This post was last updated on July 6th, 2022 at 06:25 pm
Total Crane Solutions adopted CheckedOK to keep track of inspections but now uses it to manage its entire operation. Automating tasks has enabled its founder to build a growing business while keeping overheads to a minimum.
Total Crane Solutions specialises in crane breakdown, repair and servicing. Established in 2016 by Dean Williams, an experienced crane engineer, the company now employs five staff and serves major customers including ArcelorMittell and Kloekner Metals.
It adopted CoreRFID’s CheckedOK system in 2018 to keep track of LOLER inspections but later extended it to cover other aspects of crane safety. More recently it has added new modules to cover help manage many of the day-to-day tasks involved in running a business.
Faster turnaround of reports
“CheckedOK has been a game changer for us,” says Dean. “The system has enabled us to win bigger clients because we can produce inspection reports more quickly and they look more professional – clear, legible and spell checked!
“Previously we would have to wait for the engineer to get back to the office to process the paperwork but now I can have the report with the client before they return.
Easy access for clients and staff
“It’s easier for clients as they can access reports at any time in the portal and view them in chronological order, and it’s great for auditing purposes as there’s a full history including services and risk assessments.”
TCS now uses the CheckedOK system to manage its entire operations – from generating quotes and invoices to the purchase of parts, task management, timesheets and expenses. By automating many day-to-day tasks, it has enabled the business to keep admin and costs to a minimum. It also means that Dean can manage the business while being out on the road himself.
“I can log into system from anywhere in the world and access real time data on what’s being processed,” Dean explains. “If I’m in Scotland get a call from a customer at 2pm, I can produce a quote or find out the progress of a job and get back to them before the end of the day.
“As customers email me with requests, I can then assign tasks to the office manager who accepts the jobs and passes on to an engineer. Once the task is complete, I will receive a notification or if the task is still outstanding, I can follow up, find out why and decide if it’s something I need to get involved in.”
Capturing information on site
As the company regularly carries out training on client sites, it has recently added a training module which allows them to capture signatures of attendees on a tablet and generate a certificate at end. The certificates are then sent to the client company, so they can see which of their staff have attended and qualified, and to demonstrate their commitment to continuously upgrading staff skills.
Dean estimates that the system has saved three days a month of his own time, not to mention others’ time, in particular in waiting for and processing paperwork. Most of the information is captured by engineers themselves on site, rather than having to be input by office staff.
“We are a relatively new company, we have grown rapidly and taken on some major clients,” Dean adds. “Our aim was to automate as much as possible to reduce back office time and overheads. CheckedOK has taken away a lot of admin and enabled us to run a growing business with a limited team.”
Benefits
- Faster and more professional reporting
- Cloud-based system provides easy access for clients and staff
- Information is captured on site rather than input by office staff
- Automation reduces back office time and overheads
- Streamlining processes enables owner-managers to focus on other tasks
