Category Archives: Field Data Collection

See HMS at the Scottsdale Hard Dollar Conference

2014-InEight-Experience HMS Software will be at the InEight Experience Hard Dollar Conference in Scottsdale, AZ at the end of this month.  Not only will HMS be exhibiting the very latest version of TimeControl Industrial and showing how it can link to Hard Dollar’s HD PCM but HMS Software’s President, Chris Vandersluis will be co-presenting a paper with Erik Marthinsen, the President of BASEMETHOD.  Erik’s firm is not only a TimeControl  Dealer, but also one of Hard Dollar most experienced dealers.  Erik and Chris will be describing how TimeControl Industrial and Hard Dollar’s HD PCM were deployed at a major oil producer in Canada and how combining TimeControl’s field data collection with HD PCM’s cost control has resulted in significant efficiencies in managing literally millions of sub-contractor hours.
Find out more about the Hard Dollar Conference at: http://www.harddollar.com/ineight-experience or contact HMS at info@hms.ca if you need more information.

Integrate TimeControl, Primavera and Hard Dollar Solution Page

With the release of TimeControl 6.5, organizations are now able to create a remarkably powerful project management environment by combinging the best of HMS’s TimeControl, Hard Dollar’s HD and Oracle-Primavera’s P6 all at the same time and we have created a TimeControl Solution Portal to give you access to resources on how this could help you with organizational efficiency.
Haven’t you ever wished you could take the best of the most popular project management tools and blend them together?
Now, thanks to TimeControl version 6.5, you can.

You can now integrate TimeControl or TimeControl Industrial with Hard Dollar’s HD and Oracle-Primavera’s P6 simultaneously to create one remarkably flexible and powerful environment.  Hard Dollar is known for its strength in project cost estimating and cost control.  It has been used for years in construction, engineering, utilities, mining and other industrial industries to create a rich definition of cost requirements for labor, material and equipment requirements for projects.  Primavera is world-renowned for its project scheduling, project tracking and resource capacity planning functionality.  TimeControl Industrial brings field data collection to a new level.  TimeControl has been available since 1994 and is one of the world’s best known timesheet systems.
TimeControl and TimeControl Industrial have had the ability to integrate with Primavera since 1997.  When Primavera users need to extend timesheet capabilities to meet financial requirements for not only job costing but also invoicing, payroll, HR and numerous government compliance rules, TimeControl is often the choice. 
HMS and Hard Dollar created a technical alliance in 2012 to create the same kind of integration between TimeControl Industrial and Hard Dollar’s HD cost control system and while doing so realized that something remarkable was possible.  There was already an integration between HD and Primavera’s P6 and the addition of TimeControl Industrial which already had the P6 integration itself meant that all the products could be combined together.  The TimeControl/HD integration was designed with that requirement in mind and it has surpassed our best hopes for improved efficiency. 
The bi-directional link between TimeControl and HD brings in job definitions and sends back the actuals on a day-to-day basis.  The bi-directional link between TimeControl and P6 brings in activity and step definitions along with resource assignments and sends back not only the resource and financial actuals but also estimate to complete and Activity Step progress.  TimeControl’s unique Matrix Approval Process for Labor Actuals™ means that data arrives already approved from both the organizational and project perspectives and is ready to use by Project Management, Job Costing, HR, Payroll and Finance.
It’s the best of not just both but all three worlds.  A blend of the best in world class performance from the leaders in project management systems.

For more information on combining TimeControl Industrial, Hard Dollar’s HD and Oracle-Primavera’s P6 into your winning combination, see our Solution Portal at industrial.timecontrol.com/solutions/tchdp6/
 For information on TimeControl Industrial, go to industrial.timecontrol.com or contact HMS Software at info@hms.ca, or call us toll free at (877) 699-8463 (International +1 (514) 695-8122).

HMS President Chris Vandersluis to Speak at Hard Dollar Customer Roundup

Our president, Chris Vandersluis, will be speaking in Scottsdale, Arizona at the Hard Dollar Project Cost Management Roundup. This annual event, taking place October 15-18, brings together contractors, owners and EPCMs from the construction, mining, oil and gas, STO and power and process industries. Hard Dollar, the publishers of the project cost control software of the same name will provide four days of thought leadership, industry trends and case studies from industry experts and customers.

Chris will be sharing his knowledge and expertise on Field Data Collection and Project Cost Management. He will also use this opportunity to demonstrate the new link between HMS Software’s TimeControl Industrial and the Hard Dollar project cost control system which is the result of a Technical Alliance partnership with Hard Dollar announced earlier this year.

Don’t miss this opportunity. Join Chris on Wednesday, October 17th at 1PM at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort.

Watch our quick YouTube video where Chris give you more details on this Hard Dollar event: 

For more information on Chris and other speakers who will be present, visit the Hard Dollar Roundup Speakers page
If you would like to organize meeting Chris while he is in Scottsdale to talk about the link between TimeControl Industrial and Hard Dollar, please contact 
Kelly Motafferi at kelly.motafferi@hms.ca

TimeControl Industrial 6.4 now available

This is a big month of announcements at HMS.  As you may have seen in our last newsletter, we have completed the migration of TimeControl Industrial into the TimeControl 6 family. This is a major new version of the TimeControl Industrial edition. TimeControl Industrial 6.4 has been designed specifically for field data collection of labor and non-labor usage on industrial and construction field sites. This builds on the already popular functionality of the classic TimeControl and delivers a timesheet system that can be used simultaneously for back office and field personnel as well as a field data entry system for material consumption, equipment usage and even production values accomplished.

We’re extremely excited about TimeControl Industrial coming into the TimeControl 6 architecture.  Bringing TimeControl Industrial’s field data collection functionality together with the highly flexible functionality of the classic TimeControl is a winning combination for many of our clients.”

TimeControl Industrial adds several elements of functionality that are ideally suited to collecting data in heavy construction, offshore, industrial or plant shutdown environments where the employees doing the work don’t have access to computers to enter the data themselves. These functions include:

Crew Timesheet Entry
TimeControl Industrial adds an additional timesheet interface to the weekly timesheet that is TC64_CrewEntry_300x209included for back office workers. TimeControl Industrial’s Crew Timesheet Entry allows crews to be assembled and then time entered for the entire crew at once. Crew Timesheet supports weekly, daily or even multiple timesheets per day to accommodate multiple shifts. Blank timesheets can be carried by the foreman or supervisor and then the timesheet for the entire crew is entered at one time. The Crew Timesheet Entry interface is included as both a web-browser and Windows Application Interface.

Material / Equipment / Production Entry
TimeControlIndustrial extends Field Data Collection beyond timesheets with the Material / tc6_materialentry_300x209Equipment / Production Entry interface. Non-labor cost entries can be allocated by project, by task, by resource and with a limitless number of possible rates to track material used, equipment expended and even production values of what was accomplished. This module is also delivered as both a web-browser and Windows Application interface for high-volume entry. When combined with either the Non-labor rates tables or the Extended Materials Rate system, multiple values can be tracked at once such as the actual internal cost, estimated cost, average project cost and invoiceable billing price. Once entered, Material / Equipment and Production can have unique approval paths or can be approved along the same lines as the Crew Timesheets.

Extended Rates
TimeControl Industrial includes functionality to vastly extend Rate tracking to atc6_crewextendedrates_300x238ccommodate complex burdened or premium rates or rates that vary for particular conditions. Imagine a field situation where unionized workers are paid different hourly premiums if they work the evening or overnight shifts and additional premiums if they work in inclement weather or in a remote location. Or imagine equipment costs that are different if the equipment is used at night or when the temperatures are very warm or very cold. Managing this with a traditional timesheet could be a challenge, but not with TimeControl Industrial, The extended Rates system handles these types of situations easily by matching user-defined and existing columns of data in the Crew Timesheet Entry and Material / Equipment / Production Entry interfaces with identical columns in the Extended Rates table.

TimeControl Industrial delivers a highly flexible timesheet and material / equipment / production data collection system to the field. It has been developed with requirements straight out of field use with our clients and we have found from experience on client sites that it delivers increased productivity. But, we also know that organizations and requirements change and TimeControl Industrial’s flexibility means the system can adapt whenever that is required.

TimeControl Industrial includes all the functionality that has made TimeControl one of the world’s most respected timesheet systems including links to project management systems such as Oracle-Primavera, Microsoft Project and Deltek’s Open Plan. It also includes links that can be defined for Payroll, HR and Finance systems as well as ERP systems such as PeopleSoft, Oracle Financials and SAP.

TimeControl Industrial is available immediately. Clients with current support contracts have access to the upgrade at no cost. For more information on TimeControl Industrial, visit http://industrial.timecontro.com.

TimeControl Industrial is available both for installation on premise or as a subscription in the cloud online.

About TimeControl
TimeControl was originally released in 1994. It was immediately successful in the project management sector and today is recognized not only as a project management solution, but also as an enterprise timesheet solution in use by companies worldwide. TimeControl is designed as a multipurpose timesheet able to serve the needs of both Finance and Project Management simultaneously. It includes features such as a multi-browser, multi-device interface, a PC and mobile interface, vacation approvals, executive dashboards, extensive approval functionality, flexible reporting and links to project management and corporate systems which makes the timesheet product ideally suited for integration with existing systems in any organization. TimeControl’s flexibility allows it to be deployed for use as a time and attendance, time and billing, project tracking and flex-time system.  TimeControl is available both for purchase for an on-premises installation or as an on-line subscription in the Cloud.
For more information about TimeControl and TimeControl Industrial, monitor the TimeControl blog at blog.timecontrol.com, the TimeControl Industrial website at industrial.timecontrol.com or the main TimeControl website at www.timecontrol.com.
For information about TimeControlOnline, our hosted timesheet subscription service in the cloud, go to www.timecontrol.net.
For any other questions, please contact HMS Software at info@hmssoftware.ca.

HMS has representatives or distributors in Argentina, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, Finland, Ireland, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, the UK, and the U.S.

About HMS Software
Based in Montreal, Canada with offices in Toronto, HMS Software has been a leading provider of project management and enterprise timesheet systems and services since 1984.  HMS Software’s first customized timesheet application was written in 1984. With the launch of TimeControl as a commercial application in 1994, HMS Software began servicing clients worldwide. 

HMS Software’s client list reads like a who’s who of business. It includes Acergy, Aecon, Rio Tinto, the Atlanta Airport, the City of Montreal, the County of San Mateo, Electromotive Diesel, EXFO, FT Services, Kelly Services, Koch, Merck Frosst, the Government of Quebec, Georgia Pacific, Parker Hannifin, Rolls Royce, Sobeys, Volvo Novabus, Zimmer Inc. and hundreds of others. 
For further information about HMS Software, please visit the HMS website at: www.hmssoftware.ca or contact us at info@hmssoftware.ca.