LOCATION
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
CONTRACTOR TYPE
Specialty
TRADE
Electrical, Instrumental
NO. OF EMPLOYEES
1000+
INTEGRATIONS
About Newtron LLC
Newtron LLC is one of the largest privately owned industrial electrical and instrumentation contractors in the United States. Founded in 1973, the company has grown into a nationwide specialty contractor delivering electrical, instrumentation, automation, heat trace, integration, and design services across complex industrial projects. With offices across the Southeast and West Coast, Newtron supports customers through fully integrated, turn-key project delivery, from concept through construction.
THE CHALLENGE
Manual Time Tracking Was Slowing Payroll and Creating Risk
Newtron works on large data center projects with hundreds of workers onsite. As they continued to scale, they still relied on paper timecards that were physically submitted to the office. Payroll admin would rekey hand-written hours into their ERP, causing several issues. First, this manual system was prone to human error and rekeying mistakes, often leading to delays in payroll processing.
Secondly, labor hours were often submitted without cost codes or worker classifications, crucial details for union reporting. Payroll admins were forced to constantly chase down field teams for the right information.
Lastly, relying on foremen time-entry, made it difficult to verify who was on the jobsite, when. This made it impossible to track buddy-punching and time theft. As Newtron took on more projects and headcount increased, they knew manual, paper-based timekeeping was inefficient. They needed a solution that was verifiable, easy to use and scalable as the business grew.
THE SOLUTION
Accurate Time Capture for Data Center Projects, Ready for Union Reporting
With SmartBarrel, results were immediate. Newtron replaced a paper-based process with biometric AI facial verification at clock-in. Workers enter their phone number, take a photo, and are punched in. Labor hours are captured at the source and auto-populate timesheets, cutting out manual entry and the admin overhead. As a result, manual data entry dropped 25% and payroll processing time fell 20%.
"SmartBarrel is a highly effective tool for managing employee timekeeping and tracking production. It enhances transparency and helps ensure a seamless, error-free payroll process for both employers and employees."
With every punch biometrically verified, Newtron eliminated time theft and buddy punching. Each punch instantly appears in a dashboard accessible by foremen, project managers and payroll admin giving the entire company a level of transparency they never had. Timestamped and 100% accurate timesheets provide auditable and defensible hours that meet the demands of union payroll.
Cost codes and classifications are no longer missed and are assigned by foremen daily. This ensures hours and productivity data are accurate when they reach payroll, eliminating errors and reruns. SmartBarrel also supports union reporting, alleviating admin staff of tedious tasks like union remittance and certified payroll submissions.
Getting up and running was fast and easy, only taking three weeks. Praneeth Gali, IT Infrastructure Engineer, and his team deployed SmartBarrel across six projects without issues, even across some of their largest projects.
THE RESULTS
Payroll Processing Made Faster & Easier
The impact was immediate. Payroll processing time dropped 20% and manual data entry fell 25%. The team spends less time chasing discrepancies and more time on work that moves the business forward.
Every punch is timestamped and verified. If compliance questions come up, every punch and edit is logged so all the information is accessible and auditable. With a smooth rollout, Gali looks to adopt SmartBarrel across all of their new jobsites going forward. As they continue to take on large data center projects with hundreds of workers, Gali is confident SmartBarrel is a reliable solution that supports Newtron’s growth.
"Using SmartBarrel for our construction projects has been a fantastic experience. The system is super straightforward, even for large crews spread across multiple sites. It's truly a construction manager's best friend."
Why SmartBarrel for Electrical Contractors
For trade contractors like Newtron managing large, multi-site crews under union agreements and certified payroll requirements, the margin for error is narrow. SmartBarrel gives Newtron the verification, visibility, and compliance systems to manage that labor with confidence.
