Background

The original project at Tyneside Standards was started by John Wood, Operations Manager, who engaged Smart IT after a bad experience with a previous software provider whose system had been overspecified and mis-sold to the business.

Before that, Tyneside Standards’ calibration jobs were tracked through a predominantly paper-based process, backed by a legacy Access database that had originally been built as a side project by one of the company’s own employees. It was workable, but not built for a growing, accredited calibration business.

The Goal

• Improve on the core functionality of the legacy system and bring the manual, paper-based steps into a single, end-to-end digital process.
• Give every job full traceability, with clarity on progress at every stage.
• Match the functionality of industry-leading calibration software, such as IndySoft, which is used by some of the major calibration houses and offers the same core job-processing capability.

The main feature at the heart of the development project was the customer portal: giving Tyneside Standards’ customers direct access to their certificates, along with live updates on the progress of their jobs.

A Decade of Continuous Improvement

The project has now been running for over ten years, with regular updates and improvements built on top of the original base template. That continuous development has let the system adapt and grow alongside the business, adding further functionality such as reporting across all processes handled by the system, giving Tyneside Standards direct insight into workload efficiency.

Because it’s a custom-built solution, Tyneside Standards can act on specific customer feedback quickly, turning it into new features or changes to the customer-facing portal on an ad-hoc basis, rather than waiting on a vendor’s release cycle.

That responsiveness, in partnership with Smart IT, has helped Tyneside Standards win major client tender bids, including from a large-scale, national and international hydraulics supplier.

What Customers Say

Feedback from across Tyneside Standards’ customer base is consistent: the portal is easier to use than other providers’ systems, and it supports their own business efficiency. Customers also say they feel valued, because their feedback and feature requests are listened to and actioned as real improvements to the portal they use daily in their own companies. Requests such as improved search functionality, once implemented, go on to benefit every customer using the portal, not just the one who asked.

“It makes customers feel like a special entity too, because we’re using their feedback.”

Daniel Watson, Service Manager, Tyneside Standards

Standing Out Within the WIKA Group

Other locations under the WIKA parent company run different systems, and some have less functionality than the solution in use at Tyneside Standards. When comparing internal processes and reporting capabilities, it’s clear that Tyneside Standards’ software is considerably more streamlined and user-friendly than the systems its sister companies rely on.

That advantage extends to growing the team and onboarding new hires. The system is cleanly separated by department functionality, so training and support can focus only on the sections relevant to a new starter’s role, rather than the full end-to-end system.

“New people coming into the business can just pick up what they need to, because everything’s in segregated sections, you can only show them the part that’s relevant to their job.”

Daniel Watson, Service Manager, Tyneside Standards

Winning and Retaining Customers

This competitive advantage lets Tyneside Standards win and retain national customers and household brands, competing alongside its main competitors on a level footing when it comes to functionality. It’s paramount for customers’ own audits, too: certificates are issued digitally rather than in paper format, giving full traceability as a supplier within a customer’s audit process. Tyneside Standards’ pharmaceutical, manufacturing, nuclear and aerospace customers rely on this.

The customer portal is now a standard offering among major calibration labs, and having it lets Tyneside Standards compete at a UK-wide level, rather than the local footing the business worked from under its previous structure.

“Without it, I don’t think we’d have the confidence that customers would stay with us, because it’s pretty much a standard offer now among most calibration labs, the major ones anyway. We’re trying to compete at the UK-wide level.”

Daniel Watson, Service Manager, Tyneside Standards

Built for an Accredited Business

The software is ISO 17025 accredited and has been reviewed under UKAS regulation for full approval of both internal and customer-facing processes. In 2025, the full process was reviewed end to end: how each job is processed, reviewed, approved, and signed off throughout.

Traceability at the Core

As the system has become integral to Tyneside Standards’ day-to-day operations, it has also brought greater traceability and accountability throughout the business.

“The good thing is everything’s traceable; we’ve got the full log, so if anything goes wrong, we can trace it back to where it happened.”

Daniel Watson, Service Manager, Tyneside Standards

Better Forecasting, Better Customer Experience

That same level of insight into performance benefits customers directly. Tyneside Standards uses resource utilisation forecasts to manage workloads, staff capacity, and job planning and scheduling, giving realistic predictions on the time required for new jobs, larger-scale projects, and full turnaround times.

This gives customers much more accurate timescales and improves their expectations around completion deadlines. It also helps customers manage their own workload, since they know in advance when a piece of equipment will be out of action and roughly when it will be returned. It’s helped Tyneside Standards build on its existing customer service and improve communication throughout, supporting long-term customer retention.

“Having that resource utilisation tool lets us accurately determine our lead time, so at least the customer is aware of it, rather than just giving a blanket, generic figure.”

Daniel Watson, Service Manager, Tyneside Standards