About our client
Our client is a leading North American provider of production materials and integrated supply chain solutions. The client’s integrated network of over 75 metals and plastics service centers offers a complete line of non-ferrous metals such as copper, brass, steel, and semi-finished plastics, including over 120,000 varieties of products they deliver to approximately 55,000 customers across North America. In addition to procurement, storage, and material delivery, they offer a vast range of materials processing and OEM services, including:
  • Quality Inspection
  • Sorting and re-work
  • Quality Engineering
  • Quality Testing for manufactured products across the globe
Challenges faced / needs
The client used a web-based application to manage various activities related to the inspection process, such as job creation, inspection, work instructions, audits, and change requests. This application was used by inspection staff (inspectors) & supervisors who create the work requests and manage them along with other field users.
Paper forms (Operations Sheets) were used to capture inspection data while on the shop floor / inspection area. The captured data during inspection had to be again entered into the web application to track the work by management. This expended a lot of time and manual effort, and since all the paperwork was handwritten, legibility was also a challenge.
The client needed a solution for inspection staff and other field users with a mobile-based solution focusing on solving the user experience & data synchronization challenges present in the current infrastructure.
Solution offered
The client was impressed with Coventus’s strong mobile development background, spread over 17 years and our clear understanding of the client ecosystem. The client’s team together with Coventus’s subject matter experts had discussed together and initiated the digital transformation of their existing web-based application to a cloud-based web portal (used for viewing operational reports) and mobile-based application (used for inspection).
Mobile strategies focusing on user experience and offline capabilities were developed to enhance process efficiency. A tablet / mobile-based inspection management application was designed to inspect various automotive parts. The app was intuitive, supported offline mode, and could seamlessly connect with client’s homegrown backend systems for seamless communication.
User groups were created, and access control was given based on roles. For example, a manager could assign jobs for inspectors and manage the back-end operations to support and guide the inspectors and field users. When the field user logged into the application, they could choose their jobs based on the location. Work instructions presented in the application helped to perform inspections at the site locations seamlessly. We provided a cloud-based solution built on REST API, this transformed the application landscape which resulted in smooth operations across the organization. In addition, we included a feature in mobile inspection where the field users could capture the defective parts’ images and upload them to the application as evidence for the sorting done at client locations. This was hassle-free and improved the time taken for the inspection done by field workers
Client’s manufacturing customers around the globe used the Microsoft Azure cloud-based web portal to check on various dashboards. Coventus’s cloud-based dashboard collected data from inspection and other related activities. This cloud-based dashboard helped in slicing the collected data through various levels and gave insights to the customer / stakeholders and helped in making decisions with respect to the process. Defect trends, detailed effect reports and other reports along with their respective supporting documents could be analyzed with the help of the dashboard. If the user had to deep-dive and analyze the information, the system enabled the user to export the reports in all supporting formats like pdf, image, excel etc. The user was able to view the reports with ease and comfort both in web and mobile applications.
The Quality and Assurance process was diligently followed for the solution, and the inspection app was tested on all devices used (tablets & mobile). In addition, manual and automation testing was carried out to ensure seamless integration and smooth process flow throughout the application.
Coventus’s inspection management framework
Coventus exclusively developed an inspection management framework for the client. This framework came around as an efficient inspection management framework that solved all the challenges that were present in the existing system. The Inspection process which was carried out by the field workers had to be captured end-to-end in the legacy system. The framework had the ability to dynamically generate forms based on the type of process followed, and people engaged in the process found it easy to initiate workflows. With many intricate process-flows in place, the client found this as the ideal solution that was appropriate for the inspection process. It was easily customizable based on the needs of the user. The framework helped deliver the solution faster and improved the overall performance efficiency of the client with its customizable, user-friendly workflows.
Tools / Technologies used
Microsoft Azure App Services
NET Core
SQL Server
DevExpress Dashboards
Firebase
APNS - Push Notifications
Native iOS (Swift)
Native Android
Results

The Mobile Inspection app was engineered to be paperless, contactless, and touchless. The app increased productivity
across the organization by reducing manual effort and time. The application also helped supervisors and inspectors gain
access to instructions to be followed when carrying out inspections. Migration to Cloud from the existing web portal was
performed successfully, and data synchronization issues in the offline mode were addressed efficiently. The need for
operational sheets was eliminated, and the process was converted as a part of green initiatives. The web portal + mobile
application system ensured the entire process became error-free, end-to-end.

Few results that the system provided:
  • Digitalization of Data
  • Offline Data Sync
  • Dynamic Form Generation
  • Efficient Job / Issue Tracking
  • Real-Time Views of inspection data
  • Alerts and Notifications
  • Efficient display of reports via dashboard
Coventus will also be extending its services to its client by supporting applications in production and helping with audits of the tracker modules. In addition, the client is planning to digitize its audit processes with Coventus.
Improvement in data analysis
0 %
Increase in accuracy & traceability of systems
0 %
Detailed logging and remote debugging
0 %
Increase in report enablement
0 %