Over the years, Tech Offshore Marine (TOM) had been struggling with numerous human resource challenges due to their locally developed on-premise HR package. From the generation of error-ridden salary reports to difficulties in accurately capturing data from various shipyards, there were a lot of manual efforts involved. Also, the integration to the financials would have to be done manually, resulting in a time-consuming process.

With a need to manage over 300 workers, there was a need for a HR solution that was integrated to the Financials. TOM selected NuSmart, a Hire to Retire HR solution natively built on NetSuite. NuSmart provided them the ideal scalable solution for the offshore marine sector.

By eliminating duplicate work, NuSmart provides the management full visibility of their workforce – payroll, leave, time and attendance, purchase requisition on one solution. It is the single source of truth for both the Financials and HRMS.

Globally recognized tier-one vendor within both the Energy and Marine & Shipyard sectors

Established in 1996, TOM is the pinnacle of Intelligent Engineering Solutions. TOM has consistently and successfully provided complete turn-key solutions for an international client base.

From oil majors, rig operators, shipyards, refineries, and power plants in the offshore sector to building and construction in the onshore sector, TOM has established themselves as a preferred partner and continues to grow its client base and offered services.

The previous software was not scalable and resulted in frequent reporting inaccuracy which led to management inefficiency.

Before the implementation of NuSmart, TOM utilized an in-house system for over 10 years. The HR package operated as a standalone package. Hence, HR information was in silos. TOM also encountered numerous challenges from the generation of error-ridden salary reports to difficulties in accurately capturing data from various shipyards (because each shipyard practises different time in and out). Also, the integration to the financials would have to be done manually, resulting in a times-consuming process.

Selecting NuSmart was an easy and natural answer

TOM needed a product with richer functionality that could optimize their human resources and automate time-consuming tasks in real time. It was of utmost importance for the salary reports to be accurate. TOM also needed a single solution that was integrated to their financials. To accomplish this, TOM selected NuSmart, together with NetSuite ERP.

A truly comprehensive and well-rounded solution for managing human resources effectively

1. With an integrated payroll system offered by NuSmart, it streamlines the submission of individual worker tax through IR8A generation. This helps TOM stay compliant with tax laws, labour regulations, and reporting requirements.
2. NuSmart’s attendance and timesheet feature is structured as per MOM guidelines and in the same format as NetSuite’s requirements. The timesheet feature is seamlessly linked to NetSuite’s project management engine. This helps in project costing and resource allocation which is tied up to the financials. The attendance data from the various shipyards biometric devices are auto-scheduled and as per NetSuite standard. This reduces 80% of the manual efforts for consolidation of attendance data for payroll processing.
3. TOM is now able to also manage their purchase requisition through NuSmart. In TOM’s daily operations, all workers carry their own tools and equipment. For the workers, the tools utilised by them are seen by the purchasing department. Based on what is utilised, the purchasing manager will know which tools need to be bought.
4. Additionally, the systems provide robust reporting and analytics capabilities which generate reports on payroll costs, employee earnings, tax liabilities, and other key metrics. These insights help TOM in financial planning, project costing, and decision-making.
5. NuSmart’s Employee Self-Service Portal (ESS) allows employees to access timesheet, leave management, purchase requisition and expense claims. Each of these modules have a workflow such that once the requests are made by the employee, they have to be approved by a manager.

NuSmart brought instant improvement to business operation efficiency

Upon implementing NuSmart, TOM witnessed immediate changes.

• Reduced risk from hardware failure drastically
• Enhanced work productivity with a notable increase of 40 to 50%
• Improved efficiency which led to a 50% decrease in computing time

“NuSmart seamlessly integrates human resource and finance on NetSuite platform. This eliminates manual reconciliation to pull data from offline sources like Excel and Word. It is the single source of truth used by our 300 employees.”

Mr Mahendran S/O Minisamy
Managing Director and Founder, Tech Offshore Marine

Market expansion and overseas process digitalization

With a keen interest in expanding business operations in Southeast Asia, TOM targets to grow in the markets of India and Indonesia in the next few years. TOM believes that leveraging NuSmart’s capabilities will be crucial for the expansion to seamlessly replicate and deploy existing processes from Singapore to these new markets.