Profit, profit, profit. We are nearing the end of the summer and the start of the slower season in our industry. Our focus shifts to making the most of the off-season and the quickest and easiest way to positively impact our bottom line is to assess our overhead expenses. It is common to lose track of rising overhead costs during the busy season, as we are focused on managing and completing projects. Without an ongoing analysis system in process, we can quickly find ourselves in deep water.

An effective first step towards streamlining overhead costs and increasing profits is to take a hard look at the three areas that can impact your company’s operational costs the most: equipment and labor.

Ways to Decrease Overhead EQUIPMENT Costs

The easiest way to save on overhead costs is to create standard operating systems around your equipment. Some easy-to-implement strategies to make a powerful impact on your equipment expense are:

• Perform daily inspections on your heavy equipment.
• Review and assess heavy equipment daily inspections applying predictive analysis.
• Review and assess your fleet needs:
  • Re-examine the need for all of your company-owned vehicles and potentially reduce the size of your fleet.
  • Establish new regulations requiring parking at place of business to decrease costs associated with personal use of company assets.
  • Replace old vehicles with hybrid, electric or fuel-efficient vehicles
  • Auction/sell underutilized vehicles.
• Create an inventory of all tools and equipment and establish a standard operating procedure requiring employee signing in and out for usage.
• Establish a “policy of responsibility” for all electronics, such as iPads. When the item leaves the project area, the employee is then responsible for damage and the item’s replacement costs.

Ways to Decrease Overhead LABOR costs

There are effective strategies that you can put into place to decrease the cost of labor in your company, both in the office and out in the field. The trick is determining either how tasks can be completed in less time, with lower costs, or with less employees. With maximum productivity as the ultimate goal, the following strategies are the main things to consider:

Hire multi-purpose workers. Employing versatile workers who can function in different roles will save your company money and increase efficiency. A good example of implementing a multi-purpose employee strategy is having one person who can manage all of your administrative tasks – data entry, bookkeeping, accounts receivable and accounts payable, etc. Another great example would be a single person who can work out in the field during your busy months and transition to working in the office during the off season.

Update technology and go green in the office and on the job site. Moving to a paperless office can improve efficiency, decrease employee time spent on projects, and significantly increase your profitability. Adopting new technology that is also multi-purpose can save you tens of thousands of dollars per year. Some areas where you can implement new technology that impacts your overhead costs in the office and on the job site are:

• Equipment management: inspect, track and manage equipment and/or fleet
• Field Productivity: creation of standardized operations, tracking on-site productivity
• Safety: track and report safety incidents across the job site
• Management and Operations: automated reporting to quickly gather data and easily analyze information

A perfect multitasking solution to consider when looking to update your technology is the eesyQ application. With this one simple (and affordable) digital app, your company can easily increase efficiency and promote safety with customized daily walk-around inspections, reduce time and money spent collecting data, and impact your bottom line with reporting that allows for advanced risk management. Visit our website for more information and to register for a free demo so that we can show you how eesyQ can provide solutions for your company.  

Don’t let your slower season end up taking you to the bank. Take advantage of the time to assess and streamline your overhead costs and you’ll reap the benefits of reaching your year-end goals and increasing your profitability for the upcoming year. It’s never too late to start saving, and making, more money.