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A robust project management software solution that empowers contractors to control their entire process easily — from budget estimation and planning to daily work order assignment and reporting.
Requirements
Wireframing
Visual Design
Interaction Design
Prototyping
Design Systems
Acceligent is a complex project management SaaS solution built for customization. We have worked closely with the development team and product manager for over four years and built it from the ground up. The close collaboration helped us get a good grasp of the construction & industrial maintenance industries and their pain points.
In this case study, we are going to focus on just a few significant parts of the system:
Before Acceligent, the client managed daily Work Orders on a regular whiteboard with a grid overlay using magnet labels and erasable markers.
This analog way of tracking had multiple drawbacks and challenges - the human factor being the common denominator. Such a scheduling system was long overdue for a digital transformation.
The digital Schedule Board consists of three main parts: the resource sidebar on the left, the work order grid on the right, and the utility bar on the top. It is quite a data heavy application, and although its primary use is intended for large TV screens in order to have a clear overview, we made it work for narrower desktop resolutions as well.
We've carefully crafted the Work Order card to fit all essential information so managers can quickly identify and keep track of daily work assignments and resources. Editing labor and resources requires them only to drag and drop items in or out of a Work Order. We used color coding to communicate resource attributes, e.g., employee skills, roles, driving license possession, primary office location, and multi-assignments.
The resource sidebar tells managers about available resources for Work Order assignments, grouped by office location. Managers can reserve an empty “slot” on a Work order by using unlimited placeholder items. This allows them to define a required role with a specific skill set later.
Targeted at a resolution of 4096x2160 pixels, the smart TV is a fitting job scheduling experience. Employees can view 60 Work Orders at a time without scrolling. When required, users can switch it into read-only "kiosk mode". The Kiosk Mode automatically shuffles through the daily assignment with a custom time delay, similar to an airport flight schedule screen.
Out with the old - in with the new! An 80-inch, 4K resolution, touch-enabled, heavy-duty screen was installed in the client's customer's office for testing.
When tapping on a Work Order header, employees can access the Work Order details form and edit details using a Bluetooth keyboard. The Schedule Board supports simultaneous multi-editing via different devices - Multiplayer Mode. Users can edit from TV, desktop or mobile at the same time without interrupting each other.
Supervisors are required to submit daily reports. Before Acceligent, the reports consisted of stacks of chart forms. Among other downsides, these forms asked for redundant information, which made reporting time-consuming and inefficient.
The main challenge was designing a system that could adapt to all possible scenarios since Field Report charts vary significantly between companies and the type of work employees do on a single Work Order.
The custom report-building process starts with building "report blocks" and then using them to build custom report types. This process allows the reuse of report blocks inside multiple report types if needed, allowing for more flexibility and time-saving.
Here we see an employee editing a Field Report. The currently active report block "Clean & TV" is for a specific job type, while the foreman report, traffic control, and disposal are shared report blocks that appear on every Field Report, regardless of job type.
We’ve also optimized Acceligent for mobile use. Instead of filling out stacks of yellow charts, employees can now use the Acceligent mobile application to tap through Field Report blocks. We adapted the experience for the smallest possible device viewport, adding diverse space-saving interactions, accordion elements, and "sticky headers" to maximize space and ease of use.
The development team did a fantastic job implementing our vision of the multiplayer mode, allowing multiple users to edit the same Field Report simultaneously - on any device.
Timesheets are an essential part of every Field Report. Employees must log their time after every shift, and the superintendent will sign and submit the entire Field Report for further review.
All Field Reports go through a 3-level review cycle by varied roles within the company. Reviewers can reject a report, ask for adjustments by writing a global comment or leave comments on specific sections within the Field Report. We mapped the process below to align the entire team uncovering edge cases along the way.
Time sheets are an essential part of the work process and the responsibility of individual employees. They are vital for financial analytics and, most importantly, for employee compensation calculations.
In accordance with regulatory restrictions, only employees can edit their own time. However, time cards they submit for review can be rejected in case of errors that should be remedied.
The Time Card module functions as an elaborate time tracker. There are four categories for time tracking: shop, travel, job, and break. While switching between time categories, employees can choose a Work Order with which to associate their time. They can also adjust time recordings manually and will see a notification if there are any gaps in the timeline.
The mobile app detects timeline overlaps and warns employees about the issue. Overlaps are a blocker for ending a shift, so they need to be resolved either automatically or by manually correcting activity start and end times.
Similar to Field Reports, time cards are signed and submitted for review by each employee.
When reviewing time sheets, a manager can see all categories of logged time for each employee. The logged time is displayed in relative timelines. The job time category holds additional segments according to time spent using a specific piece of equipment.
Filled, signed, submitted, reviewed, and approved time cards are locked, and neither managers nor field workers can make additional edits.
After each daily Work Order cycle, a printable PDF report is automatically generated and shared with the customer. Although there is a lot of color coding in the design, we have made the printable version entirely usable in greyscale, as is often the case in office environments.
If you have a project that fits our niche, we’d love to chat and see how we can help.
