LOCATION
Scottsdale, Arizona
CONTRACTOR TYPE
Specialty
TRADE
Electrical
NO. OF EMPLOYEES
+150
INTEGRATIONS
35 Years of Electrical Excellence: Meet JENCO, Inc.
JENCO, Inc. is a leading electrical contractor based in Scottsdale, Arizona, and part of the Criticore family of companies. With more than 150 employees and a sister division in California, JENCO delivers commercial and industrial electrical work across the Southwest.
The company is built on field-first execution, with a reputation for safety, reliability, and accountability. JENCO invests in long-term workforce development through its in-house training program, Jenco University, and supports jobsite safety through both internal oversight and the utilization of a third-party consultant.
After more than three decades in the business, JENCO continues to evolve while staying grounded in the standards that built its name: strong leadership, clear visibility, and a commitment to getting the job done right.
CHALLENGES
With More Projects and Crews, JENCO Needed Better Field Visibility
JENCO’s team coordinated a full downtown crane lift, flying 19 pieces of switchgear up 27 stories in under 36 hours.
JENCO manages up to 50+ active projects at any given time across Arizona. These jobs range from small service calls with a few crew members to larger builds with 40-50 workers spread across multiple working locations within one site. With that level of complexity, tracking who was on site and when they arrived had become a daily challenge.
“We wanted to be able to see at any given moment who’s actually on site,” said Jen Meacham, Director of Talent & Regional HR, Criticore. “One, for timekeeping, but really for safety as well. If there’s an evacuation or emergency, we know who’s on site.”
The company had tried using Viewpoint Vista’s timekeeping portal, but field adoption was low. “We tried Vista’s timekeeping portal in a bunch of ways, but it just wasn’t getting there,” Meacham said. “The geofence was limited, and the guys didn’t want to use it.”
Many foremen still relied on handwritten notes or spreadsheets, then entered hours manually at the end of the day or week. This created inconsistencies, missed hours, and time rounding that went unnoticed.
“We knew hours were likely getting rounded or missed, but we didn’t have a way to see it,” Meacham said. “Someone could work a half shift, and we wouldn’t find out until later, leaving no opportunity for recovery for lost hours, or instant feedback to the employee."
The impact reached the back office. Payroll processing routinely took three days, with Monday mornings spent chasing timecards and Fridays spent dropping everything to rerun payroll.
“Foremen were literally just transposing from a sheet to the digital copy so it could go through the approval process,” said Meacham. “On Mondays, the payroll team was chasing timecards, and Fridays were spent dropping everything to rerun payroll for missing hours. Not only was Payroll frustrated, but the employees were as well. And in a time when manpower is hard to come by & money is tight for everyone, missing hours on a paycheck isn't an option.”
For a company built on accountability and field trust, the process was creating unnecessary stress at every level—and making it harder to manage projects with confidence.
SOLUTION
Fast Adoption Without Slowing Down the Crew
Moving large switchgear up 27 stories onto a building’s roof.
JENCO turned to SmartBarrel to eliminate manual time tracking, reduce payroll stress, and gain real-time visibility across projects. What stood out most was SmartBarrel’s ability to clock people in and out from their actual working location. Geofencing doesn’t solve that problem because in all reality, they could clock in from the parking lot, not the 23rd floor they are assigned to. The setup was simple, and even for large crews, it was easy to roll out without slowing down the field. The integration with Viewpoint Vista meant that time data flowed directly into their ERP, removing hours of double entry and cutting payroll processing by a full day. And with daily time approvals built into the system, SmartBarrel gave foremen and HR the tools they needed to track time accurately, flag issues early, and hold workers accountable, all without slowing down the jobsite.
SmartBarrel was introduced through a phased rollout, starting with one of the most complex projects in JENCO’s portfolio, a 27-story high-rise in downtown Phoenix, where more than 50 workers were spread across multiple floors, and jobsite coordination was a daily challenge.
“We knew if we could do it there, and one of the most complicated jobs we had, then rolling it out in the other spaces would be much easier,” said Meacham.
After the pilot, JENCO expanded to additional projects and trained new users in phases. All foremen and superintendents received role-specific training, supported by step-by-step video tutorials on the company’s internal YouTube channel.
“Foremen are now approving time at the end of each shift or first thing in the morning,” said Meacham. “It only takes five to ten minutes a day.”
Time is reviewed daily by the Field Operations Manager, then pushed into Vista using SmartBarrel’s integration. HR and field leadership use real-time dashboards to track attendance, confirm crew activity, and flag missing hours before they become problems.
From pilot to full rollout, JENCO led the implementation on its terms, focusing on simplicity, control, and real accountability across the field.
RESULTS
Full Visibility, Verified Time, and No More Payroll Fire Drills
Axis Communications showroom in the Hayden Ferry Building in Tempe, AZ.
Key Results
- 2 hrs saved per week per foreman, total of 60 hours weekly
- $260K/year saved in admin time across foremen and payroll
- Payroll cycle cut from 3 days to 2, saving 52 workdays per year
- 6 hours/week saved on payroll processing, nearly 300 hours/year
- 100% reduction in payroll re-runs
- 100% visibility into jobsite attendance and real-time safety oversight
- Stronger employee trust and confidence in pay accuracy
SmartBarrel helped JENCO eliminate the delays, errors, and guesswork that had slowed down their field and payroll teams for years. Foremen now approve time at the end of each shift or first thing in the morning. HR and Field Ops use real-time dashboards to track attendance and flag issues early. The entire process runs smoother, with more trust and less back-and-forth.
“Foremen are now approving time at the end of each shift or first thing in the morning,” said Meacham. “It only takes five to ten minutes a day.”
Payroll is no longer a fire drill. Before SmartBarrel, it took three full days to process and often required Friday reruns. Now, approvals come in earlier, and payroll is done in two days without last-minute scrambles.
“She’s not having to do double runs of payroll on Fridays,” Meacham said. “That in itself is amazing.”
Time data is now consistent across jobs, visible in real time, and pushed directly to Vista through SmartBarrel’s integration. That standardization has made a noticeable difference.
“It dramatically reduced the time that foremen are spending on timecards, as well as our leadership team and payroll,” said Meacham.
THE SMARTBARREL ADVANTAGE FOR TOP ELECTRICAL SUBCONTRACTORS
For JENCO, the biggest win wasn’t just saving time. It was gaining control. Verified hours gave the team full confidence in their payroll data. Approvals no longer pile up on Mondays. HR, field ops, and foremen are all working from the same real-time information, and they can finally act on it. And because SmartBarrel pushes time directly into Viewpoint Vista, payroll is faster because time flows directly into Vista without re-entry.
SmartBarrel became more than a timekeeping tool. It became part of how JENCO runs its jobs.
- Verified clock-ins eliminated missed punches and time rounding
- Daily approvals created consistency across all projects
- Viewpoint Vista integration kept payroll fast and accurate
- Real-time dashboards support HR and field accountability
- Foremen now focus on crews, not chasing timecards
- Everyone sees the same data, with fewer delays and no surprises
