Roadway are one of the UK’s leading temporary traffic management suppliers whose focus is on the quality of their service and the safety of their workforce, their clients and the travelling public.

The Challenge

Setting up traffic management systems on the UK’s busy roads is not a simple task and includes lots of pre-planning and site-awareness, as well as the logistical complications of ensuring physical assets and relevant teams are in the right place, at the right time.

This would have previously created a very long and complex paper trail until a software solution came along.

Like many other organisations, Roadway were using a generic off the shelf template which they would then have to adapt for their own needs. This however presented many problems, one of which was that the software was less bespoke than required, and more ‘one size fits all’. This meant that any system updates by the developers affected every user – whether it was needed, wanted or necessary.

The rigidity of the system, alongside relatively high monthly fees, gave Roadway the impetus to create something which was not only bespoke to their growing needs, but would also help them deliver on their strong values. At this point, they got in touch with Merisis.

Our Approach

Like with many projects, Roadway approached Merisis with ideas, suggestions, wants and needs regarding how to solve their problem. But rather than creating a variation of what was on the market already, Roadway wanted something much more useful and usable and therefore integral to how they operate. It was to be the platform from which they would control their growing operations

The challenge for Merisis was to understand what content was required, how it related to each other content and how it currently existed; it was a combination of the existing software, digital capture, HR records, vehicle records and of course, a paper trail.

Understanding the way Roadway worked, and wanted to work moving forwards, was critical too. This gave Merisis the ability to positively challenge the brief and give feedback on the client’s ideas. The purpose was for Merisis to add greater value by enhancing ideas and giving recommendations which would in turn provide better outcomes for the client.

The outcome

The result of the work with Roadway is a software platform which, in their words, is a ‘complete game-changer’. Not just a platform which holds details of a job at hand (such as location, materials and dates), the system integrates with the ISO compliance, Health & Safety, vehicle maintenance and staff training needs of the organisation – creating a thorough audit trail of all elements which contribute to how they run their business.

The accompanying mobile app helps on-site teams to capture digital content such as imagery, as well as processes which were previously manually controlled. Everything is captured is held centrally in real-time, giving Roadway operational visibility like never before.

Roadway have stated that the system helps them in three key areas: operational efficiency, regulatory compliance and cost-effectiveness.

The Capture Captain mobile app was the brainchild of Nico Cellabos-Jones. His aim – to utilise the everyday tech of a mobile phone to capture and create professional content from all corners of the globe.

The Challenge

After their proof of concept stage, the Capture Captain directors needed to take their idea from ‘back-bedroom’ to professional.

Their vision was extremely clear to the extent that technical capability of a supplier was equalled by that of shared values and a strong relationship.

As a start-up, it was also critical that all aspects of the brief could be delivered on the agreed budget – meaning absolute transparency and no surprises.

Part of the vision of Capture Captain was that the app needed to offer an amazing experience for the user. Knowing that people would use the product with little to no introduction or training, it needed to be intuitive but also needed to operate very smoothly and in an aesthetically pleasing way.

This meant that attention to all levels of detail was imperative. A button alone required thought and consideration – and this was before Merisis had been engaged.

The overall outcome was for a functioning app, available for Capture Captain to commercialise..

Our Approach

For Merisis, it was important to understand and appreciate the overall vision of the client. As their ideas and creative application were so defined, a lot of focus was given to helping realise not just the technical challenge, but the visual nuances too.

Although a strong brand had been created, an app hadn’t been fully delivered as of yet, so ensuring the correct visual reactions and transitions – down to the last pixel – was all part of Merisis’ process.

But to really deliver, Merisis needed to not only appreciate the role the app will play within someone’s world – but also what problems was it trying to achieve, and how it would be used.

One of the larger challenges was that of data transfer – something which, done badly, could easily render the app useless at worst, or very frustrating at the very least.

Another key challenge, considering the tight budget, was deciding if to build iOS first, or Android. The result was a solution which could enable both platforms.way.

The Outcome – a slick and effective mobile app

Capture Captain launches successfully and with great success – much of which is down to the tenacity and promotion of the directors – however Merisis are proud in an app which was delivered as promised, but also in building a relationship and understanding which continues to grow with new projects.

The app’s use has crossed continents, joined families and enabled businesses to get video messaging to market in a fast and professional way.

For more info on Capture Captain, click here.

Logistics technology: Yusen Logistics use an industry standard software solution which is the digital heart of their transport management services. However, in line with customer requirements and Yusen Logistics’ strategic digital services vision, there was a recognised need to offer a greater level of personalisation and customisation which would therefore create a more bespoke customer experience, but without incurring excessive development fees or starting anew.

The Challenge

Unfortunately, the embedded software did not offer the flexibility or customisation options required. Yusen Logistics’ requirement was to create an interface which enabled all key contributors and owners of different elements of the logistics process to have greater visibility at any given time. An additional goal was to improve efficiency within the ordering logistics process.

The challenge for Merisis was to design and build a dashboard which was to be both very flexible as well as retaining the valuable data from the ‘off the shelf’ software solution too. It was extremely important that Merisis’ solution didn’t create additional or repeat work for Yusen Logistics or indeed, for their customers.

Our Approach

Merisis worked alongside Yusen Logistics and combined their understanding of the logistics industry with technical capability to create a solution which would seamlessly interact with the content on the base software package used across the business.

To start the project, meetings and workshops were arranged which soon identified duplicate processes within the incumbent solution as well as a dependence on manual updates and notifications which could lead to error and increased processing time.

In addition, Merisis felt that other technologies such as GPS location tracking was not being utilised to its best, and therefore saw ways to modernise the tracking process. A key part of the challenge was ensuring the central system was not replaced and all additions were to act as enhancements. This was to make sure the users of the system had an uninterrupted and stress-free experience and the benefits of previous work was retained.

The Outcome – Logistics Technology that delivers