What to do when Workbench retires

It can be a real challenge when a piece of software you know, love and use every day is suddenly set to switch off.

But that's exactly what's happening to the thousands of users of Workbench, an Australian project management software suite, when it's retired in April 2020.

Modern businesses rely on electronic tools to act more collaboratively  and efficiently - so avoiding a last-minute scramble with a careful replacement plan is vital.

Here's how EQMS by Qualsys can be applied as a project management tool when Workbench is switched off.

Identifying your business need

Workbench is a flexible, 'mobile-first' project management tool with a range of features. 

Identifying exactly how Workbench supports your business allows you to prioritise how and what you switch over to a new tool.

Workbench is typically applied to key project management activities such as:

• HR, timesheet and diary management
• Contract and documentation management
• Plant and equipment management
• Business intelligence reporting

Applying EQMS

It's important you map your key Workbench features onto any new tool to ensure nothing is lost in the gap as you transition.

Multiple EQMS modules can be applied to ensure your business processes handled within Workbench continue to be properly managed after the retirement date of April 2020.

HR

A competent and organised workforce is the cornerstone of any project.

Training Records Manager can be used to ensure all project staff have a controlled, visible training pathway and are fully competent for their specific roles.

Use Training Records Manager to:

• Schedule and organise training for single or multiple staff members
• Push training schedules into staff calendars with .ics integration
• View competency matrices, certificates and training records of the entire workforce in a single location
• Ensure competence with post-training quizzes

Contracts, timesheets and documents

Projects accumulate documents quickly.

Managing them electronically and centrally is a central component of a well-managed project.

Use Document Manager to:

• Store contracts, timesheets, employee records, plans, and any other project documents logically and securely
• Organise documents however you choose: by project, contractor, customer, site, manager and so on
• View audit trails and version histories for each document
• Associate documents to risks, pieces of equipment or training records
• Share documents between project members and groups and access on mobile devices

Plant and equipment management

Smooth and successful projects need controlled running costs, managed assets and proper maintenance and calibration schedules.

Equipment Manager can be used to: 

• Record all equipment and asset information, from warranty agreements to supplier details and location
• Plan and automate maintenance and calibration schedules
• Ensure and prove your asset set is fully efficient, cost-effective and optimised 

Business intelligence reporting

How is your project really going?

What are your actual and projected costs?

Are project teams meeting their KPIs?

And what are the red flags you need to be made aware of?

These are all questions to be answered during a project, making reliable, digestible business intelligence crucial.

Use the Business Intelligence Dashboard to:

• View the full range of your project data in a single source of truth
• Interrogate data to get to the trends that matter with filters and format options
• Push data into widgets, visual galleries and analysis grids
• Schedule data sharing and build and export custom reports

Other applications

Qualsys customer Sirus uses Audit Manager to gather customer and internal project feedback, and perform 'micro-audits' on project equipment from PPE to forklifts.

Construction company Engie uses Change Manager to drive project actions through automated workflows.

Want more inspiration? Visit our case study library.

Data migration

Need to migrate your Workbench data over to a new platform for a smooth transition?

Take a look at our data migration services.

Next steps

Want a chat about life after Workbench?

Set up a discovery call with us at your convenience.