Vizzn - Celebrates 5 Years

Written by Rennay Craats • Published by Courtney Lovgren

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“Our most significant innovations and improvements in the past 15 years have not been my ideas at all,” says Bill Borger, “but rather the collective ideas and innovations of the more than 400 talented team members that work here.”

After 105 years in business, one would expect to find a company entrenched in habit and set in its ways. Nothing could be further from the truth at the Borger Group of Companies. Since Henry Borger started the construction company with grit and shovels in Winnipeg in 1919, the company has moved steadily forward with the times. His son, William, expanded the company to Alberta in 1947 where he stewarded the transition from wooden pipe, shovels and trenching machines into an era of concrete pipe and cable excavators. In the 1970s, his three grandsons, lead by Robert Borger, took over. That generation oversaw the transition towards plastic pipe and hydraulic excavators and implemented a number of game-changing construction practices that are still the industry standard today. Henry’s greatgrandson, Bill Borger, is the current CEO of the business, and the corporate culture of innovation is as prominent as ever.

“Our most significant innovations and improvements in the past 15 years have not been my ideas at all,” says Bill Borger, “but rather the collective ideas and innovations of the more than 400 talented team members that work here.”

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With the contest open to all employees from management to site teams, pitches cover all aspects of the work and present Borger with opportunities for improvements that the company otherwise wouldn’t consider or know were necessary.

ALL’S FAIR IN INNOVATION

For the past 15 years, the Borger Group’s safety and innovation initiatives have been driven by its annual Innovation Fair. Teams and individuals from across the organization put forward solutions to issues they’ve experienced or showcase inventive ideas that would enhance safety, efficiency or profitability. With the contest open to all employees from management to site teams, pitches cover all aspects of the work and present Borger with opportunities for improvements that the company otherwise wouldn’t consider or know were necessary.

“It’s like a kids’ science fair. Sixty or 70 people submit posters about different ways of doing business, whether it’s a different type of cylinder on a piece of equipment or a unique tool or new process or methodology. People share what they think the company could do better,” says Borger.

A Dragon’s Den-style panel chooses the top innovations that would most impact the company and awards the innovators with prizes and Borger Bucks (an incentive program from a past Innovation Fair that rewards exceptional performance with virtual currency redeemable through the online Borger Store, accessible through the Team Portal and Borger App, for everything from gear and company swag to gift cards and Apple products).

Better still, nearly all the winning innovations are incorporated into the Borger Group’s procedures

A SALUTE TO THE BORGER GROUP

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With the contest open to all employees from management to site teams, pitches cover all aspects of the work and present Borger with opportunities for improvements that the company otherwise wouldn’t consider or know were necessary.

and best practices. The team that had submitted the innovation or was part of implementing it earns an Innovation Coin and becomes part of the club.

“We’ve given out over 2,000 coins and it inducts the recipient into the Innovation Coin game and gives you advantages everywhere, whether it’s company draws or discounts in the Borger Store. And when I go to site and flash my coin, if enough people have their coin on them, everyone gets Borger Bucks. Plus it’s a Travel Gnome and you get awards for having the best photos on vacation,” Borger says.

The prizes are coveted, and coins and Bucks are a fun way to engage employees and reward them for being an important part of the Borger family. But more important is that the Innovation Fair and everything that follows it reinforces the culture of questioning the status quo and placing innovation at the forefront.

Questions are key, and Borger offers an example of why it’s critical to ask them, especially as a 105-year-old entity: back in 2013, no one had questioned why Borger’s machines were left running all day. It was just how things had always been done so every generation continued to do it. It turns out that equipment wasn’t turned off because, in the early days, equipment was unreliable and if it was shut off it might not restart. As technology improved over the years and machinery became more reliable, the issue disappeared but the practice remained, until the 2013 Innovation Fair, that is. From that date

Vizzn was born out of an idea to automate the company’s dispatch and scheduling and it grew significantly once Bill Borger and Vizzn co-founder Rick Salmon of Codify Consulting sat down together to start bringing the idea to life.

forward, all machines have been shut off in five minutes or less.

“Turning off machines within five minutes makes a $2-million difference every year to the bottom line. You’re not racing toward your 250- or 500hour service, you’re not racing to the end of life of equipment that depreciates by the hour, not the year,” he says.

That willingness to question and change produces an environment where everyone in the company feels comfortable suggesting improvements, and the 2016 Innovation Fair introduced just such an idea that marinated with Borger for a few years before it reached development. In 2018, that innovation became a reality: a suite of software solutions they called Vizzn.

INTRODUCING VIZZN

Vizzn was born out of an idea to automate the company’s dispatch and scheduling and it grew significantly once Bill Borger and Vizzn co-founder Rick Salmon of Codify Consulting sat down together to start bringing the idea to life.

A team of 14 full-time programmers began incorporating all the elements of a construction job into a comprehensive platform, and it evolved from just a dispatch and scheduling system into a total construction management tool. It brought together 16 products optimizing estimating, dispatching, safety, job-site logistics, quality control, environmental, ticketing, project scheduling and extra billings while also introducing fueling, trucking and fleet management solutions.

Congratulations on the success of VIZZN and over 100+ years of innovation in the construction industry!

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And that is exactly what has happened. Vizzn has become the only safety solution that can identify missing safety paperwork like equipment checklists, pre and post trips and hazard assessments. It can do this by comparing equipment status and events to the paperwork received and identify all omissions. Some divisions within Borger realized a mindblowing 300 per cent improvement in compliance overnight as a result of this tool. Also, companywide compliance rose to a staggering 100 per cent, every day, no exceptions. Heavy civil contractors trying to determine if their compliance is 100 per cent should check the volume of their daily safety paperwork; if it is less than 65 per cent of their headcount, paperwork is missing and a solution like Vizzn is needed.

Vizzn has had a powerful impact on the Borger Group of Companies. The philosophy is proving true that seemingly insignificant improvements in efficiencies, done daily and multiplied by every job, will reveal itself in staggering results over the course of a year. It’s no surprise that Vizzn was named a Top 10 Construction Tech Solutions Provider in Canada and was one of the Top Construction Technology Firms of 2023.

But Vizzn and its dedicated team aren’t done. They are now developing a world-class communication tool within the platform as well as focusing on

integration with other best-in-class software. It has been so successful internally that Borger and Salmon are looking to spread the word and share the benefits.

“We’re a construction company that got into software to solve a problem, and now that software is commercially available as a subscription. The focus is primarily on U.S. sales right now, and there’s no end in sight for the development or sales of this product,” he says.

The Borger Group of Companies has been a cornerstone of the heavy construction industry for 105 years and continues to redefine the business through innovations like Vizzn. This impressive tool is poised to revolutionize the construction business, and as the team continues to focus on innovation, the best is yet to come.

Suite 300

261046 High Plains Blvd

Rocky View County, AB T4A3L3

Email: info@vizzn.ca

Toll Free: (833) 698-4996

www.vizzn.ca

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