Company: W Geotechnical and Testing
Industries: Geotechnical Engineering and Construction Materials Testing
Website: www.geotechnical.com
Overview
W Geotechnical provides a full range of geotechnical design and construction materials testing services to owners, architects and contractors across the South Mississippi region—from Jackson to the Gulf Coast.
For more than 20 years, the firm has been testing materials for a wide variety of construction projects and delivering quality work on schedule and within budget. As the company grew and they had inquiries for larger, more involved projects, Founder and Professional Engineer Heath Williams knew that in order to improve efficiency, maintain accuracy, and support scalable operations, they had to modernize. Always looking for ways to optimize and future-proof the business, Heath identified three key challenges that needed to be addressed.
Challenges
Higher Testing Volume
As project demand and scope increased at W Geotechnical, Heath realized that if they wanted to accept bigger projects and process a larger number of cylinders every day, they needed a more efficient testing solution. “The old spreadsheet-based system was cumbersome to manage and it was adding undue administrative burden to ensure all cylinders were appropriately labeled, tested, picked up, and returned on time.”
Manual Machines
Manual machines required technicians to not only manually control the test – a difficult, variable process – but also take the time to record data, inviting a higher potential for errors. Heath sought to automate these machines and invest in tools that would help the firm grow on its path to full automation.
Time Spent on Reporting
“My office manager was doing a really good job [with reports], but it was taking her a lot of time and a lot of her effort was focused on producing reports,” said Heath. “We had gotten to the size where I knew I had to bring on additional administrative workforce or do something else.”
Solution
Rather than overhaul everything at once, Heath decided on a phased approach to automation. Each upgrade not only solved an immediate challenge but also laid the groundwork for the next, ensuring the lab was always future-ready. Today, W Geotechnical operates with a fully automated, integrated workflow that keeps pace with growing client demand.
“The proof is in the production. I know—and even technicians know and can see—we weren’t doing this volume of work before we went electronic.”
The Stepped Path to automation
1. Technological & Process Upgrades:
First, Heath replaced the dial readouts on the manual machines with ForneyLink Touchscreen devices.
2. Barcodes & Software Integration:
Having already subscribed to ForneyVault, Heath chose next to initiate their reporting software partner, ElmTree, for a seamless integration. He also added barcode labeling to further improve the test workflow.
3. Automatic Machine Control Systematization:
Finally, he upgraded the firm’s manual machines to use automatic RetroPak control systems — completing the automation package.
Results
Reduced potential for misidentified cylinders
After each concrete pour, technicians now label the cylinder mold with a unique identifier including the job number, date, and protocol. Once molds come off, labels get transferred directly to the corresponding cylinders.
“Now the cylinders are in there electronically and can’t get mixed up.”
Reduced potential for handwriting errors
With the labels, technicians can easily set up a test without having to interpret handwriting.
“Once you scan them and put them in [the machine], you can test them. No more writing things down or guessing handwriting.”
Reduced time spent on reports
Heath knew he wanted to use ForneyVault to manage concrete cylinders, but he also wanted to find a compatible reporting software so the team could learn the new process all at once.
“We ended up on the ElmTree service because ForneyVault already had a standing relationship with them.”
With a fully integrated solution—automatic machines and concrete testing software integrated with reporting— W Geotechnical can now handle a volume of work that wouldn’t have been possible with previous manual processes. By gradually modernizing each step of the process, Heath was able to overcome challenges associated with change management. But what attributed most to Heath’s success was his foresight and commitment to pushing forward, coupled with relationships that gave him the tools he needed to get his team on board.