This month in our continuing series of customer interviews, we talked with one of our long-time customers in the manufacturing industry. Manufacturing companies are a growing user base for mobile data collection applications, and Fulcrum is a great match for manufacturers because it offers an integrated mobile solution that speeds up quotes, customer service, and order management. Real-time data capture is what differentiates the leaders from the rest. Mike Merrill is the NDE Coordinator & Field Service Tech at Turbine Master. He has worked there since 2000 and has seen many changes that technology offers to workflows. Our team sat down with Mike and asked him about his data collection methods, the turbine industry, turbine inspections, and the future of data collection technologies.
The basics
What do you and your company do? Turbine Master provides contained abrasive blast cleaning and Non-Destructive Testing primarily in power generation industry.
Who hires you to fix their turbines? Our customer base ranges from the OEM’s of the steam turbines to several turn key specialty organizations.
Walk me through your workflow, from phone call to completed turbine inspection. It typically starts with a phone call or email requesting a quote for our services. Once we’ve been awarded the project we add it to our schedule and follow up as the project start date nears. From there we mobilize our techs to the site and depending on the size of the unit/project our crews will be on site for 2-3 days up to 2-3 weeks.
Your headquarters are in Oklahoma. Do you work all over the USA? We do. We’ve also provided support on projects in Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Aruba and the Bahamas.
What technologies in the last five years have made your workflows simplifier? From the inspection side of our work I would have to say Fulcrum. It has tremendously improved our reporting process.
Turbine Master and Fulcrum
Tell us a little bit about the history between your company and Fulcrum?
When I started as a tech, we literally put pen to paper. We performed inspections, took notes, and occasionally captured photographs. After work, we returned to the motel, used white-out, and filled out report forms manually.
The process evolved when laptops entered the scene, and blank inspection forms moved to Microsoft Word. The workflow stayed the same, but the backspace key replaced white-out, and reports looked a bit cleaner. Next, we transitioned to a Windows-based program that produced more polished reports, yet the core process remained unchanged.
Then Fulcrum changed everything. With the rise of apps and tablets, we explored integrating these technologies into our workflow. Initially, we believed we’d need custom development, which was daunting. We had faced similar challenges with the Windows-based program due to our limited software knowledge and the developers’ unfamiliarity with steam turbine nomenclature.
Fulcrum simplified everything. Within months of partnering with them, we developed a functional app that transformed our process. Our techs could now collect data on a tablet immediately after inspections, eliminating the need for handwritten notes and hours of post-work reporting. This shift significantly streamlined our workflow and improved efficiency.
Turbine inspections, data collection, and reporting
What information do you provide for your clients? Our techs document the type of inspection performed, the parameters of the inspection, and the results of the inspection.
You have used Fulcrum services for a custom report. Who uses those reports you generate with Fulcrum? Everyone involved in the project. The tech will submit the report to the project manager and from there it is shared with the utility as well as with auditors, insurance companies, and repair facilities if repairs are needed.
Mobile apps are forcing manufacturers to compete in their customers’ timeframes. Fulcrum provides the ability to deliver greater value in less time than before.
Thanks to Mike Merrill and Turbine Masters for the excellent interview! If you are currently using Fulcrum in your business and would like to be featured in our next Getting Down to Business segment, reach out to us at info@fulcrumapp.com