Custom built systems

Automating Microsoft Word

We often use Microsoft Word as part of an application. A common use is to create a personalised letter. It's sort of mail merge in reverse! The database sends data to the letter in Word rather than Word pulling the data into it.
Whilst it's true that database reporting tools can be made to do all sorts of things, they are meant to be used for reporting repetitive data that needs grouping and summarising. When the output is from one record and perhaps some related records, Microsoft Word can often be very useful. One of our manufacturing clients now has a system that produces paper forms that machine operators take with them.

Generating emails from data

Our customer wanted a completely automated way of reminding their staff to book themselves on a regular mandatory Health and Safety refresher course. Our solution runs overnight and generates personalised emails to those people who are due to attend the refresher course in the next couple of months. As well as this we implemented a similar system to generate an email to course attendees on the night following their training. Each email contains a link to a personalised course evaluation form they need to complete. If the delegate 'forgets' to complete it, another email is generated 3 days later. All of the data collected in the evaluations is reported against in another web application.

A similar reminder system was designed for another customer in the energy sector. Their application deals with processes and procedures that need annual reviews. We developed automated reminders to the process owners that their process required reviewing before a particular date. The customer is in a highly regulated industry (oil), and need to ensure they review their processes in order to remain compliant with regulations that apply to them. Once again, the reminder then takes them on to a web based application that they needed to complete during and after the process review is completed.