How open-minded are you to the idea that your daily reporting process is silently bleeding your project margins?
In heavy civil construction, the math is unforgiving. Every minute your foreman spends staring at an iPad, trying to figure out how to enter time for a job, is a minute they aren’t watching the iron, guiding the crew safely, or catching a mistake before it happens. That lost oversight is where your profit margins actually disappear.
During CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026 at the HCSS Time Card Challenge, Sam Fernholz of New Look Contracting showed attendees exactly how to claw back that lost time.
Look at the historical tape for a basic time card:
- 2020 Champion: 1 minute, 17 seconds
- 2023 Champion: 1 minute, 7 seconds
- 2026 Champion: 42 seconds
Fernholz didn't just beat the record; she absolutely destroyed the 60-second barrier. And the craziest part? Just over a year ago, she had never touched HCSS software in her life!
From Booth Challenge to Bottom Line: Reclaiming Margin Through Speed
A 42-second time card isn't just a fun booth challenge; it is a financial multiplier worth considering. Multiply those saved minutes across all foremen over 260 working days. You aren't just saving time; you are fundamentally taking your margin back from administrative bloat.
Fernholz achieved this speed because her brain is wired for it. "I was talking to Harry White [the HCSS Technical Product Manager for HCSS Insights] yesterday, and he's like, 'I don't know how you did that that fast,'" Fernholz laughed. "That's just how my brain works. I'm just click happy and off we go". This is a trait we see with many customers who are the HCSS Champion at their company - the ability to problem solve quickly, keeping in mind how to optimize their workflow for their people in the field at every turn.
But raw speed only gets you so far.
To build a championship-level operation at New Look Contracting, she had to completely eliminate the pain of delayed data. Initially, she was exporting data into manual Excel spreadsheets and sending them out at 11:00 AM every day. She knew that accepting a broken, manual process is how companies lose their edge.
By leveraging the HCSS product team and partnering closely with HCSS Support, Fernholz has been able to make dramatic improvements for how New Look Contracting not only collects data from the field, but also how to generate automated reports for key decision makers. Taking it to the next level, she has improved their reporting dashboard using HCSS Insights by making sense of the company’s labor and equipment costs. "I don't have to do that spreadsheet anymore," she noted.
The "Help Me, Help You" Culture
You don't push for a 42-second workflow just to win a belt. You do it because you deeply respect the people in the field.
At New Look Contracting, the culture is defined by one word: Family. "We all wear many, many different hats around here," Fernholz explained. "You won't hear somebody say that's not my job".
Fernholz brings that exact empathy to her role. Her husband is a heavy equipment operator, giving her a profound understanding of the realities of the jobsite. "I understand... their busyness and like the way that they work and like their knowledge with technology," she shared.
Her philosophy is simple: Help me help you. By meticulously setting up the cost codes in the office, she guarantees her crews can get in, get out, and get back to building. "I'm making sure that I set up the field for success," she says.
The Takeaway: Empower the Frontline to Lead
Foremen are not data-entry clerks; they are the frontline of your business and can provide you with the most information about how your job is doing. When you empower them to lead and make the administrative part of their job quick, easy, and precise, they will run with it. Sam Fernholz is living proof that, with the right setup and support, the office and the field can operate as a unified, high-leverage machine.
I’m not sure if your current time card setup is built to break the 60-second barrier, but how open-minded would you be to taking a hard look at how your field's time is actually being spent?
Watch the HCSS Time Card Challenge Winner, Sam Fernholz, complete the winning 42-second time card at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026:
