Rapid and Efficient Custom Software Development for a Multinational Organisation by Formbird

Formbird, known for its rapid and customised software solutions, recently partnered with a multinational organisation to develop and implement a state-of-the-art, tailored system to manage a unique operation. 

Due to the discreet nature of the project, we cannot share specifics, so instead, we will focus on the remarkable achievement of going live with a custom piece of software in under four weeks. 

Overview of the solution

The Formbird solution interacts with Opturion’s constraint-based optimisation engine to maximise the efficiency of scheduling and rostering of a mobile workforce. Additionally, the solution gives field operators a single interface available on a phone or laptop to assist them in performing and documenting their duties in strict compliance with their legal obligations. 

The Challenge:

The Formbird gets the call; the team had to step up and fill a gap left by the customer’s in-house development team. Without Formbird, the customer would be “manhandling” reams of data using Excel spreadsheets.

Formbird’s multinational customers required a versatile and efficient system to support their field operators. The solution had to achieve high standards of documentation as well as real-time monitoring and compliance functionality. The biggest challenge was the project’s tight deadline, making it essential for the software development process to be swift and highly accurate to meet the customer’s demands and on time to support the rollout of a significant piece of infrastructure. 

Praise for Formbird Consultant Adam Gristwood

A vital player in this success story was Formbird Consultant Adam Gristwood. Adam proved to be an invaluable asset throughout the project’s life cycle. His proactive approach, dedication to delivering quality, and capacity to quickly respond to any required changes earned him high praise from the client. His work extended beyond regular hours, often over weekends, reflecting his commitment to the project and client satisfaction.

What the Customer Says

“The flexibility to alter, the ability to add functionalities, and the overall swift response to our needs were impressive. We had a few tough situations, but Adam always jumped in and was very proactive in helping. He’s been very kind. Formbird is working well for us.” – Representative from the multinational organisation.

Workforce Management and Beyond

While the software was initially designed to address specific needs, Formbird’s solution also offered the client newfound capabilities in workforce management. Despite being primarily a database tool, it provided flexibility for the client’s operators, contributing to the ease and efficiency of operations.

The successful delivery of this project underlines Formbird’s capability to develop flexible, efficient, and user-friendly software solutions, even within a limited timeframe. This project’s success, punctuated by a delighted customer and the commendable performance of Consultant Adam Gristwood, serves as a testament to Formbird’s commitment to delivering solutions that meet and exceed client expectations.

Victorian LGA – Brimbank will be the next site to go live with Formbird FLEET

Situated to the West of Melbourne, Brimbank City council takes in some of the fastest-growing suburbs in Australia; they will be switching to Formbird FLEET very soon.

They have chosen the most auspicious date of April the 1st to go live with the latest release or our Formbird’s fleet information management solution. But these guys are no fools. As part of their implementation, the team made an important feature request.

They wanted to upload a spreadsheet with all the tyre replacement costs for all the vehicles without associating each purchase with a work order. This was because an external contractor was carrying out the work. The price of the service still needed to be assigned to the vehicle.

All in the name of tracking the total cost of ownership for the more than significant assets in their fleet.

The feature has many other uses beyond tyres, and other councils such as Bega Valley Shire Council also made a contribution.

We look forward to hearing how things go at the next fleet professionals meet up, which is on the less auspicious date of April the 7th at 11 AM.

If you are not registered to attend and get an invite make sure you do, https://www.formbird.com/category/fleet-professionals-community/

FLEET – NEW functionality ready to fly

Fleet Management System that makes sense

Formbird FLEET’ our in house developed fleet management system is “just another Formbird app“ built on the Formbird PLATFORM. Already well on the way to managing the complete lifecycle of 1500+ fleet assets at the Bundaberg Regional Council. Council has a very diverse fleet that includes Garbage trucks, graders, whipper snippers and over 200 light vehicles.

Our lead on the project, Paul Arkell, has drawn on his background in workforce management at water utilities, to build in features that help manage complex vehicle fleets. The app has been designed to allow users to manage the complete end to end lifecycle of fleet assets. Some of the key features include comprehensive maintenance management functionality, risk-based replacement forecasting and the ability for users to manage their fleet in a paperless environment.

Development of ‘Formbird FLEET’ continues at a cracking pace. Paul has paid particular attention to preventative maintenance functionality to meet both current industry requirements and emerging requirements such as forecasting PM services due based on the consumption of fuel consumed. Taking FLEET to the next level he has borrowed from the broader field of Asset Management.  

Paul Arkell said “With Formbird as the basis we are able to take well-established concepts and apply them to all asset classes, to manage ‘planned work’ based on time and consumption. Using the data to then both manage, predict and balance resource requirements.

Here’s a breakdown of the new functionality

MAINTENANCE / SERVICING PLANNING  

For generating triggers for a Service:

  • Create documents which describe a Service
  • Attach those documents to a configurator 
  • Document that does all the work
  • Output from Configuration – instances that triggered by a Service

Group Service ( A / B / C services)    or  ad-hoc services

  • A – Most basic service (e.g. 10,000km service)
  • B – Most basic service + additional work
  • C – A Service + B Service + additional work

OUTPUT

 – Create the Maintenance Plan for each vehicle in the Fleet with their Service Schedule.   Will automatically generate Service Requests and Work Orders.

– Will generate the Parts ordering for those Services

PLANNING

This tool will estimate the due date of a Vehicle’s Service – it will take the earliest of the following intervals Service 

  • Interval Time
  • Service Interval Primary Meter (e.g. hours in operation)
  • Service Interval Secondary Meter 
  • Fuel Meter (based on Fuel imports) 

Can create lead times to notify Workshop Manager of pending Services.

It also helps to predict concentrations of upcoming Services. This visibility allows the Workshop Supervisor to manually adjust (smoothing) the workload schedules.

UTILISATION

Essentially a record (based on any input in the system e.g. time or meterage) that could trigger a knowledge of where the service is up to.    The system is working out averages of previous consumptions and predicting forward when the next actual Service date will come up.   Even though there is a ‘lead time’, the system gives the Workshop Supervisor the opportunity to predict well ahead (based on consumption) and re-schedule a Service to avoid crushes or voids in servicing planning e.g. ‘smoothing’ the service scheduling to match staff and parts availability. 

Note Well – this functionality is as applicable to Formbird FOCUS3 Users too for the Maintenance Planning for consumption-based devices!

CWW Driving Performance Through Partnership

City West Water (CWW) is leveraging the key capabilities of the Formbird platform. Not only was the initial implementation of Formbird completed in a record breaking 9 months as discussed here City West Water Implements Enterprise Works Management. CWW have continued delivering results with the Agile capabilities of Formbird.

Adopting a continuous improvement program, increasing the reach and capability of their FOCUS3 Formbird Solution. To date some 9 “upgrades” in 18 months, each agile sprint addresses a range of defined business requirements, with defined benefits and return on investment. Growing with evolving business needs and addressing specific requirements, a partnership that is truly diving performance improvements. Whether it’s call taking, dispatching, field work, customer engagement or improved asset knowledge, working together is delivering and driving performance improvements across the business.

Digital Transformation is not a single state, it is an ongoing process of improvement, CWW are embracing and benefiting at all levels from Digital Transformation through Formbird.

With CWW’s commitment, engagement and capability, these benefits will flow through to customers, staff and contractors with improved service, reduced costs and improvement to long term asset quality.

Formbird values and is privileged to have a strong working partnership with CWW and look forward to reporting on the many exciting technology and business improvements planned and underway.


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