Tri-B Nursery—Outdoor Adventures in Time & Attendance
The Berry Family of Nurseries is
one of the largest privately owned
wholesale nurseries in the country,
with $150 million in annual sales and
6,500 acres in active production
Berry’s four divisions span from
the East Coast to the Midwest, and
employ over 1500 workers.
The Berry Family of Nurseries is one of the largest privately owned
wholesale nurseries in the country, with $150 million in annual sales and
6,500 acres in active production. Berry’s four divisions span from the
East Coast to the Midwest, and employ over 1500 workers.
Headquartered in Oklahoma, the Berry Family’s Tri-B division spans
450 acres planted with perennials, trees and shrubs, which the company sells
primarily to national and regional big box retail outlets.
Labor Relations
As chief financial officer of Tri-B, Dave Watt is charged
with controlling the company’s bottom line, including labor costs. Tri-B
was using a manual punch system to track employee time and attendance.
However, the nature of nursery work left Tri-B and other Berry Family
divisions vulnerable to a variety of abuses and inaccuracies.
On any given day, Tri-B’s 400-plus employees may work in multiple
areas across the nursery, starting their shift in one location and finishing
in another. Many employees are seasonal workers, who frequently travel to
different states to find the best work and then return to
Tri-B—sometimes several times a year.
Watt also discovered that many employees were engaged in “buddy
punching,” a practice where one employee punches the time card of
another employee, and sometimes several employees.
Some workers were doing this out of convenience, because punching the clock
involved traveling back to the original time clock location. Other employees
were doing “favors” for their coworkers, punching them in and out
when they might not even be on site—or in the state for that matter.
Even those employees who were doing their best to follow company policies by
traveling back to punch out at the original location were costing Tri-B in
unnecessary time.
“Because of the way many of our employees work, tracking even the
most basic information—who’s on site and who isn’t—can
be very difficult,” said Watt.
Eventually, workers adjusted to the new system, and the
results were significant. “After using TimeForce for just one year, we
saw over $300,000 in savings,” said Watt. “The time we recouped by
eliminating buddy punches alone was astounding. We also have much better
information about how our employees work and what our labor costs really
are.”
Watt began to look for another time and attendance system that would help
address the company’s unique challenges, and allow him to take control
of labor costs once and for all. He examined several solutions and selected
Qqest Software Systems’ TimeForce because it was affordable, easy to
install and would give him the control he needed.
Installation: A “Dirty” Job
As with most installation
processes, the first step was determining rules and then configuring the
TimeForce software to address Tri-B’s specific needs. One requirement
was that employees be able to log in and out at any clock, regardless of where
they were. Qqest’s electronic, centralized system easily resolved this
issue. Qqest also linked the new software to Tri-B’s internal payroll
system. Before switching to TimeForce, payroll personnel had to manually enter
information from each punch card into the system. TimeForce completely
automated this process, cutting down significantly the time it takes Tri-B to
prepare payroll.
But although TimeForce offers a lot of flexibility and can be customized to
meet just about every customer request, most of what Tri-B really needed was
hardware customizations.
Because most of the company’s time clocks are located outdoors, they
have to be extremely durable, and flexible at the same time. The electronic
components, wiring and input devices need to be sturdy enough to withstand
dust, sun, rain and other natural elements, as well as potential employee
tampering.
In addition, many Tri-B employees work in the soil with their hands, which
means that most traditional input devices like card readers, PIN pads and even
fingerprint readers simply do not work.
To create a physically robust system that would withstand both natural and
human intervention, Qqest built “ruggedized” time clocks,
installing hurricane covers to protect the machines.
Qqest’s biometric hand reader was another must-have because it
tackled two issues at once. First, it eliminated the ability of employees to
buddy punch. The screen structure also prevents dirt and dust from being
introduced into the device. And because the reader tracks employees by the
size and shape of their hands instead of fine details like fingerprints, the
device works on even the dirtiest hands.
Big Results: $300,000+ in Savings
At first, the new
time clocks ran up against employee resistance. Many had been using the manual
punch clocks for over 10 years and were uncomfortable with the move to an
electronic system. And some were unhappy that they would no longer be able to
clock in for co-workers, or have others clock in for them.
Eventually, workers adjusted to the new system, and the results were
significant. “After using TimeForce for just one year, we saw over
$300,000 in savings,” said Watt. “The time we recouped by
eliminating buddy punches alone was astounding. We also have much better
information about how our employees work and what our labor costs really
are.”
Watt also appreciated the personal attention he and his team received from
Qqest. “These kinds of transitions are never easy. When working with
vendors, a lot of the time we want A and they want to give us C,” he
said. “Qqest was on the same page as we were from the beginning, and
they set appropriate expectations so we knew what to anticipate. They were
very honest about the work that needed to be done up front. They helped us
walk before we ran.”
Tri-B’s experience with TimeForce has been so successful, the Berry
Family of Nurseries is planning to roll it out to its other three divisions as
well.
“TimeForce has been able to adapt to our unique challenges, while at
the same time, giving us a level of control over payroll we hadn’t been
able to achieve before,” said Watt. “It’s the best solution
for the way we work.”
