Providing a mix of onshore and offshore resources, to complete bespoke software development projects

The situation

Street Crane, UK has more than 60 years experience in crane design and is now firmly established as one of the world's volume overhead crane and hoist manufacturers. They are one of the largest suppliers of a range of advanced technology factory cranes, portal cranes, electric wire rope hoists, electric chain hoists, jib cranes and mechanical handling equipment and have a reputation for quality, reliability and advanced technology.

Keeping apace with emerging competitive forces has required the establishment of a chain of agents and partners worldwide. Making it easier for them to learn about, estimate and sell Street Crane engineering products has been a priority. The Crane Design and Sales Estimation Software (CDSES) project, required a software development supplier who had:

·          Cost effective and flexible onshore and offshore resource

·          Engineering project lifecycle and 2D drawing knowledge

·          A RAD approach to software development

·          CAD tools and business systems integration know-how

The objectives

Street Crane sought a software development company that had detailed knowledge of engineering CAD tools and their outputs and a supplier that could work with experienced Street Crane managers to find new ways of integrating the required functionality with desktop tools and engineering applications.

The purpose of the software was to help users suggest the right crane type to a customer; a crane that would fit into the space available and that would satisfy the necessary lifting requirements. The CDSES software would help design custom built cranes and generate quotations complete with the necessary 2D engineering drawings.

The Technosoft solution

Technosoft supplied a mix of analysts and programmers onshore and offshore to help define requirements, prototype a solution and build the final application. The team worked closely in an iterative and rapid application development way, to help capture new ideas and incorporate them as part of the solution.

The solution included the following functionality:

·          Interactive crane design- the software allows users to enter building information which is used to automatically select the appropriate crane construction for the lifting requirement and space available

·          Fast estimate production - sales agents generate on the spot quotations along with 2D drawings of the proposed crane construction

·          Multi-lingual and multi currency - the software user interface can be configured for language and currency

·          User friendly graphical user interface – making it easier for all users to understand and quickly learn how to use

The technology skills supplied included: 

·          Microsoft Windows and Server

·          COM and Active X

·          Visual Basic 6

·          Microsoft Access 

The benefits

Street Crane has found a cost effective and flexible way of executing essential software development projects. The approach has made it possible for key members of the Street Crane engineering team to contribute to the design and production of a tool that positions the company well for further growth.

Street Crane continue to deploy Technosoft software development resources to help in the creation of new and innovative ways of streamlining business processes.

Contact Vinod Shirsath at our Mumbai office to learn more about how Technosoft software development resources can be deployed effectively to meet the information handling requirements in your organisation.