Desco goes from paper to cloud-based with Procore Workforce Planning

The Challenge

Desco, a specialty contractor based in Edmonton, the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta has been providing concrete solutions for over 60 years. Unfortunately, the team was managing their workforce on a piece of paper, and needed a better solution.

The Solution

To make up for the lack of accurate data, the team knew they had to find a way to streamline their labor management process. They found Procore Workforce Planning solution to do this and more.

The Results

• Transitioned from paper-based to cloud-based scheduling, automating workforce management for greater efficiency
• Accurate, up-to-date labor data enables Desco to confidently plan and schedule for future projects
• With mobile access, the team stays connected and manages scheduling on the go with no more paper trails to track down

Managing Labor on a Piece of Paper

Desco was founded in 1956 by brothers Nestor and Orest Samycia and based in Edmonton, Alberta. From schools and art galleries to libraries and recreation centers, Desco has been providing long-lasting and premier concrete solutions for over 60 years.‍

The Desco team was managing and scheduling their labor on a piece of paper. There was a mix of office employees transferring data from paper to spreadsheet, but not everyone in the office knew how to use or was comfortable with spreadsheets. Desco would have a review meeting at the end of each day and then call each employee with their schedule for the next day.

They were passing notes and struggling to use spreadsheets, resulting in a lot of scheduling inaccuracies and overall lack of communication. One day, there would be too much overtime and the next, not enough work for everyone. Desco didn’t know what was going on with their workforce until the end of the day and that only lasted until work started the next morning. 

The Automated Solution Desco Needed‍

Desco was frustrated with poor long-term planning and inefficient scheduling. They needed help knowing when to ramp their workforce up and down and when they would have availability for more work. Desco was determined to not only find a tool that could help them clean up their inefficiencies, but also something they could access in the office, on their phones, at home, or on the road.

That’s where Workforce Planning came in. The Desco team knew this was the platform they needed to solve their workforce management woes. At first, the Desco leadership team was concerned about their employees who were reluctant to use spreadsheets — how would they cope with adopting a new technology like Workforce Planning? This concern didn’t last very long.

The Desco team dropped their paper process within a month, stopped making daily calls to workers, and no longer use spreadsheets. With help from the Workforce Planning onboarding team, they were able to use the platform right out of the box. Office employees that were once hesitant to use spreadsheets are now scheduling, dispatching and alerting workers all through Workforce Planning. 

Secured, Accurate Data with Workforce Planning

From job scheduling to paid time off, Desco keeps all of their employee info inside Workforce Planning. This empowers their team to always know who’s around, who has the next week off and how they need to adjust their project and workforce scheduling. Leveraging this key workforce information means that it is easy to streamline forecasting decisions.

Desco went from a company that passes notes to schedule their labor to a company that is now completely digital and relies on one source of truth — Workforce Planning.