For those who have seen and or tried the IML Resistograph, there is now available a new computer add on that records the drilling data in digital form. It is more sensitive and the software included allows detailed analysis, plus output (colur or b/w) on a standard page. I have been testing my new version in the past few weeks and can report that it is very satisfactory and a big improvement over the paper strips. For more information contact IML at their web site.

Julian

Reply to post by Julian Dunster, on October 14, 1999 at 10:21:10:

You didn't mention the US$1900 pricetag

Will consider adding it to my new Resistograph when they make it available for Mac.

Reply to post by Russ Carlson, on October 14, 1999 at 10:21:10:

OK guys, here's a question that has both practice management and ethical implications.

How do you recover costs?

If you buy a new computer printer for the office that's pretty clearly an overhead item, built into your billing rate (already or next time). Maybe same for a copier. Or maybe at a partciluar level of volume.

What about a resistograph, or computer piggy-back for it, or high quality camera, or shigometer? Is it an overhead item built into every hour or is it a direct cost billed at a use rate to those specific assignments that require them?

And when are certain tools a cost of doing business that you must incur to remain competitive without increasing your billing rate with additional overhead charges?

Say you justify acquisition to yourself - "of course it's not just a toy" - by basically amortizing the cost on a project. "OK my handheld computer will save 10 hours on this data collection project and it will cost 10 hours of revenue, it's a wash, it's paid for." Is it then part of your capital investment and just available with no charges or should you be essentially billing on an ongoing basis for its ultimate replacement with a sinking fund contribution to reserves for capital replacements? More than ever with hi-tech, digitally based equipment it becomes obsolescent long before it physically wears out. I still have my 1980 Nikon with it's superb lenses and I'll have them in another 20 years. But I've junked 3.5 computers in the same time (the .5 is for the laptop that's still somewhat functional as a second platform).

Reply to post by Scott Cullen, on October 14, 1999 at 23:50:30:

Now you're talking business economics, Scott.

How is this different than charging for a truck with chipper? Do you charge extra if it's a bucket truck? What if you can't use the bucket, but that's the truck that goes to the job? How about the chainsaws? Charge for them by the hour, or by the job? Or simply lump them into a total per-hour cost for the crew?

The choice is really up to the individual here. I have talked to several Resistograph users who charge per-drill hole. Others who add a surcharge to the job. And one or two who consider it part of the cost of doing the job.

Another thing to think on, since you brought computers into this. As one consultant asked, "why use software that gets the job done faster, if I lose billable hours by doing so?" It costs you more so you can charge the client less time? Hmmm???

There are no single right answers. We each have to decide what our method of accounting demands, and how we will pay for this stuff. For my part, a percentage of profit each year goes into the budget for new equipment. I also consider the usefulness of the work I do, and how well I can do it, and then charge accordingly. Most of my clients don't want a laundry list of itemized costs. They want to know what the final bill will be. It's up to me to figure out how to pay for it.

Reply to post by Scott Cullen, on October 14, 1999 at 23:50:30:

Scott--
For me it's just another cost of business, required of me as a "full-service" consultant. I don't charge extra..although when I was considering the M series Resistograph several years ago, at $7,000+, I was considering a surcharge for machine use.
Joe McNeil

Reply to post by Julian Dunster, on October 14, 1999 at 10:21:10:

The electronic version is useful for archiving records, and great for visual presentation, but the physical paper strips are necessary, at least for me, in field assessment of trees. They can be laid out around the tree at probe locations, allowing for assessment which is impossible (or very awkward) with only the electronic data.
Joe McNeil

Reply to post by Russ Carlson, on October 15, 1999 at 06:35:33:

I agree with the sentiment that it's a cost of doing business. If you read through almost all manuals and books about running an effective business, your hourly rate is supposed to reflect fixed and variable costs, plus allowances for profit and loss.

I can't imagine charging a client per drill hole with the Resistograph - I charge my normal hourly rate and do a thorough with technology that enables me to gain better information than than my competitors. I have paid for the technology by simply owning it when nobody else does. That in itself justifies the expenditure.

Same with the computer and associated software. We do reports in Pagemaker using Photoshop, colour printers, scanners (flatbed and slide), and produce laminated covers, bound reports and it all looks pretty darn good. I know that in our area some folks submit pretty basic reports, no photographs, no cover page, and not much structure. Can't charge the client per usage of the computer or the software though, and if we added in our time to do all of the software manipulation to produce the reports it probably would be out of proportion.

It's all a matter of what the individual wants to do and to some extent, a matter of ethics.

Meanwhile, those of us that can use the technology effectively are, in my opinion, more likely to stay ahead of the pack than those that pass it by due to costs. It also pays to know where you want to focus. I do a lot of hazard tree evaluation so the Resistograph makes sense for me. For someone only undertaking one or two evaluations a year, it would make no sense.

Replacing the technology with more current versions is also a cost of doing business. Not so many years ago, having a fax machine was considered essential if you wanted to be "on the cutting edge." Now it's email, next year it will be voice recognition, and so on.

The trick is to factor the fixed and variable costs so that time spent is recoverable in the hourly rate.

Julian

Reply to post by Russ Carlson, on October 15, 1999 at 06:35:33:

Another thing to think on, since you brought computers into this. As one
consultant asked, "why use software that gets the job done faster, if I
lose billable hours by doing so?" It costs you more so you can charge
the client less time? Hmmm???

You lose a little on each job, but you'll make it up in volume, no?

Reply to post by Julian Dunster, on October 14, 1999 at 10:21:10:

I am interested know format output of
electronic unit. I would get data from
Resistograph to PC and store in database.
(I prefer write my program for get data,
probably in Visual Basic)

Thanks