American Infrastructure (AI) is a heavy civil construction company and materials supplier that consistently ranks in the top half of Engineering News Record's annual Top 400 U.S. Contractors, the Top 50 Heavy and Highway Contractors and the Top 200 Environmental Engineering and Construction Companies. AI achieves superior business results with efficient, cost-effective quality procedures provided by cutting-edge technology, management and support services in a corporate environment dedicated to human resource development, safety and high ethical standards.

The Problem
AI has enjoyed substantial success over the past several years, with the Blasting Division experiencing particular growth. With expansion has come increased scrutiny from federal government regulators such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and the Department of Transportation (DOT). Increased operations have also resulted in greater exposure to litigation as blasting projects are executed throughout the densely populated Mid-Atlantic region. At the last ATF audit, AI's Blasting Division Manager, Roger Hampton, spent days preparing paperwork for the ATF agents to review. "ATF asked to see all of our blast reports, delivery reports and inventory transactions for the past year. I showed up with a stack of papers about two feet high for them to review. It took them a while to get through the paperwork and the outcome of the audit required some corrective action on our part. We needed to demonstrate a better record system that kept are records accurate and allowed the ATF to get the needed information and complete the audit as quickly and accurately as possible."

Maintaining up-to-date, accurate records is imperative because ATF is authorized to review five years of history. Any problems such as missing records or discrepancies will result in a much longer and exhaustive audit. Inability to produce accurate records in a timely fashion can result in heavy fines or even shutting down the operation.

In addition to the compliance issues, AI's blasters were spending an increasing amount of time completing paperwork rather than accomplishing their tasks out in the field. According to the lead blaster at R.G. Griffith, "I was spending on average one to two hours a day completing paperwork. When you add that responsibility to completing the work itself, and driving to and from the job and the magazine, the days become very long. We needed a faster, more accurate way to complete the paperwork."

The Solution<br /> Hampton evaluated the market for systems which handled explosives inventory records and blast documentation from competitors such as Magsec and DBA. Based on usability, performance and value, he selected Master Blaster, a laptop and server-based solution developed by P-Wave, Inc., that was specifically designed for the companies who use explosives. "Master Blaster offered the perfect mix of features we needed, and was really easy to use which is extremely important given our blaster's computer knowledge. It was also the only one we found that specifically focused on compliance with regulatory agencies like ATF and DOT regulations," said Hampton.

The Result
Master Blaster has enabled AI to improve compliance by producing accurate reports for regulators with the click of a button. Hampton is pleased that his time and effort for audits and inspections is significantly reduced because Master Blaster keeps all of the records and reports in an organized and secure central repository. "Our company is all about quality and efficiency. We are always actively seeking new technology to make our jobs and the jobs of regulators easier and faster. We know the benefits will improve the bottom line and improve relations with ATF and other regulatory agencies."

One of the biggest advocates of Master Blaster is now lead blaster in the field at R.G. Griffith. Ironically, he did not at first believe the system was a good idea because he had little experience with computer software. "I really was worried it would make things harder and slow up work." After a couple of weeks using Master Blaster, his opinion has completely changed. "This system speeds up the paperwork. It is so much faster and once you get the hang of it you breeze right through. What used to take me 20 minutes in the morning now takes no more than 2 to 5 minutes. The accuracy is there as well which gives me a whole lot of confidence in what I do because I know the calculations are always correct." Now that Master Blaster is up and running, AI has also been impressed with the support provided by P-Wave, Inc. According to the lead blaster, "P-Wave's support has been excellent. Whenever I have a question or a problem they get back to us really quick with an answer."

AI anticipates yearly savings of over $120,000 with Master Blaster with an ROI in the first 6 months. This doesn't take into consideration the potentially substantial savings to the bottom line and through reductions in fines and litigation as well as intangibles such as AI's reputation as a responsible corporate citizen.