweygandt.com
