The Challenge of Construction Material Co.*
Construction Material Co. (CMC) is a prominent global building materials company with a vast network of over 300 plants in the US. While the company boasts established systems and processes, the California operation faces additional Cal/OSHA requirements, demanding meticulous attention to detail. The reliance on manual documentation introduces complexities, hindering the assurance of accuracy and completeness in records and creating potential regulatory gaps. With paper-based systems scattered across numerous binders in various plants, the susceptibility to errors, such as missing or mislaid documents, poses a significant hurdle in showcasing compliance during OSHA audits.
To overcome these challenges, CMC embarked on a strategic initiative to transition to a digital maintenance management system. The objective is to streamline processes, enhance accessibility, and, ultimately, facilitate smoother adherence to OSHA compliance and audit requirements. The envisioned digital system encompasses key components, including Repair Requests, Work Orders, Routine Safety Check Forms, Time Tracking, and Maintenance Reporting. Crucially, the system must offer dual language support, aligning with CMC's diverse operational needs.
Why Core Maitri
Having established a prior working relationship with Tak Yamamoto, co-founder of Core Maitri, the decision-makers at CMC expressed confidence in our capacity to comprehend their unique needs and provide a product that aligns with all their specifications, adheres to deadlines, and remains within budget constraints. Our comprehensive approach involves engaging with end-users, actively listening to their challenges, validating our comprehension, and crafting solutions that garner buy-in before the development phase. This methodology facilitates swift iterations, ensuring efficiency while maintaining cost-effectiveness.
Following the initial development stage, we continue our collaborative process by soliciting feedback from users. We prioritize enhancements in an Agile manner, allowing for a dynamic and responsive approach to improvements. This ongoing dialogue ensures that the final product not only meets but exceeds expectations, demonstrating our commitment to delivering a solution that evolves with the changing needs of CMC and its stakeholders.
How We Met the Challenge
We conducted collaborative working sessions with both managers and mechanics to meticulously map out the process and sequence for each type of work. This involved identifying tasks that necessitated multi-person inspections and signoffs. To enhance clarity, we developed straightforward wireframes and visuals, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of each process and the associated forms. Subsequently, we progressed to creating mockups, exploring various solution concepts before advancing to the development of a simple clickable prototype.
The maintenance system was then constructed and underwent rigorous testing at one plant. Throughout this phase, we engaged in multiple feedback and development cycles to fine-tune the system. This iterative process was crucial in ensuring that the final product not only met all compliance requirements but was also user-friendly, reflecting a commitment to delivering a solution that is both effective and easily embraced by the end-users.
The Results
The implementation of the digital maintenance system has effectively streamlined the completion of Daily, Weekly, and Monthly inspections, ensuring timely execution while eliminating the cumbersome process of dealing with paper documentation, faxing, and filing. Supervisors now have the flexibility to review Work Orders on the move, strategize and redistribute workloads, and provide real-time approvals. For mechanics and yardmen, the transition has translated into significant time savings as they no longer need to search for the right forms. They can now access their workload in advance and conveniently track their time directly within the application.
*Client name has been changed due to Confidentiality Agreement.
Core Maitri is an enterprise software consultancy specializing in Excel-to-Web, AI Integration, Custom Software Programming, and Enterprise Application Development services. Our approach is deeply consultative, rooted in understanding problems at their core and then validating our solutions through iterative feedback.