While the idea seemed simple, making it happen wasn’t always. After BRANZ parted ways with the initial vendors, the Certus Digital team within the Certus group were approached to help make their digital ambition happen.
“We were attempting to change a process that had seen little to no improvement for more than sixteen years in an industry that had archaic technology and no love for it. We had learned we didn’t need a software vendor. We needed a practical, agile, innovative technology partner, for who ‘how else could you do it’ was an opportunity to shine, not a challenge or affront. We found them in Certus Digital.” – Grant Ford, Artisan Product Director at BRANZ
The goal was clear: To develop a mobile phone app and web solution that building site managers can use to document evidence of those aspects of the build that require confirmation of compliance to consent. The solution needed to offer the ability to upload photos and comments, share those with the Building Consent Authority (BCA) in real-time who could review them and determine a pass of an inspection without leaving the office.
A solution like this is a game-changer for the industry. It removes the waste, rework and inherent time delay of two out of sync processes by leveraging state-of-the-art technology and devices. It evolves roles and responsibilities along modern manufacturing process lines by empowering the builder to take more control of their own quality, lifting productivity, and reducing costs. Builders are being incentivised to build better quality homes through increasing their knowledge of the requirements of the building code and giving them time and saving them money to do so.
With it being such a transformational product, the Certus Digital team knew that it needed to be extremely user-friendly, intuitive – for both the builders and the BCA – and robust. Otherwise, uptake would likely be low. In addition, it needed to be able to grow and evolve with the industry as requirements and technologies change. Michael Paenga, Senior Project Manager at Certus Digital, explains;
Certus Digital was able to deliver all this and more by leveraging extensive experience and skills around cloud technology, intelligent interfaces and digital transformation.
Since launch in August 2019, Artisan has delivered on its goal to optimise the building consent process by enabling BCAs to sign off on elements of the build remotely. Auckland Council indicated that Artisan enables them to double the number of consent audits processed in one day, which is invaluable at a time where authorities are struggling to keep up with the demand for consents. Users of the apps have realised further benefits, including the fact the builders learn more about the consent processes, enabling them to get it right faster, as well as the health and safety gains that come with the reduced need for BCAs to travel and visit sites in person.
As Chelydra Percy, BRANZ CEO, explains; “Artisan provides a lift in quality assurance for residential buildings, higher levels of workmanship and a permanent record of evidence associated with each build. It also reduces the time to build by improving build teams’ understanding of what BCAs are looking for, speeding up inspections and reducing rework, which all results in real productivity gains for the industry.”
While Artisan is out there and being used, the work is never done. BRANZ and Certus Digital are now working together to expand the capabilities of the apps to include things like real-time video streaming and advanced analytics reporting.
