Champion Site Prep Learns Value of HCSS Software & Services

Champion Site Prep, L.P., based in Georgetown, TX, became an HCSS customer in 2003 with the purchase of a single HeavyJob/Field system.

John Gustainis, president of Champion, describes his search for an easier way to review his job process. “We wanted to check if there were any leaks in our process. Were we losing money today? If so, on what jobs and in what area were we losing it in?” Gustainis was even willing to hire database programmers to make him a customized field management program when a colleague at Capital Excavation, another HCSS customer, suggested that Gustainis see what HCSS had to offer. “I was very close to placing the job posting when I saw that you guys had already developed something I was looking for.”

After working with HeavyJob/Field for a while, Champion decided to implement HeavyJob as a company-wide procedure and bought additional Field systems, as well as a coordinating HeavyJob/Manager system to be used at the home office.

All this new software and accompanying change did not make things better overnight. With this major increase in sophistication and technology, training was needed - not because the company couldn't learn to use both systems without us, but because the current workload, constant interruptions, and other conditions a construction company faces on a daily basis prevented them from really getting familiar with the systems. Champion then hired an HCSS trainer for a few days to help them get things set up right.

Curtis Birch, Chief Estimator states, “The training was just what we needed. Lee Still helped us learn it quickly. His experience as an estimator really stood out, and he could anticipate questions we would have about our business before we even voiced our questions or concerns.”

While Champion takes full advantage of HCSS' 24-hour, live technical support, they appreciate the Team Texas visits as well. Gustainis explains, “Until we can coordinate another trainer's visit, Team Texas does a great job dropping in and checking up to make sure everyone's working on the system efficiently.” The visits are usually short (commonly a little over an hour long), but the benefit to customers in terms of service, and to HCSS employees in terms of learning more about what their customers do, extends over a much longer period of time.

Now Champion Site Prep is at the next level, where they are getting plenty of data input from the field and estimating office. Now the issue is getting the right report to show Gustainis what he asked for all along: an efficient way to check whether he made or lost money on his jobs that day.

The latest Team Texas visit to Champion not only resulted in helping them print out the best reports suited to their management, but also resulted in a good preparatory meeting before the company switches to an entirely different accounting system. Champion’s accounting system did not allow electronic importing from HeavyJob at a reasonable price, so they decided to choose 1 of the 29 accounting vendors with whom HCSS has an established relationship.

“Changing accounting systems always creates a bit of anxiety,” explains John. “But we know you guys work well with the new accounting package we're getting. More importantly though, we've seen that y'all are committed to making sure your customers continue to benefit from your software, long after you've already made the sale.”