Watch Tower · Applied Intelligence for your Business · Excavation and sitework contractors

Goals and KPIs for excavation and sitework contractors, with the assumptions written down

The goal: Keep heavy equipment working instead of waiting, finish earthwork on schedule and keep every trench safe.

We agree three to five goals with you, each with one KPI. Every KPI is written out: what it measures, the record it comes from, the period, where it stands today and the assumptions behind the number, plus the guardrails that mustn't get worse while you work on the goal.

Open the free demo A fictional company in your industry, opened in the Console. No card needed.

What you see

Home in the Watch Tower Console

An illustration of the Watch Tower Console's Home with sample data: the goal, three KPI cards with their trend and this week's review. — Your goal, the KPIs that show it and this week's review, on the first screen you open. An illustration with sample data. The demo opens a sample in your industry.

For owners, superintendents and equipment managers at excavation and civil sitework firms

What it looks like for excavation and sitework contractors

The KPIs, cards and questions below are examples of what we set up with you. The names and units are made up.

KPIs, with the assumption behind each

Equipment utilizationHours each machine worked as a share of scheduled hours, per week.Assumption: From hour meter readings logged at day end.

Daily excavation inspections loggedWorkdays with a competent person's inspection logged before work began.Assumption: A missing log counts as not done.

Unplanned downtimeMachine hours lost to breakdowns, per month.Assumption: Counted from the breakdown report to the return to work.

Cards on the work tracker

Move the idle dozer to the subdivision jobEquipment manager · due Tue · Dozer D6-2
Set the trench box before the crew goes below five feet on the sewer runSuperintendent · due Today · Trench box TB-3
Fix the excavator's recurring hydraulic faultMechanic · due Thu · Excavator 320-1

Records you already keep

Equipment hour meter readings
Daily trench and excavation inspection logs
Job-cost reports
Fuel and maintenance records

Assets in the register

Excavators, dozers and loaders
Trench boxes and shoring
Job sites
Operators and competent persons

Questions your team can ask Bifrost

Which machines worked under half their scheduled hours last month?
On which days was a trench entered without a logged inspection?
What did breakdowns cost us in lost hours this quarter?

Bifrost answers from the records in your own workspace and shows how each number was worked out.

How it runs

Goals and KPIs, step by step

Start from one goal or decision that matters this quarter.
Pick one KPI for it, from records you already keep.
Write down the definition, the period and every assumption behind the number, so anyone can check it.
Set the guardrails, then review the numbers with us every week.

The barriers this crosses

Intent: Why do I need AI at all? We start from the person's own goal, decision or task and show what changes for that goal, in their words.
Use: What exactly would I use it for? We name the specific uses by role and by industry: the decision, the calculation, the plan, the brief.

Rules and facts for excavation and sitework contractors

What the records have to show

Employees in an excavation must be protected from cave-ins by an adequate protective system, except in excavations made entirely in stable rock or less than five feet deep where a competent person finds no sign of a potential cave-in.Source: 29 CFR 1926.652(a)(1), Protection of employees in excavations
A competent person must inspect excavations, the adjacent areas and protective systems daily, before the start of work and as needed during the shift.Source: 29 CFR 1926.651(k)(1), Specific excavation requirements
Trench excavations four feet or more deep must have a stairway, ladder, ramp or other safe means of egress within 25 feet of lateral travel.Source: 29 CFR 1926.651(c)(2), Specific excavation requirements

A summary for planning work, not legal advice. Check the source for the full rule and any state requirements.

Start

See it on a sample company first

Founding 10

$2,000 for setup and the first 3 months of Watch Tower, then $250/month. Ten places. We set up your team, goals and KPIs, asset register, map and work tracker with you, then review it with you every week.

Hardware implementation is quoted separately. Start with the demo; you can order from inside it.Open the free demo

Questions

Common questions

Do the machines need telematics for this?

No. Hour meter readings and daily logs are enough to start. If your machines already export telematics, we can read the export too.

Why write the assumptions next to each number?

Because a KPI people can't check is a KPI people stop trusting. Each number in your Console shows the record it came from and the assumptions behind it, so a manager and a dispatcher or foreman read it the same way.

We don't have clean data. Can we still set KPIs?

Yes. We start from the records you have and write down what's missing as an assumption. As the records get better, the KPI gets better, and the review tracks that too.

What does Watch Tower cost for excavation and sitework contractors?

Founding 10 covers setup and the first 3 months in one payment, then a monthly price; the numbers are on this page and on the pricing page inside the demo. Hardware implementation is quoted separately.

Goals and KPIs in other industries