SafetyGroup: Cardiac arrest and data in the right place
A defibrillator must work when you need it. Therefore, SafetyGroup needs an efficient service and support system when yearly evaluating the thousands of defibrillators they have delivered to customers across Denmark. The same system also needs to keep track of the participants in the many courses where SafetyGroup’s instructors teach and certify the first aid course participants. Oh, and did we forget to mention that the system also needs to handle finances and accounting?
In other words, the requirements for the new administration and financial system were beyond a standard solution. The choice fell on Uniconta because of the open architecture that makes it easy to adapt and integrate exactly to SafetyGroup’s requirements. For example, they can define and add the fields needed, says Carsten Petersen, who is responsible for service and technical support in SafetyGroup.
Control of Data
“We came from a divided world, with finances in one system, while service and support were handled in Excel. Also handled in Excel, were two different customer databases. One for the defibrillators donated by organizations but implemented and serviced by the recipients. The other for those customers who bought defibrillators or related products for their own use. These factors made updating a challenge. For example, a customer could appear in both customer bases with status as a user in one and a buyer in the other.”
With SafetyGroup’s Uniconta solution, all updates now take place in one place thus saving time and minimizing the risk of errors. High data quality is important because the sale of defibrillators is subject to EU regulations for medical devices. The regulations require access to serial numbers and contact information for 15 years to e.g., recall a product. When it comes to administering SafetyGroup’s courses, there is also a need for correct data to send out reminders to both company and course participants when the first aid courses need to be renewed after two years.
Update on Site
“Our IT provider, 2do IT, has developed a web interface allowing us to access and update data. This enables our service staff to load service reports and updates directly into Uniconta during a service visit. For example, which parts have been replaced, date of visit, date of expiration and location changes. Furthermore, a visit report is send to the customer. This is all done on site via mobile phone.”
The continuous service and maintenance of defibrillators is a core area of the business. Both planning of the annual service visits and updating data when visiting customers are required. Planning is done by drawing lists from Uniconta, which for one year at a time tells each service employee which defibrillators must be checked and when, Carsten Petersen explains.
Constant Development
Right now, SafetyGroup is testing the use of video documentation for service. Video can, for example, be used to register damaged defibrillators or carrying cases for defibrillators that are tender due to moisture or sunlight. These problems are not handled on site by service employees but must be reported to the relevant contact person.
If the test is positive, the goal is to integrate video reporting into the web interface next time 2do IT updates it, which is typically done yearly. . Throughout the year, ideas and suggestions for improvements are collected so the update occurs once.
The Necessary Trust
“In a highly regulated market for medical devices and healthcare services, would we under no circumstances survive without a system that efficiently records data and documents activities. Today, Uniconta is crucial for us to remain competitive”, says director and owner Mark Russell.
“Uniconta gives us an administrative core ensuring that we live up to high quality expectations in the business. We must satisfy the suppliers whose products we sell. Our systems must live up to comprehensive legislation and our processes must work without fail, because it is ultimately about saving human lives,” he says.
“When I started 20 years ago, I could see everything in an Excel sheet. . Today, I need to have 100% confidence in what our system is registering and producing. It may seem intimidating when recognizing that your business has grown up and is living its own life. However, there is no alternative. You can only surround yourself with employees and partners that you unconditionally trust.”