Bison Homes: Out on the range

Bison Homes is building a residence and recreation community up in the White Mountain area of Arizona. Between the White Mountain site and the company's corporate offices near Scottsdale, there's about 150 miles of desert. If the company and its employees didn't use Windows Mobile devices, it could mean a long, long ride between corporate decisions and construction activities. Bison Homes has 100 employees and about 100 contractors or vendors working together at any one time.

Kim Baker, director of special projects for Bison Homes, had a pilot project underway which confirmed that using Windows Mobile devices could shrink the communications gap and help employees bypass obstacles that might throw the project off schedule. Built-in device features and an add-on application have made a difference in this project where the construction site is not easily accessible from corporate offices.

During the initial stages of the pilot project, participants evaluated different handhelds and settled on the XV6600 running Windows Mobile 2003 from Verizon. Now that the XV6700 with Windows Mobile 5.0 is available, they are moving forward with that device.

"We're looking for a total solution," says Kim. "When these guys are out in the field and their office is the hood or the front seat of their pick up truck, and it's raining, or the wind is blowing, or the sun is shining out there… they have to be able to push a button, get stuff done, and move on."

Kim reports that they chose the XV6700 primarily because of the robust microprocessor, which gives the device more power and speed to run applications, and the slide-out QWERTY keyboard. "The big push for us was that the keyboard was a little more manageable than the 'Chiclet-style' keyboard on the Treo." Imagine a construction manager in the field, wearing gloves, using the keyboard. Kim did evince disappointment that Verizon has hobbled some of the device's features, such as restricting the capability to use a Bluetooth foldout keyboard.

Besides the devices' voice capabilities, Kim sees e-mail as a key reason the devices have helped improve operations. He recounts how Bison Homes' vice president of construction Tim Bennett works in the field at Eagles Landing project in Fountain Hills and stays in close contact using his Windows Mobile device. "We're able to send him project updates that we track here at the main office." Kim routinely sends documents and costing schedules as e-mail attachments. "He has a two-way link back to us."

That two-way link became especially important when Tim was looking at a job that should have been done—a trench for a cable that should have been filled—and the county inspector was due to check the work in a matter of hours. Tim used the camera on the XV6700 to take a picture of the unfinished job and e-mailed it back to the vendor, who immediately came up and completed the project—just in time.

"I don't even know how to measure the value of that (quick response)," says Kim. "If we'd had to reschedule inspection… it would be maybe 1 day, 2 days, 3 days, and all my other vendors—concrete people, framing people, electrical people—have to wait until we get that signed off. Tim has the ability to operate at light speed—to make decisions, get actions started."

Having both Verizon's high speed EVDO network and Wi-Fi capabilities on the devices also improve the options for getting coverage in remote areas. "The Wi-Fi is especially important for downloading and sending attachments in seconds rather than minutes," adds Kim. The device helps Kim and his crew save time throughout the day.

Not only does the flow of construction projects depend on timely communications, but the sales team in the field also has an urgent need to know when a property has sold or the price has changed.

"If I get a price change, my first job is to try to get the information to the sales office." Kim reports that they used to use fax or a telephone call, but if the sales rep is not in the office and happens to be on site, walking the lot, the information may not get through immediately. Kim sends e-mail alerts about time-sensitive information from his device. Kim is looking to start taking advantage of the push e-mail capabilities of the Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP) for Windows Mobile 5.0 and Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2, as soon as Verizon makes it available for their chosen device. Then, the Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, and Inbox on each employee’s device will be updated automatically, and Bison Homes' IT vendor will be able to better manage security on the devices.

Bison Homes uses Microsoft Project to manage the complexities of its large construction projects, which often change on an hourly basis. However, Microsoft Project does not have a native output that is easy to view on a mobile device. Bison Homes uses an add-on application, Seavus Project Viewer, to create a file (viewable in Excel or Outlook) that is just a specific piece of the larger picture.

"Microsoft Project is the king of programs out there for doing multiple schedules… but my end user out there doesn't care about that, just 'where is that Pert Chart or Gantt Chart that I need today?'" Kim describes that rather than send out tons of pages, he navigates to the appropriate page in Microsoft Project, generates a file, and sends it in e-mail to the appropriate person, who can view it with their device. Project managers can receive this information wherever they connect with their device, so they are not tied to their desks waiting for a document.

Kim reports that he's handing out more and more devices to Bison Homes personnel; basically, they just have to give him a good reason and they've got one.

Kim has also thought of an imaginative new way to create customer satisfaction. Having proven how useful the Windows Mobile devices are for quick communications and connections for those building Bison Homes, Kim is considering offering future owners of properties a device to use. His vision extends to tailoring a Web page so members can find out what's happening at the golf course, the retail shops, or the coffee shop. Sending useful messages, but not heavy-duty marketing, could let residence members know about opportunities such as half-price hors d'oeuvres in the clubhouse or available tee-times, and build not just buildings, but a real community.