Luckily for the team at Furnace Solutions, they knew the value of bringing in an implementation expert to work closely with the business to ensure the smooth adoption and changeover to minimise disruptions to the business.

“When we found out that Xero was retiring WorkflowMax and we’d have to make a massive change in our business, we only wanted to work with the best. After a bit of a search, we found the right fit in Josh Licence at Apparatus Quo,” says Chad Loan the CEO at Furnace Solutions.

Furnace Solutions is a global leader in managing large-scale furnace projects, with nearly a decade of experience operating in the harsh, demanding but beautiful mining and metals processing environments of Australia. The company boasts a dedicated workforce of 150 core employees, with over 400 specialists engaged in major projects. While Furnace Solutions has built its reputation in Australia, it’s also rapidly expanding its global footprint with operations in Brazil and the Philippines, and ambitious plans to extend operations into Chile. This strategic growth ensures that Furnace Solutions remains well-positioned to support its clients and partners across the globe.

Specialising in the mining industry, the business offers a comprehensive suite of furnace maintenance services, delivering innovative, safe, and efficient methodologies within time-constrained operational settings. Their core services include Project Planning and Execution, Shutdown Maintenance and Services, Fixed Plant Maintenance, Product Support and Operations, and Post Works Reviews and Analysis.

I was lucky enough to spend time with Chad Loan who leads the team as CEO and Jeremy Mulcahy as the CFO, who is laser-focused on the numbers. I felt an instant like; both these leaders were down to earth despite the huge pressure of their roles. It was great to see they both value work-life balance and make time for a morning surf or paddleboard before diving into the demanding duties for the day.

For those who don’t know (like me!), an industrial furnace is a large, high-temperature piece of equipment used in various manufacturing and processing industries to heat materials, such as metals, ceramics, glass, or chemicals. It’s designed to maintain a stable, controlled temperature over extended periods to carry out processes like melting, drying, curing, or heat treatment. Industrial furnaces are essential in industries like mining, steel production, metalworking, petrochemical, and ceramics, among others. These furnaces can vary in size and complexity, from small lab-scale furnaces to massive multi-chamber furnaces used in large-scale production plants. The heat inside the furnace can be generated using electricity, natural gas, oil, or other fuels, depending on the specific needs of the process. These furnaces must be built to withstand extreme temperatures and harsh conditions, often requiring advanced technology and safety features to operate efficiently and safely.

If you’ve never seen one up close, you’d be surprised by the size and scale, so massive you can stand inside them in some cases! It’s high-risk, high-reward work.

Forward-thinking when it comes to technology

Ten years ago, Managing Director Ben Burchill, started the business with one client and a very small team with the vision of becoming the leading global furnace and mining maintenance service business and has grown exponentially to today. He pioneered their move to the cloud and was an early adopter of many cloud technologies, embedding processes that would help the business to scale. Their app stack includes Xero, ApprovalMax, KeyPay, OPMS and WorkflowMax.

“At the end of the day, we sell time, pay time and invoice time, right? So, we needed a robust system with flexibility to capture all that. And one that doesn’t require extra steps to enter timesheets hence double handling. It’s all self-serve and in real-time,” says Chad.

The company has had remarkable growth supported through its adoption of technologies like WorkflowMax and others. Shifting to integrated solutions has been key to driving their operational excellence every single day.

“The time tracking in WorkflowMax is phenomenal - a lot of the team are out on site and can easily use the mobile app to see what jobs and tasks they are assigned to and very quickly capture time against them,” says Chad.

I asked if they had any issue with chasing up timesheets – the answer was “NO – it’s just so simple and easy to use,” says Chad. With the added flexibility of multiple ways to track time either through the app, the quick time entry, the weekly or daily timesheet views, gives the team a wide variety of ways to track time their own way.

Making the switch to WorkflowMax by BlueRock

The discontinuation of the old WorkflowMax product by Xero highlighted the necessity of selecting the right tool for their growing needs. After a careful selection process and evaluation of about five other apps, they decided to continue on and transition to the new WorkflowMax for its seamless migration process, integration options and scalability. Plus, the promise of continued long-term development.

“We needed a platform that could handle the expanding scale of our operations, and WorkflowMax continues to be a great fit for our business, with a great price point,” says Chad.

Working with an expert paid off

To ensure the transition was as seamless as possible, Furnace Solutions worked with Josh Licence from Apparatus Quo, a partner who provided essential guidance throughout the changeover process. His deep understanding of WorkflowMax, along with direct access to the support and development teams, proved invaluable in resolving issues quickly and making a smooth transition from the old to the new. The migration was managed over just 2.5 hours, preceded by practice runs to make sure everything would go smoothly on the go-live day. “Having guidance from Josh Licence throughout the process made all the difference,” says Chad.

The role of change management was key

Of course, no system change is without its challenges. Furnace Solutions recognised early on that effective change management would be key. While there were some initial teething issues, six months into using WorkflowMax, the results speak for themselves. The disruption was kept to a minimum, and day-to-day operations are now running much more smoothly.

“Transitioning wasn’t without its hurdles, but with the right support in the Apparatus Quo team, we’ve seen a huge improvement in efficiency of the system. Things are flowing easily now.”

Spotlight on the most loved features in action

WorkflowMax has empowered Furnace Solutions with several key features that have streamlined their operations. From winning multimillion dollar work using the quoting functionality, to managing jobs to tracking time and costs, almost all aspects of their job management is now integrated into one platform. The ease with which employees log their time ensures accurate billing and payroll, and the seamless integration with Xero has eliminated a lot of manual data entry, reducing the risk of errors.

“It’s great to see the WorkflowMax product team looking to extend their ecosystem with ApprovalMax and KeyPay integrations in future. That would mean even greater efficiencies in our workflow, by removing some of the data entry and allowing the team to focus on the accuracy of the task they are working on,” says Jeremy.

Real-time reporting and dashboards provide critical insights into project progress and financial health, giving the team the tools they need to make smarter, more informed decisions.

A scalable result

Switching to the new WorkflowMax, gave the business the continuity they desired. Administrative workloads have been reduced, with job management, time tracking, and invoicing now all managed in one platform. Customisable reports offer clearer visibility into both project performance and financial health, making it easier for the team to stay on top of the business. As their workforce and projects continue to grow, WorkflowMax provides the scalability they need to keep operations running smoothly.

Looking to the future

Looking ahead, Furnace Solutions is optimistic about the future. They’re already investigating how to integrate WorkflowMax with their payroll system to further eliminate manual data transfers and reduce the risk of errors. The addition of multi-currency will also simplify financial operations across their global business.‍

Considering a changeover to WorkflowMax?

For anyone considering a system change, both Chad and Jeremy offer some valuable advice: work with an expert partner. “Having the right partner not only saves you time but also keeps your brainpower intact. The support we received from the Apparatus Quo team made the whole transition process much smoother”.

Thanks to Furnace Solutions and Apparatus Quo for sharing this story.

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