LoadSpring and HDCC: Living the Spirit of Aloha

Hawaiian Dredging Construction Company, Inc. (HDCC) has been building in Hawaii since 1902. The company is the oldest and largest full-service general contractor in the state of Hawaii. Some of their earlier projects include dredging the entrance to Pearl Harbor and Honolulu’s waterfront development. They have completed many landmark projects, including the Ala Moana Shopping Center, the Hawaii Prince Hotel in Waikiki, and the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine in Kakaako.

Consistently ranked at the top of Building Industry Magazine’s annual list of the Top 25 Contractors in the State of Hawaii, Hawaiian Dredging has played an integral role in developing Hawaii’s economy and infrastructure, improving the quality of life for the island communities. Their diverse portfolio includes the construction of shopping centers, hospitals and medical facilities, state highways and bridges, major hotels and resorts, military housing and defense facilities, industrial parks and power plants, high-rise condominiums, airport and waterfront improvements, and other key county and state improvement projects. HDCC first came to LoadSpring Solutions, Inc. for help with a hosted project software emergency.

Aloha means goodbye

Late in 2020, HDCC’s longtime cloud hosting partner announced they would stop hosting Trimble Prolog, HDCC’s project management tool of choice. HDCC had been using Prolog for construction and project portfolio management (PPM) for nearly 20 years. The hosting partner had been an excellent partner to HDCC for more than a decade. Unfortunately, the decision to end hosting Prolog came with only 60 days’ notice. When that time ended, their Prolog hosting ended abruptly and completely. If HDCC couldn’t find a new cloud hosting partner before the end of eight weeks, their projects could stall entirely. They needed help—fast.

Aloha means hello

The news that HDCC’s partner would cease hosting came in early November of 2020. Challenges to consider during this timeframe included the Thanksgiving holiday, the ongoing pandemic, and a Christmas holiday timeframe for going live. No problem, right?

HDCC considered going with a version of Prolog hosted by Trimble, but there was concern regarding legacy data. HDCC also looked into switching to a different PPM solution entirely; however, changing project software midstream could cause delays while ramping up. Archived project data from Prolog would also be difficult (or maybe impossible) to import into the unfamiliar software. Not to mention, rolling out new software can take months. Thankfully, a representative from Trimble recommended LoadSpring Solutions, Inc. to HDCC, citing rapid deployment and knowledgeable, responsive support.

LoadSpring crafted a comprehensive proposal to bring HDCC’s hosted software, archive data, the main point of contact, and technical support to the West Coast. The proposal ensured that this migration would take place before HDCC’s unforgiving deadline. After a compelling live demo of LoadSpring’s platform, LoadSpring and HDCC entered into a contract in early
December. LoadSpring’s team of experts met daily with HDCC. LoadSpring’s team found and eliminated a Trojan virus in HDCC’s project data; nevertheless, they completed the migration before the hard deadline. Crews were able to continue work on their familiar software seamlessly, sparing projects from being halted and keeping HDCC’s spirit of Aloha alive within the community.

Aloha means patience

As time goes on, HDCC has been able to breathe a sigh of relief that they found not only a new partner but excellent customer support as well. “When I enter a ticket, I often get a phone call right away,” explained Carla Steverson, Prolog Administrator at HDCC. Carla also noted that, while in the final stretch of the conversion process, Tony Maciel, Sr. Cloud Services Architect for LoadSpring ensured everything was configured correctly. “Tony was on vacation when he helped us out, which we appreciated greatly.”

She also mentioned that “at every point during the process, LoadSpring staff demonstrated the spirit of Aloha,” which, she said, includes the critical factor of patience. Sales, support, engineering—everyone from LoadSpring exuded patience and, above all, a willingness to help. She finished by saying, “We’ve had a fantastic experience with LoadSpring. Keeping our teams up and running, during the holidays no less, was a lifesaver.”

With a solid start on the books and the spirit of Aloha with them, LoadSpring hopes to grow a long and mutually beneficial relationship with HDCC. LoadSpring continues to assist HDCC with its cloud-hosted software needs and seeks to enhance HDCC’s cloud maturity and digital transformation efforts over time.