Lean Process Excellence as a mobile application for manufacturing companies

A mobile application supporting a variety of processes by delivering in-depth analysis. Enabled by LEAN methodology tools.

Table of contents
  • The Brief / Challenges
  • Our Solution
  • Results
Client
Lean Passion
Team Size
4 developers, 1 designer
Project Duration
16 months
Services Provided
Web development, Mobile Development
Technologies used
Ionic, Python/Django
Services provided:

THE BRIEF / CHALLENGES

The Client

Leanpassion is a company that introduces the Lean Strategy in leading manufacturing and services organizations. Over 16 years company works as a professional partner in supporting customers in strategic transformation according to Lean Strategy. They help companies to become great, having satisfied and engaged employees.

They are different from other consulting firms because of their strategic and holistic approach. They use their own methodology to deliver the best and most lasting results. Employees inspired by their consultants become change leaders and they take the initiative in the continuous improvement process building competitive advantage of the enterprise. They are lean, value-driven, and their strategies bring financial results.

What was the need of the Client?

They wanted to have developed an application that would make it easier for both the employees and clients to analyze their processes using Lean tools. This analytical product would support their clients in assessing the quality and effectiveness of their internal processes. This tool had to work offline and after performing the analysis it was supposed to send the gathered information to the website service, where further analysis could be run by the Leader.

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OUR SOLUTION

Project Approach in a Custom Development

Maciej Sułek, CTO

Due to the short implementation time and possible expansion to multiple platforms, we decided to base the application development on the Ionic framework. The back-end was created using Django with Django Rest Framework. This combination of tools allows us to keep developing new features easily, as it is flexible and scalable.

Main challenges:

The main challenge was creating a reliable application with an intuitive interface that would enable gathering and interpreting data of various forms and structures.

How it works

Each analysis can consist of a number of chosen modules. Collected data is automatically synchronized with the server. The way each module is based on inputting data such as selection lists, text, sound, pictures, and videos captured directly on mobile devices. Using the management panel on the website service the application allows browsing through historical data and remote analysis (for instance the consultant from Cracow can work with the analyst in Warsaw on the same process). Additional features include managing the team during creating audits.

  • Analysis details

Each analysis consists of modules studying the processes in the company from different angles. One of the most interesting features are registering wastes based on images and video files, defining the efficiency of processes through drawing routes used by employees on the plan of the office (for example the route an employee has to take to print an invoice or serve the client), creating block diagrams related to specific activities leading to achieving the goal and measuring their time.

  • Realization "from A to Z"

We have started the Lean Process Excellence project by researching technologies that would help simultaneous development on multiple platforms and allow implementing custom and unusual features. Next, we worked on the usability and the interface (UX / UI) of each view. Afterward, we were responsible for the full implementation of both the application and the web service. As a final stage, we deployed the system to the client's server.

Application features

The application allows inputting data not only as text but also sound, images, and videos using interfaces available on mobile devices (in this case, mostly iPad mini). In many cases during the data gathering process, this approach turned out to be rather unusual and needed new creative solutions or experiments, such as adding information on a previously recorded video or painting shapes on collected images.

User Interface/User Experience design

Most of the analysis methods in the application were based on the original ideas of the Leanpassion company. Before we began working on the design, each feature and element of the LPE application had to be sketched and thought through thoroughly in terms of usability. This allowed us to create the initial version of the application with a simplified user interface, which was later replaced with the more sophisticated, final design.

Full transparency

The project was divided into stages related to specific features being introduced. As a tool used to manage work, communicate with the client and create project documentation we used Active Collab. Thanks to it we could monitor the flow of work in the team and project progress easily as well as discuss with the client whenever direct meetings were not possible.

Watch gallery Lean Excellence - 2024 27

RESULTS

Mobile Application and Web service

The implemented platform works as a hybrid application. The target platform for the implementation and design for Lean Passion Excellence was iOS (the device currently used by the client's consultants is iPad mini). However, by using the Cordova/Ionic hybrid application framework, the application is easy to port to Android devices, which will serve as an important feature during the application development process.

Along with the application, a website service was also launched, where the gathered data can be analyzed online. The service also provides multiple features needed to manage the team of coordinators.

Business goals

Lean Process Excellence is an application allowing progress monitoring of processes, including the effectiveness of people in different positions and performing different tasks. By introducing this tool, which simplifies and boosts the management transformation the Leanpassion company can offer their clients through management analysis and improvement of their financial condition.

The Order Group team has helped us create a very important tool through which we can provide our customers with unique services on the market.
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Radosław Drzewiecki
CEO @ LeanPassion
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