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Automating Construction Timekeeping with SmartBarrel - Conversation with Albert Bou Fadel
FROM PLANO TX: Construction payroll is brutal: dispersed crews, changing sites, language barriers, thin margins, and paper timecards that bleed profit. In this episode, Albert Bou Fadel explains how SmartBarrel combines rugged jobsite hardware with software to capture time at the source (worker check-in/out), automate approvals, and flow clean data straight to payroll/ERP—reducing risk and making labor cost visible in real time. Albert also shares the grind behind building hardware, raising capital, and why “it just has to work” is non-negotiable on a jobsite.
https://smartbarrel.io/
About the Guest
Albert Bou Fadel is a construction entrepreneur who previously built a glazing company before founding SmartBarrel, a field-first labor management and timekeeping platform purpose-built for construction.
Key Takeaways
Field-first beats office-first. SmartBarrel was designed around the hardest part—jobsite capture—so implementation spreads upward smoothly.
Time equals survival. In construction, small daily productivity leaks compound into seven-figure losses over long projects.
Hardware is hard. Prototyping, reliability, and iteration cycles are slower and costlier than software—plan accordingly.
Implementation risk is better than the subscription price. Failed rollouts damage credibility and careers; buyers are de-risking, not penny-pinching.
Fast start. Teams can be live in 2–3 days (simple setups) to a couple of weeks with integrations.
Memorable Quotes
“Price is only a problem in the absence of value. Buyers are de-risking, not haggling.”
“In construction, we don’t have the luxury of failing twice—on the third try the device ends up in a lake.”
“You pay for 40 hours but get 35—over 18 months that’s seven-figure leakage.”
Resources Mentioned
SmartBarrel – Field-first labor management/timekeeping for construction (hardware + software + mobile).
Integrations with common payroll/HR/ERP systems (e.g., Procore, Vista, CMiC, etc. referenced broadly).
Connect
Guest: Search Albert Bou Fadel on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/albert-boufadel/
Host: Subscribe to Entrepreneurs, Business, and Finance with Henry Harrison on your favorite podcast app. https://henryharrison.com/
View all episodes
By Henry Harrison Dallas TexasFROM PLANO TX: Construction payroll is brutal: dispersed crews, changing sites, language barriers, thin margins, and paper timecards that bleed profit. In this episode, Albert Bou Fadel explains how SmartBarrel combines rugged jobsite hardware with software to capture time at the source (worker check-in/out), automate approvals, and flow clean data straight to payroll/ERP—reducing risk and making labor cost visible in real time. Albert also shares the grind behind building hardware, raising capital, and why “it just has to work” is non-negotiable on a jobsite.
https://smartbarrel.io/
About the Guest
Albert Bou Fadel is a construction entrepreneur who previously built a glazing company before founding SmartBarrel, a field-first labor management and timekeeping platform purpose-built for construction.
Key Takeaways
Field-first beats office-first. SmartBarrel was designed around the hardest part—jobsite capture—so implementation spreads upward smoothly.
Time equals survival. In construction, small daily productivity leaks compound into seven-figure losses over long projects.
Hardware is hard. Prototyping, reliability, and iteration cycles are slower and costlier than software—plan accordingly.
Implementation risk is better than the subscription price. Failed rollouts damage credibility and careers; buyers are de-risking, not penny-pinching.
Fast start. Teams can be live in 2–3 days (simple setups) to a couple of weeks with integrations.
Memorable Quotes
“Price is only a problem in the absence of value. Buyers are de-risking, not haggling.”
“In construction, we don’t have the luxury of failing twice—on the third try the device ends up in a lake.”
“You pay for 40 hours but get 35—over 18 months that’s seven-figure leakage.”
Resources Mentioned
SmartBarrel – Field-first labor management/timekeeping for construction (hardware + software + mobile).
Integrations with common payroll/HR/ERP systems (e.g., Procore, Vista, CMiC, etc. referenced broadly).
Connect
Guest: Search Albert Bou Fadel on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/albert-boufadel/
Host: Subscribe to Entrepreneurs, Business, and Finance with Henry Harrison on your favorite podcast app. https://henryharrison.com/