Turning Complex Field Operations Into One Connected Workflow

For an established specialist contractor, managing a job can involve much more than scheduling a crew and completing the work onsite.

Different customers can have different schedules of rates, while labour charges can vary based on employee type, day or night shifts, overtime and other conditions. Materials, quantities, site records and supporting documentation also need to be captured correctly before the work can be accurately billed.

Zero Asbestos had been operating for around 20 years and had developed significant operational knowledge around how projects needed to be estimated, delivered and billed.

But much of this process relied on Excel, paper records and manual administration.

ISH Technologies worked with the Zero Asbestos team to understand and map the complete workflow — from customer and estimating through to field operations, BOQ preparation and invoicing.

The Challenge: Connecting Site Work With the Commercial Outcome

Zero Asbestos used Excel-based processes to manage inventory, schedules of rates and job information.

Once work moved onsite, supervisors and crews recorded labour, materials and other project information. These records then came back to the office, where someone needed to interpret the information, re-enter it, apply the correct rates and commercial rules, and prepare the Bill of Quantities (BOQ).

This created several operational and commercial challenges:

• Different customers had different schedules of rates and pricing rules, making manual calculations complex.
• Labour charges varied depending on employee type, shifts, overtime and other conditions.
• Materials and quantities used onsite could be missed, potentially leaving chargeable BOQ items unrecorded.
• Paper-based site information had to be re-entered by office staff, creating additional administration and opportunities for error.
• Incorrect rates or commercial rules could be applied, potentially affecting what could be billed.
• Supporting documentation, including waste tracking certificates, also needed to be managed against the job.

The real challenge wasn't simply Excel or paper. It was the amount of manual work required to connect estimating, field operations and the commercial outcome of each job.

The Solution: Build the System Around the Operation

Rather than simply digitising existing forms, ISH Technologies ran workshops with the Zero Asbestos team to understand the end-to-end operation, including customer-specific rates, labour rules, materials, site processes and commercial requirements.

From this, we developed a connected web and mobile operational platform.

The web application supports customer information, estimating and quoting, schedules of rates, job setup and allocation of managers and team members.

Once work begins, the mobile application allows site teams to capture the required information directly where the work happens.

Turning Business Rules Into System Rules

A critical part of the solution was handling the commercial complexity behind each project.

Customer-specific rates, employee types, shifts, overtime, materials and other variables can be configured so the appropriate calculations happen within the workflow.

This reduces reliance on manual calculations and helps minimise the risk of incorrect rates, missed chargeable items and repetitive administration.

Capture Once, Where the Work Happens

Site teams can record labour, materials, times and relevant job information through the mobile application as the work happens.

Instead of paper records returning to the office for someone to interpret and re-enter into spreadsheets, information is captured digitally at the source and becomes part of the same job record.

The system can then apply the relevant business rules and calculations, allowing the office team to review the information rather than reconstruct the job manually.

From Site Work to BOQ and Invoicing

Once the required information has been captured, the system applies the relevant rates and business rules and helps generate the Bill of Quantities.

Instead of manually building the BOQ from paper site records and spreadsheets, the office can review the captured information and move the job through the commercial process towards invoicing.

The Outcome: One Connected Operational Workflow

Zero Asbestos moved from a process heavily dependent on Excel, paper records, manual calculations and office re-entry to a connected web and mobile workflow.

The business now has a structured way to understand what happened onsite, who worked, what materials were used, which commercial rules apply and what should be billed.

The result is less manual administration, fewer opportunities for information to be missed and better visibility between field operations and the commercial side of each job.

A Workflow Relevant to Specialist Contractors

The operational challenges addressed in this project are not unique to asbestos removal. Similar workflows exist across demolition, remediation, restoration, environmental services and specialist construction businesses.

These businesses often need to connect estimating, customer-specific rates, field crews, labour, materials, site records, job costing and invoicing. Purpose-built construction job management and field operations software can connect these processes while supporting the specific commercial rules that make each operation different.