Mitek’s Sapphire Management can offer a multitude of benefits to your business.
It’s been no secret Darren Campbell, Managing Director of The Truss & Frame Factory in Kelso, NSW, has been a big fan of MiTek’s SAPPHIRE™ program from day one. In fact, he’s been championing its development and shared his experiences with the program from the very beginning.
Campbell has been using SAPPHIRE Management for almost two years, and marvels at the impact it is having on his business.
“This has been a real game-changer for us,” says Campbell. “There are so many advantages; I’m not sure where to begin.”
After only a few short weeks it soon became clear the ripple effect of SAPPHIRE Management would be felt right through The Truss & Frame Factory.
“Everyone benefits from this because it monitors, manages and delivers extremely valuable feedback on jobs through a very smart workflow process, all while producing extremely accurate, instant business analytics which provide performance and productivity reports we can use to improve efficiencies,” Campbell says. “We’re getting facts and figures daily – not after a monthly review. In the past, assembling all that information from various sources was time-consuming and sometimes misleading because you couldn’t relate one issue back to another. SAPPHIRE Management puts everything in front of you, at call.”
Before introducing MiTek’s SAPPHIRE Management, The Truss & Frame Factory’s data was collected and reported from a variety of systems.
“We had regular Excel spreadsheets, word documents, graphs and flow charts covering different aspects of our business – a paper mountain,” Campbell says. “There was a massive duplication of data input, all done manually. And that’s a recipe for potential errors. It was time-wasting at best. SAPPHIRE Management brings all that data under one umbrella.”
Campbell laments the fact that there were instances in the past where he believes the business lost jobs (and revenue) because they got lost in the old systems. “Or staff couldn’t handle the extra work-load because the demands and deadlines crept up on us,” he says. “That just doesn’t happen with MiTek SAPPHIRE Management.”
Ready access to all aspects of management data has produced immediate flow-on benefits for Campbell and his team.
“Because SAPPHIRE Management gives us instant information, we can then make informed decisions and relevant changes to maximise output from staff, workstations and our general operations,” he says. “The positive effects are even felt in the yard and on-site.”
The timing of SAPPHIRE Management couldn’t have been better for Campbell and the team at The Truss & Frame Factory.
“The last 18 months for us have been so busy, and I’m sure a lot of fabricators in NSW would say the same,” he says. “I don’t think we would have coped with our old management systems, let alone KPIs and reporting, given the increase in building activity we have experienced recently.”
Campbell noted peaks and troughs during this period were sometimes so extreme it became a nightmare to monitor activity and react accordingly.
“I honestly believe that if we weren’t using MiTek SAPPHIRE Management we would have missed out on some substantial work,” he admits. “We would have struggled to keep up with demand.”
The obvious options for Campbell would have been to initiate extra hours/overtime for existing staff or put on more staff. However, both scenarios carry significant financial implications.
“I didn’t have to put on more staff or run the plant at extra time because I had a better grip on what our workload required,” he says. “I could see, at a glance, where tasks could be allocated, quoting deadlines met, production completed and delivery ensured.”
The advantages of MiTek SAPPHIRE Management have even extended beyond the immediate.
“SAPPHIRE Management has freed up my time,” Campbell says. “I’m not wasting it collating, digesting and processing data that I need to run my business effectively and profitably. I now find I have free time to focus on other areas of our business. I’m not drowning in paper work, trying to evaluate the effectiveness of hours spent on converting jobs, staff allocations or profit outcomes.”
Campbell has no reservations espousing the benefits and future of MiTek SAPPHIRE Management with his business.
“SAPPHIRE Management has proven itself time and time again,” he says. “It’s so far ahead of any other management system, I’m surprised others even try to compare. We are currently using SAPPHIRE Walls and love it – and are eager to incorporate SAPPHIRE Roofs into our business. We want a true whole-house solution and I know MiTek SAPPHIRE will deliver.”
Campbell’s belief in SAPPHIRE has been vindicated – above and beyond. “I am really looking forward to having my truss plant 100% SAPPHIRE in the next 12 months,” he says.
For more information on Sapphire, head to mitek.com.au
