GROUP 4
Ashley Verhulp
Dhiveshan Govender
Johan Schoonwinkel
Lomakhosetive Ruth Tshabalala
Nongcebo Vukile McKenzie
Zoe Nxumalo
PROPOSAL
Implementing Time Sheets and Cloud Storage
in a
Consulting Engineering Firm
Company background
• MAJ Projects• Growth from small 2 person company to now employ 16 people
• Growth implications
• 5 people not office bound
• 2 people permanently on site
• Consulting fees are capped (ECSA fees)
Problem Statement: Problem 1
• Problem 1
• Time spent on projects is currently not recorded
• Unknown project profitability
• Poor staff utilisation
• Project progress not tracked accurately
• Assessment of the success or failure of a project is currently not possible
• Attempted solution
• Excel time sheets (silo problem)
Problem Statement: Problem 2
• Problem 2
• Access to common documents
• Off site access problem
Document versions
Rollback
Accessing updated files
Time Tracking
• Requirements:
• Ease of use
• Clear reporting
o Easy to correlate with financial information
o Work in progress should be visible
o Human resource utilisation indicated
o Useful for management decision making
• Not time consuming
• Advantages
• Disadvantages
Time Sheets: Options
SOFTWARE PROMAN TOGGL CLICKTIME TIMEATTEND
Cost R47 / user / month R58 / user / month R117 / user / month R175 /user /month
Benefit *Designed for consulting
engineers
*Invoice according to WIP
*web access
*South African product
*Simple web based
interface
*Tag activities across
projects
*mark as billable
*Compare worked hours to
estimates
*Aimed at consulting
engineers
*Configurable dashboards
* Resource planning
*Used by Google
*Easy to use – web or
mobile device
*Integrated leave
management
*claims submission
*integrated invoicing
*integrated payroll
Integration *Interface with Sage VIP
*Interface with ERP
*Rapid implementation
*CSV import
*CSV, PDF export
*Integrate with Excel and
Quickbooks
*integrate with outlook,
google, apple calendars
Drawbacks *Initial Cost *Lacks some crucial
functionality
*very basic
*more expensive *most expensive
Information management resources:time sheets
Hardware
• No changes required
Software
• Time sheet software
Network
• Existing office network is sufficient
• Data
• No changes required
People
• Getting people on board
• Training (employees, managers)
Process
• Logging time sheets added to the
process
• Reports used to gauge project
profitability
• Time sheets used to determine project
cost
Cloud Storage: Background
Requirements
• Easy multi platform access
• Offline work and synchronizing
• 500GB storage
• Versioning
• Easy updating of files
• Reliable off-site backup
• Easy access to latest documents
LAPTOP LAPTOP
FILE SERVER(ON-SITE)
INTERNET
FILE SERVER(CLOUD)
EMAIL, CALENDAR, CONTACTS
(OFFICE 365)
DESKTOP SMART PHONE
TABLET
Cloud Storage: Options
SOFTWARE Wuala Microsoft OneDrive for business Dropbox for business
Cost R1645 / month Sunk cost R1392 / month
Size *500GB *8TB *8TB
Features *Access control
*Multi-platform support
*Backup redundancy
*Secure data storage
*Tight integration with office
*Secure data storage
*Unlimited files
*Multi-platform support
*User friendly
*Rated top 10
*Access control
*Shared folders
*Secure data storage
*Easy to learn
Drawbacks /
limitations
*steep learning curve
*Max 10 versions
*Lack of usability
*Error prone
*20000 file limit
Information Management Resources:Cloud storage
Hardware
• Laptop hard drive space upgrade required
• Existing server used
Software
• Operating system supported by cloud software
• Cloud software must be installed on each PC,
laptop and the server
Network
• Existing office network is sufficient
• Off site synchronizing done via 3G dongles
• Office internet connection upgrade required
Data
• Currently 400GB of storage space
required
People
• Familiarity with Dropbox
• Positive attitude to cloud storage change
Process
• Mostly unchanged
• Roaming staff no longer required to copy
data before leaving the office
Conclusion Cloud storage
Dropbox was the
best option
Time sheets
Telkom ADSL
to VDSL
upgrade
problems
Fast
adoption by
staff
Implemented
Successfully
Resistance
from
accountant
Steep
learning
curve
Ability to
estimate
costs,
profitability
Would
improve
business
analysis