Construction

Case Study

The Challenge

Navigate has been collecting data for one of their clients, in CSV format, which details the shift patterns that have been worked for each of the client's employees. This includes the date, start and end times, and the length of breaks in-between.

Since then, new legislation was implemented which meant that each employee must have a certain amount of time off in between shifts. If this rule is breached, then the employer would be liable and could be penalised with significant fines. Therefore, it was of paramount importance to quickly identify where breaches had occurred and highlight them for management to take remedial action.

The Desired Outcome

Navigate had tried to put together an Excel-based solution, but needed additional support to bring it to life. They were after a tactical solution, one that was relatively low-cost, could be put together quickly and would allow for breaches to be quickly highlighted. Ideally, the tool would be able to import the CSV file and immediately perform the analysis, with minimal manual interventions in between.

The Solution

We used VBA to produce a simple Excel tool that could import the CSV file, process the data and highlight breaches in an easy-to-digest report. The report would allow management to quickly identify which employees did not have enough breaks between shifts, in order for them to change their shift patterns.

The Impact

By working with Better Technology, Navigate were able to quickly respond to the needs of their client, in order to assist them in complying with new legislation.

Some of the main advantages of the new solution are:

• Accurate - by using an algorithm to determine breaches, there is no risk of any being missed.
• Quick delivery - by using Excel as a base, it is quick and easy to develop, so we were able to create the tool within days.
• Easy to use - we used buttons and dialog boxes to make the tool easy for any user to quickly upload a CSV file and view results.
• Tactical - as a tactical tool that is both quick and low-cost to develop, Navigate can save their budget for when requirements have settled and they need a more comprehensive solution.