Brunata have more than 100 years of experience in providing solutions that optimises and reduces the energy consumption in housings and buildings.
One of the corner stones in providing such solutions is efficient collection of consumption data from dispersed locations, where Brunata use a wide range for different metering technology. These range from manual reading meters to modern meters that can be read using a variety of different wireless technology.
Brunata needed a future proof solution based on two primary requirements for the service technicians to use when gathering data. For hardware, it meant no vendor lock-in and for software, it meant having a reliable platform where the program can run on multiple hardware devices.
The application for the service technician also needed to be delivered by a specific deadline, and it was not expected that the current development team would have the time and capacity to meet that deadline, thus Trifork was brought in to assist with the development.
The project kick started with a Trifork Accelerate® (Design Thinking) workshop to ensure that a new and improved system was built that solves the same basic problems as the current system, more efficiently.
Trifork facilitated a digital transformation with Brunata by helping them move from an outdated platform to a new digitalised one and acted as a sparring partner for the technologies needed.
The workshop resulted in a clear definition of what should be built and initial buy-in from the users (service technicians) was established. Azure DevOps was used as the continuous integration platform, and Appcenter.ms was used to distribute the app for testing during development. Towards the end of the project, a two-month field test was carried out, where the service technicians used the app in their daily work.
Trifork also provided full stack development and integration. In some cases, Trifork took full responsibility for a sub-system, such as the development of all Bluetooth communication.
The strong collaboration between Brunata and Trifork illustrates the combined power of IT expertise and the importance of user experience on a digital transformation.
The project resulted in a new internal system that performs all the needed functionalities, without being tied to a specific hardware device. As an example, service technicians have the ability to use either a phone or a tablet for the system, depending on what best suits their needs.
The design thinking and user validation approach resulted in a smooth uptake amongst service technicians, where most of them were able to perform their tasks as usual within a day or two.
100 service technicians are currently using the system, and another round of them will be joining in May 2019, when a new part of the functionality will be implemented. Processes are moving faster and smoother, and the quality of the work performance has increased.
In addition, Brunata are not experiencing as many problems with the system as before, as it has been a faster process to fix errors, which allows the service technicians to continue with their work without lengthy delays.
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