LOCATION
Arkansas
CONTRACTOR TYPE
Specialty
TRADE
Steel Erection & Fabrication
NO. OF EMPLOYEES
200
INTEGRATIONS
About RBD Construction
RBD Construction specializes in steel erection, fabrication, and insulated metal panels. Their projects range from million-square-foot Amazon fulfillment centers and warehouses to schools, athletic complexes, and field houses.
With approximately 200 workers across 26 active jobsites, Caroline White, Chief Administration Officer, manages RBD’s HR and operations. As they began to take on larger projects, relying on superintendent-entered time wasn’t scalable anymore and made it difficult to know who was onsite and when. They knew time tracking was inaccurate, but had no real way to verify it.
THE CHALLENGE
Unknowingly Overpaying Workers, Guessing Per Diem Payments and Costly Payroll Reruns
Superintendents were responsible for time tracking by entering hours into Vista. For some projects however, hours were entered on Monday for the entire week with each worker set to work 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. In reality, workers came in late, left early, or didn’t show up at all. But workers were paid for a full week plus overtime, regardless of actual hours worked. Supers weren’t doing this intentionally, they were busy building so time tracking became a lower priority admin task.
RBD Construction had no reliable way to verify who was actually onsite or how long they worked. At one jobsite she happened to visit, Caroline saw workers leave early without the superintendent even realizing seeing time theft occur firsthand.
Approximately 90% of RBD Construction’s workers receive per diem, with different rates depending on the classification and the project location. Granting per diem was left to the discretion of the superintendent. Supers would submit spreadsheets with the amounts they believed workers were owed and which workers were owed, but RBD had no easy way to confirm whether the information was accurate without reviewing the detail worker by worker.
The combination of super-entered time and inconsistent per diem calculations caused payroll reruns to pile up. They routinely had to write four or five manual checks each week to correct missed or inaccurate hours costing admin time and upsetting workers with wrong paychecks.
THE SOLUTION
Overpaying Workers $16,750 per Week Came to an End
Today, rather than relying on supers, they’ve transitioned to worker accountability to ensure accurate hours are tracked. Workers now use SmartBarrel’s portable time clock and mobile kiosk app to clock themselves in and out every day. They enter their phone number, their picture is taken and they are clocked in. SmartBarrel’s AI-powered facial verification confirms the person punching in is the right person by comparing it to all their previous punches. This eliminated their time theft issue altogether and gives RBD Construction hours they can trust.
For Caroline, the biggest change was accountability.
“Supers no longer have to enter time. Instead, workers are responsible for clocking themselves in and out. If they don't clock in, their hours aren't captured, so they know their timekeeping directly impacts their paycheck. Workers also get an SMS with time worked so any issues are eliminated at the source.”
SmartBarrel’s impact was immediate: For the first time, RBD Construction knew exactly who was on site and how many hours were worked. In the first week using SmartBarrel, overtime hours fell from 1,504 to 834 , a reduction of 670 hours, or 44.5%.
At an average of $25 per hour, that’s $16,750 in overtime wages saved in one week. Without SmartBarrel, overtime overpayments payments would skyrocket to $871,000 a year of unearned pay.
“We’re now paying for the hours actually worked , not guessed.”
SmartBarrel also changed their payroll workflow. Workers clock in and out, supers just need to review time and add cost codes, payroll admins approve the time and it’s synced to Vista. Instead of chasing supers at the end of the week, payroll gets time in when they need it.
RBD Construction also eliminated its manual per diem process. They first set per diem policies including rates and rules by classification and project. SmartBarrel tracks this automatically and per diem only pays out when verified shift rules are met, so no manual intervention from supers is required. This means per diem payouts are tied to verified time capture and are all 100% accurate.
“I love that per diem is automated and there’s no separate entry. 90% of our workers get per diem and each job has a different rate. With SmartBarrel we set it up once and it auto applies. This gives us no over payments and underpayments. It’s all automated and we’re not doing it manually through spreadsheets anymore.”
THE RESULTS
RBD Cut Overreported Overtime Hours by 44.5% in First Week
In SmartBarrel’s first week, RBD Construction’s overtime hours fell from 1,504 to 834 hours saving the company $16,750 in labor costs for just one weeks time.
Workers feel empowered and more productive too. They now receive SMS messages summarizing their hours for the day and week, giving them visibility into how much they’ve worked.
“Now everyone is clocking in and clocking out and the workers love getting the SMS text message summarizing their hours. They used to not know how many hours they worked until the paystub.”
Previously, payroll administrators routinely wrote four or five manual checks each week to make up for missed or incorrect hours. They would send reminder emails to superintendents, leave payroll open until Thursday, and then scramble on Friday to make sure everything was submitted correctly.
Today, the entire workflow is transformed: workers are accountable for clocking in and out, supers review time entries and payroll admin approves. The result is a payroll process that closes a full day earlier, with far less manual cleanup or chasing down supers.
Caroline and the team at RBD Construction continue to have a positive experience with SmartBarrel and value the partnership.
“Everybody has been great - sales, trainers, customer service, everyone has been fantastic.”
Why SmartBarrel Construction Time Tracking for Steel Erection and Fabrication Contractors
- Stop overpaying for overtime: Verify when workers arrive and leave instead of relying on estimated hours.
- Put accountability in the field: Workers clock themselves in and out while supers review rather than create time.
- Verify payroll before it reaches the ERP: Payroll reviews and locks approved time before it flows into Vista.
- Eliminate manual corrections: Accurate time means fewer missed hours, manual checks, and last-minute payroll fixes.
- Automate per diem: Set project-specific rates once and eliminate spreadsheet-based calculations.
- Give workers visibility: SMS summaries let employees see exactly how many hours they’ve worked.
