Martin Horn Case Study

Field2Base Makes Job Sites Safer

Potential Hazards and Accidents are Recorded in an Indisputable Manner
Since the nature of construction is such that it includes many activities involving inherent risk of physical injury, worker safety on construction sites is a matter of great importance to contractors and builders who are exposed to worker injury claims.

"Implementing and enforcing safety standards on a daily basis is a key responsibility of my job," says Mike McNulty, Construction Superintendent at Martin Horn, a contracting firm with over $15 million in annual billings. He regularly uses his Field2Base tablet in order to help enforce Martin Horn's commitment to job site safety. "We work with sub-contactors who are told about Martin Horn's safety program the first day on the job," says McNulty. "They know that if I see them doing anything irresponsible they will first receive a verbal warning and, if they continue to engage in a potentially hazardous activity, that I will take a photo of them doing so and send it on to their supervisor." In general, a single warning is sufficient, but McNulty has used his Field2Base tablet to photograph a sub-contractor engaged in a potentially hazardous activity, hand annotate a quick note describing the situation highlighted in the photo and send it to the sub-contractor's boss - all of which he does directly from the field. "The reaction from the sub-contractors bosses has been immediate and in Martin Horn's favor," says McNulty. "The photo makes for an indisputable case."

Paper Work Headache Cure
In addition to using his Field2Base tablet to ensure that Martin Horn's safety policies are upheld, McNulty uses it to complete a tremendous amount of paperwork that he used to have to return to the office to fill out and file. "Field2Base enables me to fill out and submit directly to headquarters inspection forms, change orders and my daily log without having to leave the field," says McNulty. He particularly appreciates how the daily log he hand writes using his Field2Base digital pen is transformed into a typed document using a smart form because it means an end to his having to take paper based notes for the log book throughout the day and transcribe them at the end of the day into a log book he kept in his office. "Since I've been using Field2Base for my daily log, it takes me less time to complete and is more accurate," says McNulty. In addition, project managers and owners can now access McNulty's log book daily without having to come to the job site to read it." Martin Horn intends to use Field2Base for time sheets and tool sheets in the near future.

McNulty has become attached to his Field2Base. "If someone tried to take my Field2Base away now, they'd have a fight on their hands," says McNulty. He adds that he can now do things once instead of twice, which has freed him up to concentrate on the key aspects of his job. "In order to justify the cost of Field2Base, our corporate office estimated that it would have to save me two hours per week. I regularly save two hours a day by using it," say McNulty.