Automated
document
management
Network Certification Body portal enables efficient assessments and complex document handling.
Challenge
Network Certification Body (NCB) provides railway assurance and certification on infrastructure, vehicle and freight projects, in the UK and worldwide. With an average of 200 rail projects being delivered at any one time, safety is its first priority.
To maintain and grow its position as the assurance and certification partner of choice to the UK rail industry, NCB needed to update existing inefficient IT systems for managing assessment service delivery. It required a solution to replace largely manual information management with automated document generation, whilst supporting the NCB’s Progressive Assurance Methodology. As well as administering complex document templates, the portal would need to facilitate efficient and effective client communications between NCB and clients.
Having transitioned to the Liberty Create low-code and Liberty OPA document generation platform, it has given us the foundation to continue to look at other areas of opportunity, which is very positive.
— Sam Brunker, NCB
About NCB
NCB is a leading industry expert and works with clients to minimise compliance risk and adherence to rail infrastructure standards.
NCB is driven by exceptional standards of safety and excellence to provide assurance and certification solutions.
Accredited as a Notified Body, Designed Body, Assessment Body, Plant Assessment Body and an Entities in Charge of Maintenance Certification Body, it provides an unrivalled level of services across the railway system, in the UK and worldwide.
Solution
Faster assessment processes
NCB engineers can now focus on assessment service delivery, rather than administration activities.
The NCB Portal, built on Liberty Create, ensures improved compliance control, giving NCB engineers easier ways to manage information and ensure speedy assessment reporting.
Automated report generation & storage
Liberty on-premise adapter (OPA) provides functionality for complex document generation; merging personalised content with pre-defined Microsoft Word templates containing pre-defined content and other assets and allowing for large pdf generation. The NCB Portal is also helping improve cost control and ensuring templates are centrally managed.
Enhanced client communication
The new NCB Portal improves the flow of information between clients and assessors, enabling the project status to be clearly understood at any point in the project lifecycle.
Following significant positive client feedback, it is now being seen as a business differentiator in meeting contractual expectations.
More about NCB Portal
NCB Portal gives all stakeholders visibility of assessment in real-time, enabling clients access to key assessment risks and findings. The information stored is then used to efficiently feed into NCB reporting requirements using the Progressive Assurance Methodology (PAM).
Smooth information flows
By streamlining internal information processes, engineers’ complex assessment and reporting tasks are made easier to undertake especially in the production of documents. Many clients are also actively looking at how information presented within the portal can be used to enhance their activities.
Agile development
A successful build and implementation were supported by good dialogue between the NCB and Netcall development teams. Agile development methodologies were based around user stories, enhancing understanding of NCBs business processes, and refining the system design to meet NCB’s needs. Regulatory controls posed particular challenges during the build, but the end result is a more complex enterprise-scale system that delivers greater benefits, including improved resilience, governance and collaboration.
A look to the future
NCB continues to manage the change process with a dedicated group of users, refining and improving system usage. The low-code power of Liberty means the team can continue to identify new functionality to enhance customer value and drive internal usability benefits.
Results
- Net Promoter Score of 48%
- Positive engineer feedback
- Central document management
- Streamlined internal processes
- Automated client communication
- Faster assessments
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