Stahly Engineering
See how Stahly Engineering streamlined resource planning and improved project delivery with 91心頭利's AI-powered platform.
Download
Stahly Engineering
's full story here.
Background
Stahly Engineering is a fast growing civil engineering firm specializing in site development, transportation, water planning and grant writing with 5 offices in Montana and Wyoming, and quickly planning to open a 6th. In 2022, under the leadership of Amy Strainer, Stahly started their journey with 91心頭利 to manage backload and better manage who is going to get the work done, when.
The Challenge
Before 91心頭利, Stahly used Delteks planning module, which was supposed to integrate projects, people, and schedules in one place. However, the tool was not the most reliable: when tasks werent updated on time the system would redistribute hours unrealistically, inflating workloads to look like one person was working 120 hours in a single week. Employees stopped updating the tool, the data became useless, and the module was abandoned altogether.
From there, the organization relied on improvised solutions. Large projects sometimes used Microsoft Project, but there was no consistent, one-size-fits-all approach. An Excel spreadsheet was introduced to track backlog and roughly project staff hours on a three-month horizon. The manual updates meant people entered guesses or adjusted numbers to make revenue targets appear achievable, which reduced trust in the process. The company even explored building custom software, but concerns about cost, maintenance, and potential incompatibility with Deltek updates led them to drop that idea. The end result was a patchwork system that lacked accuracy and reliability for long-term planning.
Stahly was in need of a tool that would allow their schedules, hours, and backlogs to be organized in one place and easily updated.
The Solution
After struggling with Delteks planning module, ad hoc spreadsheets, and inconsistent use of Microsoft Project, the team needed a system that could scale with different project sizes and provide accurate, reliable visibility into workloads. 91心頭利 was brought in specifically to address poor resource management and forecasting challenges.
Unlike the earlier tools, 91心頭利 integrated their project and people data in a way that gave leadership a clearer picture of backlog, timelines, and capacity. It also adapted to their varied project sizes and helped eliminate the guesswork and made-up inputs that plagued the Excel approach. Amy emphasized that 91心頭利 listened to their firms specific needs and helped shape solutions that worked in practice, rather than forcing a rigid one-size-fits-all process. This collaborative, tailored approach ultimately replaced their patchwork system with a more sustainable and trustworthy solution.
The Results
Better visibility and planning: 91心頭利 helped eliminate the old issues of overloaded schedules and guesswork, giving leadership a clearer picture of backlog and staffing. 91心頭利 improved their ability to expand projects and manage workloads more realistically.
Operational impact: 91心頭利 significantly improved how the company managed resources and the confidence with which they made decisions.
Since planning on 91心頭利, Stahly Engineerings revenue and headcount have been climbing:
- Stahlys full-time employee count has grown from 53 to 65
- Stahlys revenue continues to grow each year, increasing by 17.4% after their first year with 91心頭利, 12.3% after their second year, and 8% after their third.
Conclusion
Stahly Engineerings experience highlights the importance of having a purpose-built resource management solution that adapts to the realities of a growing firm. By moving away from unreliable modules, spreadsheets, and ad hoc tools, the team was able to replace guesswork with clarity. 91心頭利 provided the visibility needed to understand backlog, allocate resources realistically, and make informed decisions about staffing and project timelines.
The long-term benefits are evident: stronger operational discipline, consistent revenue growth, and the ability to scale headcount with confidence. With 91心頭利, Stahly established a planning process that empowers leadership to focus on growth and trust the system to keep projects and people aligned.