Street CraneXpress, part of the SCE Group, is one of the UK’s leading providers of installation, maintenance and inspection services for overhead cranes, jib cranes and other lifting equipment.
It turned to CoreRFID to help develop its own branded inspection software. XpressView, white-label crane inspection software built on CoreRFID’s CheckedOK system, lets engineers collect data on site using mobile devices, improving the accuracy and speed of inspection reports, and delivering results online to management and customers.
“The XpressView system will be at the heart of our service business. We expect the CoreRFID solution to help us improve service delivery, retain customers and win new contracts.”
– Ray Fletcher, Director, Street CraneXpress
Adding value to customers’ business
Street CraneXpress services a wide range of lifting equipment from different suppliers, providing safety inspections, maintenance, installation, relocation and refurbishment. It supports over 800 customers across the UK, including large blue-chip companies.
XpressView supports every product Street CraneXpress services, from compact 0.25-tonne hoists up to giant workshop overhead cranes able to lift up to 200 tonnes. It gives customers immediate, online access to inspection reports, safety certificates and other inspection details. Engineers capture data directly on site, removing the double entry that creates opportunities for errors and delays.
White-label crane inspection software built on a proven product
XpressView is built on CheckedOK, an inspection and certification system used across lifting, materials handling and construction. Mobile devices guide inspecting engineers and collect inspection results, feeding into an online database that holds inspection details, automatically generated safety certificates, and reports on the whereabouts and condition of assets.
The system adapts easily to a wide range of inspections and comes with many common inspection questionnaires already built in. It can be customised to deliver information in a controlled way to a customer’s own users, letting Street CraneXpress offer XpressView as fully branded, white-label crane inspection software specific to its customers’ needs, built on a widely used and well-supported product. It supports different tagging approaches, including barcodes, RFID tags and QR codes.
Extending support to PUWER inspections
UK health and safety legislation means maintenance operations must comply with the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, known as PUWER, designed to ensure workplace equipment is suitable for its purpose and safe to use. Meeting these requirements means Street CraneXpress must carry out risk assessments of installations it services, followed by a method statement setting out how the work will be carried out.
Risk assessment and method statement creation follow standard templates in many respects, but engineer expertise and judgement remain essential. Supporting engineers with the routine parts of the inspection and assessment task lets them focus on delivering a better service with less administration.
CoreRFID’s version of CheckedOK runs on Android tablets, with screens large enough to display the volume of information needed for risk assessments and method statements. This let Street CraneXpress introduce PUWER support as part of XpressView, extending the benefit from existing clients to new prospects too.
“XpressView’s PUWER support allows us to deliver a more professional service. The CoreRFID solution helped us to introduce it quickly.”
– Ray Fletcher, Director, Street CraneXpress
Automating the safety assessment workflow
The engineer arrives on site with a list of cranes to service, pre-loaded from the system’s database. Any differences between the expected equipment list and what’s actually on site can be resolved before or during inspection, with the list updated accordingly.
A risk assessment and method statement are needed before inspection begins, often complex given a single site can involve as many as 300 cranes and hoists, and risks ranging from hazardous materials to equipment installed alongside conveyors or moving vehicles. Over twenty separate issues need consideration as part of the risk assessment and method statement. The tablet software prompts engineers with a list of questions, generating the risk assessment and method statement as they go.
Automating document production frees engineers to focus their time and skill on the assessment itself, watching for anything that might otherwise be missed. Once complete, documents can be signed off electronically by the customer before the service inspection begins, with signed versions emailed to the customer and held on the database.
Engineer and administration time is saved, and accuracy improves through automated document generation, but the real driver behind the system was letting Street CraneXpress present a professional image, an important competitive advantage in a market where crane service inspections are genuinely complex.
Spotting missed inspections, preventing failures
Customers access information through a web-based portal, viewing reports on the assets Street CraneXpress services, service and inspection history, and photographic evidence of damage or failure.
The system flags items approaching their next service date and warns users if inspections have been missed. Engineers work from a site-specific equipment list, so they know what should be present and what needs checking. New assets found on site can be added to the database as they’re discovered, keeping customers’ picture of their equipment constantly up to date.
Using the dashboard, customers can spot trends in equipment failures, adjusting usage or maintenance policies to prevent unexpected breakdowns. Details of failures and engineer observations are emailed to the Street CraneXpress sales team, letting them discuss solutions with the customer, from repair and re-test through to sub-system or whole lifting device replacement.
White-label crane inspection software keeps growing
Since introducing PUWER support, Street CraneXpress has added further modules to XpressView covering LOLER compliance, breakdown response, installation and upgrades, extending the system from inspection alone into a fuller service lifecycle covering nearly everything Street CraneXpress does for its customers.
The benefits
The XpressView system provides:
- Fully branded, white-label crane inspection software accessible to Street CraneXpress’s own clients
- Improved service for clients, with easy access to inspection data
- Immediate access to data on asset location and condition
- Immediate statements for customer approval
- Feedback of sales opportunities from failed equipment to the sales team
- Professional image tuned to customer needs, now extended across the full service lifecycle