When I first started with Rhumbix, I knew it was going to be different from any other job I had when they gave me a pair of steel-toed boots. I had been working in the construction industry for a few years already, but prior to that, had spent most of my career in tech.

Fast-forward a year and half later, and my boots have quite a bit of mileage on them. I visit customer job sites on a weekly basis, working side-by-side with crews who are using Rhumbix to ensure they have the best possible experience with our app.

User experience has been a big consideration for us from day one. Prior to releasing the first version of our mobile app, we spent endless hours interviewing workers and foremen about their use of technology and what features mattered most. The insights we drew from these conversations informed the design of the app’s interface. It also influenced the thoughtful process we use for our pilots.

Rhumbix offers a free 4-week pilot to give new customers an opportunity to try out the app. Pilots enable our customers to experience the value of real-time data on an active project deployment.

Below is a summary of the kind of support you can expect from our team before, during, and after your pilot. Our workflow follows the best practices I shared a few weeks ago for piloting construction field tech.

Before the Rhumbix Pilot

We’ll meet with your team to discuss the right kind of project and people to have involved in the pilot and define measures for success. At this point, we also like to designate a “Rhumbix Champion.” This is someone at your company who can serve as the liaison between your team and Rhumbix. They help get the right people on board prior to starting the pilot, and help us consolidate and interpret feedback as crews start using the app.

Once we have identified the project we’d like to pilot, we upload all project data into the Rhumbix app, which includes project-specific cost codes and the workers who will be involved.

You can expect 3 training sessions prior to day 1, each 30 minutes:

1. Field Leaders: Training for foremen and superintendents on data entry process and app features.
2. Project Management: Training for project managers, project engineers and other administrators on viewing, editing, and approving capabilities within Rhumbix.
3. Payroll: Training for your payroll team to ensure the Rhumbix data export is fully set up to meet the needs of your system.

In addition to the training sessions that happen beforehand, we have weekly meetings throughout the pilot to answer questions and provide hands-on support.

Rhumbix Pilot – Week 1

Our goal during the first week is for your crew to get familiar using Rhumbix in a no-pressure environment. On the first day, we come out to the job site, or host a web conference, so we’re available to the foremen as they clock-in their crew for the first time.

We also answer any questions from workers in regards to signing and approving their time card at the end of the day. Foremen will get more comfortable using the app to log time, take pictures, and add notes as the week progresses.

Rhumbix Pilot – Week 2

During the second week, project managers should be viewing and approving data received by foremen daily to check the quality and timeliness of the information being submitted. Foremen should be logging their time into Rhumbix every day and using the notes feature to take pictures and share field data.

We get a lot of feedback from users during Week 2, as they now have enough familiarity with the existing feature set and begin exploring how they might expand their use of the app for data collection and decision-making. Our Rhumbix Champion is instrumental at this phase, interpreting the feedback and driving consensus among those using the app.

During Weeks 1 and 2, you’ll be running Rhumbix in parallel with your old timekeeping process. This gives your foremen and superintendents the freedom to play around with the app and enter anything they want into the system without it impacting their time card.

Rhumbix Pilot – Week 3

By this week, field leaders, project management and payroll should be fully immersed in the system, logging and approving entries on a daily basis and importing Rhumbix data into your payroll system to achieve a complete comparison to your old workflow. Most team members are self-sufficient using the app and there are fewer questions and feedback, but we continue to meet with your core team to ask questions about usage and satisfaction.

Occasionally, we find that some team members are not taking advantage of all the app features, so we meet with them to help them expand their usage and increase efficiency even more.

Some of the biggest “aha” moments for our customers have surfaced during Week 3. With access to data they didn’t have before, crews begin seeing trends and coming up with their own ideas for how this might help them improve efficiency.

Rhumbix Pilot – Week 4

During the final week of the pilot, you will be ready to make a decision as to whether or not Rhumbix is the right solution for your crew. If you’re ready to transition to Rhumbix as your primary system for collecting field data, we’ll schedule ample time with you to create a plan to fully transition your organization to the Rhumbix platform.

After the Pilot

At the end of the 4-week timeline, smaller companies we work with are typically ready to do a complete roll-out of Rhumbix across their organization. For larger companies, we often take a gradual approach, rolling out Rhumbix on a division-by-division, or region-by-region, basis. Our ultimate goal is to ensure a smooth transition to Rhumbix by providing boots-on-the-ground support every step of the way.

Next Steps Now

⇒ If your organization is ready for a field data solution that improves productivity, you can  {{cta(’13b84314-4831-4826-8b13-1c1337526f3d’)}} to share with your team.

⇒ You can also watch some {{cta(‘655778e7-05a2-4ab5-a65d-27716e9e29c8’)}} for a more detailed look at the functionality of the Rhumbix mobile app.

⇒ Or simply {{cta(‘695be6d5-c4c8-4661-8fae-16d6349f59ad’)}} to set up a time to discuss how Rhumbix can help your organization. Our team is excited and ready to support you in your journey to improve project outcomes.

Note: The Rhumbix mobile app is currently only available on iOS. We’re actively working on our Android application.