Platform picks temporary workers for jobs by rating their skills and performance. BlueCrew Inc., a startup whose software enables warehouse managers to quickly ramp up warehouse staffing to meet surges in demand, said it has added labor management software (LMS) to its platform. The upgrade will help managers measure and manage their on-time records, number of shifts worked, and their location, thanks to a GPS timecard that automatically clocks employees in and out of the job using their own smartphones, the San Francisco-based company said. BlueCrew’s core model uses an algorithm that sorts through a database of registered workers to determine their experience, qualifications, and past performance reviews, BlueCrew CEO Gino Rooney said in a phone interview. When a customer needs temporary staffing, BlueCrew contacts the most qualified laborers through its mobile smartphone app and schedules them for work as forklift operators, warehouse staff, drivers, movers, data entry personnel, or customer service representatives. BlueCrew currently operates only in the Bay area, but is planning to expand to southern California later in 2016. The company is funded by a number of venture capital firms. Its approach is comparable to that of New York-based Forrge, another web-based staffing platform designed to accelerate hiring in the "gig" economy. Forrge is focused on the retail-trade and food-and-beverage sectors. However, both companies use mobile apps to match part-time hourly workers with seasonal or temporary positions. The on-demand model is particularly well suited to the light industrial sector that includes the material handling and transportation markets, as well as warehousing, production, and commercial moving, Rooney said. When demand fluctuates quickly in warehouse work, managers often struggle to find temporary employees with experience on complex equipment like standup forklifts, sit-down forklifts, or specific kinds of pallet jacks, he said. Noticing that temporary agencies could take several […]