United Infrastructure Group Scales Construction Operations with Access Coins

United Infrastructure Group (UIG) is a heavy highway contractor headquartered in Charlotte, NC, with a strong focus on bridge construction across the Southeastern United States.

As it grew from a 200-person company to over 800 employees, UIG moved away from a legacy ERP and spreadsheets to Access Coins, a database-driven solution that could support its standardized cost coding, improve forecasting, and centralize data across departments.

Business size

Medium

Industry

Civils
Heavy Highway
Bridges

Product

Access Coins

Challenge

UIG’s legacy ERP couldn’t scale with their growth from 200 to 800+ employees.
Reliance on spreadsheets created inefficiencies and siloed data.
Lack of real-time visibility hindered productivity tracking and risk management.

Approach

Selected Access Coins for its flexibility, web-based architecture, and ease of real-time reporting.
Embedded Access Coins across operations, from monthly forecasting and payroll to equipment and crew scheduling.
Worked closely with Access Construction consultants to tailor resource scheduling and forecasting.

Results

Labor productivity improvements: On one job, UIG spent only 51% of budgeted hours to complete 87% of the work.
Per diem payroll processing reduced to a 5-minute task
Time savings across projects through easier access to data.
Risks identified earlier, enabling proactive adjustments and better project control.

Results At-A-Glance

70% uplift in workforce productivity: on one job, UIG completed 87% of the work using only 51% of the budgeted hours.
Per diem payroll in 5 minutes: payroll automation, using GPS-based employee and job location data, turned per diem processing into a 5-minute task.
Growth with control intact: UIG scaled from 200 to over 800 employees while maintaining operational control.
Risk spotted sooner: tracking quantities and costs together lets project teams recognize underperformance and risk earlier and adjust.
Strong and consistent forecasting: monthly forecasts across labor, equipment, materials, and subcontractors now run in Access Coins, so gains or fades show up early.
Field teams on board: superintendents and foremen actively use the Access Coins mobile apps and dashboards.

With over 16 years of experience, Michael Gantt, VP and Engineering Controls Officer, has played a pivotal role in UIG’s digital transformation, overseeing cost controls, scheduling, and IT systems.

The Challenge – Scaling Beyond Systems

UIG faced operational challenges as it scaled from a 200-person company to over 800 employees. Their previous ERP system lacked the flexibility and scalability needed to support growth, and teams still relied heavily on spreadsheets, which became increasingly difficult to manage across multiple entities and projects.

“We recognized that using spreadsheets maybe works when we're smaller, but we've grown significantly and needed a database-driven solution.”

Michael Gantt, VP and Engineering Controls Officer, United Infrastructure Group

The company needed a modern, customizable, construction-specific, web-based ERP that could support their standardized cost coding system, improve forecasting and centralize data across departments.

Why UIG Chose Access Coins

After evaluating multiple ERP systems, UIG selected Access Coins for its:

Customizability and flexibility
Web-based architecture
Ease of reporting and data access
Ability to scale with UIG’s growth
Integration with Power BI for analytics

“We wanted something that was customizable, easy to use, easy to report on, web-based, modern… and flexible enough to work with our method of cost control.”

Michael Gantt, VP and Engineering Controls Officer, United Infrastructure Group

Implementing Access Coins

UIG approached implementation with a forward-thinking mindset, focusing on future scalability rather than current limitations. They worked closely with Access Construction developers and consultants to tailor the system to their needs, especially around resource scheduling and forecasting.

“(With Access Coins) We're able to really be flexible and customize, make it work for unique areas of the company, unique jobs, different rules for different divisions, and get really granular in those rules that we define.”

Michael Gantt, VP and Engineering Controls Officer, United Infrastructure Group

How UIG Uses Access Coins

UIG has embedded Access Coins into nearly every aspect of its operations:

Monthly forecasting across labor, equipment, materials, and subcontractors
Labor productivity tracking using quantities installed vs. man-hours
Standardized cost code analysis across all jobs
Automated per diem calculations using GPS-based employee and job location data
Equipment scheduling and cost-to-complete tracking
Company-wide resource scheduling for 80+ crews

The Results: Greater Visibility, Stronger Performance

UIG has seen measurable improvements in visibility, efficiency, and decision-making:

Labor productivity gains: On one job, UIG spent only 51% of budgeted hours to complete 87% of the work.
Forecasting accuracy: Monthly updates allow early recognition of gains or fades.
Time savings: Payroll automation reduced per diem processing to a 5-minute task.
Scalability: UIG grew from 200 to 800 employees while maintaining operational control.
Field adoption: Superintendents and foremen actively use Access Coins mobile apps and dashboards.

“Rather than just having to rely on an out-of-the-box solution that that has to apply to many industries, we can get really specific and focused. Access Coins allows us to not just report on what we're doing, but actually dig in and make a difference to what we are doing.”

Michael Gantt, VP and Engineering Controls Officer, United Infrastructure Group

Boosting (and Measuring) Construction Productivity

Access Coins has transformed how UIG measures and manages productivity across its projects. UIG can now assess real productivity in near real-time. This granular visibility helps project teams understand performance trends and make informed decisions faster.

“With Access Coins, you're not just forecasting by dollars and hours, but capturing quantities installed in the field—so you actually know what your productivity is.”

Michael Gant, VP and Engineering Controls Officer, United Infrastructure Group

Construction professionals spend an average of 13 hours per week looking for information, and UIG has seen significant time savings thanks to streamlined access to data and documentation. Access Coins' centralized data platform has eliminated delays across the construction lifecycle caused by siloed systems and manual processes.

“Ever since we switched to Access Coins, it was evident up front that the access to information was much better than we had in the past. The ease of use to just find an invoice or look at job cost reports has saved us time that was spent searching for data.”

Michael Gantt, VP and Engineering Controls Officer, United Infrastructure Group

Proactive Risk Management and Project Control

Access Coins also empowers UIG to identify underperformance and project risks before they escalate.

“Trying to minimize project risk as early as possible is what either saves or breaks a job. What Access Coins allows us to do is recognize project risk and underperformance sooner than later. The fact that we're tracking quantities and costs really allows us to recognize those problems earlier and make the necessary adjustments.”

Michael Gantt, VP and Engineering Controls Officer, United Infrastructure Group

With real-time dashboards and standardized cost codes, UIG’s project teams have a clear, consistent view of progress across all sites. This visibility enables weekly reviews and agile decision-making, helping teams stay ahead of potential issues.

“Project teams have a good picture—in near real-time—of how things are progressing and whether they need to make any changes, and recognizing that sooner than later.”

Michael Gantt, VP and Engineering Controls Officer, United Infrastructure Group

The Future of the UIG and Access Coins Partnership

UIG continues to expand its use of Access Coins with ongoing development of dashboards and analytics based on employee feedback. The company has fully transitioned from spreadsheets for forecasting and scheduling and is exploring further automation and customization to support its growing operations.

“We’re constantly improving… adding new reports based on feedback from employees. It allows us to get really specific and focused on how it applies to UIG.”

Michael Gantt, VP and Engineering Controls Officer, United Infrastructure Group