Case Study - Technical Management Application

Development of a Technical Management Application for Corsican SME

+35%

Productivity

-40%

Administrative time

-95%

Billing delay

4 months

Project duration

Project Overview

            Client: Corsican construction SME (confidential)

            Sector: Building and Public Works

            Duration: 4 months

            Technologies: React Native, Node.js, PostgreSQL, Firebase

            Result: +35% productivity, -40% administrative time

Context and Challenges

Initial Situation

Our client, a Corsican SME specialized in public works, managed its construction sites in a fragmented way:

Team management: Excel sheets and phone calls
Technical tracking: paper notebooks on construction sites
Billing: manual and delayed processes
Communication: no synchronization between office and field
Reporting: retrospective analyses without real-time data

            Consequences:

            - Significant productivity losses (50+ hours/month of administrative work)

            - Billing delays (3-4 weeks)

            - Field tracking errors

            - Poor resource planning

            - Team dissatisfaction

Project Objectives

Centralize technical management on a single platform
Digitize paper processes
Automate billing and reporting
Synchronize office ↔ field in real-time
Increase productivity and profitability

Proposed Solution

Technical Architecture

We developed a complete mobile-first application with three interfaces:

📱 Mobile Application (iOS/Android)

Interface for field teams
Offline access with synchronization
Photo capture/geolocation
Time tracking and clocking
Real-time technical tracking

🖥️ Web Dashboard (Responsive)

Supervisor/office interface
Overview of construction sites
Team and resource management
Reporting and analytics
Billing exports

⚙️ Scalable Backend

Secure REST API
Multi-level authentication
Real-time synchronization (WebSocket)
Complete history (audit trail)
Accounting integration

Chosen Technology Stack

Aspect	Technology	Reason
Mobile	React Native	Cross-platform iOS/Android, shared code
Web	React + TypeScript	Type-safety, maintainability
Backend	Node.js + Express	JavaScript full-stack, scalability
Database	PostgreSQL	Structured data, complex queries
Real-time	Firebase Realtime DB	Instant synchronization
Cloud	OVH Capacloud	Secure local infrastructure
Maps	Google Maps API	Geolocation, team tracking

Developed Features

Phase 1: Construction Site Management (Months 1-2)

✅ Construction Site Creation and Tracking

Detailed sheet: location, dates, budget, assigned team
Statuses: planned, in progress, completed, invoiced
Attached documents and photos

✅ Team Management

Dynamic worker assignment
Intervention history
Individual performance

✅ Tasks and Checklist

Technical tasks per construction site
Assigned responsible
Priorities and dependencies

Phase 2: Field Capture (Months 2-3)

✅ Field Mobile Application

Start/stop intervention with GPS
Before/after photos
Notes and observations
Automatic synchronization

✅ Integrated Time-tracking

Real work clocking
Overtime calculation
Complete history

✅ Robust Offline

Operation without connection
Synchronization queue
Smart conflict resolution

Phase 3: Automation and Reporting (Months 3-4)

✅ Billing Generation

Field data import
Automatic calculation hours/travel
Pre-filled invoices
PDF/XML accounting export

✅ Analytical Dashboards

Construction site KPIs (progress, budget)
Operational costs vs budget
Team productivity
Profitability per project

✅ Exports and Integrations

Excel report export
Accounting API integration
Google Calendar synchronization

Results and Impact

Success Metrics

Metric	Before	After	Gain
Administrative time/month	50h	10h	-80%
Billing delay	3-4 weeks	3 days	-95%
Invoice errors	15-20%	<1%	-98%
Resource planning	Manual	Automated	Real-time
Team productivity	100%	135%	+35%
Client satisfaction rate	7/10	9.5/10	+36%
Operational costs	100%	72%	-28%

Client Feedback

"The application has completely transformed our management. Before, we lost a day per week on paperwork. Now, everything synchronizes automatically. The teams love the mobile app, it's intuitive and fast."

— General Manager, Corsican Construction

"On the billing side, it's day and night. We manage 30% more construction sites with the same administrative staff. And the data quality is so much better for our accounting."

— Accounting Manager

Business Impact

ROI in 8 months (depreciation fully covered)
Additional capacity: 30% more construction sites without increasing staff
Cash flow improvement: billing 15 days faster = improved cash flow
Team satisfaction: reduction of tedious tasks, focus on added value

Process and Methodology

Agile Approach (Scrum)

We followed an iterative approach with:

🎯 Discovery Workshops (Week 1)

Field observation
Team interviews (office + construction site)
Existing process mapping
Backlog definition

🔄 2-week Sprints (Sprints 1-8)

Weekly demos with client
Immediate feedback
Priority adjustments
Real-world testing

🚀 Progressive Deployment

Phase 1: Pilot team (1 construction site)
Phase 2: Gradual expansion
Phase 3: Full deployment

Support and Training

Field team training (2h group + 1h individual)
Video documentation (15 short tutorials)
Reactive technical support (24h response)
Telephone hotline first week

Learnings and Best Practices

Key Success Factors

✅ Strong client involvement - Weekly presence, continuous feedback ✅ User-centric design - Regular field tests, simplified ergonomics ✅ Iterative MVP - Progressive value delivery, no 4-month wait ✅ Quality data - Cleaning and validation before import ✅ In-depth training - Successful adoption thanks to structured training ✅ Proactive maintenance - Intensive support first month

Challenges Overcome

⚠️ Robust offline synchronization → Queue + conflict resolution solution ⚠️ Field team adoption → Simplified UX + progressive training ⚠️ Legacy data integration → Custom migration scripts ⚠️ Mobile performance on weak 4G → Compression, aggressive caching

Future Opportunities

The client is now exploring:

AI integration: cost prediction, planning optimization
Real-time geolocation: team tracking, logistics
IoT sensors: equipment telemetry, predictive maintenance
Supplier module: collaboration with subcontractors

Conclusion

This project illustrates how a custom business application can transform operational efficiency and profitability. By replacing paper processes with intelligent automation, we freed 80% of administrative time and multiplied productivity.

Do you have a similar digitalization need in your Corsican SME?

step-by-step.technology masters complex business application development, field management, and automation integration. We accompany Corsican SMEs and small businesses towards their digital goals with proven Agile approach.

Next Steps

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