CTS Safety, a leading Cumbrian equipment examination company, is replacing its legacy system with CheckedOK as part of its long-term expansion plans. Based in Brampton, the company serves businesses throughout Cumbria, Lancashire, Yorkshire and part of Scotland, with ambitions to expand into the North East and grow its client base further.
CTS specialises in examining lifting equipment, pressure plant and local exhaust ventilation systems, serving clients from care homes and vehicle workshops to factories, warehouses and construction sites, along with rail contractors and previous work on the West Cumbria water supplies project.
Founded around 30 years ago, CTS Safety was acquired by current owners Neil and Kim Elsender in 2011. They worked with a small developer to build their own IT system, which expanded over time to cover every part of the operation.
“The system has worked well but it has grown arms and legs over the past ten years and become very complex. We spend a lot of time handling paperwork and need to become more streamlined and efficient. We also recognise that we may want new features if we are looking to grow the business, such as offering real time access for engineers and clients.”
– Neil Elsender, Managing Director, CTS Safety
Phased inspection software implementation, built around a small team
Before replacing the legacy system, Neil wanted confidence that a new supplier would be around for the long term. CheckedOK, a leader in the lifting sector across the UK and Ireland, was a natural choice.
“CoreRFID’s long track record, and the fact that the system is used by a lot of larger clients, gave us confidence that the company had the stability to get us to where we wanted to be.”
As a small team with a busy schedule, CTS had limited time to spare for implementation. CoreRFID proposed a phased inspection software implementation across three stages over two years, tailored to suit their needs.
“The step by step process will make it more manageable and also enable us to retain the best elements of their current system.”
Using CheckedOK, engineers access their work schedules on tablets rather than collecting paperwork from the office. On site, they can check which items need inspecting by scanning the RFID tags on them, rather than working through lists and descriptions of plant.
Improving client service and efficiency
Once an inspection’s complete, engineers record the results on their tablet, with the information uploaded automatically. Clients can access data and download certificates online, rather than waiting for the company to email them.
“The new system will give us more flexibility and improve our client service and efficiency, so we can manage more projects with our existing teams. We see a lot of opportunity and would like to expand into the North East, where CTS was originally founded, attracting new and larger clients. CheckedOK will make it possible for us to do that and enable the business to take a big step forward.”
The benefits:
- A phased inspection software implementation tailored to a small team’s capacity
- Engineers access work schedules and inspection tasks directly on tablets
- Results upload automatically, with certificates available to clients online
- A system built to support long-term growth and expansion into new regions