Customized SharePoint Solution to Overhaul Scheduling Process & Improve Client Data Tracking

We recently interviewed our client, Lori Hart, Customer Experience Manager at Bulmann Dock & Lift. 

Here’s what Lori had to say about her company’s challenge, the CTC solution, and the results: 

Challenge: 

A large part of our business involves removing docks and equipment prior to the icing over of the lakes in Northern Michigan, and then reinstalling that equipment the following Spring.  

Like many companies, our processes evolved over time until we had five or six different applications that we would use for scheduling, work orders, communication with customers, location information, etc.  

We were struggling to find an application that contained all the various tools we needed to consolidate our processes to one platform. There are a lot of great applications out there, but none we could find that were specific to our business. I had been using an Excel spreadsheet to track all of our pertinent customer data, which was incredibly time-consuming, inefficient, and ultimately left us vulnerable to human error.  

In the past, when I created the schedule, I would have to pull a variety of client information from several different places to ensure that the right people, equipment, etc. were assigned to each job. For example, let’s say Mr. Smith needed a barge and special equipment to get his lift out because it’s muddy at his location. That information is incredibly important for scheduling the right teams with the right equipment, but that information was only helpful if I remembered to collect it and put it in the spreadsheet for the crew that was going to do the job. I had to try to find all of this information and make sure it was in the spreadsheet every year in order for the service team out in the field to be successful in getting the job done. 

Here’s what our work orders looked like originally (our clients’ info has been redacted for their privacy): 

And this is what our scheduler looked like previously:  

Both of these systems were completely manual. I had to create the work orders manually with any information I could remember the client telling me, and then I would have to manually enter all of their crucial and relevant job information into the scheduler for our service teams.  

Solution: 

When we learned that CTC helps companies leverage Microsoft 365 (a tool we were already paying for) to meet unique business needs, we reached out to them for a customized solution. We specifically wanted a solution that worked with our current processes, but simplified the steps involved. CTC’s consultants built-out a custom SharePoint solution for us that accomplished four big goals:  

• I now have a dashboard for scheduling that cherry-picks relevant information and keeps the most important information in front of me. 

• The Crew Leaders out in the field can now see their schedules and complete their work order information using their iPads and smartphones. 

• The list now stores our customers’ histories – such as travel time to their location, how many hours it takes for removal and installation, etc. 

• And we now have a “barriers” list where our crew leaders can document every failure, error, and roadblock they encounter out in the field. This allows our manager to review this list, assign action items to correct the issues if possible, and – in general – improve our operations. 

Our new solution is built so that each customer’s contact information, location, history, and specific job requirements are easily accessible within their file in SharePoint, and that information is there forever – I no longer have to add the information manually every year. In fact, everything we ever do with each customer is saved forever. This has made my job significantly easier (as well as the Service crew’s) because we all have access to everything we might ever need to know about the client. 

Before we made the switch to our new system, I would have to create every work order with everything I could remember about the customer after they call, email, text, or stop in to tell me when they were ready for services. Now, with our new system, the client fills out a form which generates the work order for me, then I just assign a date to it. That’s it! All of the client’s information and preferences carry over with the work order that they create themselves. It’s brilliant! 

Additionally, our Service teams can update their work order information in the field while it’s fresh in their minds, which is not something we had the ability to do before. This is another way we’ve saved time and reduced the opportunity for errors to occur. CTC also built us a “Barriers” list that allows our crews to make note of any issues they run into so that management can address those issues and hone our processes further to help our operations constantly improve. 

When the team at CTC first told us what their plan was using SharePoint, we had some reservations. It felt a bit overwhelming to imagine how the application would function and be able to do everything we needed it to. We had a hard time trusting that we’d see real benefits from making the change, but they asked us to trust the process, so we did.  

Once I was able to start testing the new system myself, I realized how easy the solution really was. I was no longer afraid of making mistakes because you can easily fix any errors that you make. If you accidentally uncheck a box, it doesn’t destroy a week’s worth of work–you simply recheck that box and it’s fixed. 

The more I explored our new SharePoint solution, the more I was able to see just how many possibilities there are with it. Additionally, the Service crews know that the new system can be molded into whatever we need, so they’ve been coming to me with new ideas every day for how we can use it.  We are all excited about the possibilities that we have with the new system, and we’re thrilled with the solution CTC has built for us.  

Here is a screenshot of our new automated work order:  

And here is what our new client info tracker looks like (our clients’ info has been redacted for their privacy): 

And finally, this is a screenshot of our new scheduler (our clients’ names have been redacted for their privacy):

Results: 

Before working with CTC, my role was an 80-hour per week job and we only had one person to do the work, so we knew we needed to cut that time in half. With CTC’s help, we managed to do exactly that.  

The entire service department has also seen a big increase in productivity. Now that all the information we could possibly need is stored in each customer’s file, the Service crews can see exactly what equipment they need before they leave for the job. There’s far less time spent running back and forth to swap out equipment because they’re no longer hitting roadblocks in the field. Our crews are experiencing fewer unpleasant surprises and much less frustration when they’re on a job.  

There has also been a big decrease in stress and increase in job satisfaction for me and for the entire team in the Service department. Things are running smoother, everyone has the information they need to do their job right the first time, and we all know now how easy it will be to make additional adjustments to the system over time if we think of new ways we can use it.  

We’ve worked with technology consultants before who moved through the process very quickly and dumped the final solution on us with very little to no follow up. We’ve had the opposite experience with CTC. We love that CTC has been there every single step of the way. We have bi-weekly calls to talk about how things are going, ask questions, get additional training or support. CTC has been there for every question, ensuring that we know exactly what we’re doing. We are absolutely thrilled with this partnership and hope to work with CTC forever! 

ROI: 

Initial Investment: ~$12,000 

Ongoing Costs: $0  

ROI:  

• Reduced Management’s work time by 50% 

• Notable decrease in stress and increase in job satisfaction among management & crew members