“IPWEA selected United Planet’s Intrexx platform as it allowed scalable and flexible development of a multi-language cloud-based portal. The source and control stays with us at IPWEA and updates are able to be made using an agile approach to development.”
Leasa Apana, Manager Systems Development
Delivering public works and engineering services to Australasia
Use case: Data integration, Process automation Industries: Public administration Products: CRM for Intrexx, Individual applications, Connector for OData Partner: Respiro Pty Ltd
Founded in 1905, the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA) is the leading association for public works and engineering professionals serving communities in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. IPWEA is able to provide services and advocate for a local community of over 4,000 members, as well as support an online community of over 20,000. Although originally focused on serving traditional local government professionals dedicated to broader public works, nearly all of Australasia’s professional consultancy firms that specialize in public sector infrastructure – including roads, water, power, rail, ports and airports—have managers and staff who are members of IPWEA.
With the expert consultancy and guidance from one of United Planet’s partners in Australia, Respiro, IPWEA first began developing a portal with Intrexx in late 2018. Nine months later, IPWEA began admitting users on training courses established with the portal and, with the 300 test-users’ positive feedback, the product officially launched early in 2020. The low-code platform is responsible for actualizing an asset management planning portal: NAMS+, the official designation for IPWEA’s suite of asset management tools for government and utility organizations. Before Intrexx, these asset management tools previously existed in an older excel spreadsheet and access database system. As IPWEA continued to expand and enter cross-continent land, however, it became necessary to not only update this process, but there needed to be a solution for translating the data into different languages as well. Updating the old system was simply not possible without a costly investment in development, and adding multiple languages into the mix posed a lengthy conundrum. Hence, Intrexx: the flexible, innovative, multi-lingual, and scalable solution that built NAMS+ with low-code development.
NAMS+ captures data, runs complex calculations, displays graphs and reports, and, in turn, automatically creates a word document containing all results in multiple languages. Users can, for example, enter data and see graphs that indicate a visual representation of expenditure requirements. This data entry is made easy with records either added manually or uploaded via excel templates; in turn, the visual graph is automatically redesigned to reflect changes in real-time.
IPWEA also runs a professional certificate program in both English and French-Canadian 3-4 times per year. Participants are introduced to the Asset Management tools in the NAMS+ portal and receive training on how the tools are used to create Asset Management Plans. Additional online help has been included in the portal applications to ensure that users have the information required.
It was a lengthy process to ultimately choose the best solution for its asset management endeavors. During its selection process, IPWEA also looked into rival products that built custom solutions, such as Open Source Software. However, the ability to easily translate labels and control or make changes to the asset management suite was a pivotal factor when it came to making an ultimate decision. Intrexx makes it possible to adjust processes and create additional tools and applications in multiple languages. It was a no-brainer; IPWEA was not only able to create an asset management tool suite in multiple languages, an update that would have demanded lengthy manual work and high investment using a different product, but IPWEA could also implement additional applications as business requirements continue to develop.
The speed of development and fast pace with which small changes are able to be made to the portal were other convincing factors for IPWEA. There are always multiple integrations that need to occur and early requirements that lay at the heart of any development project. For this particular project, for example, the additional development of a Single Sign On (SSO) API to connect to an internal iMIS CRM database was required. Furthermore, amcharts and templater had to be integrated into the system to allow for detailed graphs and professional documents to be created from the portal data. Intrexx made it easy for these early integrations, but the ability to continuously and quickly make additional changes and improvements to the portal made Intrexx an even more attractive solution. Additional applications to the suite of tools in the NAMS+ portal are constantly being reviewed and designed; Intrexx makes this possible.
Benefits of Intrexx:
Intrexx has allowed IPWEA to maintain development control of the NAMS+ portal project and enable the continuous development of solutions for its target audience. Furthermore, the multitenancy feature of Intrexx not only allows the portal to meet security guidelines and therefore be deployed internationally at an organizational level, but the multi-lingual aspect of Intrexx allowed IPWEA to take that step beyond its Australasian border and offer solutions worldwide.
Highlights
NAMS+ toolkit for asset management professionals
Professional certificate training program in asset management
Multi-lingual capacity allows for English and French-Canadian translation of data
Automated extraction, calculation, and display of data and reduces error in reporting
Investment costs reduced by updating an old system without complex development or coding
Screenshot #1: Users can enter their data in the NAMS+ and consequently see graphs that indicate a visual representation of expenditure requirements.
Screenshot #2: Data entry is easy in NAMS+, with records added manually or uploaded via excel templates and the graph redraws to reflect the change in real-time.
Screenshot #3: The NAMS+ toolkit for Asset Management Professionals is currently available in English and French-Canadian and is being used to access training courses on how the tools are used to create asset management plans.
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