GHD Testimonial and Case Study


An interview with Harold Lancaster, Business Group Leader & Asset Manager (Australia) GHD about their more then 10 year long relationship with Mobile Data Anywhere.

Ghd logo large Harold lancaster

About GHD

Established in 1928, GHD brings together more than 10,000 diverse and skilled individuals connected by over 200 offices, across five continents – Asia, Australia, Europe, North and South America, and the Pacific region.

GHD is committed to solving the world’s biggest challenges in the areas of water, energy, and urbanisation.

A global network of multi-disciplinary professionals, they provide integrated solutions through engineering, environmental, design and construction expertise.

Their future-focused, innovative approach connects and supports communities around the world, building resiliency and sustainability for future generations.

The Challenge

Harold Lancaster, Business Group Leader & Asset Manager (Australia) explains:

“In 2005 I was based in our Indonesian operation, and we won a project where we had to inspect more than 30,000 water meters and reliably record vital information - and that’s what triggered our need.”

“We did not have an in-house solution for field reporting on this scale, and I knew that getting accuracy and achieving the task in an acceptable timeframe was almost impossible using paper forms and spreadsheets. So, I researched what sort of software might be available and discovered the software now known as Mobile Data Anywhere.”

“The outcome was very successful and exceeded my expectations. The solution delivered what we needed, and it continues to do so today,” said Harold.

The Solution

Harold returned to Australia in 2009 and has been working with the team at Mobile Data Anywhere ever since.

“One of the key reasons why the MDA solution works well in our organisation is how easy it is to customise – and that’s important.”

“Rather than dealing with software with rigid functionality which requires me to adapt what I want to fit, I am able to tailor forms specifically for my needs on a project-by-project basis,” said Harold.

Harold has since facilitated the rollout of the MDA solution across the global business, where it has been successfully deployed in over 1,800 projects.

Harold continued:

“The engagement by our field teams has been another big win.”

“I’ve got a sizeable field team, including some operators who pre-date the internet, and we designed the onboarding process with this in mind. The team at MDA and I would work together to create and refine templates to suit each project, followed by a team briefing, Q&A and feedback session.”

Ghd the challenge

“Even the non-tech savvy team members were able to pick it up very quickly and use it in a field setting straight away.”

“The solution also helps us to tightly maintain data integrity which is critical to our clients.”

“It allows the team to use the app in the field in a structured and robust way, so it’s very easy for them to use, and to intuitively step through all elements of the inspection process, so nothing is missed and everyone throughout the project life is on the same page,” he said.

“I often have people from our organisation saying they’ve got this clever new widget I should look at, and every time I do, I always come back to MDA. After all, why would we switch to something that’s a lot more complicated?”

“I’ve not found anything as cost-effective either – not by a long margin,” Harold concluded.

The Service

Over the past decade Michael and the team at MDA have worked closely with Harold to continuously improve the software. The MDA team works on a collaborative model with clients to ensure they meet the exacting standards required in the engineering, environmental and asset management space.

“The implementation process is simple and it’s very user-friendly, however when I do have questions I speak directly with Michael and he or one of his team address my concerns promptly.”

“It’s also a big positive that MDA seeks our advice as a super-user of the software. We provide input into future developments that we’d like to see, and we’re also able to test some of the new functionality and recommend any changes for the next version.”

The Outcome

The Mobile Data Anywhere solution has also had a positive impact with GHD’s clients. Harold explained:

“Our customer facing relationships has been improved with better productivity and quicker delivery.”

“It enables us to be much more efficient in gathering information and also allows us to automate reports.”

“From a company perspective it’s efficient and therefore cost saving, so again, the benefit to our clients is that they see those cost savings through more accurate and quicker turn around.”

Ghd the outcome

“Our clients get customisable reports with data of a very high integrity that they know they can trust – something that is mission critical for them.”

Given the ease of use, effortless customisation, and cost effectiveness, having the MDA solution as part of their services arsenal has resulted in GHD acquiring more business.

“We have certainly acquired more business for the reasons I have previously explained. In fact, we’ve had clients that liked the outcomes from the MDA platform so much they’ve engaged us to help them set up and use it themselves – that’s probably the best testament of all,” concluded Harold.

The Future

When asked whether using the MDA solution has given them a clearer outlook for the future, despite the huge size of GHD, Harold told us:

“GHD is a global juggernaut so when we look at the kinds of services we currently offer and want to offer in the future, we also look at the level of support we need to make that happen - and that could apply to a software application like MDA, it could be a skill set, or a resource - and MDA is always in the conversation.

“On two occasions in the past few years we've done a global review of what software each office has at our disposal and what we use it for, with a view of deciding what new solutions we want to take this on, and what can we adopt more globally as a corporate system - and on both of those reviews MDA has been one of the top three software packages that we've standardised across the business,” he said.

Conclusion

“As they say, ‘the proof of the pudding is in the eating”. If the software wasn’t as good as it is and the service wasn’t there, GHD and its global offices would not continue to work with this software and Mobile Data Anywhere. I’ve worked with Michael and Mobile Data Anywhere for more than 13 years, and that’s an eternity in software terms,” finished Harold.