Case Study: Solar Gain

Powering Efficiency and Growth: Solar Gain’s Success Story with SolarGrade

Solar Gain has established itself as a high-growth leader in the highly competitive U.S. Commercial & Industrial (C&I) solar market.

Known for its commitment to project quality and operational excellence, Solar Gain recognized that continued growth required a robust, all-in-one platform to manage the complexities of field operations, from construction QA/QC to O&M. Their solution? SolarGrade.

“We track everything that happens in the field with SolarGrade. It keeps our team aligned and informed on every project. Our crews love the app and the reports look great, but the biggest impact is that nothing falls through the cracks when we use SolarGrade.”

— Timothy Graunke, Vice President of Operations, Solar Gain

The Challenge of Scaling Quality

As Solar Gain’s portfolio expanded, so did the challenge of maintaining alignment and consistency across numerous field projects. Relying on fragmented tools or outdated documentation methods increased the risk of errors and operational bottlenecks. For Vice President of Operations, Timothy Graunke, the need was clear: a single, reliable system that ensured nothing was missed.

A Unified Platform for Field Operations

SolarGrade provided the comprehensive solution Solar Gain needed by bringing together all critical field workflows into one powerful application.

• Standardized Workflows
  Solar Gain leverages SolarGrade’s library of pre-made checklists for solar and energy storage QA/QC and O&M. Whether using a standard template or building their own custom workflows, these checklists ensure every crew member follows the exact same process on every job, guaranteeing quality from installation through maintenance.
  
  
• Real-time Alignment
  Collaboration between the office and the field is seamless. Thanks to realtime collaboration, office staff track progress as it happens, while field teams can sync in real-time to divide work and address issues. Crucially, the work offline feature ensures productivity never stops, allowing crews to download all necessary documents, work without connectivity, and sync later.
  
  
• Precise Georeferencing
  Managing large C&I sites is simplified with georeferencing. Crews use their devices’ native GPS to quickly georeference on-site work, helping them navigate complex projects and accurately document the location of assets, saving significant time and preventing costly locational errors.

Documentation and Data-Driven Decisions

For a high-growth company like Solar Gain, excellent documentation and actionable data are not just helpful—they are fundamental to business success and client trust.

• Effortless Reporting
  The days of manually compiling data and photos are over. SolarGrade’s automated reports feature allows crews to generate professional, branded reports with photos and custom formats in a single tap. This streamlines client communication and provides an indisputable record of quality work.
  
  
• Complete Asset History
  SolarGrade ensures compliance and easy maintenance with fieldwork histories, maintaining detailed records of all on-site work and equipment from the initial construction phase through long-term O&M cycles.
  
  
• Strategic Analytics
  Timothy Graunke and his team rely on Analytics to manage their portfolio health. They track key metrics like issue close rates via the native dashboard and utilize CSV exports for deeper analysis. The flexibility of API integration also allows SolarGrade to connect with other key software platforms, keeping all teams and systems perfectly aligned.
  

The Impact for Solar Gain

SolarGrade has become an indispensable tool for Solar Gain, supporting their rapid scaling while institutionalizing a culture of quality.

Q&A with Timothy Graunke, Vice President of Operations at Solar Gain

Q: Timothy, thank you for speaking with us. To start, what was the main challenge Solar Gain was facing before implementing SolarGrade?

• A: Our biggest challenge was maintaining alignment and consistency across all our field projects as we scaled up. We needed a single, reliable system to track all on-site work, ensure quality control (QA/QC) for the projects our team builds, and to manage operations and maintenance (O&M) for our growing number of C&I projects. Relying on disparate tools or paper processes meant things could, and sometimes did, fall through the cracks. We needed a solution that was comprehensive, easy for our crews to use, and provided excellent documentation.

Q: How has SolarGrade impacted your field operations?

• A: It’s been transformative. The Pre-made checklists for solar and energy storage QA/QC and O&M are fantastic; we just tap into the library or quickly build custom ones. This ensures our field teams follow the exact same high-quality workflow on every job.

But the real game-changer is the ability to track everything and keep the team aligned. As I put in our quote: “We track everything that happens in the field with SolarGrade. It keeps our team aligned and informed on every project. Our crews love the app and the reports look great, but the biggest impact is that nothing falls through the cracks when we use SolarGrade.”

Q: You mentioned alignment. How does SolarGrade facilitate collaboration and communication between the field and the office?

• A: The realtime collaboration feature is essential. Our field teams sync with the office in real-time, allowing us to track progress, assign and divide work on-site, and address issues immediately. For sites where connectivity might be an issue, the work offline capability is crucial. Crews can download project details and documents, work all day, and then sync all the data later. This ensures no delay in work, regardless of location.

Q: Data and documentation are vital in the solar industry. How does SolarGrade help Solar Gain manage these aspects?

• A: It handles it all automatically. The automated reports feature is a massive time-saver. With one tap, we can generate professional reports complete with photos, pre-written descriptions, and custom formats. This not only looks great for our clients but also provides an indisputable record of quality work.

In addition, the fieldwork histories function maintains detailed records of all on-site work and equipment from the construction phase right through to long-term O&M. This gives us a complete, auditable history for every asset we manage.

Q: With large C&I projects, navigation and equipment location can be a challenge. How do you handle that?

• A: We use georeferencing constantly. Our teams tap into their devices’ native GPS to accurately georeference on-site work. This allows them to quickly navigate large project sites and confirm they’re working on the correct equipment or location, which saves time and prevents costly errors.

Q: From a management and growth perspective, how do you use the data collected in SolarGrade to inform your business decisions?

• A: We rely heavily on the Analytics dashboard. The platform’s native dashboard allows us to track key performance indicators like issue close rates and assess portfolio health. When we need deeper analysis, we simply export CSVs for further review. Plus, with the API integration, we can connect SolarGrade with our other key software platforms, ensuring all our systems are aligned and data flows smoothly across the organization. This data-driven approach is fundamental to our high-growth strategy in the competitive C&I market.

Q: Finally, what would you tell another C&I solar company considering SolarGrade?

• A: I’d tell them that in a high-growth environment, you can’t afford operational chaos. SolarGrade is more than just a reporting tool; it’s a coordination and quality control system. It professionalizes our field documentation, boosts crew efficiency, and, most importantly, provides us with the confidence that we have complete visibility and control over every project from start to finish. It’s an essential tool for any C&I leader focused on scaling efficiently.

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