2011 SilverEdge Project Excellence Award for Innovation Winner Announced

The benefits these companies received through their innovate use of Deltek Vision has earned them top honors in the 2011 SilverEdge Project Excellence Award for Innovation.

Winner: Butler Fairman & Seufert
www.BFSEngr.com

Key Innovations

  • A web-based “Graphical Employee Status” applet that lets employees manage their status from anywhere
  • A Document Tracking System that helps HR manage safety and policy requirements
  • An Overtime Analysis Module that applies customized rules to approved timesheets and makes any necessary changes before the timesheet is posted
  • Graphical representations of projects and an online bulletin board to highlight both project and company activities

Significant Benefits
Butler Fairman & Seufert (BF&S) implemented Deltek Vision as part of a multi-year, multi-tasked project.  They’ve received significant benefits as a result:

  • Up-to-the-minute information delivered via dashboards, reports and custom integrations
  • Improved cash flow and accuracy with invoices being sent out four days earlier
  • Saving 30 hours per month entering and reviewing timesheets and expenses
  • More efficient and more accurate billings
  • Better insight into project and company activities

BF&S’s started with key modules including Time, Expense, Accounting, and Billing.  CRM and Custom Proposals modules were later integrated to manage their customer base and to bring in new work.  InfoCenter, Reporting, Document Management, along with project management and performance metrics were implemented to address resource planning.

BF&S is a civil engineering firm based in Indianapolis, IN with annual revenues of $21M.

Finalist: Airfoil Public Relations
www.airfoilpr.com

Key Innovation:  Automated Paid Time Off (PTO)
Using Deltek Vision’s workflow functionality Airfoil created an automated time off process that that has increased employee satisfaction and saved manager’s time.   The automated process notifies supervisors of a time off request and subsequently notifies the employee of the PTO decision.

PTO requests are tied to what an employee has earned to date and what time has already been taken. Supervisors can easily see all requested time off and how many people could be out on the same day. Employees have immediate access to their PTO information.

Supervisors can be assured that teams are staffed appropriately and employees are no longer left wondering if they can take the day off.

Finalist:  Baxter & Woodman, Inc.
www.baxwood.com

Key Innovation:  Client Info Center Contractor Specifics Tab
To streamline management of Contractor data and link Contractors to construction projects, Baxter & Woodman, Inc created the Contractors Specifics tab. This combination of drop-down menus and memo boxes tell about the firms experience with a contractor, while number fields provide details regarding contractor capacity.  A Contractor Skills Grid uses a Text Library to define the Contractor’s abilities in terms used in standard specifications.

Data previously hidden away in the firm’s network of 27 supplemental databases was imported into Deltek Vision.  The single data source provides information critical to the firm’s final product and has eliminated the need the for expensive monthly maintenance and specialized database training.  In total, the firm estimates saving 550 hour per year while improving employee access to real time information.

Finalist: Design Concepts, Inc.
www.design-concepts.com

Key Innovation:  The Projects Report
Design Concepts, Inc. has utilized Deltek Vision to replace an entry-level accounting package and a variety of project management spreadsheets with a single report.   The Projects Report provides an at-a-glance look at how projects from across the firm are being managed.

Project managers now rely on easy-to-read graphs that monitor budget, burn rate, project hours worked, overages, schedules and milestones.  Color coding highlights project status and the internal perception of the quality of work being performed.

Increased project visibility has allowed Design Concepts to allocate resources more effectively, ensure accurate billings, and hold project managers more accountable.

Congratulations to everyone who applied.