CDB Utility Contractors (CDB) is the expert in the underground utility arena and has nearly 15 years of experience in the telecommunication and power industries. CDB was established in 2002 and is currently headquartered in Davenport, Iowa. CDB is a BBB Accredited Company and provide contract-based services throughout Iowa and Western Illinois. CDB provides utility services, such as directional drilling (installing underground pipes, conduits, and cables), fiber blowing, aerial construction, and maintenance, as well as plow services for local, state, and federal government agencies. CDB installs approximately 21,000 feet of conduit every week. CDB continues to strive to provide the best customer service and serve as a leader in the utility industry.

"MobiWork has allowed our leadership better transparency with our field operations and faster operation times."
- Patti Kenyon, Director of Human Resources at CDB Utility

Key Challenges: Reports & Maintaining Growth

When CDB expanded three times its original size since 2012, they were in serious need of a solution to manage their operations, the scheduling of repair maintenance and servicing inspections, and the management of reports and work orders. Prior to having a mobile solution in place, everything was paper based. It took extra time and costs to manually print paper packets with work orders and maps that were given to every foreman before the start of every job. Recording inspection data by hand takes time in the field, and in addition, there was not an efficient way to capture photos, work order or customer information.

CDB Utility strives to provide the fastest response times for repair services. For these reasons, CDB management wanted an easy-to-use mobile app for field technicians and an efficient solution that could manage their work orders and all major operations (scheduling & dispatch, routing, etc.).

Results: Internal Processes Streamlined by 78% & Ready to Scale

CDB Utility researched various software solutions and ultimately selected MobiWork because MobiWork offered all their complex requirements and more. With approximately 40 large-scale projects per month, it was crucial CDB find a customizable mobile solution, go paperless, and streamline their workflow processes. CDB also relies on MobiWork's location tracking safety device features (Watch Dog and Emergency) that are built into MobiWork's platform and help ensure the employees work safety should an emergency arise. MobiWork helped customize legally compliant forms and reports for CDB, including repair requests and maintenance forms, property damage claim forms, pre-trip and post inspection forms, and reports (customers report, splicing report and daily production report).

After employing MobiWork, the CDB team was sufficiently trained within a week, which decreased downtime. CDB workflows were quickly established, as an order comes in from customers, the order is automatically listed as an 'open order' and assigned to a foreman who receives the job information right on their tablet. The employee location is tracked, and any notifications or reminders are sent instantly in real time. Director of Human Resources of CDB Utility, Patti Kenyon, mentioned, "The billing process improved by 85%, there was also 90% better documentation because everything was entered immediately right in the field. A major bonus is we've had tremendous cost savings by going paperless." Errors have been nearly eliminated because management can isolate issues with forms almost immediately.

Kenyon says they've seen a major boost in employee productivity and accountability, as employees are required to submit DOT inspection reports every day. Patti Kenyon recently stated, "MobiWork helped us streamline our processes by 78%! We are now transparent, and have ultimate visibility." CDB is already projecting to utilize MobiWork other's rich features and capabilities, such as the analytics dashboards, asset management, and the customer portal.