ISSUE 1 MAY 1ST, 2014 VOLUME 8 � CHRIS STRAND & JOHN WILLIAMS BUILD ON THE LEGACY OF STAN’S HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING ...... 1

� SAWIN MOBILE WEB EX-

PANDS TO OFFER JOB TRACK DESIGNED TO ACCOMMODATE INSTALLERS IN THE FIELD . 2

� SERVICE AUTOMATION IS ON A CAMPAIGN TO REMIND OUR CLIENTS TO PROPERLY BACK UP THEIR DATA! .... 4 SAWINSAWINSAWIN

E-news We are a family of dedicated professionals striving to We are a family of dedicated professionals striving to We are a family of dedicated professionals striving to We are a family of dedicated professionals striving to

achieve total customer and employee satisfaction. achieve total customer and employee satisfaction. achieve total customer and employee satisfaction. achieve total customer and employee satisfaction.

We pledge to provide quality software and services through We pledge to provide quality software and services through We pledge to provide quality software and services through We pledge to provide quality software and services through

team work, knowledge and commitment to excellence. team work, knowledge and commitment to excellence. team work, knowledge and commitment to excellence. team work, knowledge and commitment to excellence.

Building on the legacy of a family business started back in 1954, Chris Strand

and John Williams have taken Stan’s Heating & Air Conditioning in Austin,

Texas to a completely new level of sophistication and visibility.

Stan’s Legacy in Austin Rises to New Heights! Austin is a wonderful city. It is recognized as a hub for the arts (SXSW music festival/ACL festival), technology (Dell and other tech firms are based there), and has definitely become an attractive “destination” in the US for tourism. I have only been there a few times, but have thoroughly enjoyed what

little I have seen and expe-rienced. Back in 2012, I was attending the ACCA Service Manager’s confer-ence in Austin and noticed a dignified gentleman standing alone in the trade show hall. I was also alone,

so I walked over to him and struck

up a conversation. My sole intent was for both of us to pass some time together, instead of alone. That man was Stan Johnson, Jr. and he was working for ACCA as a director at the show. Stan told me that he used to own his own HVAC Company in Austin named after his father of the same name, but had recently sold it. He told me that I should speak with John Williams at Stan’s because they were definitely in the market for new software. Although I did not have the inten-tion to procure a sales lead from this kind gentleman, I took his sug-gestion and contacted John shortly thereafter. (continued on P2) (continued on P2) (continued on P2) (continued on P2)

Cropp-Metcalfe in Fairfax, Virginia has now been using SAWIN Mobile Web with

over 150 service technicians since early 2014.

Bennie Hernandez, a Bennie Hernandez, a Bennie Hernandez, a Bennie Hernandez, a

service technician at service technician at service technician at service technician at

Stan’s asked his son Stan’s asked his son Stan’s asked his son Stan’s asked his son

for help to master for help to master for help to master for help to master

his new Android! his new Android! his new Android! his new Android!

Stan’s Legacy

Rising in Austin!

Chris Strands’ mother, Caroline is 82 years

old and still comes into the office 5 days a

week to make sure the business is running

smoothly. Everyone at Stan’s call her “Mom”.

Stan’s was founded in 1954 by an entrepreneur in the HVAC industry named Stan Johnson. (From their website) “Stan Johnson Sr., born and raised in Austin, has always had a knack for all things me-chanical. He had been a partner in a filling service station on Barton Springs Road for a bit, worked as a union carpenter, and finally worked for a local AC ser-vice company, where he found his true calling. Frustrated with the compa-ny he was working for; Stan decided to strike out on his own. In 1954, he and his wife opened their own AC Service business, built around his expertise and dedication to customer service.”

“The original office for Stan’s Service and Instal-lation was located in the backyard of a house at Denson and Guadalupe. At a very early age, Stan’s

son, Stan Johnson Jr. went along on his first ser-vice call for his dad’s com-pany. Growing up in the business, Stan Jr. found himself on a service truck during his high school and college years. It wasn’t until the mid-1960’s that central air conditioning became affordable to most central Texans. From the outset, Stan’s was in the forefront of installing and servicing this newly acces-sible technology. By the mid-1980’s, Stan Sr. and Stan Jr. had achieved enormous success. Be-cause of Stan’s dedication to provide quality service, and to guaranteeing all of their work, fruitful relation-ships were formed, and continue to this day. If the story of Stan’s proves one thing, it is this: If you take care of your customers, they will take care of you.”

After taking over the busi-ness and forging his own successful career, Stan Johnson, Jr. decided to sell Stan’s to Chris Strand and his partner John Wil-liams in 2011.

Chris came to Austin in 1978 in a rusted out Corol-la with barely $1200 to his name. Having witnessed the oil embargoes and huge gas lines of the mid 70s, he decided that ener-gy conservation should be his life’s work. Shortly

thereafter, he founded Conservation Unlimited with his brother’s Tom, John, and mother Caro-line. They eventually changed their name to Strand Brothers in 1992, because that is how the community came to recog-nize them. Strand Broth-ers established a service concept called the ‘Whole House’ approach com-bined with excellent cus-tomer service, and their business skyrocketed. In 1998, Chris and his family sold their business to Ser-vice Experts (SE), a sub-sidiary of Lennox Interna-tional. Chris continued on as Strand Brothers’ Gen-eral Manager and quadru-pled sales before leaving in 2011.

John Williams was born and raised in the Lubbock, Texas area and one of his early career tenures was with Sears, while attend-ing Texas A & M Universi-ty. John worked with Sears from 1990 through 2001 and in 1994 was in-volved in the “roll-out” of a mobile solution for their service fleet of 25 techni-cians at the Lubbock branch. In 2001, John joined the Strand Brothers organization (under SE) and became friends with Chris Strand. Once he and Chris purchased and took over Stan’s, they had a

SERVICE AUTOMATION CELEBRATES 30 YEARS!

2014 marks the 30th year

that Service Automation

has been recognized as

a leader in the service/

installation software in-

dustry.

Being recognized as a

leader comes with

challenges, and one of

the biggest challenges

with staying at the fore-

front of technology is

the balance of enhanc-

ing existing products

and introducing new

ones. While many other

vendors in our industry

have taken a more con-

servative approach to

software development,

SAWIN Service Automa-

tion (SSA) has been con-

stantly on the offensive,

despite the challenges

that come with this

“pioneering” ideology.

As a result, our clients

have been rewarded

with the many benefits

technology can offer

their businesses and

most have profited from

it’s ongoing influence.

STAN’S FIELD TECHNICIAN USING STAN’S FIELD TECHNICIAN USING STAN’S FIELD TECHNICIAN USING STAN’S FIELD TECHNICIAN USING MOBILE WEB ON AN ANDROID MOBILE WEB ON AN ANDROID MOBILE WEB ON AN ANDROID MOBILE WEB ON AN ANDROID

(continued from page 1)(continued from page 1)(continued from page 1)(continued from page 1)

Stan’s Legacy

Rising in Austin!

“winning” formula in place with which the business could further thrive.

Stan’s currently has a total of 64 employees and 34 field technicians/installers and Chris’ family is still involved in the business. Most notable is Chris’ mom, Caroline, who at 82 years old still comes into the office five days a week to make sure everything is running smoothly. Every-one at Stan’s just calls her “Mom”. One of the first projects in their business plan was to replace their “legacy” software with more modern technology and the ability to “mobilize” their field workforce. In the fall of 2013, after evaluat-ing a few different software systems in the market-place, Stan’s Heating & Air Conditioning decided to purchase SAWIN Profes-sional with a projected im-plementation in March of 2014.

2014 has already been a very hectic year for the team at Stan’s. Not only was it one of the coldest winters on record in Texas, with service techs running full throttle, Stan’s moved their entire operation into a new facility on February 1st. Stan’s was previously located on the North side of Austin (near the Arbore-tum), and decided that they needed a larger facili-ty that was more centrally located. After attempting to procure a building for pur-

chase, they settled on leasing an 18,000 square foot building just north of downtown Austin. They even did the retrofit of the existing AC system them-selves, installing new ductwork and controls to host 3 Carrier Green Speed Split-systems. To make their story even more amazing, they also met their target implemen-tation date by going “live” on SAWIN PRO on March 1st, and simultaneously rolled out the SAWIN Mo-bile Web product on Gal-axy Tablets to their entire service fleet.

That is not to say that their

implementation of SAWIN

did not come without

struggle and difficulty. A

software switch of any

size always comes with

challenges, regardless of

strategic preparation, posi-

tive attitudes, and

“champions” within the

organization, who share a

vision of the big picture

and where that path of

change even-

tually leads.

Stan’s has

many champi-

ons within their

organization

and two of the

key players

behind the

SAWIN implementation

were (and are) Executive

Vice President, John Wil-

liams and Farrell Sanders.

John and Farrell spear-

headed the software im-

plementation project with

a talented staff supporting

them. John said,

“Communication among

the staff is much better,

which will improve produc-

tivity. Customers have

been accepting of the

(mobile) concept also. We

do not have printers in the

field. Receipts (service

invoices) are emailed. Our

paper forms guy (vendor)

is not happy. There is not

much paper around here.”

Stan’s has now emerged

from a challenging first

quarter with a new facility,

new business software,

and a new, mobile ap-

proach to service that will

even further the customer

satisfaction that has kept

Stan’s successful since its

origin many years before.

For more information on For more information on For more information on For more information on Stan’s Air Conditioning & Stan’s Air Conditioning & Stan’s Air Conditioning & Stan’s Air Conditioning & Heating, Inc. in Austin, Heating, Inc. in Austin, Heating, Inc. in Austin, Heating, Inc. in Austin, please visit their website: please visit their website: please visit their website: please visit their website:

www.stansac.comwww.stansac.comwww.stansac.comwww.stansac.com

“I am convinced that the stage is set for more field activity with less

support.”

---- John Williams, Executive VP

Executive Vice President Executive Vice President Executive Vice President Executive Vice President John Williams of Stan’s.John Williams of Stan’s.John Williams of Stan’s.John Williams of Stan’s.

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WHAT IS SAWIN

MOBILE JOB TRACK?

The SAWIN Mobile Web Job Track application allows your installers the ability to record and transmit their installation hours from job cost projects into a standard “smart” phone/device. By utilizing Job Track your installers have the ability to access an ex-isting job cost installa-tion from the SAWIN base system, bring up the group/phase/task they are working on, and enter their hours for each respective task. Their hours and respec-tive spiff amounts will then show in the job and payroll for processing. Please contact the sales department for more details at 800-774-7230 or email david@sawinpro.com david@sawinpro.com david@sawinpro.com david@sawinpro.com

Stan’s New Facility in Austin, Texas.Stan’s New Facility in Austin, Texas.Stan’s New Facility in Austin, Texas.Stan’s New Facility in Austin, Texas.

Are you Backing Up your Critical Data?

In the last few years there have been more than a few cases of SAWIN clients having a server failure and finding out the hard way

that they did not have a proper data back-up!

assistance as needed.

With more and more SAWIN clients facing catastrophic server crashes, it has been brought to our attention that even seasoned IT persons have failed to maintain and regularly test their critical data for scheduled back-up. The crashes we have seen without proper back-up have been very costly and have even temporarily “crippled” some of our bigger clients. In one situ-ation, an SAWIN client almost went out of business because they could not recover their data due to improper back-up.

In an effort to eliminate this problem from ever occurring,

SSA has created a document which reiterates the proper protocol in backing up the SAWIN data and is common in the IT world. “This Best Practices Clause is designed to protect your company from potential data losspotential data losspotential data losspotential data loss. A data loss can occur if you have a hard-ware failure (or other unfore-seen circumstances) and do not have proper backup and backup testing procedures in place. This loss of data can range from a minor annoyance

to a significant loss of productivity and/or revenues.”

We have been proactively sending these documents out to our client base in an effort to ward off any unfortunate cir-cumstances resulting from a server failure. If you would like this document or more infor-mation on properly backing up your data, please email us at info@sawinpro.com info@sawinpro.com info@sawinpro.com info@sawinpro.com and put BEST PRACTICES in the subject line.

SAWIN Service Automation, Inc. SAWIN Service Automation, Inc. SAWIN Service Automation, Inc. SAWIN Service Automation, Inc. 17405 Village Green Drive 17405 Village Green Drive 17405 Village Green Drive 17405 Village Green Drive Houston, TX 77040 Houston, TX 77040 Houston, TX 77040 Houston, TX 77040

At SAWIN Service Automa-tion, Inc. (SSA) we do our best to assist our clients in maximizing their use of our software in order to take ad-vantage of all the benefits that technology can offer. While we do make recommenda-tions for hardware to host the SAWIN solutions, we have progressively removed our-selves from the sales & sup-port of hardware, due to bet-ter accessibility and lower cost in the marketplace for our clients. We typically rec-ommend that our clients have a designated IT person on staff to assist with hardware and network support, or have an IT company on retainer for