FACCA Incorporated

A shift in operations

FACCA was focused on building bridges when COVID-19 swept the globe in March of 2020.

Most projects were shut down while Ontario officials determined whether construction was an essential service. “We didn’t want to endanger our staff or the public,’” said HR Manager Jessica Gardonio, a family member and nearly lifelong FACCA employee. “But these are big, critical infrastructure projects that need to be done within a certain time.”

Once construction was given the go-ahead to proceed normally again, FACCA looked for ways to quickly get every employee back to work while also meeting new COVID-19 mandates from the Government of Ontario.

For example, FACCA workers often drive to faraway job sites together, sometimes as far as 24 hours. Those traveling two or more to a truck were now required to wear masks. The company also tried to ensure that workers were social distancing on the job site, washing hands more, and staying home if they felt sick.

Arcoro’s daily self-screening a “huge help”

Gardonio says the mobile health self-screening form that is offered as part of the time clock app simplified compliance with the new health regulations. “I was able to give them a single form that outlined what they needed to do,” she said. “If they are feeling sick it told them they need to go home. It was a huge help for them to be able to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ each day and for us to have that information on file.”

She noted that tradespeople tend to be stoic. “In our industry, people feel like they’ve got to be there to help the crew. Well, we’re in a different time, and we couldn’t have anybody sick on our projects.”

While their needs changed in the fall due to new government mandates, Gardonio emphasized that the Arcoro health form helped them address a serious issue at a very uncertain moment. “It was a great feature that we were able to utilize daily almost from the start of the pandemic.”

Compliance form eases WSIB reporting

Both Gardonio and Fenos lean heavily on the reporting that comes with Arcoro’s time and attendance app.

“I send a report to the higher-ups so they know the hours on a particular job,” Fenos noted. “And I send the Touch Detail Summary report to our project managers to approve the final times based on that.”

Gardonio processes all injury claims with WSIB (Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, Canada’s workers’ comp), and has found Arcoro’s mobile compliance sign-off form for reporting on breaks and injuries to be invaluable.

“Sometimes a worker will tell me, ‘I sprained my ankle at work on X day’ a week or two later,” she said. “I can look back to the Arcoro mobile form responses, and see that the worker did mark off being injured on that day. Or that they said they didn’t hurt themselves at work that day.” She added, “The WSIB relies on that information as well. I send them the report and point out what it says.” Gardonio has been able to use the Arcoro report to settle disputes with employees before anything turns litigious.

The team has also started to implement cost code tracking to better determine how long tasks and subtasks take on their projects, and to bid more accurately. They can easily create custom cost codes job tasks within Arcoro’s cloud software. Employees simply select the appropriate code within the app when they clock in or change tasks.

After the disruption caused by the pandemic, Fenos and Gardonio are thrilled FACCA is again fully functional with Arcoro’s help. And they are poised to carry on with ever-bigger projects—including MTO 2020 – 4020 – Marysville Ferry Dock, which may take as long as two years—with Arcoro by their sides.