TMS developed TCON, the Time Control System, to track construction and maintenance costs and provide an estimate of total project costs. TCON is also an access control system, an electronic time sheet, material sheet and equipment rental sheet submission and verification system and an invoice authorization system.

The overview of TCON functions is shown in below.

Labor Charge Tracking

• A list of job crafts and job classifications within each craft are maintained within the TCON system by a TCON Administrator. At designated times, pay rates for each job classification are submitted by each contracting company for approval by the TCON Administrator. Effective Dates are entered along with the pay rates to facilitate ahead-of-time data entry. These pre-set pay rates are used to ensure the accuracy of the dollars charged for labor hours.
• A list of each contracting company’s current employees is maintained within the TCON system by a TCON HR Administrator. However, the contracting company can update the shift and job classification for its employees via the internet since these can change frequently.
• A contracting company can only see information pertaining to its company. It can NOT see information related to any other contracting company. The TCON Administrators can see all companies.
• Access Control is accomplished by requiring each contract employee to have a valid badge to enter the facility and, in some cases, certain areas within the facility. When the TCON HR Administrator deems that all employee data is correct, a button is clicked on the screen to generate a unique badge number and create a badge for use.
• A person’s badge can be deactivated at any time by clicking a button on the screen. Badges can also be deactivated by an automated process that runs on a scheduled basis, which checks certain criteria. Such criteria might include training requirements not met or not up-to-date, badge has not been used for some time, employee has been terminated, taken off the job or job is complete.
• Time Punches - As each employee scans his badge on the way into and out of the facility, time punches are recorded within TCON. These in and out punches are used to determine time on site for each of the contract employees. Time punches can also be rounded up or down based on shift begin or end times if desired. Billable offsite time can be accounted for in the system but must be approved.
• Timesheets - Each contracting company enters timesheets in TCON on a daily basis via a web browser. Each timesheet is associated with a PO Number and the Date Worked. For each employee performing work on the PO for that day, the employee number, job classification, hours worked and type of hours (ST, OT, DT, LS (Lump Sum), etc.) are entered. The dollar amount for the labor on each timesheet line is calculated based on the pre-set pay rates. The work can be broken down into PO Line Item and Work Order and other detailed job descriptions. Comments can be entered once but can be applied to multiple timesheet line items if need be. Note: Timesheets can be imported into TCON from other contract timesheet systems such as COINS.
• The time on site, determined by the time punches, is used to verify the accuracy of the timesheet entries for each employee for each day. Total time entered on all timesheets for the day cannot exceed total time on site punched for the day.
• The system can also identify time punched by employees that has not yet been recorded on a timesheet.
• Thus, under or over charges can be detected and prevented. Duplicate charges are also prevented. A high degree of cost savings is obtained through accurate billing practices both in hours charged and pre-established pay rates. Contractors are also better able to track and confirm employee activity.
• Service signers, who are responsible for the PO, review the timesheet hours submitted by the contractor. The service signers can approve or reject all or some of the timesheet hours submitted based on their knowledge of the Work Order and the actual work performed. Only approved hours can be invoiced. TCON prevents timesheet hours from being invoiced more than once.
• As Service Signers approve Timesheets, the contractors can invoice those sheets. The approval reduces the purchase order line item amount by the approval amount. TCON provides invoice hardcopy reports and tracking and PO Line Item spending to date reporting.
• Various reports can be generated by PO Number, PO Line Item, Work Order, Date Worked, Type Hours (to track excessive OT, etc.), Employee Number, etc. Thus, labor costs and PO Line Item spending can be tracked and analyzed at very high or very detailed levels.
• Safety Training Tracking – Each time an employee completes a safety course, an entry is made to TCON to record the course date. Reports can be generated to notify contracting companies when employees are close to needing renewed training and helps ensure OSHA requirements are being met.

Equipment Charge Tracking

• Equipment categories or classifications are setup in the system by the Equipment Coordinator.
• Rates by Hour, Day, Week and Month are setup in the system for each equipment classification for each contractor by the Equipment Coordinators.
• For each piece of equipment a contractor intends to use, he should submit paper work to identify the equipment and when the equipment is expected to be used and for which Work Orders. The Equipment Coordinator then assigns an identification number and an equipment classification to each piece of equipment and enters the allowable use dates for each piece of equipment into the system. An estimate for usage charges can also be entered.
• Contractors can submit actual Equipment Usage sheets on a daily basis. Starting with a PO Number and Date Worked, the contractor is presented with a list of equipment numbers eligible for use on that day. No other equipment numbers can be used for that day.
• Next to an equipment number, a PO Line Item is selected for the charge. The number of hours the equipment was used that day is entered along with the associated Work Order number. Comments can also be entered as well.
• Supervisors review the submitted Equipment Usage sheets and approve/reject the usage hours for each piece of equipment for the day.
• At the billing cycle period, an Equipment Billing sheet is generated based on the Equipment Usage sheets submitted. The billing rate (Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Monthly) is determined by the usage submitted during the billing period and the projected usage as setup in the system.
• As the Service Signers approve the Equipment Billing sheets, the contractors can invoice for those costs. When the invoices are paid, the PO Line Item amount available is reduced. PO Line Item amounts cannot be exceeded. Invoicing for sheets where PO Line Item amounts are exceeded is not permitted by the system.
• Reports can be provided to show PO Line Item projected spending by incorporating estimates submitted, actual charges submitted and actual charges invoiced. With the submission of estimates and actual charges on a regular basis, the system provides a monitoring mechanism for spending and allows for planning and necessary Change Orders to be made in a timely manner.

Material Charge Tracking

• Contractors can submit Material costs for the day. Starting with a PO Number and a Date Worked, the contractor may enter individual Material estimated costs or actual costs.
• The Material costs are entered by selecting the appropriate PO Line Item number, filling in a description of the material, a quantity, a quantity unit type (box, foot, gallon, etc.), and either an estimated or actual cost per unit type. A Work Order number, Detail Cost Code and Contractor Reference Number (Ex. Material purchase invoice number) can also be entered. Various Work Orders can be placed on the same sheet as long as the Work Orders are associated with the PO Number for the sheet.
• If the actual cost is not known, estimates are entered. Actual costs can be submitted later in full or as interims or partials more than once for a sheet line item. If partials are submitted, the actual amount submitted will be subtracted from the estimate submitted. The remainder of the estimate for that item will be automatically placed on another sheet for subsequent actual charges to be submitted against.
• As the Service Signers approve the actual costs, the contractors can invoice for those costs. When the actual cost invoices are paid, the PO Line Item amount available is reduced. PO Line Item amounts cannot be exceeded. Invoicing for sheets where PO Line Item amounts are exceeded is not permitted by the system.
• Reports can be provided to show PO Line Item projected spending by incorporating estimates submitted, actual charges submitted and actual charges invoiced. With the submission of estimates and actual charges on a regular basis, the system provides a monitoring mechanism for spending and allows for planning and necessary Change Orders to be made in a timely manner.

A detail of the TCON system is shown below.