Several years ago, and in a previous life, I worked on a project that convinced me to develop the app platform side of the business. The benefits of using a mobile app were so fundamental to the successful outcome of a project, I came to believe that I had to start spreading the love!

A Steep Learning Curve

The project was the first where we elected to use an app platform in the field. It was a steep learning curve to develop the first incarnations of the system and its report templates, but necessity is the mother of invention as they say.

Working at Capacity

We were asked by a client to visit five hotels and three holiday camps all over the UK. The project was to survey over one hundred air conditioning systems in around three weeks. The site owners wanted to identify the air conditioning systems that required replacement, those requiring repair – they wanted all the data needed to prioritise the works.

The only way we could take the work on was to automate a large part of the administration and report authoring process. That’s where mobile apps came in.

The problem was our workload at the time and the deadline of 3 weeks. We could just about fit in the surveys into our schedule but the admin and report writing which would normally require at least an equal amount of time. The only way we could take the work on was to automate a large part of the administration and authoring process. That’s where mobile app came in.

The App Made it Possible

We built the app to record all of the information we needed, with supporting photographs, notes, and perhaps most clever, calculate a weighted score to grade the systems. It would then go on to produce the written for the client.

Fast, Secure Data Delivery

In practice, there was no time for office based work and so a bold decision was made; the client would receive the reports in PDF format direct from the engineer rather than from the office. So the app needed to create a branded document the instant the engineer uploaded the notes.

Success

We actually delivered quicker than expected because as we left the site on the last day it was done! The client was happy, we were happy, and our engineers got to see the British countryside with one or two ice creams by the seaside thrown in.

Not only that, but the seeds of a new business were sown![activecampaign form=7]