17.10.11    No more headaches for Medizena!

Medizena, an International Medicines and Drug Wholesaler were running out of room on their spreadsheet system.

The spreadsheet was designed to track orders and to ensure that drugs were competitively priced. Unfortunately the system was fast running out of steam and as more orders were added, it became slower and slower. The Database System we designed for them makes entering a new order really easy – and includes a pop-up ready reckoner to calculate margins and profits instantly. It produces printed sales invoices and reports and flags up uninvoiced orders. Bluebird transferred all the spreadsheet data over to the new database so that the system could be used without a hiccup from the moment it was installed.

For a relatively small investment, a Database can transform the way you work reducing errors, increasing speed and giving you the information you need – instantly. Contact us for more information.

18.07.11    Android, Bluebird and Corehard, – As simple as ABC

CHD, The Development arm of Corehard, one of Bluebird’s existing customers, urgently needed a system to record details of road repairs as they were completed..

Not only that, they needed a system that was simple enough for a non-IT literate member of a road repair gang to use and strong enough to withstand being dropped in the road or into a puddle.

They needed a before and after photograph, GPS Co-ordinates of the location, the dimensions of the hole, and various other details all to be sent up to a secure website for approval.

They approached us for a solution. The first problem was what to use to record the data. A Tablet or Smartphone or Tablet sprung to mind, but at the time of writing, there are no rugged Tablets. However, there was one Smartphone that stood out, the Motorola Defy which is splash and shockproof and relatively inexpensive.

The Android App we developed for the Smartphone we made really easy to use, by reducing the user input required to a maximum of three pieces of data per screen. When a survey is complete, the software automatically uploads it via HTTP to the Website.

We developed a website to allow the uploaded data to be checked and approved. When this was done, a manager from a subscribing company could view their surveys.

The system is currently in the final testing stage and will be ready to go live in August 2011.

31.10.10  New Website Launched www.databaserepair.co.uk

Database Repair is a brand new website specifically designed for Companies who already have a database or are using a Spreadsheet to organise their data.
Many people have asked Bluebird software the following questions:

• How can I recover a corrupted database?


• How can I share data with my associates?
• How can I make my Database work faster?
• Is it worth upgrading?
• What else can I use a database for?

Not only that but the Website explains about common Excel pitfalls - and how you can resolve them. If you are having problems, or need some help getting your data straight, www.databaserepair.co.uk should be your first port of call.

25.04.11    Phoning Members is easy - With Bluebird Autodial !

Bluebird Software are currently training blind volunteers to work in the Barnet Borough Sight Impaired office www.barnetbsi.org.uk.

We have completely redesigned the membership database so that blind people can use it with JAWS standard screen reading software.

After Bluebird redesigned the system, the volunteer could easily locate a member .

We made a special email form so that the member’s email address was automatically inserted, which made it easy to email, however, telephoning the member was a real problem.
For a sighted user, It is easy to dial a number when you can read it from the screen, but for a blind user, you have to remember the entire number after it is read out, and this is really hard to do. In addition, dialling on an unfamiliar phone when you are blind, is not easy.

Bluebird installed a modem into the computer and wrote the software to automatically dial the member’s number. Now all the user has to do is pick up the receiver, press the space bar on the keyboard and the number is dialled automatically. This has proved to be a real boon and has saved hours of frustration.

Future plans include a Birthday Reminder and Subscription reminder lists all featuring the Autodial function. If you would like to know more - autodial Bluebird’s number!

25.04.11 Oiling the Wheels at KPI Bridge Oil

KPI Bridge Oil are leading Bunker Brokers. This means they can source fuel from around the world for cargo and other large ships. Every day they track fuel prices from around the world. They want their customers to have personalised email telling them about prices in the ports of the parts of the globe they are interested in. Bluebird has developed a system that will, not only list the prices but will indicate by colour coding how the price has changed from the day before. If the price has gone up, it is shown in green, if the same it will be black and if decreased, it will be red. The raw data will is stored in an Access Database, allowing a history of fuel prices to be maintained. Every day a new set of data is added and emailed directly to customers and potential customers.     Subsequent work has made the system even more sophisticated, simplifying Data Entry and being able to take several factors into account when displaying prices. Graphs have been added showing price changes over time for selected ports, making it an even more valuable commodity for potential customers.

 The system is currently being rolled out to KPI Bridge Oil's five other offices around the world. The system itself has many sophisticated features to increase reliability and make it easier to update prices and run a mail merge. If you would like further details, please contact Bluebird Software.

18.11.09  E'FISH'ient Warehouse Stock Control

Chan Brothers have recently built a large new chilled fish warehouse in East London. They need a system to keep track of all the pallets of frozen fish using a barcode system. However the MD could find no 'Off the Shelf' system that would integrate with the Company's existing software. We have developed  a system that shows maps of the three chilled rooms in the warehouse indicate when any item of stock is stored. The program generates Picking Lists, Put Away Lists and full Stock Lists. It also integrates perfectly with the existing system.

The system uses a barcode fixed to each pallet which is scanned with the location barcode when the pallet is put away. These barcode pairs are used to update the system, almost in real time.

See Below how the Long Term and the Order Picking Store are shown. Items can be 'dragged and dropped' into the correct location.

	01.10.10  How well is a road built?

A road can look well made on the surface, but the surface may be only a few millimetres deep. Roads usually consist of several layers of material - but how well is each layer bonded to the next?

Following on the success of CRACS, a Road Repair Inspection system, Bluebird has automated SCORE, a system to produce a report on road quality, measured by drilling core samples at different locations. These samples are rigorously tested to evaluate the entire road condition. Bluebird has automated the production of these reports so that they can be produced more quickly and be able to be sent as PDF files to the customer.

The Client can now access these reports over the Internet. He is given a username and password to allow him to log in. When he has done this, he can view download an Excel Summary sheet or download an individual certificate or the full report to his PC.

31.10.10  "So what do you do exactly?" - at Jackson Samuel

Many companies have no idea how staff actually spend their time at work. Are they doing the jobs they are best qualified to do? Are they pushing paperwork when they ought to be negotiating or seeing Clients?

At Jackson Samuel they conduct surveys into how staff spend their time, the sort of work they do, their level of responsibility and the amount of supervision they get. Bluebird have designed an analysis system which takes data from an Excel spreadsheet completed by each member of staff and stores it in a Database.

The system Bluebird have produced displays Bar Charts, Pie and Scatter Diagrams for each staff member and also by work groupings such as Job Title and Seniority. Because the entire system was automated, outputs showing the main results were ready within 2 days of the last survey being sent in.

In October 2010, we were asked to produce a Solutions Leadership Model Self Assessment Tool for a well known US multinational, to allow staff to analyse their own performance, based on their values and Competencies. Based on their Role and Leadership Type, the tool allowed participants to identify their own strengths and weaknesses.

This is the response we got from the customer:

"This is perfect ! Thank you and also a big thank you for your work on the diagnostic, we are really pleased with the outcome and I hope to work with you again in the near future." Shalene Pugh - Jackson Samuel.

23.07.10  Safety Matters - At Winter & Company

Winter & Co conduct Fire Risk and Health & Safety surveys throughout the UK. One of the problems they faced was the time it took to type up a survey from the Surveyor's notes. It was taking one day to do the survey and two to three days to produce the report.

Bluebird have developed a system using a Laptop where the surveyor completes some simple (Yes/No type) forms and when the survey is complete, the system produces a 60-70 page report detailing all the tests and all the results and automatically generates Risk Assessments describing any areas that need to be corrected.. The reports are produced in Microsoft Word and saved as pdf files which are emailed directly to the Client. Amazingly the report takes as little as 5 minutes to produce in this way, saving 16 to 24 hours of copy typing work.

03.07.10  Resolving Insolvency for Leigh Adams LLP

Insolvency Practitioners look after ailing companies on behalf of the creditors. They need to account to them for their time and expenses. This takes a great deal of time not only entering time booked but also checking for errors and omissions.

Bluebird has modified the Time Booking System so successfully developed for Jeff Lermer & Associates to record time and produce specialised invoices and the SIP 9 form required when a Company is in Administration.

The Time booking system distinguishes between work done Pre-Administration and During the Administrative period and produces a detailed analysis of all time booked and all expenses incurred. (This is called a SIP9, in the trade).

We have recently developed it further to analyse it he Work In Progress in more depth and to produce a 'Live Backup System'.

 The 'Live Backup System' allows the Practitioner to transfer closed cases to a backup database so that they do not appear in the current workload.  However, if they are ever required, they can be recalled at the touch of a button.

11.05.11  How Does my Business Grow? - A Fresh Outlook!

Contact Management Systems usually come in two sizes - Too big - or too small. A big system requires a great deal of effort entering Contact Details and making sure they are up to date, and often include many functions that are rarely used. A small scale alternative does not provide enough information and cannot easily be extended.

Bluebird has just completed a lightweight CRM System that uses Microsoft Outlook to store the Contact's basic details and bolts onto it an Access Database holding Notes, last contact details, responses to Mailouts etc. The system can easily be modified to add extra features and reporting information.
Acceptance testing has just begun and we hope to provide more information on this project shortly.