Synatalk Quarterly Newsletter – September 2011

September 21, 2011

Welcome again to Synatalk. This issue our customer stories focus on how smart thinking about business processes can deliver significantly improved business outcomes, even if, like Transend Networks, the project is about managing over 1500 network outages per year required to enable asset construction, maintenance and replacement. We are proud to say these case studies are examples of where Synateq’s strength in process improvement and project management have delivered real value to these organisations.

You’ll also see we have our next Technology Update coming up at the end of September, and this time we focus on how Qlikview can give you visibility into what’s really happening in your business, and that means well informed decisions. We’d love to see you come along, but places are limited by the room size, so be sure to register early.

The photo above was taken earlier this week at the Technology Tasmania event run by TasICT. I had the pleasure of being MC, and over the two days, 240 business people were treated to a wide range of insightful and thought provoking presentations. The conference is well worth watching out for next year.

Take a minute to enjoy this edition of Synatalk.

Best Regards,

Chris

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The Outage Optimiser – Bringing Efficiencies to the Outage Planning Process at Transend

The Outage Optimiser is the latest extension to the Asset Management Information System of Transend Networks Pty Ltd, which owns and operates the electricity transmission system in Tasmania. Outage planning is a critical business process for Transend Networks, with over 1500 network outages per year required to enable asset construction, maintenance and replacement, and by external parties connected to the transmission network.

The Outage Optimiser represents the largest Asset Management Information System initiative to date. It was developed by a contract team from Synateq, who worked closely with Mark Richardson, Transend Asset Management Systems Manager, and David Barwick, Transend Works Planning and Coordination Manager. Adding to the complexity of the large project was the storage of source and reference data for the application in three existing transactional systems. Anecdotes of unsuccessful attempts at similar solutions by other organisations also added pressure to the project.

With a consolidated Gantt chart of planned outages, the Outage Optimiser was designed to present a collective view of outages and works. It has the ability to import schedules from external parties and enables users to view them in conjunction with Transend outages and works plans. There is also a comprehensive calendar view of all outages. The optimisation process ensures that outages occur as efficiently and effectively as possible, and are coordinated with external parties. This has yielded benefits including cost savings from fewer outages, improved transmission circuit availability and improved customer service levels. The project also contributed to the establishment of improved data governance across the business owners of the various source systems, enabling the project team to implement an enterprise integration architecture that is already delivering compounding benefits in multiple business domains.

The Transend Executive Team was full of praise at the unveiling of the Outage Optimiser giving the solution their unanimous support. Mark Richardson commented, “We applied good project governance to the development of the Outage Optimiser by getting buy in from the Executive Team, creating early user involvement, and using prototyping methodologies to keep all parties involved throughout the process. The Outage Optimiser has transformed the time-consuming task of wading through multiple spreadsheets and back-end systems to reconcile planned outages into an intuitive and informative user experience.”

The Synateq development team created an intuitive user interface for the Outage Optimiser that fits in with the latest office products used throughout Transend. Synateq Program Manager Tony Caink commented, “The layout is clean and flexible, users can apply filters and sorts, and you can save your personal settings. The multiple monitor support is excellent, allowing users to view lots of complex information at once.”
The most satisfying aspects of the project for Mark have been the positive response from users and the ability to deliver a long awaited, effective solution.  “It’s a cool tool; it looks good, is easy to use, and does what it’s meant to. The response from users has been exclusively positive,” said Mark, “The benefits of improved work-task data management have delighted the system users.”

The Outage Optimiser has a considerable future within the Asset Management Information System at Transend. According to Mark, “There is a significant opportunity in the immediate term to develop the transactional capability of the Outage Optimiser. It is a great presentation medium with the potential to bolt on a whole suite of data sets.”

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Roadways covers more ground using Greentree job costing

Roadways has been manufacturing asphalt and applying bituminous road surfacing to Tasmanian roads since 1969. With the help of Synateq, CEO Phil Sidney replaced the numerous Excel spreadsheets the business had been running on for many years with Greentree’s Financials, Job Cost, Payroll, Inventory and Transaction Analysis modules. These modules provide a seamlessly integrated solution, supplying Roadways with all the right answers to questions, enabling them to focus their expertise on the business of road surfacing.

Since a core business activity is job costing, Phil says they are very impressed with the fact that a customer quote can be easily converted into a job from within Greentree’s CRM module – no re-keying of data. This means you can create a complete audit trail of a quote from initiation to completion with flags to follow-up at various times during the process. Previously, quotes were created in a spreadsheet so there was no system prompt at various milestones and if a quote was accepted, the data needed to be re-keyed into the old system. If a quote wasn’t accepted no one really knew why. Phil says that being able to track customer transactions from CRM is “immensely helpful.”

Flexible reporting efficiently tracks and reports machine usage

Roadways are Tasmania’s only licensed operator of the Sharpe’s Multipaver® asphalt paving system and have many other specialised machines used for various roading projects. The tracking of hours of usage and scheduling of maintenance of each machine is crucial since machine failure can cost thousands, if not ten’s of thousand’s of dollars in down-time. Phil says, “Greentree’s reporting capability now fully informs management and this translates into better decision making when it comes to quoting and estimating future jobs”. Previously, machine usage was tracked manually in a spreadsheet but this is now automatically tracked via several of Greentree’s integrated modules. Most importantly is the tracking and reporting of labour and materials against a customer’s job which was a process predisposed to error and omission of hidden and forgotten costs. Now, every cost associated with a job is entered into the system once and updated in all relevant reporting systems, which means all costs are accurately reflected in the actual job cost. Roadways are thus able to fully optimise the use and application of materials used to surface roads and apply line markings.

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Win a $250K business system

Greentree, Synateq and fellow Greentree partners in other states are giving one Australian business the chance to win up to $250 000 of fully installed business systems.

Small, medium or large, Greentree believes many businesses have one thing in common – to be rid of the constraints and the day-to-day drudgery their current systems provide, to ultimately get on with the reason they went into business in the first place.

It’s a comprehensive business systems makeover to the value of $250 000:

• U p to $125,000 of Greentree software
• U p to $75,000 of implementation services from a Greentree partner
• Two years free Cloud hosting services, up to the value of $50 000.

Click on the image above to find out more about how to enter. Entry is simple and the prize could set your organisation up for the future.

As an added bonus, you could win an iPad just by signing up for competition updates!

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Technology Update: More insight = better results

QlikView is the most powerful, cost effective and user-friendly business intelligence tool to have hit the market in 30 years, it is transforming businesses worldwide.

Measure time to value in weeks, days, or even hours. According to an IDC survey, 44% of QlikView customers deploy QlikView in less than one month and 77% deploy it in less than three months. In contrast, a typical traditional BI software implementation takes months or even years.

Join us in Launceston or Hobart as Tony Swinnerton, Partner Sales Manager from QlikTech, explains why business discovery is the next generation of business intelligence.

Launceston:

When:    Wednesday 28th September, 2011
Time:      2.00pm – 4.00pm, afternoon tea will be served.
Where:   Grand Chancellor, 29 Cameron Street, Launceston

Hobart:

When:    Thursday 29th September, 2011
Time:      10.00am – 12.00noon, morning tea will be served.
Where:   Synateq Boardroom, Ground Floor, 86 Collins St, Hobart

RSVP:    Contact Jane Turner jane.turner@synateq.com

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Synateq – First to complete new QlikView support training

Lydia Hay, one of Synateq’s Business Analysts specialising in business intelligence software QlikView, was the first in Australia to complete the QlikAcademy’s new Support Track for Partners. Congratulations Lydia!

 

 

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Conferences – Come and talk to us at:

Ecological Society of Australia 2011 Annual Conference 21-25th November, Wrest Point Casino, Sandy Bay where we’ll be demonstrating how to execute, plan, monitor and control OHS in the field with FieldTeq.

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