Background:
Having worked internationally for over 10 years in a fire engineering and in a fire, risk assessing capacity I recognized the importance for informing the public for just how fire safe a building is. Upon my return to the UK back in 2014, I started work on what would become The Fire Safety Scheme ® , which aspires to be the UK’s standard for fire risk assessment undertaking, addressing the challenge for knowing just how fire safe a building is prior to using its facilities.
Historically assessors have used different tools, different methodologies, and when assessors have been benchmarked, were found to possess a vast range of experiences, knowledge and skills. This often led to inconsistent findings, which are not commensurate to the degree of fire risk. It was therefore important for me to develop an intelligent application tool to assist the fire risk assessor with their assessment undertaking and for that application to be intelligent linking
consumer needs for audited suppliers for fire safety products and or service providers.
Initial approach
Initially I produced a scope of works, an excel version of the tool to aid understanding and I then contacted this work with a Manchester based software development business. Their advice was to approach the project using a web-based design, such as framework 7. This approach, I was informed is typical because it is cost effective and for the most part application users wouldn’t know the difference between a web or application-based platform. A 16-week project commenced, however my lessons in business have been seldom learnt without a cost of some kind, as in this case, time commitment cost, financial and many lost customer opportunities. I experience all these and more, even to the point where I produced a bibliography of excuses for their procrastination. The project sadly run into two and a half years, while alarm bells were ringing after the initial 16-week program, and much to my own annoyance, I allowed this work to continue after 16 weeks is another foolish lesson in business experienced the hard way. The contractor in question eventually closed down and staff were let go for other opportunities. This left my project incomplete, out of pocket with a product unfit for customer consumption, therefore a very disappointing experience indeed.
Revised approach
Most businesses would have given in at this juncture, however as a subject matter expert believing in fire safety and wanting to make a real difference, I searched for a credible business development partner. Artimus (Artificial Intelligence Multiuse Solutions) are a software specialist based in the heart of Wales. The primary benefits for using their services were; having had an initial consultation I gained confidence in their abilities, they understood the application creation process necessary for my ideas, and their team integrated into my business seamlessly to fully appreciate the application and my customer user experience to be created. Following our consultation, we mapped out the scope of work taking cognisance of the work previously produced to avoid previous pitfalls. We agreed a program of works with various gateways aimed to check progress against scope continuously. The focus during our collaboration resulted on a high-quality product, with a platform that can be built upon for future improvements. I am pleased to say that Artimus are our software partner of choice for all of our development needs. Artimus are subject matter experts who are approachable, easy to do business with, having delivery on time and within my budget. It has been a pleasure to use their services.
