Case Study
Approval Tracking System
We upgraded a legacy system with a modern cloud app system using Microsoft 365 & Power Apps. It’s user-friendly, integrates with other tools, and utilizes existing licenses, saving time and money.
Hayward Industries designs, manufactures, and markets a portfolio of pool equipment and associated automation systems in North America, Europe, and internationally.
The Challenge
Collins Aerospace approached us after they experienced a failed AS9100 audit due to having expired materials on the assembly floor. The client had grown significantly over the past year and their existing Materials Management process was no longer sustainable for their current workload. Upon our review, their process relied heavily on a single person manually tracking all materials with an expiration date.
Replace System
Build a cloud-based system.
1
Reduce Entry Errors
Integrate business intelligence to guide users.
2
Integrate with external systems
Gather data from other applications and provide automated reporting.
3
To help Hayward Industries, we needed to understand how the existing process was producing value as well as identify the wastes. Using that information, we would build a new system in the cloud that would enable the enterprise to handle change more effectively.
Design
CyberMedics helped Hayward Industries analyze the legacy system and design an ideal solution.
We assessed the legacy system via process mapping, user interviews, and waste identification. Subsequently, we interviewed users to outline the features an ideal system would have:
Automated reviewer identification
User-friendly access
Robust reporting for process issue detection
Develop
CyberMedics used Microsoft 365 to develop an Approval Tracking System that satisfied the needs of both the users and the business.
After grasping the current and ideal processes, CyberMedics developed a solution to meet business needs:
No third-party tools: Limited to Microsoft Power Apps environment.
Seamless workflow integration: Automating data import/export within existing change processes.
Deliver
CyberMedics met frequently with the project team and end users to ensure a smooth transition from the old to new system.
We collaborated with Hayward to refine the new system, establishing dev, staging, and prod setups per ITIL guidelines. Workshops equipped Hayward’s IT to customize and manage it. With team confidence in its performance, we were ready to assess its impact.
Impact
Working with Hayward, we ensured the impact was easy to measure and the project was worthwhile.
The focus on integration for the Approval Tracking System made it easy to identify the impact that the system had on the business. Some positive impacts included:
Approval tracking metrics surfaced directly into existing management dashboards
Less rejections due to incorrect approvers
Quicker approval turnaround due to notification system
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Microsoft Power Apps based Approval Tracking System
