Rosendin Electric was introduced to Highwire in 2016 while working for a major owner who used Highwire to assess contractor risk. As Rosendin began to grow, they decided they needed a solution to streamline their own process for evaluating the contractors they hired for projects. They faced several challenges that led them to this decision.
Rosendin faced three major challenges:
Inefficient Prequalification
With more contractors working on their projects, Rosendin needed a way to evaluate subcontractors more efficiently. It took hours to collect, understand, and review the safety and financial documents shared by their trade contractors.
Underrepresented DBEs
Many of their larger contracts, especially in aviation, government, and higher education, required a minimum number of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs). These were often smaller businesses who would not pass Rosendin’s traditional process.
Unfamiliar Territories
As Rosendin expanded into new geographies, they had fewer relationships with trusted subcontractors. A list of sophisticated projects meant Rosendin had to quickly build relationships with subcontractors to ensure successful execution.
“Someone who doesn’t care about vetting contractors isn’t looking to expand. Compromising standards won’t let you win long-term business.“
— Dustin Cognetti, Operations Manager Special Systems / Aviation MSI
The Highwire Solution
Prequalification
Rosendin used Highwire for their first aviation project, where they completed their contract in the face of extremely tight schedules with no major claims or overruns. The same success was seen in universities and hospitals.
Advanced Safety
Using Highwire, Rosendin helps Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) and Local Business Enterprises (LBEs), who are smaller and lack an extensive work history, perform well on sophisticated projects.
Inspections
Building teams is at the core of Rosendin’s strategy. Highwire assessments helped Rosendin quickly understand and onboard subcontractors with whom they had no prior relationship.
Highwire’s comprehensive safety assessment program allows us to effectively measure a subcontractor’s current and future safety performance. With an intuitive user interface and simple scoring readout, the platform enables us to quickly select the partners who present the lowest risk to Rosendin and are best suited to complete safe and successful projects.
Results
FTE savings despite rapid growth
Rosendin’s contractor spend has increased over 100x since 2016. Despite this, they have reduced preconstruction FTE spend through increased efficiency.
Millions of dollars in insurance savings
By showing their extensive prequalification process to their insurance carrier, Rosendin was able to save millions of dollars per year in insurance premiums.
Reduction in Recordables and DART
Improved insights and hiring helped Rosendin reduce their Total Recordable Incident Rate by 50% and their Days Away Restricted or Transferred by 65%.
- Rapid growth
- 100x
- Reduced DART by
- 65%
- Reduced TRIR by
- 50%
“We are required to work with LBEs that might not make it through the traditional process. Highwire allows us to mentor them and help them get work.“
— Dustin Cognetti, Operations Manager Special Systems / Aviation MSI