Plus Location Systems using Kanban

PLUS Location Systems provide real-time activity analysis and intelligence driven by precise location tracking of assets and people in a wide range of markets.

The other side of the company is BlueCats, a platform based on electronic beacons, aimed at making location of a desired group of customers possible, together with providing a detailed analysis of their location and behaviour. Read an interview with Philip Yates on how the team manages processes and projects successfully while developing their breakthrough technology systems.

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Please, tell us what is your work about.

There are two sides to our company: PLUS Location Systems and BlueCats. PLUS Location Systems provide real-time activity analysis and intelligence driven by precise location tracking of assets and people in the following markets:

• Warehousing, Manufacturing, and Material Processing
• Facility and Staff Utilization and Safety
• Hospitality and Customer Service
• Athlete Performance Assessment and Training
• Rehabilitation and Geriatric Patient Assessment and Treatment
• Stadium Sports Entertainment Enhancement
• Health Care Staff, Patient and Equipment Management
• Soldier and Emergency Personnel Training
• Livestock Production and Management

Bluecats is a platform based on electronic beacons, aimed at making location of a desired group of customers possible, together with providing a detailed analysis of their location and behaviour.

What kind of processes do you manage using Kanban Tool?

We manage all of our company’s activities using 11 different boards. Here is a list of our current boards and a description of the processes associated with each board.

• Senior Management - Activities being managed by senior staff
• Administration - Human Resources, Accounting, Contracts, Intellectual Property and Quality Management activities
• Operations - Facilities, Document Control, Information Technology and Supply Chain Management activities
• Production - Receiving, Raw Material Inventory Management, Electronic Assembly, Mechanical Assembly, Test, Finished Goods Inventory Management, Packing and Shipping activities
• BlueCats Customer Specific POC & Development - Project Status and Activity Required to support major customer POCs and win contracts
• Market/Business Development - Market Research, Market/Technology Roadmap, Public Relations, Marketing and Partnership Development activities
• Sales Pipeline - A high level overview of key sales pipeline activities from raw leads through signed contract
• Customer Projects - Site Installation, Customer/Reseller Training, General Service and Warranty Service activities
• Technology and Process Development - Technology Research, Market/Technology Roadmap, Simulation/Analysis, Proof of Concept, Intellectual Property Development, and Assembly and Test Process Research and Development activities
• Product Development - Requirements, Mechanical Hardware, Electronic Hardware, Embedded Software and Firmware, Prototyping, Regulatory Compliance, Packaging and User Documentation development activities
• Software Development - Software Development project activity

Could you describe your work flow?

We have 11 different boards with several different board templates and two different card templates. Here is an example of one of the many we use:

What adjustments did you make in order to improve your work flow?

We developed our own five level priority scheme using Card Types. This allows us to tie the card color to priority. This makes visual identification of higher priority tasks easier.

What features or integrations do you value most in Kanban Tool and why?

The simplicity and user friendliness of the system is the main reason that we selected Kanban Tool. Other solutions may have more features, but the added complexity and knowledge base required to use such systems reduces their viability. Kanban Tool is so easy to use that almost no explanation is required.
The ability to include checklists, comments, automated email notifications and other features as needed enable us to configure the system to meet our needs.

What are the most important benefits of using Kanban Tool for you?

Kanban Tool gives us both broad and detailed visibility of activity in our company. We are still evolving the set-up of the tool, and expect that we will continue to add and change boards and change the structure of our cards and the use of custom applications.