Tyneside Standards provides specialist calibration services to customers across the UK, working with organisations in industries including pharmaceutical, manufacturing, nuclear and aerospace.
For more than ten years, Smart IT has worked alongside Tyneside Standards to develop and continually improve a bespoke calibration management system. What began as a project to modernise the way calibration jobs were managed has grown into a platform that now plays an important role in the day-to-day running of the business and the service it provides to its customers.
When Tyneside Standards first approached Smart IT, much of its calibration work was still managed through paper-based processes alongside a legacy Microsoft Access database that had originally been developed in-house.
The business had previously tried replacing this with an off-the-shelf system, but it proved to be overspecified and wasn’t a good fit for the way the team actually worked.
Tyneside Standards needed something designed around its own processes. It had to manage a calibration job from start to finish, provide complete traceability and make information easier for both employees and customers to access.
There was also a wider commercial requirement. Tyneside Standards was competing with much larger calibration companies, many of which already offered sophisticated online portals. To compete effectively for larger customers and national contracts, it needed to be able to offer the same level of digital service without losing the flexibility and personal approach that set the business apart.
Smart IT worked closely with Tyneside Standards to develop a bespoke system covering the complete calibration process, from a job first arriving through to processing, review, approval and certification.
At the heart of the system is a customer portal, giving customers direct access to their calibration certificates as well as visibility of the progress of their jobs.
Rather than trying to build everything at once, the system has continued to develop alongside Tyneside Standards. New features and improvements have been introduced as the needs of the business and its customers have changed.
This now includes detailed reporting, improved search functionality, workload and resource planning, and tools that help the team forecast lead times more accurately.
One of the biggest advantages of having software developed specifically for the business is its flexibility. When customers suggest improvements, Tyneside Standards can discuss them directly with Smart IT and, where they would add value, have them incorporated into the system.
This means the platform continues to evolve based not only on what Tyneside Standards needs internally, but also on what its customers value.
What started as a project to replace paper-based processes has become an important competitive advantage for Tyneside Standards.
The system gives the company functionality comparable with that offered by some of the largest calibration laboratories, helping Tyneside Standards compete for business on a UK-wide basis and win and retain major national customers and household brands.
Its flexibility has also played a direct role in winning new business. Being able to listen to a prospective customer’s requirements and quickly introduce useful new functionality has helped Tyneside Standards secure major tenders, including business from a large national and international hydraulics supplier.
Customers regularly comment on how easy the portal is to use compared with systems offered by other calibration providers. They can also see that their feedback is listened to, with good suggestions often becoming improvements to the platform.
The benefits extend well beyond the customer portal. Every stage of a calibration job is recorded, providing a complete history and allowing the team to trace an issue back to exactly where it occurred. Digital certificates and this level of traceability are particularly valuable to customers operating in highly regulated industries, where calibration records form an important part of their own audit and compliance requirements.
Better reporting has also given the team much greater visibility of workload and capacity. Resource planning tools allow Tyneside Standards to forecast lead times based on its actual workload rather than simply providing customers with a standard turnaround time.
The system has made things simpler internally too. Different areas are separated by department and role, meaning employees only need access to, and training on, the parts of the system relevant to their job.
Tyneside Standards has also been able to compare its bespoke platform with systems used elsewhere within the wider WIKA Group. In several areas, its system provides greater functionality while remaining simpler and more streamlined for employees to use.
More than ten years after the original project began, the software continues to evolve with the business. Rather than Tyneside Standards having to change the way it works to fit an off-the-shelf product, the system continues to adapt around the business, its team and its customers.
