Scaffolding counting application

Task and problem

The Client has a large central warehouse for storage of scaffolding materials. These materials come back from various site locations by trucks and then the Warehouse Manager has to check them and record the material quantities. However, the registration process was done manually on paper forms and required a lot of time. The Client encountered the following problems:

• The registration process was inconvenient and time consuming. After recording the information on a paper form, the Warehouse Manager had to type it again into a computer.
• The Client already had a barcode identification system in place for labeling of pallets, but the barcodes were not linked to any software.
• There was no integration with the Client’s bookkeeping software Microsoft Dynamics NAV.
• There was no control system for the number of pallets sent from the project to the warehouse and the number registered on arrival.
• It was difficult to keep track of damaged scaffolding materials that had to be written-off from inventory.
• There was no email confirmation to the site manager that all materials have been received.

Office 365 and Azure solutions

The storage of the Client’s scaffolding counting data has been transferred to the Microsoft Azure SQL database. This ensured the highest level of data security and allowed the Client to make a direct integration with his bookkeeping software Microsoft Dynamics NAV. This completely eliminated the manual process of transferring data from Excel files to the bookkeeping software.

Mobile application for scaffolding counting

The registration is done in three steps: 1) the Site Manager scans all pallet barcodes for the shipment; 2) upon receiving the shipment, the Warehouse Manager scans each barcode, confirms that it has been registered on site; and 3) enters the materials quantities per each pallet. To make the process more easy, the scaffolding materials have been grouped into categories.

There is also a possibility to mark if the materials are owned by the company or rented from external suppliers. This feature allowed the Client to make sure that he rents only the materials that are in short supply and returns them to the external supplier on time to save costs. In addition, when the Warehouse Manager notices that some scaffolding materials are damaged, he can mark them for SCRAP, which improves the accuracy of actual stock quantities and allows the bookkeeping software records to reflect the most up-to-date information.

Finally, when the form is submitted, the Site Manager automatically receives an email confirmation that the pallets have been processed.